The New England Patriots landed in Munich, Germany, on Thursday for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, then made quarterback Drake Maye available to reporters to discuss all things NFL international play, this trip and the game.
And Maye took the opportunity to tell them in front of German and American journalists what he thought of them – which apparently isn’t much, sometimes.
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It started with a mundane question about running back Rhamondre Stevenson’s presence at the team’s practice and working on the sideline during the portion of drills open to reporters.
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“I think it’s just, you know, first of all, the media doesn’t really know 100 percent what they’re talking about most of the time,” Maye said.
Hey now.
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Just for context, this is where we remind everyone that Drake Maye is the salt of the Earth. Good. Polite.
He’s competitive, yes, but not with that Tom Brady mentality that takes his opponents by the throat. And yet, there he was in Munich, grabbing the media by the throat with his opinion about them.
So where does this come from?
First, it shows that recent reports of Stevenson’s injury status have obviously bothered Maye. A local Boston media outlet reported that Stevenson is expected to miss several weeks with a plantar tendon injury behind one of his knees, an injury he suffered during Sunday’s blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers.
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This report apparently struck a chord with Maye.
“He’s a guy that wants to be out there, you know, wants to be back for his team and that’s what we’re about trying to make a run here and win a big one before the bye,” Maye said. “So this is the time for the players, a lot of players on this team to try to stand out, play with their teammates and, knowing he’s a great player, help us.”
Perhaps the report on Stevenson rubbed Maye the wrong way because it suggested the running back wouldn’t contribute to the bye when, in fact, he’s trying to do the opposite.
But that requires more context. Again, Maye is a good person. He was not angry with journalists when he criticized them. He even shared his thoughts on FIFA and said that perhaps Harry Kane’s experience under great pressure could help him become an NFL kicker, as the star suggested he wanted to do.
But Maye, in just his third season in the NFL, may also be showing the wear and tear of an inconsistent season following last year’s trip to the Super Bowl. This inconsistency made him the target of criticism.
And the Patriots have been at the epicenter of media attention – much of it negative – this year, which may also have affected how Maye views his team’s coverage.
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Remember, coverage of the relationship between coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini has been seemingly nonstop for months and has been, admittedly, exhausting at times.
The Patriots’ apparent Super Bowl hangover has also been a constant topic of discussion and frustration because, for whatever reason, including injuries, the team that lost just three regular season games last season is now 5-4 and the schedule doesn’t promise to get any easier.
It’s impossible to know whether Maye let the frustration over all the crude media coverage slip into a moment in a press conference.
But it raised eyebrows.
And maybe, as Stevenson tried to play against a report on Sunday, Maye was right.
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