Not many people know what it's like to play quarterback for the Patriots under Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels, but someone who does is Matt Cassel.
The former Patriots quarterback and now analyst for NBC Sports Boston joined the "Upon Further Review" podcast recently and gave his thoughts on Mac Jones.
“I am excited about Mac Jones," he said. "Obviously, coming from Alabama, being with Steve Sarkisian -- he was actually my quarterbacks coach in college as well, which is pretty crazy to think about -- but coming from a Saban program at Alabama and to see what he went through. His resiliency, his mental toughness playing behind [Jalen] Hurts, playing behind Tua [Tagovailoa] and then finally capitalizing on his opportunity speaks volumes to the type of player that he is and became throughout the adversity that he faced he did his senior year and now the New England Patriots were able to pick him up at 15. They didn’t have to move up in the draft to get him, which was an amazing opportunity for them.
“My expectations are high for Mac Jones, but at the same time I know he has time to develop, which is nice for him because it’s a very complex system. Look, I grew up in that system. A lot goes into the terminology, the run checks, the in-game adjustments. There’s a lot of emphasis put on the quarterback to get you into the right plays. There’s going to be a steep learning curve and it’s going to be quick.
“Everyone talks about this competition coming up between Cam Newton and Mac Jones in camp, but the fact of the matter is there’s just a finite time. There’s only so many reps that can go around to these guys and I know the New England Patriots and Coach Belichick and Josh McDaniels know this, you have to really focus your decision on who you’re going to start to get those guys the reps. Get them the rapport with those new players that they brought in this offseason.”
Training camp gets underway July 28.