Jerod Mayo finally named the Patriots' starting quarterback after an offseason of mixed messages.
The New England head coach told reporters Thursday that Jacoby Brissett will be the starter Week 1. He expressed confidence in the veteran signal-caller, though his choice of words did raise some questions.
Mayo's announcement came a day after he told reporters the decision was made but would not be revealed publicly -- the news was leaked Thursday just before Mayo's news conference. It was a strange way to go about the process since it seemed like Brissett was the presumed starter.
Let's take a look at a timeline of Mayo's comments about the quarterback situation between Brissett and Drake Maye starting with training camp.
July 23: I mean, coming out of the spring I don't think there's any doubt that Jacoby (Brissett) is the starting quarterback at this point in time. We can look at these other quarterbacks on the roster, because at the same time, it's about competition. When we get out on the field this summer, with the pads on, we'll see how it all plays out. I just think it's clear that Jacoby is the most pro-ready guy we have. He's played a lot of football.
On Maye: The goal for Drake is to just get better each and every day. It's not a straight line up to the top. There will be ups and downs, but if you look left to right you just hope (for steady improvement). If he comes out here and takes full advantage and lights it up, he could be the Day 1 quarterback. But like I said, coming out of the spring it's Jacoby.
It goes back to the same word, and it's 'competition.' It's not about everyone else. It's about, 'Does this guy go out there and perform better than Jacoby?' That's the way I see it.
July 30: I think at that point, you have to go with NFL experience. You have to go with Jacoby in that instance.
Out here on the field, you can script everything. You have a controlled environment, and when I talk about pro-ready, it's the off-schedule plays. It's being able to pull the nose up on the plane as it's going down. Those are the things that I think about when I say, 'pro-ready.' It's the way they approach the game, and obviously Jacoby has experience, but Drake is approaching the game the right way. We'll have to see.
That was how things were with the Patriots: Brissett was the No. 1 and Maye was behind him. However, Mayo's tune started to shift when preseason games were on the horizon.
Aug. 16: For me, we always talk about competition and that's at all spots. So even if Drake beats out Jacoby, I mean, he earned that role. And we don't really take that into consideration when he's ready to go, and if he's better than Jacoby, he'll play. He'll start.
Aug. 19: We still don't know right now. We have another preseason game and then a week after that. When I know, I'll let you know.
After the second preseason game, momentum seemed to grow for Maye.
Aug. 21: One hundred percent. I think he's ready to run a huddle. ... (but) it's still a competition and Jacoby (Brissett) is still QB1.
Mayo then caught everyone's attention after the preseason finale.
Aug. 26: I would like to sit here and say 100%; he is our second-best quarterback on our roster right now.
His appearance on the "Greg Hill Show": I'm not going to get too far down the road on if Jacoby could play or couldn't play. What I will say is, this is a true competition. It wasn't fluff or anything like that. It's a true competition. And I would say at this current point, Drake has outplayed Jacoby. Now in saying that, we have to take in the full body of work, going all the way back to the spring and beginning of training camp. And we'll see where we end up.
One common thing we see here is how much Mayo loved to preach about "competition." That rhetoric might have been why fans held out hope that Maye would be the Week 1 starter over Brissett. Mayo seemed firm on the idea of Brissett being the first-choice quarterback throughout the summer, but things started to get confusing as the preseason continued along.
But heading into Week 1, it seems like fans can hold back on a quarterback controversy, At least for now.
