New England Patriots
“Drake will learn from it, we will all learn from it, and hopefully we will be better for it in the end.”
Mike Vrabel’s Patriots led the Seahawks, 10-0, Wednesday night before allowing the game’s final 13 points. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
FOXBOROUGH — There is a fine line, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said Thursday, between being aggressive and being reckless.
Vrabel said he trusts Drake Maye to make the right decisions as he walks that line, but Vrabel also acknowledged that he is starting to sound like a “broken record” talking to his players about turnovers.
Maye threw three interceptions in Wednesday night’s loss to the Seahawks, including an off-balance throw intended for Mack Hollins to end the Patriots’ final possession.
The Patriots had the ball at the Seahawks’ 16-yard line, within field goal range, trailing by 3 with 26 seconds remaining. The Patriots tried to win the game, only for the ball to end up in the hands of the opposition.
“Everything in the passing game is built on timing and built on protection,” Vrabel said. “So, again, if it is not where you want it and the timing of that particular play and protection, you just have to throw it away and say, ‘We can’t win it on this throw.’ Drake will learn from it, we will all learn from it, and hopefully we will be better for it in the end.”
Maye’s three interceptions all happened in the fourth quarter, which the Patriots entered with a 10-3 lead. The Seahawks scored 10 unanswered points to close out the game, but Maye extended several plays with his legs, which helped put the Patriots in the red zone on their final possession.
Maye converted two fourth downs on that drive. He hit Hollins for an 11-yard completion on fourth and 9, and he picked up a first down on fourth and 2 with a bootleg scramble.
Vrabel was asked how he balances trusting Maye’s playmaking abilities while accepting that there will be mistakes along the way that could be considered reckless.
“It’s like a pass rusher,” Vrabel said. “You come under and you get a sack, or if you come under and the quarterback rolls out to the right and throws a 40-yard pass. So, there is one guy with the ball, and he gets to make the decisions, and we trust Drake to do that. So, I wouldn’t say that we should allow reckless play, because then it’s just scattered and guys are in different gaps or guys do whatever they want.
“There is a scheme to the play and then the players have to, we talk about ‘bringing the picture to life,’ and we’ve done that a lot, and we will continue to do it. But I think he knows the difference, and I think most of our players know the difference between when they can be aggressive and when they have to be smart.”
Jacas makes strides
Rookie linebacker Gabe Jacas registered a sack and a team-high two tackles for loss in his Patriots debut. It was a continuation of the improvement Jacas had shown over the summer, Vrabel said.
“I thought that he was active,” the coach said. “I thought he set some good edges in the run game, and it was good to see him make a nice play and a tackle for loss.”
One play that caught Vrabel’s eye came when the Seahawks lined up with an unbalanced look in the red zone. He called it the “most instinctive” play Jacas has made during his time with the Patriots.
“They went with a speed break and a tackle over a little bunch into the boundary, and they tried to block down on him,” Vrabel said. “And he just reacted across the guy’s face and was able to make a tackle for just a few yard gain. So, I think that was probably the play that I was most pleased with.”
No looking back
Vrabel stood by his decision not to play his starters during the preseason, saying he believed the reps the players got during joint practices were sufficient preparation for the regular season.
The Patriots had two joint practices with the Eagles and one with the Colts, during which the starters scrimmaged against other top players without the full contact that is allowed during preseason games.
“Playing the backups for the Eagles or the Colts for eight plays, I don’t think was going to prepare us for what we saw [Wednesday] night,” Vrabel said. “I thought we handled the environment. I know that the execution was not good enough, but the line-of-scrimmage penalties, the operation, those things gave us a chance, and some other things didn’t give us a chance.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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