A recent story detailed how newly hired New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will “adapt his system to” quarterback Drake Maye “much like (McDaniels) did for Matt Cassel when Tom Brady went down with a season-ending injury (in 2008) and later when Cam Newton took over post-Brady (in 2020).”
On the latest edition of the “Eye on Foxborough“ podcast, Cassel expanded on how McDaniels could get the best out of Maye after the 2024 first-round draft pick largely impressed as a rookie.
“He understood me as a player,” Cassel said about having McDaniels as an OC, per Karen Guregian of MassLive. “He understood my likes and dislikes even though I wasn’t the starter. When I took over (during the 2008 season), there were adjustments made to the offense, particularly because I was a little more of an athlete. No offense to (Brady), but I’m a better athlete than him.”
Brady famously rushed for a total of 1,123 yards during his long career. To compare, Maye accumulated 421 rushing yards on just 54 carries in 13 games as a first-year pro. Needless to say, McDaniels will likely give Maye plenty of opportunities to torch opposing defenses with his legs during certain instances of future games.
“Not all coaches are willing to have enough confidence in a young quarterback to say, ‘This is what he likes, this is what we’re going to do,’“
Cassel said about what Maye can expect to hear from McDaniels during springtime workouts.
Some suggested before Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired head coach Jerod Mayo that Kraft should stick with both Mayo and former OC Alex Van Pelt so that Maye wouldn’t have to learn a new offense for a second straight offseason. Cassel indicated that adapting to McDaniels’ terminology will “be the biggest adjustment for Drake” ahead of September.
“It’s a wordy offense,” Cassel explained. “There’s a lot of different motions, a lot of ‘check-with-me’s,‘ but once you learn the foundation of the offense, particularly, the motions, how we call plays…when you start to compartmentalize those and understand it, it is a quarterback-friendly offense. Josh McDaniels will put you in a position to be successful.”
The Patriots undeniably need to add multiple offensive playmakers to their roster. With that said, it’s also clear that new head coach Mike Vrabel expects that Maye will take strides in the right direction working with McDaniels.
It remains to be seen when Vrabel could consider giving up on a quarterback he had nothing to do with acquiring if Maye disappoints with his play this coming fall.
