What Scouts - And Cowboys Coach Mike McCarthy - Think of Patriots Rookie QB Mac Jones
Delivering accurate spirals with plenty of zip while pushing the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the brink two weeks ago, New England Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones' impressive performance in a losing cause opened a lot of eyes around the NFL.
"That kid can flat-out play," an NFL general manager said. "He's legit."
"Mac Jones? Really good young quarterback," an NFL scout said in a text message. "I like everything about him. He's for real."
The accuracy and poise that Jones displayed during a last-second loss to the Buccaneers last Sunday night was overshadowed by Brady’s dramatic homecoming victory, but how the former Alabama standout performed was absolutely a big deal.
Jones' run hasn't been perfect; New England is 2-3 and coming off a flawed win at Houston. And now comes Sunday's Week 6 test against the visiting Dallas Cowboys.
But the 4-1 Cowboys, as they themselves reach to be "the NFL's best,'' are as impressed with Jones as are GMs and scouts.
“He’s definitely a young quarterback who's high on instinct and awareness,'' said Dallas coach Mike McCarthy. "I think that’s definitely transferred to the NFL. Like the way he anticipates … for as young as he is in the process, he has excellent command of the offense.”
The replacement for former NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton after beating the veteran out in a training camp competition served notice that the Patriots have an up-and-coming quarterback one year after Brady left as a free agent to join the Buccaneers and led them to a Super Bowl championship.
When Jones completed 19 consecutive passes against a veteran-laden Buccaneers defense in Week 4, it represented the longest streak by a rookie over the past four decades as he surpassed Russell Wilson and Mike Glennon’s 16 straight completions.
“I think you’ve got to have fun in those moments,” said David Morris, the founder of QB Country and a former Mississippi quarterback who has coached Jones and several other NFL quarterbacks, including Eli Manning and New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. “If you’re kind of in the zone, it’s important to be in those moments and not just hover above them or beneath them. Emotions can flow. Mac does a very good job of managing them After a touchdown pass, you saw a bunch of low fives with teammates and then he went directly back to the bench to study.
“Mac is a guy who’s ultra-competitive. It was a heartbreaker against Tampa Bay because he plays about as good as you can play and you don’t win it, so that’s frustrating. But Mac is a guy who has persevered through a lot.''
Jones' steady approach and keen knowledge of the game are making a difference for a Patriots team that lacks a strong running game. Although most of Jones' passes are short to intermediate throws, he's completing them and moving the chains.
Against Dallas, he might find himself in a shootout. Jones has won those before.
A former national championship winner at Alabama, Jones passed for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and four interceptions in his final season for the Crimson Tide, beating Ohio State, 52-24, in the national championship game as he passed for 464 yards and five touchdowns. He won the Davey O’Brien, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Manning awards and finished third in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy, which went to teammate DeVonta Smith.
"Seeing what he’s done in the NFL, for you to come into an NFL camp and to be a game-day starter, that tells you an awful lot in a program like theirs," Texans defensive coordinator Lovie Smith said. "Any program, for a rookie to play and to play at the level that he has.
"He can make all the throws. I’m told he’s a smart player. His play, just watching on video, says that.''
Jones' timing, chemistry and intelligent play while collaborating with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is leading to an improved passing game for New England.
"I think Josh obviously, is one of the best offensive minds in football, and I always like to learn how he wants to do it, and we’ve had really good conversations like, “Hey, what do you like about this play or not like?'" Jones told New England reporters. "He does a great job of, obviously, attacking defenses, and my job is to see it how he sees it, and the good thing is that, I think, even from the start, we see it very similar, and, obviously, we have room to grow there.''
This Sunday, McCarthy and his Dallas squad would like to delay the growth of the 23-year-old signal caller.
“Mac Jones, I think he looks very, very comfortable. Confident. In command of the offense,” said McCarthy, charged with the task of leading Dallas to making Mac Jones uncomfortable ... and to leading the Cowboys to their fifth straight win while beating coach Bill Belichick for the first time in 30 years.
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