New England Patriots - NESN.com
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel isn’t one to mince words… just ask his starting quarterback.
Drake Maye got caught trying to turn nothing into something during Friday night’s preseason opener against the Washington Commanders, and it ended poorly. Maye tried to force a throw while being sacked and ended up fumbling, setting his opponent up with an extremely short field.
Vrabel was asked about the play following the game, and offered some brutal honesty.
“It’s a bad decision,” Vrabel said, per team-provided video. “I think we’re going to need better from him, and I think he knows that. That’s obvious. It wasn’t there. We just have to be able to find a way to get rid of the football or take a sack and punt and play defense.”
Vrabel’s surly response perhaps was a result of the way the question was asked. WBZ’s Dan Roche, one of the best in the business, said he was “sure the turnover probably annoyed” the veteran head coach, who didn’t seem to like the inference.
“Are you asking and answering a question at the same time?” Vrabel asked. “Is that what you’re doing?”
Yikes!
Maye will almost certainly hear more from his boss, and it likely will continue to come bluntly, but that’s the cost of doing business.
The Patriots certainly looked as though the hard coaching was working while they thrashed a legitimate contender on Friday. Maye just has to avoid making dumb mistakes and they’ll be cooking with gas,
