The New England Patriots have always found plenty of success against young quarterbacks.
For years, Bill Belichick kept rookie QBs in a chokehold, especially those within his same division.
Of course, Josh Allen wasn’t the exception to that rule.
He struggled mightily when he first entered the league, and he was particularly raw, especially in the decision-making and mental side of the game.
Recently, former Patriots star Devin McCourty revealed that Belichick told them not to guard the check-down when going against Allen (via Carlos Talks Pats on Twitter).
Devin McCourty says Bill Belichick used to tell the #Patriots defense to not guard the check down when playing Josh Allen early in his career.
“We used to play him early in his career, and Bill would say to us, ‘Don’t guard the check down.’ … and we would watch clips where he… pic.twitter.com/xvZwq3zdfC
— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) May 5, 2024
It didn’t matter just how wide-open his running back would be, the Wyoming product would never pass him the football.
McCourty used that story to explain that it takes more than just being a privileged athlete to find success at the quarterback position.
He stated that some guys can play because they can throw far and can run, but that doesn’t mean they’re mentally suited to play quarterback.
While that might have been a huge shot at Allen, he also used that example to state that decision-making and adjustments will be key to Drake Maye’s success.
Maye has drawn comparisons to Allen because of his size, strength, and athleticism, but there are major concerns about his mechanics.
The Patriots must make sure to take things slowly with their prized rookie and not rush him to the field, as we’ve seen plenty of young quarterbacks not being able to recover from their early-career struggles, and a lot of that has been because of their teams.
The post Former Patriots Player Reveals How Bill Belichick Used To Scheme Josh Allen appeared first on The Cold Wire.