Brian Hoyer's old advice to Mac Jones could help Drake Maye

Patriots

Hoyer’s wise words to former Patriot Jones could soon come in handy for the franchise’s current future.

New England Patriots quarterbacks Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer run onto the field before taking a shot against the Los Angeles Chargers during the NFL game at SoFi Stadium. (Matthew J Lee/Globe Staff)

Brian Hoyer has experienced many disappointing losses, like the one the Patriots suffered in overtime against the Seahawks on Sunday, and that experience gave rise to an important piece of advice he once gave to former Patriots quarterback Mac Jones that young quarterbacks, including rookie Drake Maye, should keep in mind.

While analyzing Sunday’s loss on the latest episode of The Quick Snap podcast, Andrews made a pointed remark to Hoyer about the bitterness of a frustrating loss – even when you have put in a solid personal performance.

“I think as a competitor and a teammate, if you ever sit there and say, ‘Well, I played well (in a loss),’ that’s (a dirty word),” Andrews said. “… No, you didn’t play well enough. You could have done something to help the team play better. That’s what we have to do.”

This prompted the former Patriots quarterback to recount part of a conversation he had with Jones during his rookie year in 2021.

“He came from Alabama. He didn’t lose much,” Hoyer recalled. “There were some games we lost early in his career here … but he played really well. And I said, ‘Dude, this isn’t college in college. If you’re the quarterback and you play well (in college), you’re going to win. In the NFL, you might play your best game and lose. And there might be a game where you play just average, don’t lose the ball, and we win.’ That’s the NFL.”

The sequence of these comments is interesting. Jones had a successful rookie season following a season that earned him a national championship with the Crimson Tide in 2020, but fell behind due to questionable coaching decisions and his own deteriorating decision-making. Ultimately, Jones was benched midway through his third year in New England and subsequently traded to Jacksonville this offseason, where he now serves as a backup.

It seems Jones had trouble following Hoyer’s advice. Hopefully New England’s next man at the position, Maye, will do better.

Maye doesn’t look or play like Jones, who was more of a game manager who occasionally forgot his limits. The No. 3 pick out of North Carolina is athletic, has a rocket-like arm and is sometimes reckless when it comes to throwing into tight windows and making contact as a runner.

He will likely have to go through a lengthy adjustment to the speed and complexity of NFL defenses when he first steps on the field, just as this year’s top pick Caleb Williams has two starts under his belt. That makes it all the more important for Maye to limit mistakes similar to current starter Jacoby Brissett while learning to utilize his talent.

The Patriots would almost certainly prefer a game (especially in his rookie year) in which Maye throws for only 130 yards but doesn’t commit any turnovers in a win, rather than a thrilling game with three turnovers and more passing yards in a loss.

Sometimes winning football is more about not making mistakes than making spectacular plays. That’s exactly what Hoyer Jones was trying to convey. We’ll see if Maye heeds that message when it’s his turn at quarterback.