How confident are you now that Mac Jones is “the guy”? 1-10

[zimmy]

Set in context, Mac has had one of the more impressive rookie seasons by a quarterback. I doubt our offense is that easy to pick up. I'm not sure he is a guy who will elevate those around him and might need some better weapons to flourish but I'm confident we have a good quarterback even if he won't be elite. There is plenty to build on. I think his pocket presence has improved, although he does still get rattled a little by pressure (and sometimes senses it when it isn't there). His arm is good enough although it's less than ideal when throwing off base. And while he has started a few games badly recently, I like the fact he gets better as games go on and shows some competitive spirit. It's a pity the D wasn't able to get him the ball back against Buffalo, Indy or Miami to give him the chance to drive for a signature comeback win.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

10 thats his #

 

[PittPatriot]

10
about as confident that Drew Bledsoe was the guy in 2001. Until something happened and an unknown player changed that thinking.
There is no one on the roster and no one in the draft that will change that.

 

[Rob0729]

I say 7 or 8. He work on his mechanics and get stronger. The intangibles he has as a rookie cannot be taught.

I don't think he will ever be Brady who could excel with even a very mediocre surrounding cast. But you put some talent around Jones and I think he the potential to be a top QB. But the NFL is littered with players with unmet potential.

 

[patsfan13]

Ok.

I think he is going to have a good career. A Philip Rivers type career.

Numerous playoffs. Lots of winning seasons. But also a few meh seasons now and then.

I don’t personally think he will be able to develop his arm enough to be true-elite. Meaning, top-5.

That elite arm strength some guys have gives them an extra second or so to find a WR, because they can rely on being able to zip it in with incredible velocity.

This video gives a good example of what I mean:




The Bills took advantage of Mac’s less than perfect arm velocity during the 2nd meeting. I watched a Patriots reporters analysis video that showed that the Bills essentially dared Mac to throw it outside (toward the boundary) and he wouldn’t.

Some guys (Brees, for example) are able to win a SB despite this, because they have elite anticipation and recognition. Can Mac be that person? Sure. He’s a smart kid. But so few ever develop that elite anticipation so it would be difficult.

Brady was that rare combination of good arm strength AND elite anticipation and recognition, plus a win at all costs attitude. It’s like he was made in Madden and someone just set all the skills to a “99” rating. All of those factors made him the GOAT.

So based on what i’ve seen so far from Mac, i’m going with a career projection of “Good, but not great.”

PS, I also haven’t seen Mac go into beast mode yet. You know when you see it in a QB’s eyes that they’d rather lose a limb than lose the game? So they run over a LB for a first down or sacrifice their body to throw a block for the RB, etc. I’m waiting to see that fire from Mac. That beast attitude.

Brady didn’t have a strong arm during his first 3 SB wins. That was one of the knocks on him coming out of college, and why he had to split time with freshman with Drew Henson a freshman with an elite arm his Senior year.

 

[dtbrks]

7 for me too.

 

[DarrylS]

Gonna go with a 10, as a rookie in the NFL he has done everything asked of him, while remaining humble and shouldering much of the blame for some of this teams ineptitude.

He will progress, get stronger, learn how read defenses better and develop trust with his receivers. He is going to be a very good NFL QB, but we all need to stop comparing him to QB's who have been in the league for a long time and start comparing him to rookies this year. It's hat apples to apples thing..

 

[Rob0729]

Brady didn’t have a strong arm during his first 3 SB wins. That was one of the knocks on him coming out of college, and why he had to split time with freshman with Drew Henson a freshman with an elite arm his Senior year.

Manning broke the TD record in 2013 throwing ducks that were pin point accurate. Manning had no arm strength in Denver.

 

[Rob0729]

Ok.

I think he is going to have a good career. A Philip Rivers type career.

Numerous playoffs. Lots of winning seasons. But also a few meh seasons now and then.

I don’t personally think he will be able to develop his arm enough to be true-elite. Meaning, top-5.

That elite arm strength some guys have gives them an extra second or so to find a WR, because they can rely on being able to zip it in with incredible velocity.

This video gives a good example of what I mean:




The Bills took advantage of Mac’s less than perfect arm velocity during the 2nd meeting. I watched a Patriots reporters analysis video that showed that the Bills essentially dared Mac to throw it outside (toward the boundary) and he wouldn’t.

Some guys (Brees, for example) are able to win a SB despite this, because they have elite anticipation and recognition. Can Mac be that person? Sure. He’s a smart kid. But so few ever develop that elite anticipation so it would be difficult.

Brady was that rare combination of good arm strength AND elite anticipation and recognition, plus a win at all costs attitude. It’s like he was made in Madden and someone just set all the skills to a “99” rating. All of those factors made him the GOAT.

So based on what i’ve seen so far from Mac, i’m going with a career projection of “Good, but not great.”

PS, I also haven’t seen Mac go into beast mode yet. You know when you see it in a QB’s eyes that they’d rather lose a limb than lose the game? So they run over a LB for a first down or sacrifice their body to throw a block for the RB, etc. I’m waiting to see that fire from Mac. That beast attitude.

No offense, but this video is subjective at best. That video showed one example of where arm strength matter, but using a QB with among the strongest arm in the league vs. a QB with one of the weakest. Jones' arm is stronger than Tua's.

Besides the video you provided is misleading because the Dolphins receiver has far tighter coverage on him than the Bills receiver. You can argue the coverage played a bigger role in those two plays than the velocity of the passes. Look at the film. The Bills video, one of the defenders isn't even in the end zone when the pass is thrown and the other is coming across the end zone. In the Dolphins video, the defenders are double covering the receiver. From the looks of it, the Dolphins video was man coverage and the Bills video was zone coverage.

But you find videos where the situation has a QB with touch and accuracy being far more efficient and effective than QB with a cannon for an arm. Show me a video with a large sample size of the guy with the cannon being more effective than guy with a weaker arm in those situations.

 

[Nunchucks]

It's hard to say. Lots of things I see are good, but other things are not so good. Really depends on what he looks like next year. He needs to do a lot to improve physically in the off-season. If he doesn't do those things, then the answer is NO.

If he does, I give it a 7

 

[RIpats88]

80 mil in offseason for pass catchers, most ever spent in the BB era.

That's because the talent level was so bad last year.


Doesn't mean any are elite by any means. It's a vast improvement over last year. Everyone is a #2 at best. We need a deebo, a Metcalf, aj brown who takes coverage away from those guys

 

[Water Boy]

Mac was considered the most NFL ready QB in the draft. He demonstrated that very well. The question is what is his ceiling? I honestly am not expecting a big jump next year. I think he will be a great value on his rookie deal, but will he be worth top veteran QB salary? I give him a 7.

 

[RIpats88]

It's hard to say. Lots of things I see are good, but other things are not so good. Really depends on what he looks like next year. He needs to do a lot to improve physically in the off-season. If he doesn't do those things, then the answer is NO.

If he does, I give it a 7

Physical issues can and will be worked on. Now with a full off-season I expect the Patriots to work on those areas of his game.

The mental aspects and work ethic are way more important in determining a quarterbacks future in the NFL and luckily he already has that.

 

[RIpats88]

Mac was considered the most NFL ready QB in the draft. He demonstrated that very well. The question is what is his ceiling? I honestly am not expecting a big jump next year. I think he will be a great value on his rookie deal, but will he be worth top veteran QB salary? I give him a 7.

I feel like Mac has been short changed with the ceiling talk because he doesn't run around and throw halfway across his body. He's an old school pocket passer quarterback.

It's about reading the defense and making the right throws. I think he will be off the reigns Abit next year so I expect more TDs maybe less interceptions. Also depends if improve the talent level.

Will he ever be able to throw the ball like a Josh Allen? Probably not. But his arm strength, ability to read defenses and pocket presence should improve.

 

[BTTA]

What would a rookie QB have to do to earn a 10 around here? Or does that end of the scale not really exist?

He's got to be mentally exhausted. Everything in a rookie year requires 10 times the energy that it will by his third year. Imagine this kid when things slow down for him and he doesn't have to think as much to do the routine stuff. We still don't know his ceiling.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Not really but ok. If you stop at yards and TD.

Dak was a mile more efficient than Mac. Only threw 4 INT, had a rtg 13 points higher and a QBR 25 points higher.

Mac is much more comparable to Mayfield right now.

Point taken. Yea yards, TDs and comp % was my basis for the comparison.

 

[Steve102]

This is a reasonable question.

What I think is...

Mac will continue to bust his ass to improve
He will improve physically (body, arm strength, etc)
He will become proficient in the trade of being an NFL QB and running this offense at a high level
He will continue to evolve into a solid locker room/NEP culture leader

but I still have questions..

Needs to demonstrate come-from-behind success
Needs to win in the playoffs

I guess i'm a 7.5

I think he's done all we could have asked for in a rookie QB. I am not optimistic re: Saturday only because I think they don't have the pieces needed to beat Buffalo in the post season. I think this was a successful rookie campaign, one that exceeded expectations. This was the high floor thing that pundits talked about. I have questions on his ceiling, we will see what the future holds.

 

[TomPatriot]

My answer is5 because I don't know yet. He has one season under his belt. If he shows up at TC toned, faster, stronger, the number inches up. If he then shows that he reads defenses better, delivers the ball faster and finds his targets more often, it goes up another notch.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

Mac has established himself in the locker room and the coaches which is the most important thing in a rookie year. He has had good success on the field when he has time to throw. Next step is to get stronger and learn to be more efficient in recognition to be able to beat the blitz. Joe Morrow is now talked about as elite because he can now be successful with no time to throw. Mac needs to get to a similar point where the defense can't stop him from making throws to get to the level that wins in the playoffs. That will not be easy - rated an 8.

 

[chief1]

I think Mac has proven himself to be a starting NFL caliber player but, as we have seen from many others, this wont be good enough without him taking the next step. He has to win in the playoffs before we can have any certainty that he is the guy. Im not saying he has to do it this year, but it won't be long before doubt and criticism creep in if he doesnt.
Its a long list of QBs that had early success but because playoff success didnt follow, soon became JAGs.
I gave a 6 as a mark. He has had a very good rookie year, but he has to improve and IMO we just cant assume that he will.