The spring work of voluntary OTAs and mandatory minicamp is now over for Bill Belichick’s Patriots.
Though the shorts-t-shirts action is deemed a teaching environment by the New England head coach, the reality is that players are being evaluated each and every time they arrive at One Patriot Place or step on the practice fields of Gillette Stadium.
That certainly includes the quarterbacks, the position that Patriots owner Robert Kraft goes-without-saying acknowledged to reporters this spring as the most important for New England or any football team. It’s also the position that the football boss said needed to be solidified.
To recap, in terms of the handful of practices that the media was allowed to watch this spring, returning veteran Cam Newton performed at what might kindly be described as an up-and-down level.
Rookie first-round pick Mac Jones also performed at what might most accurately be described as an up-and-down level.
According to NBC Sports Boston, the Patriots are “agog” over the rookie passer who’s impressed evaluating eyes as much or more so than any young quarterback in the two-plus decades this regime has been entrenched in Foxborough.
While Belichick may not be prone to making decisions before the deadline which might spur such reaction – after all New England doesn’t play a preseason game for two months and an actual meaningful contest for nearly three months – after witnessing Newton and Jones share the practice field for weeks and work with the teammates they each hope to lead into battle come September, one thing is pretty clear at this point in the process: the Patriots starting QB job should be Mac Jones’ to lose.
If Jones is putting forth as good or better practice performances as a former MVP veteran barely a month into his pro career and mere weeks after getting the Patriots playbook that Newton himself has referred to as “calculus,” why should we expect him to be anything less than the better quarterback in three months?
Jones’ resume is one of a hard-working, heady, NFL-ready passer coming off one of the greatest seasons in college football history for a quarterback. He’s a leader who worked his way up the Alabama depth chart under the hard-coaching eye of like-minded Belichick buddy Nick Saban. He’s the kind of guy who’ll only get better over time, even while experiencing increasing challenges.
Newton, on the other hand, is a veteran who’s supposedly owed a second chance to make a first impression in the New England offense. He theoretically did Belichick and the team a solid by arriving late last offseason, battling through COVID and staying the course for a squad sailing through uncharted waters in the first year post-Tom Brady. He didn’t have the weapons to put to use or the preseason practice time to even learn how to put them to use.
The only problem is that Newton looks like the same guy a year later. His mechanics and accuracy are what they are. And even in the non-contact world of spring work the offense doesn’t look appreciably better with him leading the pack. In fact, from an anecdotal perspective, the offense actually appeared a smoother, timelier operation more often with Jones taking charge.
Patriots tackle Trent Brown said this week that Jones is “going to be special” in the NFL.
That may or may not be true. Right now, it doesn’t really matter.
Right now he simply needs to be as good as or better than Newton.
And already he is.
He’s already the better option for a team built to run the ball, play defense and get a few timely short passing game contributions from the quarterback position.
As players and coaches embark on the summer down time before returning to work in training camp in late July there is one simple question Belichick, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and all of Patriot Nation should ask themselves after seeing Jones’ work this spring.
It’s not why Jones should be the Patriots starting quarterback coming opening day against the Dolphins?
Nope. At this point the lone question is quite the opposite.
Why shouldn’t Mac Jones be the Patriots starting quarterback come opening day against the Dolphins?
Because it’s clear now and will become more and more clear by the day as the summer plays out that he should be.
The Patriots QB job is now seemingly Jones’ to lose.
Ignore all the chatter and distracting noise, it really is that simple.