Drake Maye, Ja'Lynn Polk team up for top play of Patriots minicamp
Drake Maye and Ja'Lynn Polk ended Patriots minicamp on a high note thanks to a last-second touchdown during team drills. The New England Patriots are hoping that the talents of Drake Maye and Ja'Lynn Polk will anchor their team's offensive line for the future. The pair performed well in the final one-minute drill of the team's mandatory minicamp, which ended with the highest play of the preseason so far. Maye's pass sailed above Patriots corner Mikey Victor, while Polk managed to reel in a catch that was ruled a touchdown. Despite controversy, the touchdown was deemed an incompletion, leading to an extensive celebration from the offense and a flurry of push-ups for the defense. Despite this controversy, Maye insisted that the decision to rule out the touchdown stood.
Publié : il y a 10 mois par Conor Ryan dans Sports Entertainment
FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots are hoping that quarterback Drake Maye and wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk anchor the foundation of their offense for the foreseeable future.
The 2024 first and second-round selections showcased some of their high-end talent on Wednesday morning — closing out the team’s mandatory minicamp with the top play of the preseason so far.
During the final one-minute drill of camp, Maye and New England’s offense had just one second remaining on the clock and needed a touchdown. After gathering the ball from the five-yard line, Maye lofted up a great pass that Polk reeled in while fading away in the back corner of the end zone.
Maye’s pass sailed above Patriots corner Mikey Victor, while Polk managed to get both feet down as he tumbled down towards the grass.
“Ja’Lynn’s a ballplayer, man, just give him a chance,” Maye said. “That’s what we’re taught: Give him a chance. He says, ‘Give me a chance.’ That’s all he says. He made a nice play.”
New England’s entire offense swarmed Polk in the end zone to celebrate, but the touchdown didn’t come without some controversy.
While one of the officials on hand for drills ruled Polk’s snag as a catch, another labeled it as an incompletion, prompting the defense to also join the mosh of players huddling around the refs in the end zone.
After some deliberation, Polk’s play was ruled a touchdown, leading to an extensive celebration from the offense — and a few defensive stalwarts like Jabrill Peppers loudly voicing their displeasure.
“I think he was in,” Maye said. “(Positive note) to end on. First OTAs, first minicamp, and end on a catch like that from a fellow rookie and a first or second rounder, it’s pretty cool.”
Despite Peppers and safeties coach Brian Belichick stating their case, the call stood and the entire Patriots defense had to take part in push-ups to close out practice.
It was a strong end to minicamp for both Maye and Polk — with the latter also reeling in a red-zone touchdown catch from Jacoby Brissett earlier in the session.
“I just saw myself going out there and competing for the ball,” Polk said. “One second left, end of the game – I’m putting myself in those situations like it’s going to be in the season and feeling myself in those shoes and going up there and making a play for my team.
“All the receivers in there going out there making plays and when the team is going out there in that last drive and counting on you, I want everybody to put that chip on my shoulder for me to go out there and make that play.”
Even though New England’s defense unsurprisingly dominated play for most of OTAs and minicamp, Maye improved as Wednesday’s practice carried on — shaking off a sluggish start that included an interception by Azizi Hearn.
With an extended break now on tap for the Patriots before training camp commences in late July, Jerod Mayo said that he’s been impressed with the strides made by New England’s new quarterback.
“It’s been great. It’s been great,” Mayo said. “Look, this is a guy who we spent an extensive amount of time [getting to know] his background, his family, how he was on the field, how he was off the field. So, we knew the person that we were getting. I would say the surprising thing is just the way he’s able to pull the nose up, right?
“What I mean by saying that is he makes a bad throw, it’s out of his head. Move on to the next play. I think Jacoby’s [Brissett] done a great job, as well as AVP [Alex Van Pelt] and the rest of the staff, really helping him out with that. You’re going to make mistakes, and this is the time to make those mistakes.”
Les sujets: Football, NFL