Mac Jones appreciation thread

[zydecochris]

In their defense, Mac doesn't have a supermodel wife, Hollywood baby mama, hair transplant, botox treatments or commercial endorsement deals for Subway and crypto currency. Nor does he hawk concussion water or his own brand-name multivitamin supplement. Let's face it, Mac Jones has a long, long way to go. We must pump the brakes on this kid lest we become "blind homers" in the eyes of Brady boot-licking intelligentsia,

Yes, but Mac has one thing Brady never did, a past coaching career and an undefeated one at that! MacVolunteerSororityFlagFootballCoach

 

[Pats2000]

I would certainly agree. As much as I've said I wish they had made it work and kept Brady, I'm happy they found someone who at least appears to have the basic foundation and attributes to make him a successful QB for this team long-term.

We'll never see another Brady, so that train needs to just move on. He's gone, again, I didn't agree with it, but obviously, I have to - and have - gotten over it. However, I'm certainly good that they seem to have found someone who can make plays, score points, and not turn it over. Most teams that exit the playoffs early are the ones who have QBs that make untimely mistakes and don't make plays when they need to. Overall, at this point, Jones appears to have checked the right boxes.

Keeping a perspective is easy. Just look around at the other top rookie QBs and how they've performed this year, not just on paper, but watching them. Jones isn't throwing stupid interceptions. He's not forcing the football. On the other double-pass they tried, rather than throw it anyway and force it, he didn't think twice about throwing it away. It's a lot of the little things that make me feel like he'll be good in this offense.

He doesn't need to be a superstar - but he'll become one simply by being a guy who completes a high percentage of passes without making mistakes. Because down the stretch, that's how teams win when you get into January. I mean, Brady wasn't a superstar in his first season, he just played better than Gannon and Stewart that first year in the sense that he didn't throw an untimely pick or make a dumb decision. When you couple that with the fact you have Belichick as the coach and a game plan that should give you a shot to win, that's often all it takes.

But so far, so good. Hopefully, he continues progressing but it's been fun watching how this year has continued to play out.

I think we're at the point where we can say Mac Jones is no Patrick Mahommes when it comes to bone headed interceptions

 

[sb1]

I would certainly agree. As much as I've said I wish they had made it work and kept Brady, I'm happy they found someone who at least appears to have the basic foundation and attributes to make him a successful QB for this team long-term.

We'll never see another Brady, so that train needs to just move on. He's gone, again, I didn't agree with it, but obviously, I have to - and have - gotten over it. However, I'm certainly good that they seem to have found someone who can make plays, score points, and not turn it over. Most teams that exit the playoffs early are the ones who have QBs that make untimely mistakes and don't make plays when they need to. Overall, at this point, Jones appears to have checked the right boxes.

Keeping a perspective is easy. Just look around at the other top rookie QBs and how they've performed this year, not just on paper, but watching them. Jones isn't throwing stupid interceptions. He's not forcing the football. On the other double-pass they tried, rather than throw it anyway and force it, he didn't think twice about throwing it away. It's a lot of the little things that make me feel like he'll be good in this offense.

He doesn't need to be a superstar - but he'll become one simply by being a guy who completes a high percentage of passes without making mistakes. Because down the stretch, that's how teams win when you get into January. I mean, Brady wasn't a superstar in his first season, he just played better than Gannon and Stewart that first year in the sense that he didn't throw an untimely pick or make a dumb decision. When you couple that with the fact you have Belichick as the coach and a game plan that should give you a shot to win, that's often all it takes.

But so far, so good. Hopefully, he continues progressing but it's been fun watching how this year has continued to play out.

Agreed.

I'm not crazy about seeing the trick bag get emptied cause that feels like a sign to me that BB and Josh does not trust this offense. I want the ball in Mac's hands as much as possible. I want to see him run any kind of play, dink and dunk when needed, throw hard slants like Brady always could, throw darts to the end zone and rockets downfield. No doubt he can. I hope the reins are now coming off or at least loosened a lot.

As for Brady I totally agree with that. What's done is done. I think Bill and Tom made their peace in week 4 after the game and so can I. I don't need to rip one to boost the other. Like I said I think great QB > great coach but they both got us to 6 rings.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Agreed.

I'm not crazy about seeing the trick bag get emptied cause that feels like a sign to me that BB and Josh does not trust this offense.

That said, it's mostly revisiting the classics. The double pass is a variant of the one David Patten threw.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I would certainly agree. As much as I've said I wish they had made it work and kept Brady, I'm happy they found someone who at least appears to have the basic foundation and attributes to make him a successful QB for this team long-term.

We'll never see another Brady, so that train needs to just move on. He's gone, again, I didn't agree with it, but obviously, I have to - and have - gotten over it. However, I'm certainly good that they seem to have found someone who can make plays, score points, and not turn it over. Most teams that exit the playoffs early are the ones who have QBs that make untimely mistakes and don't make plays when they need to. Overall, at this point, Jones appears to have checked the right boxes.

Keeping a perspective is easy. Just look around at the other top rookie QBs and how they've performed this year, not just on paper, but watching them. Jones isn't throwing stupid interceptions. He's not forcing the football. On the other double-pass they tried, rather than throw it anyway and force it, he didn't think twice about throwing it away. It's a lot of the little things that make me feel like he'll be good in this offense.

Agreed. I've seen a lot of posters use the Mac Jones 'appreciation thread' to take veiled shots at Brady and vice versa. But that's missing the point.

I know it's tempting to get into that, we've got a new wife, so let's bash the ex-wife syndrome, but let's not fall into that trap. Brady is and always will be the GOAT. He brought 6 beautiful, unmatchable championship titles to New England and 2 decades of service that warmed the hearts of many Patriots fans that cannot be forgotten.

Mac Jones, is an imperfect creation, a fledgling Quarterback. He's taking baby steps, and slowly but surely he's showing signs of improvement every week. That's all you can ask for. And I'm sure there will be a couple of stinkers down the road where you're cursing his name and his mistakes but that's all part of the process. In other words he's a rookie.

The problem with the current media perception of Mac Jones is colored by 'draftnik thinking syndrome'. That is they can't get over their own initial draft evaluations of Mac Jones and it colors their thought process, ie creates a bias against him. The problem with Mac Jones is similar to the problem that Brady had, he doesn't jump off the page in terms of athleticism. He doesn't display that wow factor 'arm talent'. He doesn't try to make a lot of 'off platform' throws. In other words he's just not sexy enough for the media to love.

Mac Jones just does the basics very well. He progresses through his reads, anticipates, and processes the game very fast. He has a very accurate arm and a lightning quick release. A lot of similarities to a former New England QB. He also doesn't run around a lot, even though his 40 time is just as fast as some of the other QBs taken ahead of him this year. This doesn't make the pundits say wow, in fact it probably IRRITATES them that their 'lowest rated QB' of the rookie draft class is performing the best of them. This same irritation can be seen in the pundits who continue to belittle a certain #12's accomplishments such as when he broke the all-time passing record of 600 TDs. How is this happening? He doesn't look especially athletic!

Now I'm not saying that Mac will ever have the longevity or unprecedented productivity of #12, just that he has a lot of underappreciated aspects to his game that are similar to that player. And those underappreciated qualities actually are important to being a successful NFL QB - making the right read, making the right throw, not forcing bad passes but taking what the defense gives, throwing the ball accurately so the receiver can make a play but the defender can't, etc. This type of player can be very successful in the NFL, just look at the likes of Kurt Warner. Now I'm not saying Mac Jones is Warner either, BUT what I am saying is the pure pocket passer is far from dead in the NFL. Pocket passer QBs may not be as 'sexy' or generate as many 'highlight reel plays' as the Jacksons or Mahomes or Kyler Murrays of the world, but they can really win football games.

Let's take a look around the league at the current QBs of the division leading teams: [Let's define pocket passer as rushed for < 300 yards per season]

AFCE: Bills Josh Allen [421 2020]
AFCW: Raiders Derek Carr - [140 2020] pocket passer
AFCN: Bengals Joe Burrow - [142 2020] pocket passer
AFCS: Titans Ryan Tannehill [266 2020] pocket passer
NFCE: Cowboys Dak Prescott [277 2019] pocket passer
NFCW: Cardinals Kyler Murray [819 2020]
NFCN: Packers Aaron Rodgers - [149 2020] pocket passer
NFCS Buccaneers Tom Brady - [6 2020] pocket passer

That is 75% of the league's leading Quarterbacks who did not rush for over 300 yards in 2020, we used Dak's 2019 stat as he was injured for 2020. In other words the pocket passer is alive and doing quite well in the NFL. If Mac Jones turns out to be merely an 'excellent pocket passer', the Patriots are going to compete very well in the NFL for years to come.

 

[SouthernPatriot]

I would like to offer a somewhat outsiders view on this discussion of Brady v Mac. It's kind of like the Bear v Saban discussions.
I have a hard time with this because Brady always beat us and I really have "love" for him, but I do have mad respect for him.

Brady will always be the 1st GOAT and there will always be a special place for him in Patriot lore. Just like was our 1st GOAT was Bear and he has a special place in Bama lore.

When Saban came along and started winning National Championships everyone starting comparing him to Bear. Asking who is the better coach. Who had the better record his 2nd season in, etc. ,etc. ,etc.

The truth is you can't compare Bear to Saban, different times, different rules, different ways the game was played. But now it seems everyone has finally realized those facts and just accepted the fact that we are lucky enough to have 2 of the best college football in history!

For now, you just can't compare the Brady and Mac, different times while being rookies, different rules while being rookies, different ways the game was played while being rookies.

Hopefully Mac does become the GOAT and the Patriot will have to accept the fact that they have 2 of the best QBs in the history of the NFL!

 

[Sam Bam Cunningham]

One thing I really appreciate about Mac is his enthusiasm, positivity and how much he sincerely seems to enjoy being a patriot.

In Brady's last year he seemed miserable to be in NE and to be a Patriot. Refreshing change to see excitement and pride to be a Patriot.

 

[VJCPatriot]

In Brady's last year he seemed miserable to be in NE and to be a Patriot. Refreshing change to see excitement and pride to be a Patriot.

You would be a miserable employee too if you were ordered to be the Chef of a kitchen and your WR and TE cupboard was completely BARE and your Coach of 20 years didn't trust you and blamed you for not producing with zero offensive weapons and an unreliable OL.

I'm tired of the shots taken at Brady through Mac Jones. The comparisons don't work. Mac Jones is the beneficiary of a record breaking FA spending frenzy that finally added some receiving weapons to the stockpile, 2 brand new WRs, 2 brand new TEs all making top dollar. And Mac has done what, barely get to 3-4?

Brady didn't get the benefit of those new weapons. But after he moved on to Tampa Bay and won a championship - he PROVED , give him weapons and a decent OL and he will make the team prosper. The Patriots 2019 down year was not his fault, it was the man stocking the groceries - BB. Who looks wrong for moving on from Brady now? Looks like BB, doesn't it?

Anyways I'm tired of it, get over your ex-wife syndrome already. Brady is a winner wherever he goes. Mac Jones is the new wife, yes he's shiny and looks good early, but he has a LONG way to go before he can be compared to a living legend.

 

[Sam Bam Cunningham]

You would be a miserable employee too if you were ordered to be the Chef of a kitchen and your WR and TE cupboard was completely BARE and your Coach of 20 years didn't trust you and blamed you for not producing with zero offensive weapons and an unreliable OL.

I'm tired of the shots taken at Brady through Mac Jones. The comparisons don't work. Mac Jones is the beneficiary of a record breaking FA spending frenzy that finally added some receiving weapons to the stockpile, 2 brand new WRs, 2 brand new TEs all making top dollar. And Mac has done what, barely get to 3-4?

Brady didn't get the benefit of those new weapons. But after he moved on to Tampa Bay and won a championship - he PROVED , give him weapons and a decent OL and he will make the team prosper. The Patriots 2019 down year was not his fault, it was the man stocking the groceries - BB. Who looks wrong for moving on from Brady now? Looks like BB, doesn't it?

Anyways I'm tired of it, get over your ex-wife syndrome already. Brady is a winner wherever he goes. Mac Jones is the new wife, yes he's shiny and looks good early, but he has a LONG way to go before he can be compared to a living legend.

Regardless of whether his angry attitude towards BB was justified or not (it almost certainly was), its a nice change to see a team leader who is pumped.
I am in no way anti Brady...in fact I blame BB for letting him go and not keeping him happy.
However as a Pats fan I am still here in NE and its more fun to watch players who want to be here.
Not everything has to be proMac versus anti Brady.

I am pro Brady and pro Mac

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Ranking under-25 NFL quarterbacks: Top 15 young signal-callers, and where Jackson, Murray rank

Who are the best young QBs in the game? Pro Football Focus ranked the top 15 under the age of 25, including Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence.

www.espn.com

6. Mac Jones, New England Patriots​

Age: 23
Career PFF grade: 82.5
2021 grade: 82.5

Jones has done an excellent job leading the Patriots' offense in his first year as the starter. He is 25th in average depth of target, so he is not firing difficult downfield shots often. However, Jones has been accurate. His completion rate (70.5%) is the fourth-best in the league. After not hitting a pass beyond 20 yards in Weeks 4 and 5, he has cranked it up in his past two starts -- throwing five deep completions for 190 yards and two scores. That bodes well for the Patriots going forward.

 

[Tunescribe]

I would certainly agree. As much as I've said I wish they had made it work and kept Brady, I'm happy they found someone who at least appears to have the basic foundation and attributes to make him a successful QB for this team long-term.

We'll never see another Brady, so that train needs to just move on. He's gone, again, I didn't agree with it, but obviously, I have to - and have - gotten over it. However, I'm certainly good that they seem to have found someone who can make plays, score points, and not turn it over. Most teams that exit the playoffs early are the ones who have QBs that make untimely mistakes and don't make plays when they need to. Overall, at this point, Jones appears to have checked the right boxes.

Keeping a perspective is easy. Just look around at the other top rookie QBs and how they've performed this year, not just on paper, but watching them. Jones isn't throwing stupid interceptions. He's not forcing the football. On the other double-pass they tried, rather than throw it anyway and force it, he didn't think twice about throwing it away. It's a lot of the little things that make me feel like he'll be good in this offense.

He doesn't need to be a superstar - but he'll become one simply by being a guy who completes a high percentage of passes without making mistakes. Because down the stretch, that's how teams win when you get into January. I mean, Brady wasn't a superstar in his first season, he just played better than Gannon and Stewart that first year in the sense that he didn't throw an untimely pick or make a dumb decision. When you couple that with the fact you have Belichick as the coach and a game plan that should give you a shot to win, that's often all it takes.

But so far, so good. Hopefully, he continues progressing but it's been fun watching how this year has continued to play out.

What rankles me are the Brady worshipers who want BB (and consequently the Pats) to fail for letting him go. I loved Tom Brady, I attended every single game he played in Foxboro and some away games as well including Super Bowls. He remains an amazing performer as the undisputed GOAT NFL QB. But I feel differently about him now for multiple reasons, foremost being he no longer is a New England Patriot. He also is a different guy, at least in terms of honing a "new" public image. I find much of it off-putting in contrast to what he was here -- that's just a personal thing unrelated to football but has helped me turn the page. Yes, I understand his personality allegedly was "muzzled" to an extent by the "Patriot Way," but some of the Guerrero/Gisele, etc. influence he's run with under the spotlight is a tad much.

Do I wish Brady had ended his career in New England? Ideally, sure. But I understand why he didn't and also believe he was complicit in that to at least a small degree. To me, Tom Brady is yesterday. I wish him well, still enjoy watching him play, but have no rooting interest in him, the Bucanneers All-Stars or Easy Chair Arians. I love what I've seen so far in Mac Jones and find him a breath of fresh air. It's wonderful watching the Patriots start to develop again as they did around Brady so many years ago. Just the same I am under no illusion Mac will be the next Drew Brees or next anyone -- he might fail, he might prove average, he might become a perennial all-pro. I'm just enjoying the ride with eyes wide open, no brake-pumping necessary.

 

[Ian]

I love what I've seen so far in Mac Jones and find him a breath of fresh air. It's wonderful watching the Patriots start to develop again as they did around Brady so many years ago. Just the same I am under no illusion Mac will be the next Drew Brees or next anyone -- he might fail, he might prove average, he might become a perennial all-pro. I'm just enjoying the ride with eyes wide open, no brake-pumping necessary.

I agree. I love going into each weekend not really knowing what to expect, how they'll fare, etc. But he's young, he's hungry, and he's doing all the things he needs to - so far - to get better. And it's been fun sitting back and watching it all happen.

 

[Fuzz]

Ranking under-25 NFL quarterbacks: Top 15 young signal-callers, and where Jackson, Murray rank

Who are the best young QBs in the game? Pro Football Focus ranked the top 15 under the age of 25, including Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence.

www.espn.com

I don’t have ESPN+. I’m guessing Lamar, Murray, Herbert and Burrow are the top 4. Who’s #5? Daniel Jones?

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I don’t have ESPN+. I’m guessing Lamar, Murray, Herbert and Burrow are the top 4. Who’s #5? Daniel Jones?

Exactly. I like Daniel Jones, but I think Mac is better. I would put it as:

1. Lamar

2. Murray

3. Herbert

4. Burrow

5. Mac

 

[Captain Cliche]

I know it's heresy, but to me Brady became unlikable.

His own personal trainer on the sidelines...like BB said, you can't have 48 trainers on the sidelines. Why should Brady be the exception?
Pimping his TB 12 supplements during a pandemic. Videos of jet skiing in Costa Rica with the family while people are dying by the thousands.
"Watch me throw a football from one yacht to another".
Meetings with Kraft.
Pouting the loss of AB.

Guerrero said BB didn't evolve...meaning Brady didn't get preferential treatment.
He certainly earned it and I appreciate all the wonderful years, but it was time for a divorce.
The cupboard was certainly bare. Tom moved on to greener pastures.

I never doubted we would see Brady in a different uniform, ala Joe Montana and it finally happened.
Tom doesn't play for the Patriots anymore. I'm neutral about him now.
I imagine BB is a ruthless d!ck and difficult to play for. I'm surprised by Julian Edelman's fierce loyalty to the Pats.
He seems to have a different take than Tom.

I always wondered what it would look like if the Pats had a few down years.
I'm looking to forward to watching the rebuilding process...and the thinning of the herd fan-wise.
I know all you guys will still be here.

 

[rochrist]

I know it's heresy, but to me Brady became unlikable.

His own personal trainer on the sidelines...like BB said, you can't have 48 trainers on the sidelines. Why should Brady be the exception?
Pimping his TB 12 supplements during a pandemic. Videos of jet skiing in Costa Rica with the family while people are dying by the thousands.
"Watch me throw a football from one yacht to another".
Meetings with Kraft.
Pouting the loss of AB.

Guerrero said BB didn't evolve...meaning Brady didn't get preferential treatment.
He certainly earned it and I appreciate all the wonderful years, but it was time for a divorce.
The cupboard was certainly bare. Tom moved on to greener pastures.

I never doubted we would see Brady in a different uniform, ala Joe Montana and it finally happened.
Tom doesn't play for the Patriots anymore. I'm neutral about him now.
I imagine BB is a ruthless d!ck and difficult to play for. I'm surprised by Julian Edelman's fierce loyalty to the Pats.
He seems to have a different take than Tom.

I always wondered what it would look like if the Pats had a few down years.
I'm looking to forward to watching the rebuilding process...and the thinning of the herd fan-wise.
I know all you guys will still be here.

Not just his own personal trainer, but a lowlife who scammed people with fake cancer cures among other things.

 

[seven]

I always wondered what it would look like if the Pats had a few down years.

Already saw that in some folks.
Don't believe they must have been watching all that carefully?
*
But, in fairness
whats happening right now can not happen

Not reasonable to expect:
BB, one year rebuild*

QB? 'Here's one"

Week 7, Pats look like some mirror image
of the best of the TB squads.

Great, Historic moment
*
ICYMI, I had:

I was VERY WRONG about Mac Jones​

 

[Sicilian]

I imagine BB is a ruthless d!ck and difficult to play for. I'm surprised by Julian Edelman's fierce loyalty to the Pats.

To be fair in Edelman's case, he had roughly ten years with Belichick while Brady had 20. Brady was fiercely loyal to Belichick after the ten year mark too, even saying in some press conferences when the team was struggling, "I think we just need to listen to coach." (might have been in that 2009 year where things kind of got away from them). 20 years playing for anyone is gonna make someone sour. I'm sure if Brady plays another 20 under Bruce Arians he'll wanna tear the guy's head off.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

I'm not so sure if they kept Brady they could have gone out and got the weapons they did for Mac. I wish TB retired here and they were able to get him some weapons for his last few years, not sure it was possible.

 

[sb1]

Nick Wright says he's not impressed by Mac. So maybe Mac is a lot better than we think!

It's funny that the talking points say Mac can't possibly ever be a good QB because he hasn't thrown downfield as much. Huh. Where have we heard that before. Deja vu...