Key Players [Mac Jones/others] Isn't/Aren't Ready to Play

[cmasspatsfan]

So two games this year? 9 passes? That’s your gotcha reply?

It goes totally against what you guys said what happened last night.

 

[203Pat]

My point is that BB is in charge of "buying the groceries" and also for "cooking the meal". If the team has a lack of talent (most glaringly on offense), how is that Mac's fault. He's not Tom Brady who can elevate mediocre and poor players. Very few QB's are.

So then it’s Bill’s fault?

 

[archstanton543]

So then it’s Bill’s fault?

The buck stops with Bill. He's responsible for surrounding his young QB with some kind of top tier talent. He has not done so.

Look, there's plenty of blame pie to go around. People want to say it's this ONE thing that's responsible for the failings of the Pats in the Mac era. It's as a former Red Sox GM said "Multifactorial". Bill gets the biggest slice since he's the guy in charge of the front office and on the sidelines. Does Mac get a piece of the blame pie? Absolutely but a much smaller one than BB.

 

[SteveBsFan]

The stats don't support your argument. Sometimes you Mac haters try too hard, not sure if you're making stuff up or what.

I’m not a hater. I was one of his biggest supporters when all the Brady lovers were crying every time Tampa won.

I had high hopes for him but a reality is he’s just not that good. His rookie season when he beat up on a bunch of losing teams was fun… until he started playing good teams at the end of the season and looked like dogshit.

You can wear your rose colored glasses and pretend he’s some elite qb trapped on a bad team. That’s fine. But watching the actual games tell a different story.

**** even his completions are off the mark more often than not. Just look at the week 1 fumble by Zeke. That was a prime Mac throw. He throws it off the line, the receiver has to make an acrobatic catch and then gets nailed because of it.

On the stat sheet, Mac looked fine. But in reality it was a bad throw

 

[SteveBsFan]

The stats don't support your argument. Sometimes you Mac haters try too hard, not sure if you're making stuff up or what.

Just go through the game film and check every pass. I bet a shocking majority will be passed that are off the mark. Behind a receiver or too high or too low. Stuff that isn’t tracked on stat sheets but completely slow the pace of a game.

Mac is the type of guy who may have been pretty solid if he had Brady mentoring him for 2-3 seasons. A pocket passer has to make smart decisions, read the defense properly, call the right audibles. Mac isn’t him. Not yet.

 

[archstanton543]

Just go through the game film and check every pass. I bet a shocking majority will be passed that are off the mark. Behind a receiver or too high or too low. Stuff that isn’t tracked on stat sheets but completely slow the pace of a game.

Mac is the type of guy who may have been pretty solid if he had Brady mentoring him for 2-3 seasons. A pocket passer has to make smart decisions, read the defense properly, call the right audibles. Mac isn’t him. Not yet.

Ah, the ol' Eyeball Test. That's always accurate.

 

[upstater1]

You surprise me. I took you for someone with more discernment re. what you're seeing (or THINK you're seeing). Mac is playing well overall considering the musical chairs in front of him and what he has to work with on the outside -- which impacts both available protections and the rushing attack. That's not to say he hasn't made some mistakes these first two games but your overall assessment doesn't mesh with reality.

"He's jittery, he's skittish, he's throwing off his back foot. He's taking bad sacks. No wonder he's so inaccurate. His long throws are lollipops that bounce off the moon. There is zero confidence he can get anything done back there." Nonsense.

"He bails and cowers and invites defenses to tell off." More nonsense.

"Mac doesn't do what most QBs should, which is alter his cadence." Huh? You can tell this through your TV? If you think BOB and Mac haven't adequately assessed this part of his game you should overnight BB an application for quarterbacks coach.

There's a difference between "taking bad sacks" and getting sacked. He has the most pass attempts in the league after two games and has been releasing the ball quickly. With rushers constantly in his face he's been sacked six times total while completing 69-percent of his throws for 547 yards -- sixth among all quarterbacks. All that while playing behind an absolute shambles of an OL.

It's early. Don't look now (well, maybe you SHOULD look), but Mac Jones currently has a higher quarterback rating than Patrick Mahomes, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Ryan Tannehill and DeShaun Watson, among others.

2023 NFL Passing | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Check out the 2023 NFL Passing Stats and more on Pro-football-reference.com

www.pro-football-reference.com

Go back and look at yesterday's game paying attention to the snap count. AND watch the Dolphins time the count each and every time like it was a home game. No offensive line is built to stop a freight train. And this isn't even the first game Mac was like this. He was like this all year. It is a regular thing. We aren't prepared for a modern NFL game, not the way other teams are prepared. And the look on Bill's face when Mac audibled from a run up the middle to that stretch play... well, it told me he doesn't have great confidence in Mac doing that sort of thing.

How's Ken O'Brien's QB rating these days?

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

It would be nice if they could put two halves together instead of turning it up only in the 2nd

 

[upstater1]

maybe we can trade bill and mac to the chargers for him, im sure that would tickle your fancy a bit eh.

Why don't you like Bill?

 

[SteveBsFan]

Ah, the ol' Eyeball Test. That's always accurate.

What do you think scouting is? Stats never tell the entire picture in football.

Stats won’t tell you if an incomplete was a wide open player overthrown or a great throw but a wrong route by the receiver.

 

[upstater1]

My point is that BB is in charge of "buying the groceries" and also for "cooking the meal". If the team has a lack of talent (most glaringly on offense), how is that Mac's fault. He's not Tom Brady who can elevate mediocre and poor players. Very few QB's are.

I'm saying other average QBs would do better with what he has.

Again, I give him great credit for his ability to read the play. He excels at that. He's better than freakin' Josh Allen at that. But it's not the only thing that's important. I would put several elements ahead of that.

 

[Kasmir]

Source?

Lazar tweet, quoted in the Holley article.

 

[PATS16N0]

Ah, the ol' Eyeball Test. That's always accurate.

I’ll take an eyeball test over “QBR.” Peyton Manning set some record while getting his face kicked in in the most embarrassing Super Bowl loss to Seattle I’ve ever seen. Even the announcers were making jokes about how ridiculous it was.

Eyeball test isn’t really that unreliable.

 

[Kasmir]

I’ll take an eyeball test over “QBR.” Peyton Manning set some record while getting his face kicked in in the most embarrassing Super Bowl loss to Seattle I’ve ever seen. Even the announcers were making jokes about how ridiculous it was.

Eyeball test isn’t really that unreliable.

Eyeball test is very reliable for the owner of the eyeballs; everyone else, not so much.

 

[upstater1]

Well, yeah. A GM that can bring in the likes of Hill and Waddle will make Mac a league darling just like it did for Tua.

I don't think Mac becomes Tua with those 2 WRs.

But beyond that, people are underplaying the fact that the Phins had the #3 pick the year they took Waddle, they traded it for a ton of picks, then they traded back up and gave a ransom for Waddle. Patriots were not in position to do that.

Tyreek Hill, however, was available. Makes me wonder why KC traded him at all.

 

[PATS16N0]

Alright, so let’s just cut through the circle of back and forth ******** and get right to it.

Do you guys want to extend Mac Jones with a franchise QB contract or go in another direction?

 

[Rob0729]

You can win some games with a middle of the road QB. You’re gonna have a very hard time contending with one. You need to be loaded with talent otherwise.

I would argue the Eagles got to the Super Bowl with a middle of the road QB. Granted, they were loaded with talent.

 

[upstater1]

So the throws on the run or stepped up into the pocket are "panicking".

What are the constant throws off the backfoot?

 

[archstanton543]

I don't think Mac becomes Tua with those 2 WRs.

But beyond that, people are underplaying the fact that the Phins had the #3 pick the year they took Waddle, they traded it for a ton of picks, then they traded back up and gave a ransom for Waddle. Patriots were not in position to do that.

Tyreek Hill, however, was available. Makes me wonder why KC traded him at all.

They gotta get creative. Trading down and out won't bring in that level of talent that's for sure.

 

[SteveBsFan]

Ah, the ol' Eyeball Test. That's always accurate.

Mac is good at the short pass dink and dunk high % plays that the defense gives him. Looks solid on stat sheet but it’s not winning games.

I WILL say that his throws this year have been better. He shows flashes of brilliance with some of his throws. He has been better in the red zone that recent memory. But a reality Pats fans need to accept is he’s no superstar who is going to carry the team.

And stats DO back that up. He ranks 29th in Y/C with only 8.3. 2022 he ranked 25th and his “good” season he ranked 20th.

Any metric he will rank in the 20s other than comp% because he makes the high percentage safe plays that don’t win games