It’s hard to play football in Boston. It’s even harder when you lose Week 1. After a 287 yard performance in what many are calling quarterback Drake Maye’s “worst NFL start”, New England Patriots‘ insider, Tom Curran, went on the air yesterday with a relatively hot take.
“I would still take J.J. McCarthy,” Curran said. “He’s as fast, if not faster. His arm is just as strong as Drake Maye’s, even though he could use a little bit more touch.”
The question posed to Curran was a simple one. Heading into the 2024 draft, Curran was vocal in his support of then Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy. The Pats went Maye at three, the Vikings took McCarthy at nine.
A season ending knee injury killed McCarthy’s rookie season before it began. The second year QB got his first crack at the NFL on Monday Night Football, leading a come from behind victory in the fourth quarter. His showing in just four quarters of football was enough for Curran to pull the lever.
“I really, really, really like his personality and command as a leader, and his ability to articulate things,” Curran continued. “I think he’s a good player. Not that Drake Maye is not, but I think that J.J. McCarthy is a more polished player at this juncture – and you saw it at Michigan – than Drake Maye was coming out from a 7-4 North Carolina team where he had a lot of fundamental things to clean up.”
“He’s all moxie.”
JJ McCarthy vs Drake Maye By The Numbers
First things first. Through one game JJ has one third as many wins as Maye does heading into his 14th career start.
To be entirely fair, McCarthy takes over a team that went 14-3 the year in which he rode the bench with an injury. Maye took over a team that went 4-13 before his arrival, and 1-5 in games played in 2024 before he was named the starter.
To compare the Vikings to the Patriots at this current point in time is apples to pine trees- completely different universes.
McCarthy threw for just 143 yards, completing 13 of 20 attempts and throwing a pick six along with his two touchdowns. He took three sacks and rushed twice for a total of 25 yards and the go ahead touchdown.
Maye was asked to be Superman on Sunday in a game in which the Patriots leading rusher was Tre’Veyon Henderson with a measly 27 yards. He dwarfed McCarthy’s stats, throwing for 287 yards on 30 completions and 46 attempts.
Can We Please Pump The Brakes On The Maye Slander
According to Pro Football Focus, Maye had the 12th highest graded passing performance in Week 1.
In an offense predicated on the run, the team averaged three yards a carry. On a day the 23-year-old was asked to sling it 46 times to give his team a chance at home, Maye connected with ten different receivers.
Of the ten different players with a catch, four of them were playing in their first game as a Patriot. The team is rebuilding, the team hasn’t won more than four games since 2022.
Fans are allowed to have a discourse, however, I think the Drake Maye hate would be better directed at the offense as a whole.
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