QB Jones says he and Judge are going to ‘teach each other’
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Life after Josh Mcdaniels has brought some not-so-subtle changes for Mac Jones.
The Patriots secondyear quarterback, who had Mcdaniels as both his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, now has Joe Judge monitoring his every move.
To this point Judge, who has little experience coaching quarterbacks or handling an offense, has only acknowledged being the QB coach.
For his part, Jones had some interesting things to say about the relationship with Judge following the Patriots OTA session Monday.
“He’s done a great job coaching us. He’s seen a lot of football. Obviously, he’s been around football for a long time, whether that’s as a head coach, special teams, playing the position himself,” said Jones, “so he has knowledge that is very beneficial to me as a quarterback.
“Obviously, I’m going to learn with him,” Jones went on. “The goal is to kind of teach each other, move along, and take what he knows, take the experiences that I have, and combine them, and work together as a great team.”
Jones certainly picked up the offense, and learned at an advanced level last year as a rookie. So his knowledge and ability should take some pressure off Judge, for starters.
It’s not clear if Judge is going to be the offensive play caller, or if that duty with go to Matt Patricia, who is working with the offensive line. It’s also possible Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who took an active role calling plays in the final 11-on-11 sequence, will be involved.
Jones said he had a chance to get to know Judge a bit last year, when the Patriots had joint practices with the Giants, where Judge was formally the head coach.
Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, meanwhile, also had some positive things to say about Judge.
“Joe Judge is awesome so far. Great coach. Great motivator. Just a different style,” said Bourne. “It’s exciting so far.”
Bourne indicated that Judge had a different coaching style than Mcdaniels, and offered up different coaching points.
Said Bourne: “He’s good at using our strengths, putting us in the right position to be successful.”
Offensive notes: Sharp, accurate and efficient. Jones resembled the same quarterback seen last season. Overall, he delivered a catchable ball on 80% of his attempts, including one drop and a throwaway. Most of Jones’ completions found shorter routes, with only five of his attempts traveling 10 or more yards downfield.
Devante Parker, Jakobi Meyers and Nelson Agholor led the wide receivers in most drills . ... Top targets in team periods: Agholor 3⁄5, Meyers 4⁄4, Parker 2⁄4, Tre Nixon 4⁄4, Kendrick Bourne
Kristian Wilkerson ¾. ... Veteran wide receiver/ running back Ty Montgomery spent all of practice with the wideouts.