Mac Jones' Regression? Ex Captain Blames New England Patriots: 'No-Brainer'
The rise and fall of New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has been well-documented at this point, but what's more up for debate is what exactly caused his decline.
Some believe that Jones' decline is self-inflicted, while others pin the blame on the Patriots organization for not putting him in a position to succeed. At the very least, one former Patriot falls squarely into the latter camp.
In an appearance on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show, former Patriots safety Devin McCourty called out the organization for setting Jones up to fail.
Jones (left) and McCourty side by side.
USA Today
“To me, it’s a no-brainer,” McCourty said. “Everybody in the organization raved about the guy’s work ethic, how he was there early, he’s there late. To me, it’s hard to just say it’s his fault. I have no problem if someone, in their opinion, says: ‘Hey, I just don’t think the guy is that good, I don’t see it. He had a good rookie year but I don’t think he’s the guy they made him out to be.'
“But, no matter how you feel about him, I don’t think you walk away from the situation and say ‘hey, this situation they built around him was really good and he just didn’t get the job done’. To me, there’s no way if you’re going to be factual.”
From a coaching and personnel perspective, Jones has had very little consistency in New England. He's had three different offensive coordinators in as many years, first Josh McDaniels in 2021, then Matt Patricia (for some reason) in 2022 and finally Bill O'Brien this year. He's also never had a true game-changing receiver, with Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers being the best he's had, and the latter is now gone.
As Jones, the No. 15 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has regressed, so too has the Patriots as a whole. From a playoff team in his rookie season to now the worst team in the AFC, New England's decline has been painful for fans to watch. For McCourty, though, those at the top deserve far more blame for this debacle than Jones does.
“But, I think overall, if you said which side do you see is more at fault, to me it’s no doubt the organization and what has been around him for these three years,” McCourty said.
