Patriots Bill Belichick Sees Mac Jones Improvement in One Area
FOXBORO — Prior to finding success on the football field, New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones spent significant time competing on the tennis court.
While football has been described as the ultimate team sport, the individual nature of tennis has given Jones the internal drive to constantly improve. It has also made him his own toughest critic.
As the Pats get ready to enjoy their bye during Week 10, Jones will need to pull upon his ‘tennis-player attitude’ to make some much-needed improvements heading into the second half of the season.
Despite entering the season on the heels of an impressive rookie campaign, Jones has largely underperformed in 2022. The 24-year-old has completed 111 passes for 1,140 yards with only four touchdowns to seven interceptions. Though missing three games due to a high-ankle sprain has undoubtedly contributed to his regression, it is clear that the Alabama product has looked uncomfortable and even confused in New England’s ‘new-look’ offense.
Accordingly, Jones is looking to this week’s brief respite as an opportunity to identify his deficiencies and work to make the necessary corrections.
“I think we just need to execute the plays better, and it starts with me,” Jones said during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s Merloni, Fauria and Mego. “Whatever’s called, we need to do a better job, and that's what it’s about … No matter what it is, moving the ball against good defenses is going to be hard and we just have to do it by executing better and together and all that. So that's what we need to work on and we’ll get a chance to do that here.”
Though the second-year signal-caller has had some solid moments in evading pressure, the Patriots play-calling brain trust (including offensive play-caller Matt Patricia and quarterbacks coach Joe Judge) continues to dial-up deep verticals, which Jones has executed with mixed results. Overall, it has led to sub-par results for much of the season.
Jones’ troubles seem to stem from fixating on his initial reads, as opposed to seeing the entire field. His incompletions are often the result of continuing to force the ball to the target he has identified before the snap. When unavailable, he often holds on to the ball too long, or is left with no choice but to throw it away. While his lack of time in the pocket due to a struggling offensive line should shoulder much of the blame, Jones must make adjustments during the week ahead in an attempt to correct the problem.
Although Jones’ performance has been heavily criticized by much of the fanbase and media, he apparently has earned the support of head coach Bill Belichick.
In spite of an impressive pair of starts made by rookie Bailey Zappe during Jones’ absence, Belichick returned his incumbent starter. Though he has experienced as much struggle as success, Belichick has seen promise in Jones, especially over the last two games.
“One of the best things we’ve done in the last couple of weeks is take care of the football, in the passing game especially,” Belichick told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ve had it stripped out, but in terms of the passing game, we’ve kept the ball from being intercepted and really from the defense getting their hands on very many of them.”
Belichick also provided a reminder to the legions of armchair quarterbacks who have been quick to scornfully critique Jones’ missing some of his open targets, instead opting for a simple checkdown or throwaway. The 70-year-old acknowledged that Jones has shown improvement when processing the positioning of his defenders, along with the location of the rush, the direction of the pressure and the expected location of his pass catching targets … all in mere seconds.
“He’s [Jones] done well in that regard,” Belichick said. “Those guys see a lot and can process a lot. It’s really amazing how much they can do in a second, second and a half and then get the ball out of there. But that’s their job and that’s what they need to do is see the defense, read the coverage, throw the ball to the right receiver and manage the timing of the rush, either avoid it or slide to where there’s space that they can throw the ball. Like I said, a lot happens in those two seconds.”
In hopes of leading New England on a potential run to the playoffs, the onus will ultimately be on Jones to make the adjustments to his game. It will take a bit of teamwork, as well as some individual fire. Should Jones and the Patriots find such balance, they may take a major step towards future success, simply by getting back to basics.
The Patriots will welcome the New York Jets (6-3) to Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 20 for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
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