Something’s wrong with the Patriots. The challenge at this point is identifying the root cause of it.
On Wednesday, coach Mike Vrabel was asked about a report that there are issues between him and quarterback Drake Maye.
“I’m here because Drake was the quarterback,” Vrabel said, via Mark Daniels of MassLive.com. “I don’t have much to add to that about a comment from an unnamed source.”
First, it’s hard to imagine that Maye was the primary draw. Vrabel seemed destined to coach the Patriots, regardless of the quarterback he inherited.
Second, haven’t we evolved past the point of disregarding reports simply because they come from unnamed sources? No one from the Patriots is going to go on the record with something that inflammatory. (At least Vrabel didn’t call the report “laughable.”)
It’s fair to wonder whether something beyond football is affecting the performance of the offense. Because Maye has gotten the bulk of the focus, few have broadened the lens to ask the question of whether Vrabel’s off-field distractions from the offseason have contributed to the disappointing start.
In that regard, Maye’s regression has served as a shield of sorts for the question of whether Vrabel’s entanglement with Dianna Russini set a bad tone that the team has struggled to overcome — despite their best efforts to turn the page.
As NBC’s Mike Tomlin said when the topic was raised prior to the Hall of Fame Game, “When games start, winning matters. And so if they get off to a fast start, they’ve got a chance to quiet some of that noise. If they don’t, things could get extremely loud.”
For now, the noise has landed on Maye. With a loss at Buffalo on Sunday, it could boomerang to Vrabel.