The finish was inevitable.
Mac Jones traded for a late-round draft choose, a tragic offseason transaction prompted by two years of distress, dysfunction and on-field catastrophe.
Jones was by no means going to see Year 4 in New England. Old quarterbacks by no means survive new regimes, particularly once they accrue sufficient baggage to fill an entire rattling carousel. But the journey that led to Jones’ baggage, the Patriots’ shedding and their shared ache?
Completely avoidable.
At each fork, the Patriots took the street much less travelled with Jones and didn’t miss a single pothole.
Jones wanted a brand new coordinator and play-caller getting into a pivotal second season? Say hiya to … Matt Patricia?
He wanted a brand new No. 1 receiver for a weapon-starved crew? In consecutive years, the Pats opted for a reduction in DeVante Parker and broken items in JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Jones’ offensive line, a weak point in 2022, required repairs heading right into a do-or-die marketing campaign? The entrance workplace patched it with veteran cast-offs and Day 3 draft picks who, predictably, flopped and expedited the offense’s backslide.
Now, sufficient ink has been spilled retracing the entire Patriots’ failures and Jones’ shortcomings for the aim of understanding how and why the crew fell aside. All sides deserve blame. That train is drained, ineffective now.
The solely worth in analyzing the previous is the way it can fertilize the Patriots’ future; classes new head coach Jerod Mayo and de facto GM Eliot Wolf can take from Bill Belichick’s missteps with Jones to make sure they don’t repeat the worst of current franchise historical past.
Because groups fail quarterbacks extra usually than quarterbacks fail groups. The Patriots failed Mac Jones, who greased the wheels of his personal demise by shedding his confidence, the locker room and, often, his cool. Back in October, I co-authored a deep dive into Jones’ fall from a promising rookie to a misplaced quarterback. This was greater than a month earlier than Bill Belichick shelved Jones for good.
By then, it was already evident Jones was not ok to beat his circumstances and lead a profitable operation; circumstances which are higher described as poor roster expertise. Herein lies the primary lesson.
The Patriots failed, bewilderingly so, to capitalize on Jones’ cost-controlled rookie contract. In 2021, he proved he was a succesful starter, when supported by a correct teaching workers and offensive line. He was a pocket-bound level guard, to make sure; a quarterback who couldn’t prolong performs or generate explosive good points on his personal.
Jones would information profitable, relatively than drive it himself. But as an alternative of spending the additional money so as to add explosive gamers, the Patriots stood pat. They ranked among the many most cost-effective groups by money spending the previous couple seasons, when Jones performed on a team-friendly contract.
If/when the Patriots draft a rookie subsequent month, they have to spend on explosive weapons. The entrance workplace reportedly intend to take a “big swing” at high free-agent wideout Calvin Ridley. That’s begin, however this offense — which at present owns the worst skill-position expertise within the league — wants extra.
Next: preserve a wholesome partnership with the quarterback.
NFL Notes: The Patriots’ excellent plan without spending a dime company
Before Jones broke on the sector earlier than our very eyes, his relationship with Belichick fractured. Belichick thought-about buying and selling him after simply two seasons due to how his younger quarterback rubbed him the unsuitable approach, and barely uttered his identify publicly. Meanwhile, Mayo has stated repeatedly he desires to attach with gamers personally, even “coach out of love,” as Belichick’s alternative.
Again, begin. But the Patriots want extra.
Next: guarantee the following quarterback’s mentally robust and acts as a unifying power within the locker room. While Jones’ dedication was by no means questioned, his immaturity flashed on the sector and behind closed doorways. There had been indicators of that immaturity within the draft course of, earlier than the Patriots picked him fifteenth total, because the fifth quarterback drafted in that class.
Eventually, sufficient veterans had been turned off by Jones’ antics amid shedding stretches, notably on protection, that he misplaced most of his teammates by midseason. Wolf sounds decided so as to add a quarterback who will not foster the identical sort of setting.
“First of all, being someone that can elevate his teammates, someone that your teammates want to play for,” Wolf defined final month on the NFL Scouting Combine. “I think that’s an extremely underrated thing that people don’t talk about that much. Leadership’s important, and obviously physical talent. We wouldn’t be talking about these guys if they weren’t physically talented.”
Lastly: discover a quarterback who can create yards and factors on his personal. This trait has by no means been extra helpful within the NFL, on the finish of the scoring increase when defenses are sitting again in two-high coverages and daring offenses to run and throw for brief good points. Explosive performs correlate extra strongly with profitable than any statistic outdoors of turnovers, and are more and more laborious to come back by.
That is, besides when you’ve a quarterback who can scramble and/or prolong performs out of construction. A quarterback with these skills is akin to an NBA participant who could make a tricky shot late within the shot clock, after his crew’s set play has gone awry. Jones might solely function inside construction, one thing the perfect quarterbacks within the league — Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert — do not require.
Why? They’re among the many most correct and athletic passers within the league, an unbeatable combo.
All advised, the Mac Jones period was a failure. But failure on the quarterback may be contained to the time he spent right here.
If — and solely iff — the Patriots pay attention and study from their previous as they seek for his alternative.
Source: www.bostonherald.com