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Mike Reiss
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — On one purple zone play late in Patriots obligatory minicamp apply Monday, quarterback Drake Maye fired a go to rookie working again TreVeyon Henderson on the objective line for a landing, which led to a rousing cheer from the offense.
Quickly after, Maye summed up his viewpoint on the place issues stand as spring practices come to an finish this week, whereas he continues to be taught coordinator Josh McDaniels’ offense.
“I believe we’re catching the stride; I believe I am beginning to discover a stride,” Maye stated. “I am bummed out we’re about to depart, but it surely’s enjoyable.”
The Patriots have yet another apply Tuesday earlier than an prolonged break. Maye has a special day to sit up for, with plans to marry longtime girlfriend Ann Michael Hudson on June 21. After that, he stated he’ll flip his consideration to preparing for the beginning of coaching camp in center to late July.
Maye’s development as he enters his second NFL season, and in addition from the beginning of spring practices in late April, has been a hot-button subject in New England. His potential was cited by first-year coach Mike Vrabel as one of many interesting components of the job.
Within the first voluntary organized crew exercise open to reporters 4 weeks in the past, Maye threw 4 interceptions, though one might need been nullified by a defensive penalty. He has seemed sharper since, seldom turning the ball over.
“You’ll be able to take that with a grain of salt, however on the identical time, you do not need to flip the soccer over and get in dangerous habits,” he stated. “I really feel like I’ve finished a very good job of making an attempt to maintain the soccer in our arms, and that is one in all our key focuses.”
Maye shared that specializing in “taking what’s open, taking the very first thing” has been an essential adjustment for him as a result of “whenever you have a tendency to attend for the large one, holding the ball, typically it isn’t open.”
“It is good for us to put in performs, get a really feel for what I like. Coach McDaniels has been superior about asking what I like and what he expects from me on sure performs,” he stated. “So it has been good to have the ability to get that exterior and on the sector.”
In the meantime, Vrabel stated on “The Invoice O’Brien Podcast” that he has labored with Maye on “management and command; his psychological method, aggressive stamina to play this place and understanding how arduous it’s within the league to win and play the quarterback place effectively.”
Requested earlier than Monday’s apply about Maye’s evolution as a pacesetter, Vrabel stated: “I believe it is a distinctive place being 22, so I believe there’s quite a lot of room to develop. I believe there’s quite a lot of pure management qualities. I’ve to encourage him and to place him in these positions to do this.”
One instance of how Vrabel has finished so got here on the finish of Monday’s apply, when he aligned the offense throughout the objective line, put Maye within the center and had him name out the cadence and simulate a snap depend that gave each participant the cue on when to run successive 30-yard sprints. If a participant left early, Vrabel added a dash.
Maye’s voice boomed throughout the sector. He stated after apply that his largest concern in that scenario was serving to teammates with the cadence so they would not soar offside.
Of his voice rising louder in his second season, Maye stated: “It is a chance for me to take a soar from final 12 months being a rookie making an attempt to come back in right here and earn my stripes by means of arduous work. This 12 months is similar method — you bought new guys in right here, new workers, carry on attending to know all people, present my work ethic.
“From there, because the season comes round, attempt to take the subsequent step in management and main the offense and hopefully main this soccer crew.”
