Pats Pulpit
A Pro Bowler at the quarterback position this year, he does not just have one of the best natural arms in all of football, but also has proven himself capable of hurting defenses with his legs: he can escape the pocket to extend plays or go on scramble drills and gain positive yards.
Sounds familiar? If you think this description fits New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye to a T, you are not wrong.
You are also not wrong if you say the same about his counterpart this weekend, the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert.
Like Maye, Herbert is one of the most athletically-gifted players his position has to offer. He offers a rare blend of size, arm talent, strength and speed that is a challenge for defenses to slow down. And while this combination of skills has propelled Maye to MVP level this year, it also is key to Herbert’s success — despite the latter not being actively featured in those same debates.
In fact, Herbert enters the wild card playoff game against the Patriots as the NFL leader in scramble yards with 469, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Averaging 8.8 yards per scramble, he has managed to gain 10-plus yards on 15 of his 53 attempts. Add the fact that he can make off-platform, out-of-structure throws with the best of them and is ranked first in the NFL in touchdown passes on the run (10) and third in passing yards on extended plays (599), and you get a definitive problem at the QB position.
Solving that problem is one the Patriots have high on their list of priorities this week.
“He’s a a big, big guy and he’s a lot faster than guys may think,” said defensive play caller Zak Kuhr on Thursday. “He’s got long stride. He’s a strong runner. He’s got really big hands; when he’s palming that ball, he can use his arms more to drive to run. He’s a little more secure with the ball because the size of his hands. He’s a great athlete, he’s a strong runner and he’s a playmaker.”
Whereas Herbert averaged 3.3 rushing attempts over his 16 in-game appearances this year, the Patriots defense has not seen a lot of these plays during the regular season. Opposing quarterbacks have taken off to scramble on only 29 occasions for an average of 1.1 a game.
When they did, however, they have found some success. Those 29 scrambles have totaled 217 yards, or 7.5 yards per rush. As his numbers show,Herbert is more than capable of matching that output when given the opportunity.
New England’s staff, meanwhile, hopes that those opportunities will be handled properly.
“We’re talking about it just about every second it seems like throughout the day,” said outside linebackers coach Mike Smith. “The stats don’t lie. He extends plays, and is second in the NFL in scrambling and extension of throwing the ball. He’s really dang good in both both categories. We talk every week about rush...
