PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 16, 2026
Q: Drake, when you walk up to the line and you are trying to make a split-second decision, how hard is it for you to take less of the profit, as opposed to following your inclination to make a big play?
DM: I think my position is built on split-second decisions, and that's football. It's a game of inches. It's a game of decisions in an instant. I think you get to see the consequences when you do not make the right one, and you try to force one or you try to maybe push it down the field. I think that's something that, as I say, you learn from, but honestly, at this point, it needs to be a habit. I think that's the purpose of practicing and getting in the mindset and knowing what I need to do to help this team win, and knowing that every decision I make at this position it carries heightened consequences because the decisions the quarterback makes have a lot to do with wins and losses. I know that and respect that and realize what I need to do to help this team win.
Q: Drake, last year you said something - I think it was after the Titans game last year - you said something about how you wanted to move the ball down the field without just being a Checkdown Charlie. I think it was tongue in cheek probably, but do you feel like as you are growing here in your career, you are getting more comfortable with being that "Checkdown Charlie" if you have to be?
DM: Yeah, I think it depends on the game. Really, I think it depends on the flow of the game and realizing what the defense is doing and what we are trying to accomplish on offense and realizing that sometimes checking it down over and over may feel monotonous, but at the same time it's the right thing to do and it keeps the chains moving. I feel like we battle the down distance well. We have the same challenge in Pittsburgh this week. We got a tough defense that can get after us up front, and they got a great front. So, I'm looking forward to getting back out there and having another chance this week.
Q: Specifically with the Pittsburgh front, what do you see from T.J. Watt on film?
DM: He just wreaks havoc. He's the same deal as last year. He's been a great player in this league for a long time. You've got to know where he's at. He enjoys making plays on the football, and he's really good at it. They have a knack up front of getting hands on balls, and the one he made last week, you don't see that very often in this league – it's really special. I can't even describe it more than that. So, we've got to have all hands on deck, especially with a lot of their front. They've got some great players, and they've been in that defense and been together for a while, so they know how to play off each other and count each other's strengths.
Q: In the past, when you faced guys like that who are long, who have that kind of length like [T.J.] Watt and [Cameron] Heyward, what are some of the ways that you can go about minimizing their impact when it comes to trying to find your way around them on the pass?
DM: Yeah, I think it's hard to look at when they're jumping and when they're trying to get hands up. Cam Hayward had one last year that got tipped in the end zone and got picked. So, they have a special feeling for it, and they've done a lot in their careers of making plays, pass rush, and pass breakups. So, it can't be something I'm really thinking about. They're going to try to get their hands up. I think just finding good passing lanes and moving around the pocket in some different ways. But really, I think it's easy to say quick game, but at the same time, they know they're going to get their hands up fast. So, it's just being cognizant of it, whether it's technique or little things to get the hands down.
Q: Drake, Mike [Vrabel] talked about the difference between being aggressive versus reckless. How gradual is that process and distinction for you?
DM: Yeah, I think he said that since I got here, and then he became the head coach. He's always wanted to be aggressive and not reckless, and I think there are times and places for everything. Realizing that it just depends on the flow of the game, how we're doing offensively, what the score is, and knowing that sometimes a few plays we look back on can change the tide of a game or can change the outcome of a game. Realizing when those are and when sometimes we're in field goal range, or it's third-and-long and we're trying to get into field goal range - we did that once in Seattle. Another time when we are in longer distance just try to make it third and manageable and try to manage the game and be the conductor. He always tells me, "be the conductor" and "be the guy making the right plays and leading the offense."
Q: Drake, do you ever feel like you put more pressure on yourself after a game like Wednesday's where maybe you did not play up to your typical standards?
DM: You always have got to be hardest on yourself. I think that's the way I grew up in my family. I always felt like being the hardest on yourself, you can always get back to having confidence and that, and that kind of battling that line of being hard on yourself but also having confidence in yourself. I think it's been throughout my whole career of having games where you feel like you did not put out your best work, and even times when you win, there are times where you feel like, "Man, I wish we could have done this better," or, "We got lucky almost," in this league. So just finding ways to battle that line and having the ultimate confidence in the guys around me, confidence in my ability and knowing that we can win games in this league.
Q: Drake, when you think about refining your decision-making in those split seconds, it sounds like the way you are talking almost like just to remember what the situation is, right? Seattle's example, like, "Hey, it's 13-10, we are in field goal range." Is there anything else besides being in those situations in games and in practice that you can do, and is a reminder part of that process?
DM: Yeah, I love to watch full games when studying film. I think a lot of times you can kind of put a cutup of, "Hey, this is the formation, this is what they are playing." I think I love watching a full game, or watching the second half when those decisions are even heightened more, in a close game where you feel like, "Hey, what's the down distance? What's the time? How many timeouts do we got?" I think just the end of the game matters - the end-of-game situations in the second half when you're down or when you're up and just watching the flow of the game. I love doing that and try to put myself in the eyes of the quarterback and think about what I would do. It's hard when you are watching other NFL games that do that, on the TV broadcast. But I think you try to find times when it's a close game to try to say, "hey, what would I do," and try to think like a coach, and kind of be a quarterback, and that's what you've got to do. You've got to do a lot of thinking back there.
Q: Drake, we wanted to ask about a donation that you made to a school in Rhode Island with Ann Michael [Maye]. We talked to the teachers today - they were so grateful for the donated supplies. Why did you do it, and how did it make you feel?
DM: Yeah, I think my wife, shout out to her, she is really the one that wanted to do it. I'm all on board for helping others out. In our light, we've been blessed by the Lord in what we have been given and we're trying to share it with others. I know there are probably a lot of other schools and teachers that could benefit from it, and just being thankful for the position we are in and also realizing what we can do and how we can help others.
Q: Drake, do you feel like having this long kind of "layoff" from that Wednesday game, does that make it easier to kind of flush it away, or is it harder because you do not get to get back out there?
DM: Yeah, it's tough. You got a lot of time to think about it. I think that definitely over the weekend, you are just watching it and thinking about it. And kind of the first 24 hours, you think about it on Sunday night for sure, and then Monday you watch it and kind of get rid of it. This time it was Thursday and Friday and Saturday, and we got in here on Sunday, and it just felt longer. But at the same time, it's something that this league's about. It's about playing a game that you wish you could have done things better and be able to bounce back and realize that it's week one, but at the same time, you have got to fix these things quick because these things are… it's not going to win you football games. As coach said, it's the stuff that gets you beat.
Q: Did you reach out to Romeo [Doubs] after a night like he had in the opener against Seattle?
DM: I think it's easy to say a night like he had. I mean, I'm the one down the sideline. I left it inside for him. Obviously, the drop, I think we all know he can make that play. You guys saw it in camp, and his ability to make plays. So, it's nothing that you need to do extra. I think a lot of times the more you try to have guys coming in and everybody trying to pump him up, you feel like, man, I did a lot more wrong than I feel like I did. So, I know, and I have been in that situation before and been in that kind of limelight, and just realizing that the more you can do is just give him confidence and give him some extra reps in practice, and he has had a great response. I am looking forward to seeing him on Sunday.
Q: Coach Vrabel mentioned the other day maybe canning some of the run plays into some of the heavier boxes that they were running. Just how do you feel like that process is going in terms of controlling that stuff pre-snap?
DM: Yeah, I think it's always something that I think I can do better. I think it was something on the road that's always tough in that environment to kick off the year in that environment, trying to get in and out of things and make sure everybody hears the play. So, it's always something that throughout the week that we work on and really study hard in the quarterback room of getting the right looks. I feel like last year for the most part I did a great job of getting us in some good looks, and there are some plays here or there that I can think of that didn't put us in the best look and led to some TFLs, and realizing that's on the quarterback. So just knowing that and just trusting the work we put in the quarterback room and understanding the freedom that you have got to do it over and over again and you've got to do it right to kind of earn that kind of trust.
Q: How do you feel like you may have to, if at all, elevate the rest of your offense with A.J. [Brown] now out for a little while here?
DM: Yeah, I would say to elevate the guys. I think that's the job of the quarterback on every football team is to elevate the guys around you and elevate the guys up front and just try to get the ball out of my hands as fast as I can to theirs. So, I would say elevate. I think they got some guys that have to step up, and realizing that they know that, and they're ready for it, and really just trusting them, instilling confidence in them and just keeping the chains moving and realizing the power of a positive play and knowing those guys and be on the same page. Out here in a home environment, first one at home, looking forward to getting in front of the crowd and having that juice.
Q: Do you feel the need to elevate your own game in light of his absence? Understanding you are obviously better with A.J. [Brown] on the field, but now that he is out, do you feel like you need to elevate in any kind of way?
DM: I think based on last week I need to elevate my game in general. I'm trying to be the best I can back there and strive to have games like last year where I am close to completing every pass. You always talk in the quarterback room of being dialed in and being into practice and starting that in practice. So, I wouldn't say just because A.J.'s out that I'm trying to become this elevation. I think that takes everybody. It's a team effort and realizing that a lot of guys need to step up and do extra things and strain a little bit harder for us to keep going in the right direction.
Q: Drake, you have said that you wanted to stay as a passer as long as possible, but your legs are dangerous as we have seen in Week 1. How do you deal with that kind of internal battle between staying as a passer as long as possible versus just finding the opportunity and taking it?
DM: Yeah, well, I appreciate that. First off, I don't know if I'm dangerous, but I appreciate that. Yeah, I think it's trying to remain a passer as long as I can. Knowing that pushing the ball down the field and even times when you extend plays, that's when kind of the evens can break down and you can find some big plays. So just realizing that and trying to trust what I am seeing. I feel like seeing it well and getting off on a good start is a big thing for me of just finding some completions early and then kind of feeling out the pocket and feeling how the game's going, and the guys up front did a great job last week. So, trusting them, trusting what I am feeling and seeing in there, and then from there, just go out there and let it rip or go make a play if I need to.
