Patriots fans were looking forward to, once again, having a competent NFL offense this season with the arrival of Bill O’Brien.
You don’t need me to tell you: it’s been anything but.
So far, somehow, this year’s offense has made last year’s look like the greatest show on turf. It’s an inexplicable scientific phenomenon and everyone involved is at fault.
Including its quarterback.
I have been a staunch Mac Jones defender since day one. I’ve watched every snap of his career. Yes, I need a hobby.
His outstanding rookie year had me sold that he was our next franchise quarterback. He was advertised as an NFL-ready, day-one starter, and he proved that in 2021.
Josh McDaniels did a great job of coordinating a quarterback-friendly, “play to your strengths” offense with – surprise, surprise – limited receivers.
I distinctly remember pundits saying “Belichick found the next guy” after a Thursday night shutout win against the Falcons.
As for 2022, when the dynamic duo of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge were brought on to replace McDaniels, I knew we were in for a bumpy ride.
It’s well documented the Pats had the brilliant idea of trying to implement the Kyle Shanahan, zone-running scheme. It failed so miserably that it was scrapped right before the season kicked off.
With two failed head coaches – each with minimal offensive experience – coordinating for a second-year quarterback, I just couldn’t bring myself to blame the latter over the former.
There’s no doubt Jones struggled out of the gate in 2022, but I still saw glimpses of the guy credited for being so in-command of his offense the season before.
It’s easy to sum up last season as, overall, terrible for him, but if you look back on it, he really did start to find his rookie self towards the end.
After returning from an injury in Week 8 of last season, Jones threw 12 touchdowns to only five interceptions. Yeah, it’s nothing to write home about, but it’s better than some would have let on.
That stretch included the final game of the season in Buffalo with a playoff berth on the line. Mac went 17-for-17 with 163 yards on three touchdown drives.
It’s strikingly similar to the wild-card playoff game against the same team in 2021, where he was one of the few players who, well, got off the bus.
All that said, the offense around him is, once again, subpar.
The difference is: he looks broken, too.
I’ve watched every snap Jones has taken this year. Despite an OK start for Mac across the first two (losing) games, I still didn’t think he looked the same from the past two seasons.
His arm strength, which is no strength of his to begin with, looked even worse. His feet were dancing and he was breaking the pocket quicker than ever before. Despite only scoring 13 offensive points and a lackluster fourth quarter, the Jets game looked like an improvement to me.
Jones hung in the pocket and made tough throws while taking big hits. He didn’t turn the ball over and managed the game well.
The last two games? All bets are off. I thought he and Zach Wilson had a “Freaky Friday” moment after watching him play competently against the Chiefs on Sunday night.
Jones has been making comically-bad errors for two straight games now. He’s not feeling pressure, he’s not navigating the pocket, and when he’s not throwing off his back foot, he’s going all the way across the field.
This isn’t Madden.
I hate to admit it, but it looks like he’s given up. Has he? Probably not. Have his coach and teammates done enough for him? No. But that’s not a good enough reason for him to be playing like a chicken with his head cut off all of a sudden.
The team stinks again, but unlike last year, he’s a big contributor to that.
I haven’t given up on him yet, but I need to see some self-awareness and competency against a bad Raiders defense this Sunday.
Why? Because there’s more pressure than ever in Foxboro right now.
