The New England Patriots, the defending AFC champions, have gotten off to a rough start so far this season. Head coach Mike Vrabel used a round of golf to explain Drake Maye’s turnover problem that’s contributing to their slow start.

Speaking on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show after the Patriots’ brutal 35-6 loss to the Jaguars in Week 3, embattled head coach Mike Vrabel — whose offseason scandal with Dianna Russini remains hanging over the team — used a golf analogy to explain why his quarterback keeps turning the ball over.

“I think sometimes when Greg and I go golfing, we really want to make a good score, right? Sometimes we’re so focused on it that we try to choke the life out of the golf club, and we’re squeezing it so damn tight that the ball has no choice but to go sideways,” he said. “We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax.”

“That is a terrible decision,” Vrabel said of Maye’s end zone INT. “Drake’s our quarterback, man; we’ve got to get this thing right, by all of us.”

Maye, now in his third season, has thrown six interceptions and lost a fumble through three games. Patriots fans, however, were none too impressed with Vrabel throwing his quarterback under the bus.

The Patriots will look to get back in the win column and improve to .500 this weekend when they head to Buffalo to take on the Bills on Sunday, October 4.