HAVE THE PATRIOTS PROVIDED MAC WITH ENOUGH TO WIN?
Experts are split on personnel, coaches surrounding Jones
It should come as no surprise that in an offense-crazed league, a good number of NFL teams have pulled out all the stops to surround their respective quarterbacks with the necessary resources to succeed.
The Bengals gave Joe Burrow a competent offensive line. The Raiders gave Derek Carr arguably the game’s best receiver in Davante Adams, a former college teammate. The Rams gave Matthew Stafford another star receiver, Allen Robinson, to help win another Super Bowl.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, handed Tua Tagovailoa speed and then some in Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson, not to mention, a head coach who’s an offensive guru.
The Patriots? What have they done to give Mac Jones a hand?
Thus far, they’ve supplied him with a shiny new weapon for the offense, making a rare trade within the division to bring aboard DeVante Parker.
The Pats also gave Jones a questionable collection of coaches to try and help make up for the loss of former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. While the dynamics are still a little fuzzy, both Joe Judge and Matt Patricia will be involved in Jones’ development. Bill Belichick, too.
With the NFL draft on deck, have the Patriots already armed Jones with sufficient assets? Have they done enough on the coaching front and on the field to succeed?
Speaking with several NFL analysts, answers were mixed on the subject.
Some believe Jones will take it up a notch with the current cast.
SiriusXM NFL analyst Jim Miller,
a former Patriot backup quarterback, aligns with that camp.
“I think Mac Jones is a self-starter,” said Miller. “I think he’s going to work hard. I think Bill will coach him up to do what he needs to do. He’ll run the quarterback meetings, so I think Mac will be fine.”
And yet, Parker’s injury history, along with Judge and Patricia essentially having no history guiding quarterbacks, or calling plays, still leaves uneasiness from the outside looking in.
ESPN analyst Damien Woody, a former Patriot, believes Parker can help the offense. He’s just dumbfounded by the assembly of coaches now backing Jones.
“I am highly skeptical. Are you talking about Matt Patricia or Joe Judge calling offensive plays? Huh? Or Nick Caley? Anyway you slice it to me, is a problem,” said Woody. “Calling plays is an art form. They might have the same system, but you’re going with a person who hasn’t called plays before. To me, right now, that’s problematic.”
Until Judge or Patricia prove otherwise, it’s a question mark, and not one that lends to confidence. Having Jones saddled with uncertainty and inexperience in the coaching staff could hamper his growth Year 2.
On the other hand, Woody didn’t dismiss the possibility of the Patriots second-year quarterback improving on his own, despite the circumstances around him. He just wasn’t sure how much Jones could move the needle.
“Can he improve? Absolutely. Is the game still won from the neck up? Yup. Does accuracy matter? Yup,” he said. “But the question is, how much improvement are we going to see from him. How much taller is his ceiling? I just think his ceiling is shorter than some others in his class . . . so to me, it’s like, how much juice can you squeeze out of Mac Jones?”
Former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum, an NFL Insider for ESPN, doesn’t seem worried about Jones’ new set of coaches, or his arsenal. His money is on the former Alabama star making a leap, and that was before the Patriots made the trade with the Dolphins for Parker.
“I’m a huge Mac Jones fan,” Tannenbaum said when reached recently. “I don’t think he gets enough credit for coming into a COVID environment, beating out Cam Newton, and taking his team to the playoffs in Year 1. I think what he did was remarkable.
“And I think you’ll see as a group — and by that I mean Hunter Henry, Rhamondre Stevenson, Kendrick Bourne — I think they’ll score more points this year because of the ability to have some meaningful continuity.
“I think he’s going to get way better,” Tannenbaum went on about Jones. “I think you’re going to see that translate with production with their skill players.”
During the week, Jones was in Florida working with receivers Bourne, Parker, Nelson Agholor and Jakobi Meyers along with running back J.J. Taylor, who figures to catch a few balls coming out of the backfield. He didn’t have the luxury to do that last year at this time, as he waited out the draft. So added reps with the group should help work out some of the kinks.
Added Miller: “I think players believe in (Jones). They see how hard he works, and he performs. Hey, it’s a lot to put on a secondyear QB. But I think they’re doing it because they know he’s capable of doing it. Just like Tom (Brady) was.”
Along with Jones assuming more of a leadership role, and further cementing his control of the huddle, the Patriots are banking on improvement from their 2021 free-agent class, whether it’s players on offense who did well (Henry, Bourne) as well as those who didn’t live up to their contracts (Jonnu Smith, Agholor).
Improvement is one thing.
Competing and keeping up with all the AFC teams who have loaded up offensively is another.
Last season, the Patriots offense averaged 27.2 points per game. But that number is a bit misleading, as the figure was enhanced thanks to blowing out two of the lesser lights, scoring 54 against the Jets and 50 against the Jaguars.
Against Buffalo? The cream of the division?
The Pats averaged 17.3 ppg in the three games played against the Bills.
That’s not going to cut it especially having to play Josh Allen & Co. at least twice in 2022, the Dolphins twice, along with other highpowered offenses with Cincinnati, Arizona, Green Bay, Minnesota and Las Vegas.
Parker, if he can stay healthy, which is a big if, will help if he’s on the field. He brings size, speed and toughness to the receiving corps.
As the presumptive top receiver in the Patriots’ arsenal, his presence should theoretically allow the team’s other wideouts to be in roles that are more suited to their skill level.
Patriots Hall of Famer Rodney Harrison has been advocating for the team to get more playmakers on both sides of the ball. That’s the best way for them to improve. Parker fits the role.
“He’s big, he’s got good hands, and he’s competitive,” Harrison
said via text. “I think he needed a different environment. He could be huge for the Pats.”
The Pats might also add on in the draft. So there’s still the possibility the receiver room will get more explosive and dynamic. Although, Parker’s arrival might curb thoughts of bringing in more receiver talent.
Landing Parker may inspire Belichick to call it a day with his receivers and focus on the defense, and the needs on that side of the ball, namely cornerback, linebacker and offensive line.
“It’s still early. There’s still the draft,” said Woody. “But right now, compared to what other teams are doing, I’m a little nervous for Mac . . . The problem with New England is everyone’s getting better.”
And then, the argument inevitably dials back to the coaching staff. The loss of McDaniels is significant. It remains to be seen how Judge and Patricia will fare in their respective roles with the offense. Where exactly is all innovation and offensive creativity going to come from?
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky recently pointed out on one of the network’s shows that the quarterbacks who have made the Year 2 leap have been supplied numerous resources, and also have bonafide offensive coordinators and quarterback coaches at their side.
He brought up Allen being brought along masterfully in Buffalo by Brian Daboll, who’s now the Giants head coach. He pointed to Patrick Mahomes having Eric Bieniemy and Mike Kafka, who along with Andy Reid have been the offensive masterminds supporting their quarterback.
Jones?
“Mac Jones doesn’t have that anymore in New England right now,” said Orlovsky. “He doesn’t have what those young guys that have taken that jump have, and that gives me major concern about expecting the player to do that without providing him the resources on a daily basis to make sure that happens.”
Woody, meanwhile, wasn’t surprised that Patriots owner Robert Kraft seems to be losing patience based on remarks he made at the league meetings.
“You hear Robert Kraft, it’s gotta be eating at him a little bit,” said Woody. “Where was the plan of succession for Josh McDaniels? You knew he was leaving at some point. Maybe Bill knows something I don’t. It just doesn’t seem that way to me right now.”
Birthday boy
Bill Belichick turns 70 on Saturday.
There’s only one other current coach in the NFL who is older than Belichick, who is entering his 23rd season with the Patriots, and 47th season as an NFL coach overall. Seattle’s Pete Carroll turned 70 in February, so he’s older than Belichick by a few months.
Belichick had said in the past he didn’t want to follow Marv Levy’s lead and coach into his 70s. Levy didn’t retire until hitting 72.
Belichick has since changed his stance, although it’s hard to know for certain what his plans are, but it doesn’t appear he wants to hang it up any time soon.
Former Patriot defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel stands as the oldest person to ever serve as a head coach in an NFL game. Crennel was 73 when he took over as interim coach in Houston after the Texans fired Bill O’Brien.
George Halas held the record at 72 years, 318 days for quite a while before seeing Crennel leap over him.
Jets are lurking
The Jets could be major players in the draft with four picks in the top 38.
They made a strong bid for Tyreek Hill, but the Dolphins ultimately landed the star wideout via trade with Kansas City.
Woody, who was a past member of Gang Green, believes the Jets could land either D.K. Metcalf or A.J. Brown via trade, or draft one of the top prospects, sitting with two picks in the top ten.
“I think the Jets are well-positioned,” said Woody. “They really wanted Tyreek, but they had a feeling he was going to go with Miami. He has a home down there. That’s like home for him. The Jets are going to get a wide receiver either by trade, or draft one high. I’d say with all of their picks, they’re going to be adding a lot of talent in the draft this year.”
Diggs finds a home
Stefon Diggs, after signing a fouryear extension with the Bills last week, told reporters there weren’t a lot of people who expected him to stick in Buffalo, after being traded there from Minnesota.
“It’s crazy, because when I first got traded to Buffalo, besides the Mafia and the people who are fans of Buffalo, not too many people thought it was going to work out,” Diggs said via the Buffalo News.
“… And two years (later), now I can smile and say God works in mysterious ways. And I’m with my family, I’m with the right people, and I’ve got the right support system.”
The 28-year-old receiver, who is coming off a year when he had 1,225 receiving yards, 103 catches and 10 touchdowns. plans on spending the rest of his career playing in front of the Bills Mafia.
“I felt like my next spot was my last spot. I wanted it to be my home, and I didn’t want to ever go anywhere,” he said. “… You get those relationships like the one I have with Josh (Allen) and the other guys on the team. It’s just like, alright damn, it starts feeling a lot like home.”