It’s a Monday morning in New England, and as you scroll through your social media, all there is to see are comments about how horrid the quarterback of the New England Patriots has played so far. People wonder if he was hyped up too much last year and if maybe he is now “washed.” Now, people may be wondering if this is the old tale of Mac Jones, but it is instead the story of a new quarterback, Drake Maye.
Last season, New Englanders could not fathom having anyone else as amazing as Maye to lead their team to the promised land. This season, however, Patriots fans couldn’t wait to trash their starter after a few bad games, just as they did with Mac Jones. Jones had taken the Patriots to the playoffs in 2021, and was cut twice years later after not playing up to the desired standard. Throughout his last season, fans were upset that they had a bad quarterback, a quarterback that they had drafted high and was the supposed “savior” after Tom Brady had left. Now, Maye, coming off of a runner-up MVP season where they lost in the Super Bowl, has played a few bad games to start the new campaign, and fans were already throwing out Jones allegations.
The franchise quarterback and undisputed greatest of all time, Tom Brady, won six Super Bowls in less than 20 years. He was a normal guy, like Maye and Jones, who overcame the odds of being a late draft pick to win many Super Bowls and win countless games.
Patriots fans have been led to believe that every and all quarterbacks who play for New England have to match that or play to the most perfect extent in order to win and be considered a good football team. This attitude was present during last season, as Maye’s play was considered “top-tier” by Patriots fans and Maye nearly won the MVP. Fast forward to this season, and two bad games have Patriots fans praying for the old days or for a new quarterback to come in.
While he wasn’t amazing, and has since played far better, Patriots fans need to take a second to remember the praise Maye got in the playoffs when he played sub-par and still won games. Even last season, when the Patriots played one of the easiest schedules of all time, Maye’s performances in those tight games weren’t exactly scrutinized.
It leads me to ask the question: do Patriots fans love football or love winning? Because if they love football, they would see that a guy like Maye, who was never a star or top talent before the league, will have a bad game or two. If anything, the 10-game streak last season was lucky enough, as Maye was not always performing at the MVP level. Still, Patriots fans ignored his blemishes because they were winning. Now, all it takes is a loss on the scoreboard, and everyone goes to the thought of benching Maye and a need for a better quarterback.
Not many comments about how the head coach was having and got caught in an affair over the summer, how their wide receiver was out, how they played not one but two of the best defenses in the league. The fans are so ignorant of how football works that the second an L pops up, it is immediately complaining and crying about the guy under center.
The Patriots have now won three straight games, and Maye’s performance has certainly been elevated since then, but now that they are winning, no Patriots fan is complaining about Maye. The quarterback now has to go through the season knowing that if he plays a single bad game, his own supporters will be coming for his head.
Jacob Enscoe can be contacted at
Jenscoe@kscequinox.com
