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

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

8 for a rookie, since he seems the type to work really hard, and every rookie needs a 2nd year jump. A little generous maybe, but performance in the context of being a rookie without many weapons

 

[Danlove1989]

7. It's a lot of pressure to follow Tom and play Tom in rookie year too. He needs to learn to read better, if nothing is there just ground it or take a sack....don't throw a pick or pick 6. Hopefully he gets as good as possible at watching film and maximizing learning each defensive line/player he faces.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

yeah about that, 7-8. I mean, "how confident" of what? If we were the JETE, he'd have already reached a sky-high goal, backing into the playoffs. For some guys here, "how confident" means "how confident are you that he'll get 6 rings... if he only gets 5 he's a bust."

Here's what I think he can do right now: win it if everything else is working.

Next year I think it will be more like "it's not always pretty but Mac Jones can engineer a comeback... don't sleep on Mac Jones." (Sort of where he is, but with a little more active ability to turn a game around, not counting on the D.)

Where I want him to be is "You are never out of it with Mac Jones under center" or "Having Mac Jones on your team disguises a plethora of other issues." I'm not certain he ever gets there :/

But I hope that he does

 

[Tunescribe]

I’m going with 7. I still think he’s being held back but the regression in December isn’t ideal. I want to see what happens next season.

8

I disagree with this notion of "regression" in his play. Competition for playoff spots always gets tougher near season's end, weather becomes a factor and DC's have a better idea how to attack a player's tendencies. Plus, this is uncharted waters for a rookie like Mac, playing against NFL competition with new challenges every week and more games than he's ever played in one season. (And he sure didn't "regress" vs. Jacksonville.) For that matter, one could argue the entire team regressed losing three of its last four.

 

[Betterthanmost]

5

 

[neuronet]

No poll?

 

[Ochmed Jones]

10 plus

no doubt in my mind that we have something special with jones.

has jones been the same since the bye wee? no not even close.

but what this guy is doing with with our slow, putrid group of receivers is amazing.

In college jones played with 5 or 6 receivers better than anything on our current roster. How sad is that!

 

[Pats2000]

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 feel like Mac has brought us from behind multiple times only to have the defense let us down on that final critical stop. I'm going with 8.5, I think he needs to work on staring down some routes, probably the blitz pickup, and be better at finding his outlet receiver when under pressure. I haven't checker but his passer raring dropped quite a bit when under delayed blitzes.

Strength is obviously something to work on, but otherwise I feel like he's the guy and will be a top 5 QB within 2 more years

 

[jah]

If the definition of "the guy" is that he'll still deserve his job here after 5 years, I'll give him a 7 like most others in this thread.

That coming true doesn't even get you much, though. Kirk Cousins is "the guy" in Minnesota, and I guarantee he will never win a Super Bowl in his career. The more interesting question to me is whether we think Mac can be one of the best players on a Super Bowl winning team, and I wouldn't give him more than a 5 by that metric.

It's weird, because for as great a rookie year Mac had, I still expected fewer interceptions. That doesn't mean he's mistake prone in the NFL, but it does mean he's a rookie just like everyone else in his class. Next year should hopefully provide much more clarity on the long term future.

 

[Triumph]

A solid 5.

Not showing off and not slacking.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Mac Jones: 10/10

Current OC: 0/10

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I feel really good, 8/10. It's still far from a sure thing but I love what I'm seeing thus far. He has the attitude and he has 2 of the best at what they do to mold him into a great QB. The last 4 games have been rough, but to take a big positive away.... He was behind double digits in 3 of the games and in all 3 he played well enough to lead us back , if the defense would have made the stops needed he possibly would have won those. The big question from the critics on Mac all year was how he can do when forced to throw and these 2nd halfs against Indy / Buffalo / Miami have shown that he CAN. Of course Mac and this team is at its best when ahead but its'a great sign that not only is he not folding or completely ineffective when one dimensional but he's actually thrived in the situation the last month.

 

[hornetfb85]

11 and it’s not even in question. Stepped in and lead us to the &&$&ing playoffs. He’s our guy.

 

[GreenCow]

Does anyone want my opinion?

 

[italian pat patriot]

7.5

 

[italian pat patriot]

A solid 5.

Not showing off and not slacking.

If he was not solid ? Minus 2 ?

 

[Marko]

I think Mac HAS demonstrated that he has the ability to come from behind. D makes a stop yesterday and they have the ball down by a field goal. But to answer the question, what is "the guy"? An above average starting NFL QB for the next 8 years, or Tom Brady? If the former, 9. If the latter, 1. I think the Pats got lucky with the pick, and he will be a quarterback good enough to contend with on a regular basis and possibly win. I don't think he will be the best QB in the AFC or even in the division for the foreseeable future, though he seems to have the work ethic and the smarts to grow into that.
Next year will tell us a lot, and my money is on the kid.

Agreed. Mac has come from behind multiple times, but can’t seem to get that last opportunity. I don’t want to blame it all on the defense, because sometimes the hole was just too big, but there is no way Brady makes some of his famous comebacks without a defense who makes the stops. These things have a way of evening out, so next year I expect that some of those dropped into etc will go our way. The offense needs a top 5 skill player that can help making comebacks by both making plays and drawing the defense attention. If Mac had Gronk, Edelman, Amendola and White, I think he would have done incredibly well.

 

[Boomer B]

Smarts & Work Ethic are a 10. With these Mac will be in the league a long time.

Athletically he’s about a 5. Good accuracy but can he get into a shootout and make throws into tight windows like we saw Herbert make last night?

Ultimately I think for Mac to make it as a high end starter he’s gotta hit the gym and gain more strength. Will it translate into a bigger arm? I hope so.

 

[WhatJustHappened]

7

 

[TheRainMaker]

Does anyone want my opinion?

Let’s hear it.