Not only does Patriots' quarterback Mac Jones get his play-calls from an offensive line coach, but the second-year centerpiece of the New England offense leans heavily on a playing philosophy that he’s subscribed to since it was passed along to him from his high school offense line coach.
“As long as you're taking a profit, you can't go broke,” Jones proclaimed to WEEI a year ago at this time while defending his then-rookie reputation as a dink-and-dunk quarterback.
A lot has transpired for Jones and the Patriots since that time. The good is that he finished his rookie season by leading New England back to the playoffs, earning himself a trip to the Pro Bowl for one more impressive debut campaigns in the history of the NFL. The bad has come this fall, Jones’ turning the ball over too often as he’s transitioned from the time-tested tutelage of Josh McDaniels to that of Matt Patricia, with some Joe Judge and Bill Belichick sprinkled in for collaborative measure. Mix in an ankle injury that cost Jones three-plus games to ignite the Bailey Zappe phenomenon in Patriot Nation and the former No. 15 overall pick and supposed franchise foundation has been riding a bit of a struggle bus through the first few months of his sophomore season.
One thing hasn’t changed, though. Jones reaffirmed his faith in the philosophy offensive line coach Lance Picard preached nearly a decade ago now at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla.
“He used to call me Sunshine. So he would say like, 'Sunshine, you'll never go broke taking a profit.' We ran the Wing-T. So if the back was open, give it to him, and let him get the 5, 10 yards and good things will happen. All good,” Jones recalled this week.
It sounds so easy. And a year ago Jones may have even made it look relatively so.
But not this year. Not with Patricia. Not with the different New England philosophy of pushing the ball down the field to give receivers chances with 50/50 balls, a slightly more aggressive passing approach early in the year that at least contributed to Jones throwing five interceptions in his first three starts of his second NFL September.
Nope, all has not been good with the New England offense in the team’s 4-4 start, a .500 record very much emblematic of the middling team it is at the midpoint of the season.
Patricia is still finding his way as a play-caller. Jones is still finding his way as an NFL starter, evolving along the way with the new coaching and “streamlined” Patriots’ offense in the wake of McDaniels’ departure. The unit is still looking for its identity, some of which Jones realizes will be about balancing his various options in the passing game more efficiently.
The Patriots don’t necessarily have to be a dink-and-dunk offense, the kind they were at times a year ago or even the kind they were decades ago in the infancy of Tom Brady’s tenure in New England. Nor does New England have to try to keep up with the Josh Allens and Patrick Mahomeses of the world, leaping into some big-play party that maybe Jones and the rest of the roster really aren’t equipped to be invited to at this point.
“As always, short, medium and long. However it comes, it just goes down to taking what the defense gives, whether that's the short, or the medium or the long,” Jones said of seeking a balance in the Patriots passing game. “If your long guy's open then you want to give him the ball. If he's not, then work through your progressions, things like that. But it always goes back to taking what the defense gives.”
Just like Coach Lance told Sunshine on a Sunshine State high school practice field back in the day.
Through it all during his football career one philosophy has served Jones well. It worked in high school Bolles. It worked during his record-setting, national championship season at Alabama. It worked as a resoundingly successful rookie a year ago in New England.
As long as you’re taking a profit, you can’t go broke.
“It will always be that way,” Jones said with a confident smile this week.
How can Jones and the fledgling Patriots offense get things going, beginning this Sunday against the Colts?
Maybe the answer lies in simply getting back to the quarterback’s simple philosophical football roots.
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