FOXBORO — Patriots quarterback Drake Maye won’t likely have all day to sit in the pocket and go through his reads Sunday against the Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers’ defense, which offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called, “exotic and unconventional” but “so well scouted,” have one of the highest blitz rates in the NFL at 32.5%. That’s led to a 39.8% pressure rate, which ranks fourth in the NFL, and an average time to throw of 2.67 seconds, which is second-lowest in the NFL.
McDaniels has faced a Todd Bowles-led defense plenty of times in his coaching career. Bowles was the Jets’ head coach from 2015 to 2018 while McDaniels was in his second stint as Patriots OC. Bowles was also the Bucs’ defensive coordinator before taking over as head coach.
“You’re exhausted at the end of the game, there’s a challenge to the way you enter the game, and then all of a sudden, the game takes on a different reality,” McDaniels said. “I mean, there’s been games where he’s blitzed us endlessly, and then there’s been other games where it’s been a little bit more tempered, but there’s always a reason for it, which, like I said, I’ve been so impressed with.”
Maye’s 2.86-second average time to throw ranks 23rd in the NFL, but he has excelled against the blitz. His 81.6 PFF grade against the blitz ranks seventh among qualified quarterbacks. He’s 65-of-90 (72.2%) for 745 yards with six touchdowns and one interception on those plays.
Of course, he’s also had running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who’s considered one of the league’s best in blitz pickup, for most of the year.
Rookie TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings, whom the Patriots will likely need to count on for a second straight week, are not as experienced in that role.
Henderson stayed in to pass block eight times last week against the Falcons and allowed three pressures. Jennings has only stayed in for blitz pickup one time all season.
“They’ve done a nice job with their opportunities. Blitz pickup is not a win-or-lose proposition,” McDaniels said of Henderson and Jennings. “As the blitzer is getting nearer the quarterback, you have to give him enough time to get the ball off. And so if your guy is not sacking the quarterback, hitting the quarterback on a regular basis, to me, that’s a positive play for us.”
McDaniels relayed that former Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia used to tell running backs to “die slow.”
“Sometimes losing slow is what you need to do, and just giving the quarterback enough time,” McDaniels said. “We’ve had some really, really good backs here that have pass-protected well for a long time that lost slow. … I’m encouraged with what we’re doing, like where their eyes are at, because that’s how it starts. If you’re looking at the right thing, you have a chance to block it, and hopefully, we’ll continue to improve as we go through the season.”
The Patriots also kept tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper in to pass protect against the Falcons. The team also heavily utilized fullback Austin Hooper against the Falcons, though he wasn’t used as a pass blocker and has only played five snaps this season in that role.
Head coach Mike Vrabel said Monday that Westover has “taken ownership of that spot and continued to improve” after switching from tight end this summer.
