Maye-to-Polk turned heads, but Patriots offense had an uneven day in joint practice with Eagles
FOXBORO -- With the Philadelphia Eagles in town for a joint practice session on Tuesday, the Patriots offense had quite the test out on the field. But after some early success, the New England offense finished the day with a thud.
Starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett and rookie Drake Maye got all the snaps under center for New England, and enjoyed success in the 7-on-7 portion of the practice. Brissett completed five of his six passes, while Maye completed all six of his attempts to six different receivers, including a deep connection to fellow rookie Javon Baker.
Maye was part of the best play of the day too, when Ja'Lynn Polk made a great snag on a deep ball from the quarterback for a touchdown against Philly's Shon Stephens in 1-on-1s. The ball was perfectly placed where only Polk could get it, and the rookie receiver showed off his incredible hands on the connection.
Soak that one in. Because it all went downhill for the Patriots offense when 11-on-11s started.
Once offensive and defensive lines took the field, Brissett was just 12-for-24 with a pair of interceptions and a few missed opportunities downfield. Maye was just 6-for-12 and was sacked five times on his final six dropbacks of the day. No matter who was taking snaps at QB, the team's 2-minute drill was a disaster on Tuesday.
It wasn't all on the quarterbacks, as the New England offensive line stood little chance against the Philadelphia pass rush. Vederian Lowe started at left tackle and Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle, and both struggled to keep Eagles rushers off their quarterback. Pass protection remains the biggest concern for the Patriots heading into the season.
Maye once again saw his action with New England's No. 2 team, and he had very little chance to succeed with all the pressure he felt from Philadelphia. He spoke with reporters after the session, and said that he needs to be quicker at getting the ball out. He said that it was unacceptable for him to get sacked during the team's 2-minute drill.
"I have to go in and hang in there, make the right reads. Sit back there and treat it the same as everything else," said Maye. "You can't worry about those guys; they're all fighting hard and I'm trying to do my job.
"Coach Mayo preaches one play to the next -- don't be a repeat error guy," Maye added. "Next time I get a rep like that, try to make the right read."
While the offense struggled to close the session, Maye said he took a lot of important lessons away from his first joint practice.
"They were great reps to learn from. They have a great defense that does a good job," he said of Philadelphia. "They have big dudes up front that give us different looks. Great learning experience."
Earlier in the day, Mayo had one word to describe Maye so far this summer: "Steady."
"I think if I was to say one word, it's steady. He's always in the building, always studying. He's out here trying to get better each and every day," said Mayo, who promised for game reps for Maye come Thursday night.
"Excited to get out there and try to make some plays," Maye said of his expected workload in preseason game No. 2. "I don't know how much I'm going to play, but I'm going to go out there and play until they take me out."
Tune in to Thursday's Patriots-Eagles preseason tilt on WBZ-TV -- your home of the New England Patriots! Pregame coverage begins at 6:30pm with Patriots GameDay, kickoff is set for just after 7pm, and after the game stick around for Patriots 5th Quarter!
