Mac better be ready for attack
Fins poised to blitz rookie QB
Mac Jones’ NFL baptism truly begins Sunday.
While the rookie quarterback has done a good job navigating through every challenge and minefield placed in front of him by Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels, the season opener against Miami is a different can of worms entirely.
Jones’ success thus far diagnosing defenses, operating the no-huddle, and accounting for rushers in an empty backfield has been commendable.
But he ain’t seen nothing yet.
All of the curveballs he’s handled thus far will seem like child’s play compared to what many other defensive masterminds have in store for him during the season, starting with Brian Flores in the season opener.
Miami’s head coach, a Belichick disciple, has been able to feast on young quarterbacks, much like his former boss.
And if you don’t think Flores is licking his chops facing a rookie Week 1, think again. He’ll blitz Jones from everywhere.
“If I’m Brian Flores, that’s exactly what you do to a young quarterback. And that’s what you have to expect, you have to expect pressure, you have to show him different looks,” said NBC analyst and former Patriot Rodney Harrison.
“You can’t allow him to get comfortable, that means the safeties are constantly moving, the linebackers are moving, and that’s what Flores does.
“He teaches that, preaches that, and that’s a staple of their defense, trying to confuse quarterbacks,” Harrison went on. “Heck, he confuses me a lot of the time when I’m watching tape on him.”
The Dolphins were one of the few teams — the Patriots among the others — who were able to get Chargers rookie phenom Justin Herbert off his game, making his life miserable every time he dropped back to pass.
And that was Week 9, four weeks before Belichick & Co. headed out to LA and tormented Herbert in a 45-0 Week 13 win last season.
In that game, the Fins held Herbert to just 187 yards passing, one of his worst outputs during the year. He did throw a pair of TD passes, but also threw a pick, and was sacked twice during the Miami win.
Naturally, Flores has been pumping up Jones ever since learning he was going to be the Patriots starter. He said he respects Jones having seen him at the Senior Bowl. But that won’t stop him from dialing up some exotic looks to try and confuse the kid. Flores is very good at disguising formations, especially when it comes to his blitz schemes.
He’ll put pressure on Jones and blitz him at every turn on throwing downs, hoping to rattle the rookie.
Winning or losing just might come down to how well Jones is able to pick up Flores’ array of blitzes.
With Flores’ able to have his corners play man coverage, which was a staple last season, that frees his linebackers and safeties to be involved in the many blitz packages he and defensive coordinator Josh Boyer — another former Patriots coach — can cook up.
Flores will line up six in front, with his linebackers filling the A gaps. Sometimes, they’ll rush, other times they’ll drop back into coverage.
Will Jones be able to handle that?
The answer will impact so much. If Jones is able to pick up and decipher who’s blitzing, that will go a long way toward being able to own the middle of the field when he passes.
“This is going to be a big test, and moving forward, if Mac can handle some of these looks, that’s going to discourage people in the future from trying to do these looks,” said Harrison. “The kid has seen a lot on the college level, but in the pros, it becomes even more specific.”
Jones has a couple of things going in his favor. First, he can just turn around and hand the ball off to his backs to subvert the pressure. The Patriots have a good running game led by Damien Harris.
Jones also has a few playmakers around him, if he needs to throw the football. McDaniels will likely set him up to throw quick-hitters before the pressure gets to him.
At this stage, Jones doesn’t need to be great. He just can’t turn the ball over and make mistakes.
Also helping the cause, Jones has some of the best teachers in the business preparing him for what to expect.
Belichick and McDaniels have a pretty good inkling of what Flores will do. Plus, the Patriots defense does many of the same things as Flores’ defense. So he’s been practicing against it every day.
“I don’t personally believe it’s going to be overwhelming for him. He sees a bunch of these different looks every single day in practice,” said Harrison. “So while Brian Flores is going to show him a whole bunch of different looks and show him pressure, the good thing is, he’s prepared for it. I mean, the kid is calm. He’s got some playmakers. You’re going to have to defend the entire field, even if you blitz.”
McDaniels, who spoke with the media Monday, tried to downplay the internal knowledge the Patriots have with respect to Flores and his schemes. He said there’s always the “unknown” elements that come with opening day, with surprises they didn’t prepare for.
That being said, Jones will still have a pretty good idea what lies ahead. It’s more a matter how he reacts and adjusts.
“I think Opening Day is a day where you want to get out there and do the things you’re confident in doing and then when it’s time to make an adjustment if you need to, you go ahead and do it,” said McDaniels. “But, go in with an open mind, but be eager, jump in with two feet and start swimming.”