{"id":32241,"date":"2025-09-09T12:59:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T12:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=32241"},"modified":"2025-09-09T12:59:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T12:59:53","slug":"breaking-patriots-urged-to-take-necessary-risk-with-drake-maye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=32241","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : Patriots Urged to Take &#8216;Necessary Risk&#8217; With Drake Maye"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2234171887-e1757416319100.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2234171887-e1757416319100.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2234171887-e1757416319100.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2234171887-e1757416319100.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Patriots Urged to Take 'Necessary Risk' With Drake Maye\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Getting Drake Maye on track is at the top of the to-do list for the New England Patriots after their drab 20-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1, but it will take a \u201cnecessary risk\u201d to improve the would-be franchise quarterback\u2019s production.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s according to Patriots.com Staff Writer Evan Lazar, who acknowledged that while head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels \u201cprobably don\u2019t want to run him too often, using Maye\u2019s rushing ability to their advantage on designed runs or options plays is a necessary risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lazar made the point as part of a breakdown of what went wrong for the Patriots\u2019 running game in the opening week. Struggles on the ground equated to just 60 yards on 18 carries and made New England\u2019s offense fatally one-sided, leaving Maye exposed.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Drake Maye Change Needed to Fix One-Dimensional Offense<\/h2>\n<p>Having Maye throw 53 times a game isn\u2019t how this Patriots team makes an entry in the win column. Especially not when the pass-heavy approach played right into the hands of the Raiders, who relied on \u201csoft cover-three and two-deep zones\u201d under new head coach Peter Carroll.<\/p>\n<p>There were many reasons why the Patriots couldn\u2019t establish their ground game, but not leaning into Maye\u2019s rushing talents often enough, was one of the biggest. Particularly when, as Lazar pointed out, \u201cNew England\u2019s best runs were when Maye\u2019s legs were a factor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lazar also included a clip of one such instance when \u201cMcDaniels called a nice power-read shovel design, a speed-option, and an RPO-zone read that produced successful runs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Successful option-based rushing concepts like this are how the offense is supposed to work with Maye this season. McDaniels is supposed to be planning new things around what Maye can do as a ball-carrier, but those schematic wrinkles showed up all too seldom against the Silver and Black.<\/p>\n<p>So did two other key factors that didn\u2019t help the running game, nor Maye.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Disguise and Protection Lacking for Patriots<\/h2>\n<p>McDaniels didn\u2019t do enough to disguise his rushing plays, whether it was Maye\u2019s number called, or those of running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and rookie TreVeyon Henderson. The problem was a lack of motion, according to Lazar.<\/p>\n<p>He detailed how \u201cin Week 1, the Pats ranked 30th in motion rate on designed run plays (50%), motioning at the snap just six times. For comparison, the league-average motion rate was 68.5% in the NFL\u2019s opening week, while the Rams motioned on a league-high 95.7% of their run plays.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not using motion meant the Patriots missed out on \u201cbumping defenders out of gaps at the point of attack, creating advantageous blocking angles, opening space into the sidelines, and making for easier play-sequencing off play-action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A more creative approach is needed, but so is superior blocking in the trenches. The Patriots won\u2019t get far on the deck if experienced offensive linemen like center Garrett Bradbury and right guard Mike Onwenu can\u2019t win their matchups.<\/p>\n<p>Lazar noted \u201cBradbury had his ups and downs in the run game,\u201d while Onwenu \u201cdidn\u2019t hold his block on a third-and-1 stuff, and couldn\u2019t generate movement on a pull near the goal-line on a run play that had a chance to score.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not being able to win along the interior will wreck the hat-on-hat, power-style blocking schemes McDaniels has traditionally called. Other breakdowns from a line that struggled with new bookend tackles, first-round pick Will Campbell and veteran Morgan Moses, will also stunt Maye\u2019s development as a passer.<\/p>\n<p>Highlights from Taylor Kyles of Patriots on CLNS showed Maye being subjected to hits thanks to failures on both sides of the line, with rookie left guard Jared Wilson one of the culprits.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Most hits on Drake Maye were caused by failed twist pickups on the right side of the OL and lapses from Jared Wilson, who struggled vs Adam Butler and allowed a free hit<\/p>\n<p>Will Campbell seemed to get his outside arm pinned inside on the strip sack <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UKyECca93U\">pic.twitter.com\/UKyECca93U<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tkyles39\/status\/1965074805595726242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In all, Maye was sacked four times, while his O-line gave up 17 pressures, split in the following way, per Lazar: \u201cWilson (5), Moses (5), Campbell (sack, 4), Onwenu (3).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Patriots have the right to expect more from the third-overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, but Maye won\u2019t take the next step without help. He needs stronger protection and better work from Vrabel and his staff, in terms of balanced play-calling and nuanced designs, to take advantage of natural dual-threat talents.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New England Patriots must take a &#8220;necessary risk&#8221; to help Drake Maye after the QB struggled vs. the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING : Patriots Urged to Take &#039;Necessary Risk&#039; With Drake Maye - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=32241\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : Patriots Urged to Take &#039;Necessary Risk&#039; 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