Patriots Ex-OC Charlie Weis: ‘Biggest Problem’ For Mac Jones
FOXBORO — From 2000-04, the New England Patriots offense operated under the direction of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.
Operating under the famed Erhardt-Perkins offensive system, Weis played a significant role in developing quarterback Tom Brady into arguably the best to ever play the position. His innovative strategy and play-calling helped the Patriots to three Super Bowl victories (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) during his time in New England.
As such, when Weis weighs in on potential solutions to the Patriots recent offensive woes, the team may be smart to listen.
While the majority of Patriots fandom has eagerly placed the blame for the team’s offensive woes on either quarterback Mac Jones or de-facto play-caller Matt Patricia, Weis offered an alternative reason for their troubles. During a recent appearance on The Ringer’s Off The Pike podcast with Brian Barrett, Weis believes that the Pats supporting cast of pass-catchers may be their most notable culprit.
“Realistically tell me who the No. 1 receiver is that you’re concerned with every time you go to play against New England,” Weis said. “Therein lies the biggest problem.”
To put it mildly, the Patriots have struggled to put points on the board in 2022. The team currently ranks 24th in total offense (318.9 yards per game), has a mere 37.5 percent success-rate in the red zone and an unimpressive 36.2 percent third-down conversion rate, placing them at 25th in the NFL for that category. In fact, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers is the only offensive skill position player to earn greater than 500 receiving yards (593), while leading the team with three touchdown receptions.
While Weis remains impressed with Meyers, he is also confident that opposing teams are not coveting their competition’s other receivers.
“You can sit there and talk about Mac Jones and you can talk about Matt Patricia, but at the end of the day, when you watch the good teams play and you see who’s out there. You go against Buffalo … Miami …they have good receivers. I’m not saying that the receivers from New England aren’t any good, but I’m saying I don’t think any of those teams are trading their receivers for the Patriots receivers.
“So you want Mac Jones to get better? Go get him a couple of those-type [Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs] guys. Tell me how much better Mac Jones would be. You want me to give you the answer to that? You want me to give you the secret? He’d be a lot better!”
Though it may seem like the Pats have perpetually slept on their stable of pass-catchers, they have been active in their attempts to upgrade. Since the 2021 offseason, the team has signed receivers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, as well as tight ends Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry. Prior to the start of this season, the Pats acquired DeVante Parker from the Dolphins, as well as drafting ex-Baylor speedster Tyquan Thornton in the second-round.
Still, the Patriots passing game has averaged only 214 yards per game, and often stifled by short-yardage attempts stemming from apprehensive play-calling. To Weis’ point, it has made New England a relatively easy offense against which to game plan.
“You’ve gotta stop the run,” Weis said. “When you don’t have to have the element of just people going by you on every play, it’s easy. When you have multiple guys, now the defensive coordinators have to pick their poison.”
Weis, who has long been an advocate of Jones being the right choice to lead the Patriots. Believes that the 24-year-old has both the talent and the intelligence to right the ship in New England. With an upgrade to his supporting cast, the ex-Pats OC is confident in Jones' ability to see the field and attack it accordingly.
“You get a quarterback who is as smart as Mac, who by the way is very smart, and he looks in the secondary and he sees there’s two high safeties, and they’re running the hell out of the ball. Now he sees this time there’s one high safety and they’re throwing the hell out of the ball. The game of football is actually pretty easy when you understand: Just tell me how many safeties there are and where they’re aligning and I’m going to tell you if you’re going to have more success running it or throwing it.”
The Pats path to redemption with a trip west to take on the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, Dec. 12 at 8:15 p.m. ET from State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
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