Mike Vrabel speaks on Drake Maye communication after bad turnover
Maye was chased down by a defender, and instead of taking a sack, he attempted to make a play and fumbled the ball. New England's goal has been cutting down on the turnovers this season, and plays like the one Maye had last Friday hurt their chances of doing so.
"It's clear how I communicate. I tell him what I'm thinking and what needs to be said ... Sometimes, we can't try to make plays because they become bad ones," said Vrabel, when appearing on The Greg Hill Show. "I think he'll learn from it and understand, like, 'Okay, I'm not going to be able to play Superman all of the time, and I can reserve the right to punt and help this football team, and we'll flip the field and play defense and get another crack at it."
Maye went 3-of-5 passing for 12 yards on two drives against the Commanders. He also strung together two carries for 16 yards and a touchdown.
There were always going to be growing pains for a young quarterback in only his second season. Maye is also learning a new offense with new personnel around him.
The team still has two weeks left of preseason football, and that should give everyone, including Maye, a chance to get acclimated ahead of the season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on September 7.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Mike Vrabel speaks on Drake Maye communication after bad turnover

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Washington Post
16 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Dan Quinn's latest training camp wrinkle? Commanders vs. Commanders.
Monday morning, on the 20th day since training camp began, the Washington Commanders arrived at their facility for a normal day. Coach Dan Quinn greeted them with a new wrinkle that carried the hallmarks of his summer practice strategy: creative, competitive, holistic and designed for both mental stimulation and physical preservation.


CBS News
5 hours ago
- CBS News
Josh McDaniels on Drake Maye's development and avoiding costly mistakes
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel did not mince words about Drake Maye's fumble during the team's preseason opener Friday night. The decision-making that led to the quarterback's turnover is exactly what the Patriots want Maye to cut out of his game in Year 2 of his NFL career, but was right there for everyone to see at the end of his first preseason possession. Maye coughed up the ball as he tried to escape pressure from the Commanders' defense deep in New England territory. But instead of throwing the ball away as a defender took hold, Maye tried to do too much and ultimately let the pigskin slip out of his hand. The Commanders recovered at the New England 32-yard line, but the Patriots defense didn't surrender a yard and Washington ended up missing a chip-shot field goal. There as no harm in Maye's fumble this time around, but Vrabel did not hold back after the team's 48-18 win. "That's a bad decision," Vrabel said of Maye's miscue. "I think we're going to need better from him. I think he knows that. That's obvious. It wasn't there. We just have to find a way to get rid of the football or take a sack and punt and play defense." Turnovers and ill-advised decisions were a big part of Maye's growing pains throughout his rookie season. He threw 10 interceptions to go with nine fumbles, so ball security has been a major part of Vrabel's teaching this summer. For the Patriots to have any success in 2025, Maye has to protect the football first and foremost. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is confident Maye will find his balance between taking shots and knowing when it's time to throw the ball away. It's all part of the learning process in the NFL, and he likes where his young quarterback is at in camp. McDaniels called Maye a "quick learner" who is working hard to make sure he doesn't make the same error over and over again. "He works extremely hard every day to be prepared for each practice. He's a quick learner, that's for sure," McDaniels said Monday ahead of the team's practice in Foxboro. "The biggest thing we've talked about is trying to limit the number of repeat errors. If we make an error, that's not a bad thing. It's a good thing as long as we learn from it and don't repeat it again. He's a quick study in that regard and has a great memory. "I'm excited about him and the whole group in regards to their willingness to learn from mistakes and come out and work the next day," added McDaniels. Maye made up for his fumble on his second and final drive Friday night, when he capped off a 61-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown scramble. Maye scanned his targets before he took advantage of a massive hole in the defense to put New England on top, 14-0, at the time. The good and the bad from Maye's mobility were both on display in the exhibition opener. Now it's a matter of cutting out the bad completely while making sure his good habits take over. A lot of the times when Maye has gotten himself into trouble with his decision-making, it has been when he's figuring out whether to be a passer or a runner on a play. Vrabel has stressed to Maye he needs to remain a passer for as long as possible before potentially takes off downfield, though McDaniels said Monday there have been no restrictions put on the quarterback in terms of being a runner. He even said the team will have some designed run plays for Maye this season. "I mean, he had [421] yards rushing last year on no designed runs," McDaniels said of Maye's running ability. "The reality is those loose plays are hard to predict when they come up. We didn't call a pass play for him to scramble and pick up a first down, but he did. He just has to understand when there is nothing there and he has an opening, what he has to do with the ball. I think he's really improving in that area and understanding his value to the team is when he's healthy, so I think that's what we're all talking about." While Maye's mobility can be a dangerous weapon for the Patriots, it also opens the quarterback up for injury, as we saw last season when he suffered a concussion in a Week 8 win over the New York Jets. The injury risk just further emphasizes the importance of Maye knowing when to run, and when to play it safe. "Like Coach Vrabel always says, we've got to protect the team," added McDaniels. "And whether you play running back and you protect the ball, or you make a great decision off the field, or you're the quarterback and you scramble and you decide to slide, all of those things are protecting the team." Maye has a lot on his plate as he heads into his first full season as an NFL starter. He's leaning a new offense under a new coordinator in McDaniels, with a slew of new players lining up alongside him. The Patriots are only going to go as far as Maye ultimately takes them, and the 22-year-old knows that. But as much as the Patriots are relying on Maye physically, he also knows he needs to be a better decision-maker on the field and leader on the sideline. He has loads of talent with his arm and his legs, and if he can cut down on his turnovers and dangerous scrambles, Maye will unlock a new level in the NFL. The balancing act remains a work in progress, but McDaniels sounds confident the 22-year-old quarterback will put it all together sometime in the near future.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mike Vrabel speaks on Drake Maye communication after bad turnover
New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel discussed his communication with Drake Maye after the second-year quarterback turned the ball over on the first drive of the preseason opener against the Washington Commanders. Maye was chased down by a defender, and instead of taking a sack, he attempted to make a play and fumbled the ball. New England's goal has been cutting down on the turnovers this season, and plays like the one Maye had last Friday hurt their chances of doing so. "It's clear how I communicate. I tell him what I'm thinking and what needs to be said ... Sometimes, we can't try to make plays because they become bad ones," said Vrabel, when appearing on The Greg Hill Show. "I think he'll learn from it and understand, like, 'Okay, I'm not going to be able to play Superman all of the time, and I can reserve the right to punt and help this football team, and we'll flip the field and play defense and get another crack at it." Maye went 3-of-5 passing for 12 yards on two drives against the Commanders. He also strung together two carries for 16 yards and a touchdown. There were always going to be growing pains for a young quarterback in only his second season. Maye is also learning a new offense with new personnel around him. The team still has two weeks left of preseason football, and that should give everyone, including Maye, a chance to get acclimated ahead of the season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on September 7. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook. This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Mike Vrabel speaks on Drake Maye communication after bad turnover