Hoyer: Three keys to success for Drake Maye vs. Texans originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Will Drake Maye give the ailing New England Patriots offense a jolt this Sunday vs. the Houston Texans?
The Patriots named the rookie their starting quarterback for the Week 6 matchup. He already made his official debut late in the team’s Week 3 loss to the New York Jets, but Sunday will be his first real taste of NFL action.
So what can Maye do to ensure a successful first start? Former Patriots QB Brian Hoyer shared his three keys to success for the third overall pick during Wednesday’s edition of The Gameplan.
1. Great week of preparation
“That means meetings, walkthroughs, practice — which is probably the most important — and then film,” Hoyer said. “So these things as a starting quarterback, his first week as a starter, he’s going to have an opportunity to be in the meetings, communicating with his teammates, ‘Hey, on this play I really want you to do that.’ Or, if the line says, ‘Who are we blocking in this protection?’ ‘Hey, this is who I’m thinking you’re blocking.’ It’s your show. You’re the starter.
“Walkthroughs, you go out there you’re going to have an opportunity — the game plan’s installed, then you go out and walk through it. So you have the walkthrough before practice. Take charge of the walkthrough, show that leadership. Obviously, practice is the most important thing because it’s gonna be the most game-like thing you can do to be prepared for Sunday. And then on top of that, after practice, you always come in and watch the film. So that’s when you’re gonna have to make corrections.
“So this is all new to Drake. He hasn’t had an opportunity as a starting quarterback to run the meetings, run the walkthroughs, run the practice, run the film session. On top of that, as a starting quarterback, you’ve got to get in there and watch film of the other team’s defense. So get in there, prepare, know Houston, know what their philosophy is, know their players. A lot of things that when you become the starting quarterback, it’s a big responsibility on your shoulders. A great week of preparation will have him feeling good going into Sunday’s game.”
2. Ball security
“The turnover ratio, usually it affects the outcome of the game. But the way I’m looking at this with Drake is – and the number one thing I think as a young guy and athletic guy – don’t make a bad play worse,” Hoyer said.
“And there’s gonna be bad plays. The guys he’s playing with aren’t magically gonna become All-Pros this week. They’ve struggled on the line, they’ve struggled getting open. There’s gonna be some plays where you drop back, a free rusher comes free. A guy doesn’t get open. That doesn’t mean run 15 yards back and take a 15-yard sack. Sometimes, taking a sack is the best play, which is hard for a young guy to understand especially when you have the talent that Drake has.
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“But that means protecting the football. Don’t get strip-sacked while you’re trying to extend the play. Don’t roll out and throw across your body. Which is hard, because you don’t wanna confine him and what he’s able to do with his physical skills. But I think the fastest way for this game to go bad is to turn the ball over, give the ball back to C.J. Stroud and that offense, and you’re down 21-0.”
3. Be an advocate for yourself
“If you don’t feel comfortable with the game plan, it’s not gonna really help you at all,” Hoyer said. “So you have to sit down with AVP (offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt) at the end of the week and say, ‘Hey, I feel really good about these plays. These ones I don’t really feel so great about. We gotta take them out.’ That means having extra meetings with your receivers and making sure you’re on the same page. He hasn’t had a ton of reps with these guys because he’s been getting 20-30 percent of the reps. Make sure you’re having these extra meetings, make sure you’re on the same page.
“But the biggest thing I think is get in there, Friday you get the game plan, study it over. I used to go over every single play one through 150, and I’d put a checkmark if I liked it, I’d put a line through it if I didn’t, and then I’d give it back to the offensive coordinator and say, ‘These plays, I feel really good about. These ones, I don’t feel so great about. If we can take those out, maybe we keep working on it for next week.’
“But I think that’s a huge thing as a young player. Go out there, have that meeting even though it’s difficult sometimes to tell the coach, ‘I don’t really like this play.’ Maybe the coach really likes it. But I think you wanna be the one out there feeling comfortable when it’s third-and-7, the play call comes in and you’re like, ‘OK, I like this one.’ You don’t want someone calling a play in and being like, ‘Man, I don’t know how this is gonna turn out.’ “
Sunday’s Pats-Texans showdown is set for 1 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium.
Watch Hoyer’s full breakdown in the video above or the YouTube video below:
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