Patriots QB Mac Jones Would Greatly Benefit from Working with Quarterback Trainer Tom House
If New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones needs help, who is a better consigliere than quarterback guru Tom House?
Heading into the 2022 NFL Season, the 23-year-old Pats’ OB is intent on improving upon a stellar showing in his rookie season. In doing so, it may be in his best interest to enlist the services of one of the top quarterback trainers in the game today.
While far from confirming a working relationship between the two, a photo of Jones and House, which began circulating throughout social media on Sunday morning, has Patriots fans buzzing.
On Saturday evening, the biomechanics pioneer and renowned throwing coach received the 2021 Legacy Recognition Award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the National Quarterbacks Club. House was honored for decades of positive impacts to the world of sport through a commitment to affirmative coaching techniques.
As the above photo indicates, Jones was in attendance at the event, posing for a picture with House and Todd J. Anson, who caught a ‘pass for charity’ from the Patriots quarterback, with the proceeds going to ALS research.
So, the question beckons.
Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?
House began his career as a Major League Baseball pitcher, where he pitched eight seasons from 1971-1978 for the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, and Seattle Mariners. Following a brief stint as a pitching coach, House turned his attention to training. He became the co-founder (along with former Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Adam Dedeaux) of 3DQB; a training institute designed to inform, instruct and inspire quarterbacks to maximize both physical and mental potential for in-game competition. During his time with 3DQB, House has become a highly recognized arm specialist, coaching not only some of baseball’s most prominent pitchers, but also an impressive collection of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks, including Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck and Alex Smith..just to name a few.
If Jones should become the next player on that list, he will certainly be in good company.
Following the Patriots’ decision to release Cam Newton at the conclusion of training camp, Jones performed well at the team’s helm in his rookie season. He led all rookies with a 67.6 completion percentage and a 92.5 passer rating, while compiling 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns. He completed at least 70 percent of his attempts in nine games and twice threw for 300-plus yards through the air. Jones was the centerpiece of a rookie class, which was chosen as the best in the NFL this past year by Pro Football Focus. The Alabama product was also selected to the PFWA's All-Rookie team along with teammate Christian Barmore.
However, Jones clearly had his struggles down the stretch. He was less accurate, made more rookie mistakes and had difficulty when defenses were able to adjust to take away his preferred routes and targets. The rookie’s arm strength also became the subject of some criticism, most notably rolling the Pats’ Week Thirteen victory over the Buffalo Bills. Amidst intensely windy conditions, Jones would finish the night 2-of-3 for only 19 yards. Instead, the Patriots opted to ride the run, rushing for 222 yards on 46 carries, paced by Damien Harris and rookie Rhamondre Stevenson.
While the Pats’ decision to stick with the running game was mostly due to Buffalo’s inability to defend it, the ‘hot take sharks’ salivated at the thought of “they don’t trust Mac’ narratives, pointing to Jones’ arm being too weak to cut through the high winds of Western New York. Though that narrative may have been greatly exaggerated, there is an element of truth to the fact that Jones’ arm strength may have played a role in the Patriots’ conservative play calling, especially in the cold weather months.
Here is where House’s expertise may be exactly what the Mac ordered.
Despite the questions surrounding Jones’ arm, House believes the Patriots’ quarterback has great potential for becoming a stronger passer. It is a sentiment which he shared on NBC’s Patriots Talk podcast with Tom Curran in January. Though he described Jones as an “efficient, accurate” passer, House sounded confident that his training could provide the young quarterback with greater velocity, arm speed and distance.
“From what I know about dealing with quarterbacks and pitchers, when they show up, very few of them have maxed out their genetic capacity to throw,” House said.
“I don’t know the farthest that Mac has ever thrown a football, but I guarantee you we can train him to do it,” House said. “We can repattern and retrain his delivery to handle consistent 60-yard throws if necessary…I could look Coach Belichick in the face and say, ‘If you need him to throw five 60-yarders this game, he can do it for you.”
Earlier this month, House further fueled speculation about potbelly working with Jones when he informed the masses about working with ‘someone new.’
Among those who ‘liked’ the tweet was Patriots quarterback Mac Jones.
Although their collaboration has yet to be confirmed, Jones would benefit greatly from House’s tutelage. As for the Patriots, NFL Network’s Mike Giardi reported on Sunday that the team would ‘welcome’ the two sides working together. Still, whether Jones enlists House’s services or not, the Patriots quarterback will continue to regularly maintain his poise, his focus, and his drive to constantly improve. Those qualities will continue to make him the ideal steward of New England’s timing-based passing game, predicated on vertical routes and completions from quick, accurate throws. His performance in 2021 provided palpable hope of a bright future for New England at the quarterback position.
Should he take the chance to work with House, the sky may be the limit for his potential in 2022. Only time will tell.
Until then, it would be best not to ask Mac Jones or Tom House about their business.
