ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky believes the Patriots have who they need to get back to the top of the AFC. They just need to start him.
On “Get Up” Monday, the former quarterback gave a full-throated endorsement for Mac Jones to start Week 1 over Cam Newton.
“Mac Jones today is the better player,” he said. “Mac Jones three or four months from now is going to be the better player. And I’m aware of what that means. Cam Newton has been very good — this is not a situation where Cam gave away the starting job. This is a situation where Mac Jones went out and took it.”
Jones was the better player during the preseason, completing 36 of 52 passes for 388 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. It’s worth noting, however, that Jones largely played with the second and third units.
Newton, meanwhile, started every preseason contest — even after his five-day hiatus for failing to follow Covid protocols. He completed 2 of 5 passes for 10 yards and a tough luck interception against the Giants Sunday. On the whole, Newton completed 14 of 21 passes this preseason for 162 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Though Belichick won’t yet publicly name his starter, his actions indicate that Newton will be out there against the Dolphins Sept. 12. Orlovsky, like many of us, thinks that would be a mistake.
In fact, he says Jones could be a contender for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“Mac Jones just plays fast. In these close quarterback competitions, when you have one player that’s older and one player that’s younger, I always lean on going with the player that’s younger,” Orlovsky said. “With Mac Jones at quarterback, it would close the gap between New England and all the other all the other really good teams in the AFC, mainly Kansas City, Cleveland and Buffalo. If Mac Jones is their starter, which he would be for me, I would put him at the very top of the list for Offensive Rookie of the Year.”
And the praise didn’t end there. Orlovsky went as far as to compare Jones to — you guessed it — Tom Brady.
“[Jones] just plays fast,” he said. “Remember this: the New England offense is always about a quarterback that’s a point guard. I just need you to distribute the football to the right place at the right time to the exact right location. Tom Brady did it for 20 years, and Mac Jones looks to be an exact carbon copy to that.”
While the Brady comparison is obviously premature, Jones was clearly the better quarterback this preseason. But performance may not matter in this case — at least not yet.
