Why do people say Mac Jones has a weak arm?

[Ian]

Brady had decent arm strength too when he came into the league, but he got much better over the years.

People continue comparing Mac to 2001 Brady instead of 2000 Brady, with the latter being a better comparison. Brady was skinny as a rookie and was definitely much stronger in his second season.

That being said, I definitely feel like Jones’ arm strength will also be better in his sophomore season and it should make this thread interesting to look back on next year.

 

[Ian]

His arm isn't weak, but I wish it had a little more zip on those out patterns. Those can easily be pick6s if you aren't careful. His arm will be tested the day we have to play in high winds and snow.

This should be interesting to see…I don’t know how many cold weather games he played in while at Alabama. Fortunately, Belichick does have the guys practice outside quite a bit so it should be interesting to see how he handles things as the temperature drops and he starts playing in adverse conditions.

 

[sb1]

"he will not be a dual threat quarterback in the pros." And this is, at least, part of what the geniuses at WalterFootball.com would have us believe limits Mac Jones to the role of backup quarterback in the NFL. Just forget that the GOAT quarterback may also be the slowest qb to ever play the game. No, you have to be a dual threat and they make this statement after Brady wins another Super Bowl. Why anyone would read anything that these morons write about draft prospects is beyond me.

Yeah that publication hasn’t had anything good to say about Mac. Called him another Matt Barkley or AJ McCarron. They also graded the Pats picking Mac at 15 a D and compared him to Andy Dalton. Also ranked him the most likely to bust in the draft class.

They also graded the Bears moving up for Fields an A+. Tells you the type of QB that they like.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

Watson was a complete bust on ball velocity at the combine - one of the lowest measurements recorded:

It is fellow 2017 draftee DeShaun Watson, however, that threatens to blow the “ball velocity” framework to smithereens. Watson registered a 45, one of the lowest scores recorded in the decade of measuring ball velocity.

Ball Velocity Is Bunk - Inside The Pylon

Dave Archibald breaks down why ball velocity measurements for quarterbacks at the NFL Combine aren't a helpful predictor of NFL success.

insidethepylon.com

 

[bormio]

Apparently Joe Montana doesn’t think his arm is all that weak.

 

[Gumby]

Word is, at a high school party, he lost an arm wrestling match to Gumby.

I can assure you I wasn’t at his HS party.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Brady also had a weak arm

 

[scott99]

I’ve always said this about Mac Jones. He has a good arm. Not a great arm, but it’s good. It’s certainly not weak. It’s certainly not below average.

 

[sb1]

Brady also had a weak arm

Brady’s arm when he started in the league was underrated imo.

 

[Rob0729]

People continue comparing Mac to 2001 Brady instead of 2000 Brady, with the latter being a better comparison. Brady was skinny as a rookie and was definitely much stronger in his second season.

That being said, I definitely feel like Jones’ arm strength will also be better in his sophomore season and it should make this thread interesting to look back on next year.

Sure 2000 Brady is definitely a more accurate comparison since Brady had already started the process of transforming his body in 2001. But we didn't see Brady play in 2000. That is why I used 2001.

But people act that Brady transformed himself overnight where he went from the guy in the combine picture to 2007 Brady overnight. It took years of hard work for Brady to work on his strength and mechanics to become the passer in 2007 who broke the TD record.

 

[Rob0729]

Brady’s arm when he started in the league was underrated imo.

That's definitely true. His arm we decent enough just like Jones, but people said he had a weak arm.

 

[Rob0729]

Here a video breaking down one of Jones' deep passes from last year and it shows you how Jones is a touch pass deep ball passer and whether or not he has the arm strength, he can throw a perfect deep ball. He hits the receiver perfectly in stride 40 yards down the field.

 

[sb1]

The one to Bourne against the Jets was almost all arm. He barely stepped into the throw.

His arm is not elite but that’s ok. there’s nothing wrong with his arm.

 

[Rob0729]

I think a good comp for Jones on deep passes is the Denver Peyton Manning. When Manning came back and went to Denver, his arm strength was greatly diminished (possibly worse than Jones' arm strength right now) and relied solely on touch passing to get the ball down the field. His passes looked ugly with wobbly floaters, but he was still a very good deep ball passer he was still accurate. And he did break Brady's TD record in 2013.

A couple of caveats are that Manning was in Denver which helped carry his floaters at times and he had great receivers.

But Manning showed you could be a very good deep ball passer with average at best arm strength.

 

[Wozzy]

He can throw a ball with hyper accuracy and that is far more important than arm strength. He throws into tight windows, he threw a 75 yarder to Bourne... his arm is plenty strong. Very rarely does a QB need to throw it more than 30-40 yards in the air.

Draftniks needed a reason to knock Mac down a peg in pre-draft, he had a doughy body, he didn't run super fast, there was a large class of QB prospects coming out and many were athletic specimens; taller, heavier, faster etc.

The reality is Mac put up the greatest single season of passing in college history and many "talent evaluators" ignored it at their own peril. Now those same guys are on TV (or here) saying Mac has a weak arm but he's really smart... they're covering up for the fact they completely screwed up the evaluation.

Every year it's the same thing, running QB's are the future, they're going to revolutionize something... garbage. Before the advent of the forward pass, running "backs" was all there was. It's not new, it's retro. Passing is the job, it's one-two-three on the list of importance after protecting the football. Kyler Murray can run faster than any QB in the league, he beats you with his arm. The greatest QB in history was among the worst athletes in the league while he played, kind of tells you the importance of running. QB's need to have it between the ears, have good motor control... running, athleticism... that's just gravy.

 

[Ian]

Sure 2000 Brady is definitely a more accurate comparison since Brady had already started the process of transforming his body in 2001. But we didn't see Brady play in 2000. That is why I used 2001.

But people act that Brady transformed himself overnight where he went from the guy in the combine picture to 2007 Brady overnight. It took years of hard work for Brady to work on his strength and mechanics to become the passer in 2007 who broke the TD record.

I definitely agree with you. And I didn't mean you specifically, I just meant in general. I've seen people talking about this in various posts on social media and it's like people seem to forget that 2001 wasn't Brady's rookie season. 2001 Brady was definitely stronger than year one, and I'd like to think that's hopefully what will happen with Jones also.

 

[gobesmug]

The question of the thread is does he have a weak arm. Answer is hell no

People always get bent out of shape.

Weak compared to some random guy that has never played football? Hell no

Weak compared to Mahomes who can flip his wrist and the ball flies 60 yards on a dime? Kind of. Ave is a better way of putting it.

Great arm strength as compared to Ave arm strength in the NFL is not a big deal.

Mac's arm is strong enough to be great. He reminds me a lot of Drew Brees who also had Ave arm strength.

 

[pats99]

Jones is blessd with great footwork, whether he is climbing the pocket or just stepping into his throws he can snap those hips and push that ball downfield if he wants to. That being said, a lot of the wow factor of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance etc, they don't need to do any of that stuff. They can be standing still, shoulders square, backing up, whaterver and with a flick of the wrist the ball is gone. Its ridiculous how easy these guys make it look.

But I am fine with who Mac Jones is. He is accurate, decisive, can throw a very catchable deep ball (Alabama) and gets the ball out super quick after its snapped. Would I like to see him throw one of those under pressure "on a rope" passes off his backfoot to the sideline. Sure that would be fun, but why penalize him for his great footwork

 

[Patriot Missile]

Mac Jones does not have a bad arm.

1. Mac actually had one of (if not the best) deep balls in all of college football last year. And it wasn't because of his receivers. He has pinpoint accuracy, excellent timing and anticipation, and also throws a very catchable ball with touch like Montana did. He can throw it anywhere down the field 50 yards.

2. The Patriots OLine was absolute crap the first 6 weeks. Idiots on the offensive staff thought it was OK to repeatedly start Durant or Herron at RT, Wynn played terribly the first month, and keeping Onwenu at LG and benching Karras for 6 weeks was a huge mistake.

3. It is impossible for anyone to look good on 20+ yard throws when you only had 2 seconds to throw the ball and were constantly getting wrecked with league-leading numbers of QB hits the first 6 weeks.

4. In a major coincidence, after fixing the OLine with Onwenu at RT and Karras at LG, Mac has thrown multiple beautiful balls and long TD throws the last 2 consecutive weeks. Mac did not magically become better. And he certaintly didn't get good coaching. It was all because the OLine didn't suck anymore.

.

Pretty much sums it up. Accuracy is key in his game. Just watch Herbert, Mahomes and Allen and that is the definition of a strong arm. You can tell right away how fast it leaves within the first 10 ft of deployment. Brady actually developed strength and velocity over the years. I would think with training, man muscle and diet his ceiling could be Aikman’s or Montana’s arm strength. Two qbs that were very accurate With great offensive lines. Didn’t matter that they didnt have the strength of Elway or Marino. They got it done. So will Mac imo

 

[Deus Irae]

That is a bunch of guys in shorts and t-shirts screwing around for a free trip to Hawaii. And the deep pass competition was not an deep ball accuracy competition.

If I remember correctly he didn’t do nearly as well in some of the accuracy competitions where he was more accurate passer than almost every QB competing. That competition was entertaining to watch, but did little to tell you who these QB was.

The discussion was arm strength, not arm accuracy.