Anonymous Sources: Mac is Impressing in Offseason

[crawhammer]

Mac Jones won 10 games as a rookie with a pretty average supporting cast in 2021.

Sounds like an indictment of Belichick. A record $163 mil in unrestricted free agency spent putting together that "pretty average" supporting cast. Just for the record, how do you classify the 2023 supporting cast? I won't ask about 2022 since apparently all 53 get a pass due to Patricia.

"Take the easy way out?" If you couldn't see that the entire offense was coached poorly and played poorly, I don't know what to tell you. BB, Patricia and Judge created a mess. We'll see who is right.

BB created the mess. Let's be clear on that. And thankful, if you're a homer, because BB also created a scapegoat for the entire 2022 season, everyone gets a pass, and 2023 is a complete redo now with savior BOB.

Mac Jones is never going to be Jalen Hurts or Pat Mahomes.

This again... Mac isn't Mahomes, Allen, Hurts, or any elite caliber quarterback in the NFL. Now let's consider it a forum understanding and resist restating the obvious.

But he can be a very good QB in a complimentary offense that actually is competently coached.

I think Tua looked very good with Hill and Waddle. Cousins looked very good with Diggs, and then Jefferson, with Thielen. I like Hurts but he only made a massive jump, became a runner-up MVP, after he was paired with A.J. Brown and DeVante Smith. Teams even with truly elite quarterbacks are stacking up on upper class receivers. We're giving a decidedly non-elite quarterback, who could be very good with the right pieces around him, a bunch of WR2 & 3's.

And I agree O'Brien makes a difference, but I think the expectations of what he can do have gotten exaggerated.

 

[crawhammer]

I should hope not!

Not meant literally.

 

[Joker]

stoolcrammin' again...krist, go away

 

[captain stone]

Its anonymous, so take it for what its worth, but I would be ecstatic if Mac took a huge leap forward this year.

Patriots Rumors: Why Players, Coaches Impressed By Mac Jones This Offseason

New England Patriots players and coaches reportedly are loving what they're seeing from quarterback Mac Jones this offseason.

nesn.com

“Continued positive reviews from teammates/coaches who have been around Mac Jones the longest,” Giardi tweeted.

— “Confident. Leading like we know he can.”
— “Ready to remind you (media/fans) why he was a playoff QB in year one.”
— “Energized” by the change (Bill O’Brien as OC).

Hopefully Mac can prove why he was the 15th pick and that his rookie season wasnt a fluke.

Blah blah blah blah blah... What else are they gonna say?

Let's see what he does when he's facing a free rusher from his blind-side... Again.

 

[Zuma]

I don't care about anonymous sources. When I see Mac recognize a blitz overload or even looking for one, I will feel better. When I see him throw a 10 yard check down that is not at the feet of the receiver, I will feel better. When I see him recognize the one on one and release the ball on time, I will feel better. When I see him step up in the pocket instead of running out the back, I will feel better. I do want him to be successful. I'm a Patriot fan and I want the team to be successful. But anonymous sources aren't going to mean anything.

All of these were issues in 2022…you nailed all of them. Some will be fixed by Mac I hope, and others fixed by better line play and also coaching.

 

[Real fan 02]

I should hope not!

I would think he'd like to take that back.. lol..

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

This is just BB doing what he does best. Using 4-d chess tactics to fire up our next eventual goat : Malik Cunningham.

"Malik, sounds like some anonymous sources in are naming Mac the starter and leader. Just thought you'd want to know that. As our 200k udfa QB. - Belichick to Cunningham, probably.

 

[TomPatriot]

Blah blah blah blah blah... What else are they gonna say?

Let's see what he does when he's facing a free rusher from his blind-side... Again.

His pocket awareness was ok in 2021. I wonder what changed in 2022. We can’t talk about the thing that happened in 2022 because certain
nabobs of negativism don’t want to hear it.

 

[TomPatriot]

Sounds like an indictment of Belichick. A record $163 mil in unrestricted free agency spent putting together that "pretty average" supporting cast. Just for the record, how do you classify the 2023 supporting cast? I won't ask about 2022 since apparently all 53 get a pass due to Patricia.


BB created the mess. Let's be clear on that. And thankful, if you're a homer, because BB also created a scapegoat for the entire 2022 season, everyone gets a pass, and 2023 is a complete redo now with savior BOB.


This again... Mac isn't Mahomes, Allen, Hurts, or any elite caliber quarterback in the NFL. Now let's consider it a forum understanding and resist restating the obvious.


I think Tua looked very good with Hill and Waddle. Cousins looked very good with Diggs, and then Jefferson, with Thielen. I like Hurts but he only made a massive jump, became a runner-up MVP, after he was paired with A.J. Brown and DeVante Smith. Teams even with truly elite quarterbacks are stacking up on upper class receivers. We're giving a decidedly non-elite quarterback, who could be very good with the right pieces around him, a bunch of WR2 & 3's.

And I agree O'Brien makes a difference, but I think the expectations of what he can do have gotten exaggerated.

Dude, we aren’t talking about Bill. We’re talking about Mac.

Mac can be a good NFL QB. How good? We’ll see.

Should Bill have snagged a No. 1 WR? Ya betcha. I thought he would draft one in the first round.

We agree on O’Brien. But many people seem to underestimate how harmful it is to have a rudderless ship on offense given the composition of this team. It had a huge effect on much of the offense and their performance on the field demonstrated it.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

His pocket awareness was ok in 2021. I wonder what changed in 2022.

I saw that Josh had the ball out of Mac's hand relatively quickly so Mac's pocket presence was not strained. If you remember the last 5+ games in 2021 were a disaster when the opposition packed the middle of the field and took away the short game. So in 2022 Patricia tried to increase the yards per play, and Mac had to stand in the pocket longer. It did not go well as Mac did not step up or scramble well. Mac did improve over the last 5+ games in 2022, which was the opposite of 2021, so maybe the improvement will continue in 2023. Fingers crossed.

 

[crawhammer]

stoolcrammin' again...krist, go away

 

[holyredeemer]

Sounds like an indictment of Belichick. A record $163 mil in unrestricted free agency spent putting together that "pretty average" supporting cast. Just for the record, how do you classify the 2023 supporting cast? I won't ask about 2022 since apparently all 53 get a pass due to Patricia.

Who is saying BB isn’t responsible for the signing of that grp? Have folks been putting that FA class on someone else? Regarding Patricia, who is arguing that Bill didn’t put him there?

BB created the mess. Let's be clear on that. And thankful, if you're a homer, because BB also created a scapegoat for the entire 2022 season, everyone gets a pass, and 2023 is a complete redo now with savior BOB.

Again, who is saying BB isn’t responsible for the current roster? Patricia isn’t a scapegoat, his complete failure is a fact. Does it seem like people are blaming him for a lot of things? Of course they are. You had a QB that completely regressed, some key specialists you expected to improve go into the gutter and many other parts of the offense look like a HS ball club masquerading as an NFL team. What was the major change from the previous year? The OC. It only makes sense for people to look at all of that and argue that things should improve. At the end of the day, it’s all on Bill. I haven’t read anyone say otherwise.

This again... Mac isn't Mahomes, Allen, Hurts, or any elite caliber quarterback in the NFL. Now let's consider it a forum understanding and resist restating the obvious.

Allen wasn’t Allen straight out of the gates, you know that. He looked awful his first few seasons. Awful. The Eagles weren’t even completely sold on Hurts at the beginning of the offseason. They gave him a chance and he continued to grow. Seems odd you would even use him as an example. Kinda defeats the point you’re trying to make. There’s no reason that given the right situation and support Mac couldn’t become the next elite QB…like Hurts who coming out of college wasn’t being heralded as an all world talent.

I think Tua looked very good with Hill and Waddle. Cousins looked very good with Diggs, and then Jefferson, with Thielen. I like Hurts but he only made a massive jump, became a runner-up MVP, after he was paired with A.J. Brown and DeVante Smith. Teams even with truly elite quarterbacks are stacking up on upper class receivers. We're giving a decidedly non-elite quarterback, who could be very good with the right pieces around him, a bunch of WR2 & 3's.

Decidedly? You decided, and many would wholeheartedly agree. The big difference is you think there’s no way in hell he can ever get there. Many others disagree and see that it’s a possibility. You’ve already made up your mind and argue as if it’s a fact. The odds are in your favor that you’re right, but it doesn’t change the fact that your negativity is boring and sucks. Wait, what’s this? An inkling of hope that Mac can be very good with the right WR’s?

And I agree O'Brien makes a difference, but I think the expectations of what he can do have gotten exaggerated.

Have they been exaggerated, or is it simply that things were just believed by many to be that bad?

If this offense turns it around and is a top 10 unit this year and plays well when it matters most, who do you think is going to get most of the credit? Billy O. It’s how this works. Patricia being **** is no different.

 

[Ollie]

Stop trying to pump this guy up. He's not that good and he's never going to be elite. The baseline talent isn't there. At best he can be a good quarterback who with an exceptional supporting cast could max out with 10 or 11 wins if everything goes right (he's not a 12-win QB like some homers are projecting). At this point he doesn't have the exceptional supporting cast, I'll give it a C+ or B- max, which would be fine with Mahomes, Allen or some other elite caliber quarterback.

Belichick replaced Meyers with JuJu, and upgraded at TE2, but that's not enough with mediocre Mac. Belichick also should have taken a run at Hopkins, or at least someone like Lazard, and taken Zay Flowers in the 1st (or Josh Downs or Darnell Washington in the 3rd). Instead he strengthened the already stronger phase - the defense - and made some desperation moves to improve the much lesser important 3rd phase (ST). The team is currently built to win games in the teens, which isn't going to work with our schedule and many of the offenses we're going to face.

We also heard the same exact reports on Mac last offseason. Which turned out to be bogus, unless you want to take the easy way out and just blame everything on Patricia (i.e. Belichick). Bill O'Brien is a good OC, should help, but I don't think he's the grand wizard some are making him out to be. Ultimately it's still mediocre Mac and his B- supporting cast that has to execute.

He won 10 games as a rookie without an exceptional supporting cast so i'm not sure that's true

 

[RIpats88]

all the people saying "we heard this last year!" ignoring the elephant in the room that was patricia/judge. We didn't have a functioning NFL caliber offense. But it doesnt fit their narrative. People care more about their narratives being right than the patriots being good sometimes.

well he has an ACTUAL offensive coordinator now. So he should be better.

 

[Rob0729]

This report is positive. I think if we didn’t have the disaster that was Matt Patricia last year, the local and national view of Jones would be far different today. I think Jones will show people this year that the Patricia mistake was far worse than a lot of people are willing to give credit to.

Jones may never be a top QB in the league, but I think he is going to make a huge third year jump.

It is amazing though how there are some people who are practically rooting for Jones to fail. A Jones failure is a Patriots’ failure.

 

[Rob0729]

all the people saying "we heard this last year!" ignoring the elephant in the room that was patricia/judge. We didn't have a functioning NFL caliber offense. But it doesnt fit their narrative. People care more about their narratives being right than the patriots being good sometimes.

well he has an ACTUAL offensive coordinator now. So he should be better.

I think some people are denial of how bad Patricia really was. You could see it last year when they dismissed some experts who pointed out how truly awful the offense system and play calling really was.

It was evident in that Kurt Warner video breakdown last year where he said he likes the concept Patricia was trying to implement, but heavily criticized the execution of that concept. Some people took that as Warner feeling that Patricia was calling a good offense and it was Jones’ execution that was awful and letting the offense down.

Last year’s offense in terms of design and play calling was easily the worst I have seen in my lifetime. For this team or any other. When you have receivers running into each other and taking each other out of the game multiple times in one game, you are running one of the worst offenses in NFL history.

 

[TomPatriot]

I saw that Josh had the ball out of Mac's hand relatively quickly so Mac's pocket presence was not strained. If you remember the last 5+ games in 2021 were a disaster when the opposition packed the middle of the field and took away the short game. So in 2022 Patricia tried to increase the yards per play, and Mac had to stand in the pocket longer. It did not go well as Mac did not step up or scramble well. Mac did improve over the last 5+ games in 2022, which was the opposite of 2021, so maybe the improvement will continue in 2023. Fingers crossed.

He improved because they went to more play action, which got the LB/SS to freeze and slowed the edges a 1/2 step. IIRC, Mac wanted to throw more downfield and that was vetoed.

IMHO, the single biggest problem with the O was that the QB knew more about offensive football than the OC so they were rarely on the same page. The reason I’m high on BOB is that he and Mac know the offensive schemes the Pats are most likely to put on the field and BOB, even though he’s a chain of command type guy, has listened to Mac in the past.

 

[State]

From year one to year two [Josh Allen] improved significantly.

That’s the key. The excuses are gone now with O’Brien, a good OC and, something that’s being overlooked, a competent OL coach in Adrian Klemm.

So I would be all out too. And I hear my hero Zappe is there too step for step with the starter.

 

[Ollie]

Sounds like an indictment of Belichick. A record $163 mil in unrestricted free agency spent putting together that "pretty average" supporting cast. Just for the record, how do you classify the 2023 supporting cast? I won't ask about 2022 since apparently all 53 get a pass due to Patricia.

Its hard not to think that you are being wilfully ignorant regarding the 163m FA spree as i'm pretty sure you don't believe that ig gave Mac an exceptional supporting cast. If Mac can win 10 games as a rookie with Bourne, Meyers, Henry and Jonnu he should be able to do better with a better cast and more experience which negates your point.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

He improved because they went to more play action, which got the LB/SS to freeze and slowed the edges a 1/2 step. IIRC, Mac wanted to throw more downfield and that was vetoed.

IMHO, the single biggest problem with the O was that the QB knew more about offensive football than the OC so they were rarely on the same page. The reason I’m high on BOB is that he and Mac know the offensive schemes the Pats are most likely to put on the field and BOB, even though he’s a chain of command type guy, has listened to Mac in the past.

When has BOB listened to Mac in the past? BOB said they barely met.