Thundercat behind the decision to ditch "The Plan" and start Drake May now?

All year long we have heard about the “The Plan.” Head coach Jerod Mayo has preached it since the draft.

We have a plan. We are going to stick to the plan.

How many times did we hear about this mysterious "plan" of theirs? Mayo never would expound on what the plan was.

Well, things have changed because there is no way that The Plan involved having Drake Maye make his debut as the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback against the Houston Texans. 

The Texans defense has the highest blitz rate in the league. They have given up the third fewest yards per game passing. They have the fourth highest sack rate.

Last week, Josh Allen – arguably one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFL – was held to only nine completions in thirty attempts. More importantly, he was almost decapitated on a rollout midway through the fourth quarter. Allen would return to finish the game because, well, he is Josh Allen. There is no way he didn’t suffer a concussion on the play the way he hit his head on the ground, but he was allowed to return to the field.

That hit is the concern for Drake Maye. If he goes 9-30 and throws three picks, that’s fine. It wouldn’t be too surprising. What you don’t want to see is Maye suffer a concussion, bend his knee backwards, or crush his throwing shoulder on a sack.

That is why there is no way this was “The Plan.”

Jerod Mayo has been heralded as a players’ coach. The fear is that he is also a fan’s coach. What is the old Marv Levy quote – if you start listening to the fans in the seats, you will soon join them.

Mayo has tried to differentiate himself as much as possible from his predecessor, Bill Belichick. He has been as open as any head coach with the media. The media has had full accessibility to the players and assistant coaches. They have been free to say whatever they want. Some of the players even have podcasts.

The Patriots were competitive in the first two games of the season – winning the opener in an upset over Cincinnati. But that wasn’t good enough for Demario Douglas. He popped off – pardon the pun – about not being targeted enough in those two games. He said he wasn't being given the opportunity to show what he can do.

Was that a factor in Douglas being targeted on a third of the passes (nine times)  in the next game against the New York Jets? I hope Douglas was happy because the Patriots lost, 24-3. 

Mayo was criticized for not benching Rhamondre Stevenson for the remainder of the San Francisco game after he fumbled in his fourth straight game. So what did he do? He benched Stevenson for the opening drive of the following game against Miami. One whole drive. That'll show him and placate the fans.

The Patriots are now 1-4. No one should be surprised. I'm sure it was incorporated into The Plan. What should also have been incorporated into the plan was that fans would be clamoring for The Kid to start games. 

I believe Mayo was prepared for that to happen. He has stood firm – as recent as after the San Francisco game – saying that Jacoby Brissett is the starting quarterback. In Mayo’s ninety second press conference prior to the season opener, Mayo announced Brissett would be the Patriots’ starting quarterback "this season."

Mayo has dropped hints as to what The Plan was. If the idea wasn’t to redshirt Maye for the entire season, it surely looked like he wouldn’t be playing before Thanksgiving. He would watch and learn from Brissett. Brissett was the perfect mentor. Brissett signed a one-year contract for an amount not reserved for backup quarterbacks. Brissett was named a captain.

The team's record did not matter. This wasn’t about this year. What would be the point of putting Maye in there and have him get hammered – the way Jacoby Brissett has been – behind this horrible offensive line? To be 5-12 or 6-11 instead of 3-14? What would the battering do to Maye’s psyche and confidence?

If the plan was to start Maye this early in the season, last week against Miami would have been the perfect spot for Maye to get settled in. Not against Houston. No way.

So what changed?

First off, Brissett has been worse than expected. It’s not that Brissett is making mistakes, he just isn’t making big plays. In many ways, Brissett is doing what was asked of him by Alex Van Pelt. Van Pelt and Brissett have a history together. They worked together in Cleveland. I’m sure, behind the scenes, Van Pelt has been one of Brissett's biggest advocates.

Then there were reports of a possible “mutiny” forming in the locker room following the Patriots’ fourth straight loss. It was obvious the wide receivers were upset by their lack of targets. They had future contracts to think about.

The defense couldn’t be too happy, either. For a second straight year, they were being asked to not give up any points and, beyond that, to score points or, at least, force turnovers to make it easier for the offense to score.

Also factor in the success that not only that the other rookie quarterbacks of this year's draft class are having, but their teams as well. The Bears, Commanders, and, even, the Broncos are all above .500. Imagine if fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler were to lead New Orleans to a victory on Sunday while Maye was still idling on the sidelines.

The coup de grace, in my opinion, was the Jabrill Peppers arrest over the weekend on domestic assault, weapons, and drug charges. Talk was beginning to circulate that this team was reminding longtime Patriots’ fans of the teams of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Robert Kraft remembers. That team was the laughing stock of the league prior to 1993 until Kraft, Parcells, and Bledsoe saved the franchise from a possible move to St. Louis.

So don’t fool yourself – this wasn’t a Mayo decision or a Van Pelt decision. This was not a football decision. Starting Drake Maye against Houston for his first NFL start makes zero sense football-wise. It is like stepping into the ring against Mike Tyson for your first professional fight.

This is a PR move – pure and simple. "young Thundercat," himself, sent down this bolt of lightning from up high. He couldn't sit up high in his suite at Gillette, anymore, and entertain guests like Jon Bon Jovi while trying to divert their attention from the putrid product on the field.

Kraft wanted to bury the Peppers’ story. Make no mistake about it – Aaron Hernandez still casts a shadow in the hallways of Gillette Stadium.

Kraft wanted people to forget about Peppers. And it has worked. Is that a bit shortsighted?

Kraft also sees crowds thinning at the stadium. He has a great view to watch fans leaving games early. It is like watching money spill out of his pockets. I don't see many people walking out of the Patriots Pro Shop with a $129.99 Jacoby Brissett jersey – or any current Patriots' jersey for that matter. I also haven't been noticing too many prime time games featuring the Patriots.

Kraft knows what sports radio is saying aout his team. He reads what beat reporters are writing. Heck, it was a reporter who works for him – Evan Lazar of Patriots.com – who started the speculation about a mutiny brewing on the team on one of his podcasts. 

Kraft has his finger on the pulse of Patriot Nation. He is not dumb. He is a shrewd businessman. He knows when a product is not selling. He knows when a stock is plummeting. Worse still, he knows when he is drifting into anonymity. His team is just another team now like the Panthers, Browns, Jaguars, and Saints.

Factor in Kraft is not getting any younger. Patience is not an option when you are 83 years old. He has a shiny new toy sitting in the closet and he doesn’t want to wait until Christmas to use it. He also wants to get into the NFL Hall of Fame while he is still alive. Young Thundercat is not that young.

Rest assured, this was not “The Plan" Mayo, Van Pelt, and, even, Eliot Wolf envisioned and formulated when they drafted Drake Maye. "Thunder" has spoken.