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(PHOTO: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports) Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky is apparently very worried about Mac Jones and the Patriots’ offense.
Orlovsky appeared on ESPN’s “Get Up” this morning and talked about what has him concerned about Jones, which centers on the fact whoever is going to be in his ear this season is a giant question mark following Josh McDaniels’ departure this offseason. It’s leaving the former NFL QB not feeling overly confident about Jones and the offense heading into the upcoming season.
“Highly,” said Orlovsky when asked about how concerned fans should be heading into this season. “For me, this is probably the most concerning thing that I have in the whole NFL right now. I mean, there are a lot of things that are incredibly important to a young quarterback, a second-year quarterback.”
“One of, if not the most important, is having that same voice in your ear on a consistent basis, that guy that you’re talking football to on a daily basis to help your development, a guy that can sit there and tell you what’s real and what’s not. Or a guy that can sit there and tell you how they’re seeing the game. What’s going on, the feel of that, the development, the growth, all that stuff.”
“You look at some of the young quarterbacks that have really ascended in their second or third years. Look at who they’ve had in their ear when it comes to the consistency. Patrick Mahomes – Eric Bienemy and Mike Kafka. Lamar Jackson had Greg Roman but then James Irvin, their quarterback coach. Joe Burrow’s got Brian Callahan, their offensive coordinator in Zach Taylor. Josh Allen’s got Ken Dorsey and Brian Daboll. These guys have had these offensive-minded guys that have been around the NFL in that kind of role and there’s been a consistency of that.”
“That’s no mistake that those guys took those jumps. And now we have Mac Jones, and think about this. Mac Jones gets Matt Patricia, who is, I guess, a failed defensive mind in the NFL? And he gets Joe Judge, who is a failed special teams mind? That is massive, a massive issue for me.”
He makes some good points, as continuity is important in any system and McDaniels leaving after Jones’ rookie season certainly makes things a little challenging. At the same time, it also appears that the Patriots are changing things up on offense after Jakob Johnson previously revealed that fullback is no longer in their plans, which will hopefully see them continue to play more to both the strengths of Jones as well as their current personnel.
As for Jones, things appear to be business as usual as he and his teammates continue getting ready for the upcoming season. The one positive that Orlovsky left out is that Jones is incredibly intelligent and seemingly able to handle things offensively quite well from a mental standpoint, so knowing what he needs to do on his own will hopefully offset any shortcomings of whoever ends up in his ear by the time the season begins.
.@danorlovsky7 is highly concerned with Mac Jones and the Patriots offense 😳
“This is probably the most concerning thing that I have in the whole NFL right now.” pic.twitter.com/xSnIvTei0v
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 6, 2022
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Orlovsky is usually on the mark and he may have a point here about Patricia and Judge not being offensive guys, but to call them a “failed defensive mind” and a “failed special teams mind” is truly clueless. Patricia has 3 rings (2 as DC) and Judge also has 3 (all as STC). They may have failed as head coaches, but they were outstanding coordinators.
I believe Brian Hoyer will be that voice in Mac’s ear.