In only his second NFL season, Drake Maye has led the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl, where they will face the Seattle Seahawks. Nonetheless, Maye faces arguably the best defense in the league, which is currently riding a hot streak.
Since Nov. 30 of last year, no other team has scored 20 or more points against the Seahawks’ defense, aside from the Los Angeles Rams, who did it on Dec. 18 and in the NFC title game.
As a result, Maye faces a challenging task. However, the Seahawks are also facing a standout QB in Maye, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David is sending a warning to the Seattle defense not underestimate the legs of the Patriots’ signal caller.
“It brings a different dynamic,” David said about facing QBs who can use their legs as Maye can during a Jan. 29 appearance on “Up & Adams.“ “Me being a linebacker, I hate going against a scrambling quarterbacker [or] a running quarterback because you don’t have nobody to account for them. You’ve got to be able to fight off a block and go beat somebody or anticipate certain things.
“But sometimes, you just have to let the play play out. And then we have those design runs, those designated runs, those QB sweeps, and things like that. The things that Josh Allen do and Lamar Jackson those guys do, it’s difficult. It’s unstoppable, to be honest with you.”
Drake Maye Predicted to Lean On His Legs Against Seattle
Nonetheless, David believes that Maye’s ability to scramble, either to extend plays or to pick up the necessary yards, will be the player’s doing rather than the playcalling from the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels.
“After just watching Seattle’s defense, then those guys are hungry,“ David added. “Those guys be hunting, led over there by my guy, Ernest Jones [IV]. So I know those guys are going to be ready for those certain type of things. But knowing Josh McDaniels, I don’t think he’ll probably run him purposely. I think Drake Maye might do it on his own with the scrambling.”
Tom Brady Talks What Makes Seahawks’ Defense So Good
Speaking of the Seahawks’ defense, former Patriots QB and FOX Sports NFL analyst Tom Brady reflected on the Legion of Boom and the current Seahawks defense, known as the Dark Side.
“I think they’re very different defenses, and I would say the Legion of Boom had incredible players at all levels,” Brady said in a video posted by Seattle Sports on Jan. 29. “… There are a lot of differences. [The Legion of Boom’s] scheme was a little more predictable.
“If I saw certain coverages, I knew where the weak spots were. It’s not as predictable with this defense. This defense spins the dial a little bit more with their coverage schemes, where they decide to put their help. They do play the shell, and there’s a lot of late rotation.
“Sometimes, whether they cloud one side, sometimes they cloud the other. It takes a Matthew Stafford surgical passing team to really exploit that. There’s a lot of teams that aren’t good matchups, that are good matchups for the Seattle defense. Seattle will thrive in certain areas against certain teams, in my opinion.”
Seahawks Defense Gets Big Warning on Patriots QB Drake Maye