The Patriots’ season debut presents a battle of the exes.
Vegas has New England as big underdogs hosting the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles, but there’s unique intrigue around how quarterback Mac Jones will fair against his old offensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who’s now coaching defense for the Eagles.
The debate has raged on for months as to whether Jones’ poor play last season had more to do with his own limitations or the offensive (interpret that word as you will) coaching. Jones’ recently retired teammate Devin McCourty spoke about the unusual setup on 2022’s staff on the Greg Hill Show this week:
“That wasn’t a good thing. There was nothing good about that. I think a lot of people talk about the season, but from training camp, there was nothing good about that.”
Sunday is a chance for the third-year quarterback to prove that when given a coach and a system that play to his strengths, he’s a solid NFL starter.
jones and mego: How does Mac Jones stack up against the rest of the NFL's QB talent?
Media and fans down on Jones will accuse him of a getting a pass on his sophomore slump. Who wants a quarterback who looks like he needs everything just right to win? C’mon, Goldilocks. Is one rookie season enough to cement he’s closer to Justin Herbert than Baker Mayfield? Look at his position in any preseason quarterback ranking and you get the idea of how perilous his standing in the league is. He’s a player fighting for his reputation and his future.
This is not to say that’s all on the line in one game Sunday. But it’s hard not to expect Jones to want to show that he wasn’t the problem last season, and the investments the Patriots have made in him this year will be worthwhile.
Here’s how he does it: first, he has to have a better season opener than last year and the year before. That sounds obvious, but it’s a tough task against the best pass rush in the entire NFL. He should avoid interceptions, weather a tornado of sacks, and get his team to more than 17 points. Throwing for more than 240 yards would be nice.
That’s the black and white of it. Above all, Jones will emerge looking good if he flourishes in coordinator Bill O’Brien’s scheme . He needs to prove that empty formations and run-pass options allow him to engineer (poor choice of words?) his weapons into the red zone and then execute in all the ways they failed last year.
To make the task tougher, Patricia will have at least some insight into the weak points Jones doesn't always show on tape. Oh, and Tom Brady will be waiting to be honored in the stadium at halftime.
Above all, he’s got to show doubters that this coordinator and this system lets him outsmart the stacked talent on Patricia’s side of the ball. It’s a game within the game even Bill Belichick alluded to in press conferences this week.
“I don’t think it’s a big mystery about what they do,” the head coach said when asked about the Eagles’ defense. “They just do it very well. They’re very balanced.”
Alabama Mac, the Joker – whatever. Let him Griddy out of the inflatable tunnel if he demonstrates trickery and diagnosing at the line of scrimmage is enough to befuddle Haason Reddick and Brandon Graham.
New England’s offense is being constructed on the cornerstones of good coaching and smart quarterback. If Jones looks Machiavellian under center Sunday, it’s the first step towards vindication from his situation last season.
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