Can Mac crash Tom’s party?
Rookie QB faces greatest test of all
FOXBORO — Mac Jones was barely out of diapers when the legend of Tom Brady was born with a fateful game-winning drive in the final minute of Super Bowl XXXVI. More than two decades later, Jones, now 23, gets to trade scoring drives with the quarterback who has lorded over the game ever since.
So where exactly does Jones fit in this story, with Brady returning for the most-anticipated game of the season?
Well, he’s certainly not the star attraction. That distinction belongs to Brady, who will be playing in the stadium he helped build with six championships. This isn’t being billed as a Mac vs. Tom showdown. It’s more of a Bill vs. Tom bout, or GOAT Bowl, as Julian Edelman has labeled it, referring to his former coach and quarterback.
Still, the kid vs. the legend has its own appeal, given the 21-year age difference between the two quarterbacks.
But let’s cut to the chase — the real interest from the Patriots perspective will be in seeing if Mac can crash Brady’s party, and steal some of the spotlight during the game.
“He gets to go against the best to ever do it on the opposite sideline as a young rookie,” said former Patriot Heath Evans. “I’d say he’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Evans then mapped out this scenario: Brady puts the Buccaneers ahead with a minute to play with one of his patented game-winning drives late, but Jones counters with one of his own.
“If you’re a big game dreamer, this is what you dream for, right?” Evans said of Jones, “and if he puts together a scoring drive in the final minute to beat Tommy, now that would be something. That’s the stuff legends are made of right there.”
Given how the first three games have transpired for Jones and the Patriots, that outcome doesn’t seem in the realm of possibility, but who knows? If it happened, it would certainly be stunning, and not only renew hope for this season, but beyond for the Patriots.
Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, reached by the Herald, actually drew a parallel to the Super
Bowl mentioned above. He suggested the scenario for Jones isn’t much different than the one 19 years ago. That’s when Brady, seeing his first NFL action following his rookie season, faced Warner in that fateful Super Bowl.
Warner, an NFL Network analyst, says it’s important for Jones to realize he doesn’t have to live up to what Brady has become, rather he should be looking more toward emulating the younger version, the one that calmly took down the heavily-favored Rams with a lastminute drive at the end of the game.
“I think back to Tom Brady when he beat me in the Super Bowl,” said Warner, “and Tom Brady, was very much Mac Jones, or maybe even less than Mac Jones, in terms of what they were asking him to do. In the Super Bowl, he threw for like 150 yards ... it’s easy to look at Tom Brady now, and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to live up to that.’
“It’s easy to get caught up in the legacy of Tom Brady, as opposed to going back and going, ‘Well, look who Tom Brady was his first couple years, as he developed and became Tom Brady,’’’ Warner went on. “He wasn’t that same guy early on. As a young guy, you have to realize it takes time to develop into who you’re going to be in the NFL.”
As a first-round pick, Jones is expected to assume the mantle, and evolve into the next franchise quarterback for the Patriots. In that respect, he should be able to handle all that goes with being the quarterback opposing Brady in this highlyanticipated showdown, and hold his own. But beating Brady?
No one is counting on that. Knowing Jones and his makeup, however, he just might be. He expects to win every time he steps on the field. That’s how he’s wired.
And that’s fine. Holding yourself to a high standard is never a bad thing. Patriots Hall of Famer Tedy Bruschi, a longtime ESPN analyst, got a glimpse into the inner Jones while observing several training camp practices.
“It just seemed like everything was important to him. I mean, he beat himself up over little mistakes. Those are vitally important things, not to make the same mistake twice,” Bruschi told the Herald. “And that is very similar to what Tom was like when he was younger. Just beating himself up, profanity-laced tirades about being mad at himself, you know, just things like that . ... He sort of had something very similar to everything being just important to him, and I respected that.”
At this stage in his development, might the moment be too great for him? Will it prove too much too soon? Charlie Weis didn’t think so.
The one-time Patriots offensive coordinator said Jones was groomed for moments like these, coming from Nick Saban’s program at Alabama.
“The situation won’t be too big for him,” said Weis, currently an analyst on SiriusXM NFL radio. “You’ll see no evidence of him being rattled.”
Former NFL offensive coordinator Todd Haley agreed.
“I don’t think we’ll see him flake out and panic ... but it’ll be a really big test,” said Haley, who also serves as a SiriusXM NFL analyst. “National television, going against that defense, knowing Brady’s on the other side. That’s the next step.”
For the Patriots to have a chance, Bruschi said Jones will need help from the defense and special teams in terms of providing favorable field position.
Warner’s advice to Jones for the big night? Just be himself. Don’t try to be something he’s not.
Speaking with the media Wednesday, Jones sounded like he was ready for the test.
“Once the hay is in the barn, the hay is in the barn, and you just got to go play,” he said, “and I think everyone will be excited, and we’re just going to be ready to play when it happens.”