Nine hours and five minutes before kickoff of Sunday’s contest in Las Vegas, Ian Rapoport posted a story on NFL.com titled ‘Patriots QB Mac Jones expected to be on short leash Sunday vs. Raiders’.
The report explained that, if Jones were to have "a poor opening few series", New England could look elsewhere at quarterback to take snaps against the Raiders, but it wasn't clear if they'd turn to Bailey Zappe, Will Grier, or Malik Cunningham.
All outlets covering both the team and the league ran with it, talked about it, and speculated on it all morning and afternoon long - including us on WEEI’s Football Sunday Show.
Ultimately, the Patriots kept just two signal callers, Jones and their gadget player in Cunningham, active during their 21-17 loss, and he was not pulled as their starter during the defeat.
jones and mego: mac jones joins the show following patriots 21-17 loss to raiders:
In his weekly appearance on WEEI’s Jones and Mego, Jones was asked if it’s difficult to succeed under the idea of having a ‘short leash’:
“Um, no,” the quarterback explained. “Just because I don’t really pay attention to that stuff. Obviously, we talk about it on the interviews and shows. For me, I just want to go out there and try and execute a little bit better each week and get better. Every week’s different. Some weeks you’re gonna run the ball a lot or play action a lot, and some week’s you’re going to throw and do all those things, so. It just depends on the week and I try not to focus on all of the emotions from the outside and really just focus on the team because I really care about the team and I really do have a really good relationship with a lot of the guys, so. We want to do better. We’re trying, we’re working, and we just gotta continue to do that.”
Following an article in the Boston Herald last week that reported players are losing faith in Jones as the Patriots' starting quarterback, he also asked if he feels he has the support of his teammates:
"Yeah, I do," he explained. "I have a lot of respect for the guys on our team and have been with these guys, some of them for three years, and some of them I played with in college or whatnot. I do feel like I have a lot of respect from the guys and there's a lot of things I want to do better as a player. That'll really change some things, but at the end of the day I gotta keep working, they have to keep working, and I know they will, just like we all are. I know it sucks and it's frustrating but, at the same time you've got to keep going forward and see who wants to battle."
Jones also spoke about his former teammate Jakobi Meyers, Malik Cunningham, and more on Monday’s edition of Jones and Mego. You can listen to the full interview here.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
Related
