Mac Jones

Quarterback Mac Jones is one of several starters reportedly not expected to play in the New England Patriots' preseason opener against the New York Giants on Thursday night.

According to ESPN's Mike Reiss and Dan Graziano, "most" of the Pats' starters are unlikely to play Thursday, meaning the game will primarily be a showcase for rookies and backups.

Reiss and Graziano added that Bailey Zappe, a rookie fourth-round pick out of Western Kentucky, is expected to take the bulk of the snaps at quarterback against the Giants.

Although Jones is only entering his second NFL season, it is not uncommon for starting quarterbacks to sit out some or even all of their team's preseason games.

Keeping Jones healthy is paramount for the Pats since all they have behind him are the unproven Zappe and journeyman veteran Brian Hoyer, neither of whom seem likely to lead New England to much success if Jones misses time.

The Patriots made Jones the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft out of Alabama, and he went on to enjoy the best season of any rookie quarterback, finishing second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase.

Jones started all 17 games, leading the Patriots to a 10-7 record and a wild-card playoff berth. He also completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions en route to a Pro Bowl selection.

While Jones struggled in a 47-17 playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, he led the Pats to a far better season than anyone could have anticipated on the heels of the team missing the postseason in 2020.

The 2022 season will be pivotal for Jones since his offensive coordinator from 2021, Josh McDaniels, left New England to take the Las Vegas Raiders' head coaching job.

New England is not naming a new offensive coordinator, but Jones figures to work closely with both Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Patricia will be the senior football advisor and offensive line coach, while Judge will be an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach.

Both Patricia and Judge spent time as NFL head coaches before returning to the Patriots' staff, meaning they could bring a unique perspective for Jones to learn from.

Making a second consecutive playoff appearance will be a massive challenge for New England in the loaded AFC, but if Jones can make significant strides from last season, the Pats have a chance to be contenders once again.

The New England Patriots offense is struggling in training camp this summer, and Monday's practice was a low point for Jones and the offense.

However, Jones told reporters Tuesday that he's dedicated to turning things around and that he will figure out why the unit is failing to live up to expectations:

"I’m going to figure it out. I always have. I always will," Jones said. "At the end of the day, you’re going to have your ups and downs with anything new. … When there’s 10 people that look into my eyes, I know they’re going to trust me to do the right thing on game day."

Monday's practice was considered a low point for the New England offense, with Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston writing on Twitter that the offense was "distressingly bad."

"Run stuffs. Aborted plays. Would-be sacks. Distress lobs into traffic just to get ball out. Beginning to feel it’s less the new offense and more the post-(Dante Scarnecchia) cycle of OL coaches. They are perpetually overwhelmed," Curran wrote.

NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry added that the offense looked "broken."

"Can’t protect. Losing 1-on-1s. Blitzes getting through. No run game. Miscommunication on routes," Perry wrote in a Twitter post.

Josh McDaniels served as offensive coordinator of the Patriots from 2012-2021 before taking a job as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in January. He also ran the New England offense from 2006-08.

Now, a combination of Joe Judge and Matt Patricia are serving as offensive assistants after head coach Bill Belichick failed to name an offensive coordinator entering training camp, and things appear more disorganized than ever.

Neither Judge nor Patricia has an extensive amount of experience running an offense. Patricia, in particular, has more experience on defense and even served as New England's defensive coordinator from 2012-17.

Jones, in particular, is expected to take another step forward in his development during the 2022 campaign after an impressive rookie season that saw him throw for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns in 17 games.

All things considered, it's not necessarily surprising that the Patriots' offense is struggling this summer. However, if the Patriots can't figure things out quickly, the offense could be in for a brutal season.

In a quarterback-driven league, with the increased focus on the passing game (see the wide receiver market), the New England Patriots need to put Mac Jones in the best position to grow significantly in his second year. Unfortunately for the young signal-caller, the team hasn’t made a smooth transition from former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

This offseason, McDaniels accepted the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job and plucked Mick Lombardi (former wide receivers coach) and Bo Hardegree (former offensive assistant) directly from the Patriots staff. To this day, New England hasn’t officially named an offensive coordinator, but that’s not the problem.

Jones may have too many voices and not enough experienced offensive play-callers in his headset throughout the regular season.

According to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, senior adviser Matt Patricia will assume offensive play-calling duties.

As Matt Patricia has called the vast majority of Patriots offensive plays in training camp — with Joe Judge and Bill Belichick occasionally working in — the continued expectation is for Patricia to be the play caller/de facto OC once the season starts, according to a source.

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 4, 2022

When asked about his role by reporters, Patricia presented the idea of a collaborative responsibility on offense.

“It’s great this time of year because fortunately, all the plays are just scripted in a row and you just kind of read down through them from that standpoint. But what’s good is that we’re all sharing the responsibilities based on what periods we’re at in practice. So from that aspect of it, it’s structured, I would say.

"We all kind of handle—all of the coaches, all the way across the board—we all kind of work together. Coach Belichick obviously helps us a lot, too. … It’s a big divide and conquer at some points where we have to just—we have a lot of work to get done through the course of the night, and everybody really understands what we have to do.”

Based on the flow of New England's offseason program and Patricia’s comments, the Patriots will create offensive game plans and make game-day calls by committee, though he’ll have a prominent voice in that area.

Of the 17 teams that have made a coaching change since 2020, 10 now have offensive-minded head coaches with pro experience.

Even teams that don't have a lead skipper with an offensive background paired the quarterback with a coordinator who has recent or significant coaching experience on that side of the ball. That's where the Patriots differ from the rest of the league.

As a six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach, Belichick will get the benefit of the doubt even though he rose through the NFL ranks as a position coach for linebackers and special teams and as a defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. But as essentially the CEO of his coaching staff, he’s not making the best decision for the development of his quarterback.

Joe Judge, the quarterbacks coach and one of three people involved in the play-calling process during the spring, served as a special teams assistant at Alabama (2009-11) and a special teams coordinator for the Patriots (2015-19) with one year as a wide receivers coach in 2019. As the head coach of the Giants between 2020 and 2021, his offenses finished with the second-fewest points and yards in both campaigns.

Quarterback Daniel Jones and former Giants’ play-callers Jason Garrett and Freddie Kitchens deserve some blame for Big Blue's below-average offensive production in recent years, but Judge didn’t do anything to fix the issues on that side of the ball, which likely led to his exit.

To replace Judge, the Giants hired Brian Daboll, who served as the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator between 2018 and 2021. He may delegate play-calling duties to Mike Kafka, who, as a quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator, worked with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes over the past four years.

Do you see what the Giants did? They went all in on offensive coaches to give Jones a chance to prove he’s a serviceable starting quarterback in a contract year. We should question how much Judge can help Mac Jones under center in New England.

As for Patricia, he broke into the league as an offensive assistant in New England for the 2004 season and then became an assistant offensive line coach in the following the campaign. From there, he transitioned to the other side of the ball, leading the linebackers, safeties and most notably taking on a defensive coordinator role between 2012 and 2017.

Patricia deserves credit for his hand in designing top-10 scoring defenses that played a part in the Patriots' two successful Super Bowl runs during his six-year tenure as a coordinator. However, just like Judge’s offensively flawed head coaching stint with the Giants, as the lead skipper for the Detroit Lions, he didn’t have any answers for an offense that ranked 18th or worse in points and 17th or worse in yards for three consecutive terms (2018 to 2020).

How can Patriots fans feel confident about the involvement of Judge and Patricia in the offense with their coaching resumes?

In May, during organized team activities, Greg A. Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal reported that Patriots players had concerns about the direction of the offense.

"There is a high-level of concern about what is going on with the Patriots."@GregABedard says he's heard that #Patriots players are 'alarmed' so far with what they've seen from the team's offensive coaching staff 😳 pic.twitter.com/5FTVhscSxK

— Patriots Coverage on NBCS Boston (@NBCSPatriots) May 19, 2022

Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal provided some insight into the end of a rough spring for Jones and the offense.

“During the spring OTAs and minicamp, Jones completed 87% (59 of 68) of his passes against the defense in competitive drills. In the final two days of camp last week, the second-year quarterback completed just 52% of his passes (12 of 23) in 11-in-11s to go with two interceptions. That involved large chunks of offensive inefficiency and a peeved Jones, who quickly left Saturday’s session instead of sticking around on the practice field like he usually does.”

Daniels rang the alarm bells because he stated that the offense has the advantage during spring practices because of the no-contact rule with cornerbacks unable to jam wideouts at the line of scrimmage or hold at all during their routes.

Perhaps the offense just went through early growing pains with changes in the staff, but the unit hasn’t looked sharp early at training camp either. Daniels shared his observations from the first padded practice.

“On Monday, the first day the players were in pads, Jones’ offense started full-team drills with a false start from Isaiah Wynn. Jones followed that by throwing his third interception in the last three practices. The easiest path for the Patriots to become a Super Bowl contender is for Jones to develop into one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. After a strong rookie season and a great spring from Jones, offensive woes have plagued the Patriots.”

On Tuesday, Jones shared with reporters his thoughts about the team’s offensive issues.

“I care a lot about football and … when we lose the day, to me that’s like a shot in the heart, it’s like we lost a game. The goal is to have more good plays than the other team and that’s the defense right now. I feel like we can compete even more and even better, but a lot of it is just execution and the X's and O's and figuring out how to communicate with each other.

"A lot of it is just talking through it and finding ways to attack better. We have great coaches that will get us [to being successful], and right now it’s more about the communication of getting there.”

Heading into his second year, Jones isn’t going to throw his coaching staff under the bus—especially not a Belichick-led group. But he’s clearly frustrated with a slow start and acknowledges that his unit has a lot of work to do.

On Thursday, Bedard noted that the Patriots' offensive group finished the week of padded practices with a “whimper” and provided harsh criticism of the unit.

“You'd be generous in giving them a D. There's been slight improvement each day, but it's been minimal,” Bedard wrote. “Had the first-team offense for six successful [plays] (that's also being generous, giving credit for checkdowns and quick passes) and 10 fails.”

No one knows how the Patriots offense would look under a group of offensive-minded coaches, but we cannot overlook the lack of expertise and trust in one coach to mold Jones.

The Patriots have three offensive cooks in the kitchen, but the meal doesn’t look appetizing, and the lead server (Jones) isn’t on a promising path right now. New England has plenty of time to iron out the wrinkles, though the learning curve could take some time as Patricia and Judge adjust to new positions.

In the event that New England’s offense looks sluggish at the beginning of the 2022 season, Belichick may have to tweak the chain of command, which could further complicate things for Jones.

If the Patriots offense regresses from last year's sixth-ranked scoring unit, Jones will take the blame after a solid rookie Pro Bowl campaign with 3,801 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 67.6 percent completion rate.

But the blame should fall on Belichick. Thus far, his post-McDaniels play-calling plan has fallen flat.

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Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones doesn't let outside criticism get to him.

"I'll reference coach [Nick] Saban here, but if I ever listened to the internet, I would've stopped playing a long time ago," Jones told Peter King of NBC Sports. "You're always gonna get people who say that you're not good enough to do something."

Jones played for Nick Saban at Alabama, beginning his college career as an unheralded recruit far down the depth chart and ending as a national-title winning quarterback who finished third in Heisman Trophy voting.

After being selected 15th overall in the 2021 draft—the fifth quarterback selected—Jones earned a Pro Bowl selection in his first year and finished second to Ja'Marr Chase in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.

The 23-year-old believes he has more to accomplish heading into his second season:

I still have so much to prove. I'm always trying to be better than I was yesterday and be better than myself, really. I just try to compete against myself. I know when it's a good day. I know when it's a bad day. It's more about the routine. What did I do before practice to put myself in position? Can I keep it consistent? Can I do it every day? [I] persevere and work each day. That's all you can do.

The Patriots went 10-7 in Jones' first season and added more weapons this offseason in DeVante Parker and rookie second-round pick Tyquan Thornton. All of that has led to high expectations for the squad heading into 2022.

The New England Patriots won't hold their first official training camp practice until Wednesday, but head coach Bill Belichick already likes what he has seen from second-year quarterback Mac Jones.

According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, Belichick had nothing but positive things to say about Jones when asked about his progress Tuesday:

"He's made tremendous strides. He did a great job last year, but he's starting from a much, much higher point this year from where he started last year. His offseason work has been significant, and I think everyone recognizes how well he prepares and how much further along he was than a year ago."

The No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft helped lead the Pats to the playoffs as a rookie, and he will look to repeat that feat during his second NFL campaign in 2022.

While Jones was bolstered by a strong defense and running game, he still managed to put up solid numbers during his debut season en route to a Pro Bowl selection.

The former Alabama star completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and he nearly led New England to an AFC East title before the Buffalo Bills came storming back late in the season.

Jones' rookie year ended on something of a sour note. He threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns in the AFC Wild Card Round, but he was also picked off twice in a 47-17 trouncing at the hands of Buffalo.

Belichick largely employed a conservative approach when it came to Jones last season, but it sounds like he may be ready to get more aggressive in 2022 now that Jones has greater familiarity with the offense:

"We're just a lot further ahead in the conversation [offensively]. The plays that we talk about, or concepts we talk about, Mac has already done it before. It's easy for him to say, 'Are we going to do this on that? Are we going to do this on something else? What do you think about splitting them a little bit wider? Splitting them a little bit tighter.' Suggestions like that.

"And we have a much better feel for what he can do, what his strengths are, and how to try to play into those. He's self-aware, too. He knows what he does well. We want to try to feature those."

Additionally, Jones seems to have more self-confidence entering the 2022 season after working on his body during the offseason.

Jones recently talked about changing his diet and how transforming his body has him feeling "comfortable, healthier and better."

"I made significant strides... Fixing my body, feeling comfortable, healthier and better"@PhilAPerry got the exclusive scoop with Mac Jones on his diet pic.twitter.com/kamSKKEoxv

— Patriots Coverage on NBCS Boston (@NBCSPatriots) July 15, 2022

That could go a long way toward making Jones a more dangerous player during the upcoming season since he wasn't viewed as a particularly dynamic quarterback as a rookie.

Jones is tall, but he isn't fleet of foot and doesn't possess a rocket arm, which may have led to some limitations.

Now, Jones seems to believe he is better positioned to thrive in his second season, and Belichick's comments appear to echo that sentiment.

Jones' first opportunity to put himself to the test will be on Aug. 11 when the Pats face the New York Giants in their preseason opener. One month later on Sept. 11, the Patriots will open the regular season on the road against the Miami Dolphins.

NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah wrote Tuesday in a scouting report of Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud that he sees "a lot of similarities" between the 2021 Heisman Trophy finalist and New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones.

He continued:

"Both guys see the field well, make good decisions and take what the defense gives them. They protect the football and understand how to manage the game. Neither player has outstanding arm strength or athleticism but both have excellent touch on the deep ball. Jones surprised a lot of evaluators with his success as a rookie and I could see a similar outcome in Stroud's future."

Stroud, 20, was superb in the 2021 season, throwing for 4,435 yards, 44 touchdowns and six interceptions while leading the Buckeyes to an 11-2 record, though they did fail to win the Big Ten or reach the College Football Playoff.

Nonetheless, it was a successful first season for the then-redshirt freshman and made him one of the top overall prospects to watch in the 2023 NFL draft.

Likewise, Jones had a successful rookie season with the Patriots, throwing for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 17 games while completing 67.6 percent of his passes and leading the Pats to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth. He was named a Pro Bowler for his efforts.

One of the knocks against Jones is that his upside is that of a game manager, and that ramped up after a 14-10 win over the Buffalo Bills in December when he attempted just three passes in snowy conditions.

The Patriots lost four of their next five games after that, including a 47-17 trouncing by the Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round. But for a rookie playing in the shadow of former New England legend Tom Brady, it was an incredibly successful first season.

As for Stroud, Jeremiah noted in his scouting report that the Ohio State quarterback has "a nice blend of size, production and poise" and "deft feel on fades and over-the-top throws."

He added that the 6'3", 215-pound Stroud "never seemed rattled, which is impressive for a first-year starter at the position."

Stroud will have a big season ahead of him as he looks to prove he's a top-10 talent for NFL teams looking to upgrade at quarterback. If his current comp is Jones, he's already on the right path.

By many measurements, Mac Jones of the New England Patriots had a successful rookie season. After being drafted 15th overall in the 2021 draft, Jones wound up starting all 17 games for the Pats, winning 10, guiding New England to the playoffs and making the Pro Bowl.

However, the season ended in inglorious fashion, followed by an offseason of change and tumult in Beantown. Given the expectations for success that dominating the AFC for two decades have created in New England, the pressure is on the Patriots to do more than have a cup of coffee in the postseason in 2022. This team is supposed to make some hay in the playoffs.

For that to happen, Jones is going to need to take a sizable step forward in his second season. And while the Patriots brought in a new top target for Jones in the passing game, there are also factors that aren't going to make progress in 2022 any easier.

Jones and the Patriots had regular-season success as a team last year, but from a statistical standpoint, the former Alabama star didn't play as well as that Pro Bowl nod might indicate. Jones' completion percentage (67.6) ranked eighth in the league. But he was 13th in passing yards, 14th in touchdown passes and yards per attempt, 18th in air yards per attempt, 19th in yards per completion, 17th in passing yards per game, 15th in passer rating and 16th in QBR. Jones also tied for the ninth-most interceptions in the league with 13.

For a rookie, those numbers aren't bad. But while the Patriots went 10-7, the team was a so-so 14th in the league in passing. Jones was essentially a game manager in his first season. And while that was good enough to get the Pats into the postseason tournament, New England was hopelessly outmatched offensively against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round.

Per ESPN's Mike Reiss, Jones' numbers in the vertical passing game also left something to be desired. Of Jones' pass attempts thrown at least 20 yards downfield last season, 41 percent were over- or underthrown—5 percent over the league average. Jones checked in 24th in the NFL with a 38.8 percent completion rate on vertical routes in 2021, per NFL Next Gen Stats. His completion percentage above expectation on those throws was minus-4.5 percent (26th out of 31 qualified QBs).

For the Patriots to take the next step, the team has to become more dangerous down the field—a fact Jones himself is aware of.

"We want to be able to do whatever we want to do at any given time, whether that's a run, pass, play-action—short, medium, or long. We're trying to be able to have a little bit of variety," he said.

To his credit, according to Reiss, Jones was sharp on downfield routes in minicamp. But there's a difference between throwing against air in shorts and shells and fitting passes into tight windows in live game action.

The Patriots spent big on upgrading the weapons at Jones' disposal a year ago, but while tight end Hunter Henry logged nine touchdowns, wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne were relative disappointments. Neither wideout had more than 800 receiving yards, and the pair combined for fewer touchdowns than Henry had by himself. Tight end Jonnu Smith also failed to live up to his four-year, $50 million contract, managing just 28 catches, 294 receiving yards and a single touchdown after crossing the goal line a career-high eight times in 2020.

The Patriots attempted once again to bolster the wideout corps this offseason, swinging a trade with the Miami Dolphins that brought veteran wide receiver DeVante Parker to town. Per Henry McKenna of Patriots Wire, Parker said he has been impressed by what he's seen from Jones so far on the practice field.

"He’s a leader," Parker said. "He's a young guy, but he's vocal as a leader. That's what this team needs. And even though I've just been out here a few weeks, I still see it."

Theoretically, Parker offers Jones something he didn't have last year: a true No. 1 receiver. In 2019, the 29-year-old posted an impressive 72/1,202/9 line with the Dolphins. But that big year was the only 1,000-yard season of Parker's seven-year NFL career, he has missed nine games in the two seasons since, and last year Parker posted his lowest reception (40) and yardage (515) totals since 2018.

Long story short, Parker is no sure bet. And he's not the only uncertainty Jones will have to overcome.

After a decade as offensive coordinator for the Patriots, Josh McDaniels left the team to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Somewhat puzzlingly, the Patriots did not replace him. It's believed that either Senior Football Advisor Matt Patricia or offensive assistant Joe Judge will call the plays in 2022, but in true Bill Belichick fashion, the head coach didn't rule out doing the job himself.

"I've called them and I haven't called them," Belichick told reporters. "Other people have called them and haven't called them. We'll see."

Thanks for clearing that up, Bill.

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers lauded the mastery of the "new" offense that Jones has already displayed.

"Has he taken control of the offense? That's a capital yes, exclamation mark, exclamation mark,” Meyers told reporters. "He's the real deal. We're all trying to catch up what's in his mind, his vision.”

For his part, new scheme and terminology or not, Jones said it's still the same old game.

"At the end of the day football is football," Jones told reporters. "Offensive football there is only so much you can do. You can't recreate the wheel with every different system. You either run it or you throw it. It's really that simple. And that's pretty much all there is to it."

No one should question Jones' ability to pick up a new scheme—from all indications, he's a highly intelligent young signal-caller who seemed to acclimate to McDaniels' offense a year ago with relative ease. But even if whoever's new offense in New England is similar to the one he already knows, instead of taking play calls from one of the most highly regarded offensive minds in the league, in 2022 he will be doing so from either an assistant with exponentially more experience on defense than offense (Patricia), a special teams coach with very limited offensive experience (Judge) or a man known a lot more for crafting defensive game plans than offensive ones (Belichick).

Bill Belichick is arguably the best head coach the NFL has ever known. But he isn't going to suddenly become Bill Walsh.

It's not all doom and gloom and questions at receiver and potential play-calling issues. The Patriots fielded a top-10 offensive line last year, per Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, and while the team traded guard Shaq Mason, it hopes to have found a readymade replacement in first-round pick Cole Strange. The Pats also fielded the eighth-best ground game in the league, with running backs Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson combining for 1,535 yards.

Running to set up the pass may be old school, but it can still be effective. However, it only goes so far. Teams fall behind. Or run into an offense they have little to no success stopping.

When that happened to the Patriots in 2021 (like in the playoff loss to the Bills), the team was in big trouble—because Jones and the passing attack just couldn't keep up.

Now, it's possible that Jones can overcome these obstacles. That Parker will turn back the clock and sail past 1,000 yards. That the offense won't miss a beat with a new coach at the helm. That Jones will improve his vertical throws and guide New England back to the postseason and deep into it.

But the odds do not appear in his favor. Parker has had one big year out of seven. Judge and Patricia are complete unknowns as play-callers.

And if so-so weaponry and staid play-calling prove to be too much of a detriment and Jones can't make substantial headway as a player in his second season, then in a loaded AFC the Pats probably won't make the playoffs at all.