Protecting Mac is key to unlocking the Pats offense
FOXBORO — Mac Jones doesn’t mind getting hit by defensive ends who come charging at him like a freight train, looking to plant him in the turf. Listening to him on WEEI Monday, Jones seems to relish the contact. The rookie quarterback said getting crunched by Cowboys hit man Randy Gregory or any other would-be sack artist “makes it more fun.” Until it isn’t. Jones’ tough-guy bonafides aside, this can no longer be a regular occurrence if the Patriots want to turn their season around. Jones has been pummeled enough, and has withstood plenty of hits already. To his credit, he’s popped back up every time, seemingly unfazed, but the odds of that continuing aren’t in his favor.
“The offensive line with the Patriots is usually a staple. That is not the case right now. They’re a mess,” said ESPN analyst and former Patriots lineman Damien Woody. “And that last thing you want is to get your young quarterback hit a lot, and then he becomes gun shy.
“The kid’s just been hit too many times,” he went on. “That one hit by Gregory was vicious, and I mean vicious.”
The offensive line needs to stop being a liability not only for the quarterback’s health and wellbeing, but also for the health and wellbeing of the offense as a whole.
The two go hand-in-hand. One can’t exist without the other. Having a competent offensive line opens up so many more possibilities for what the Patriots can do on that side of the football.
The NFL is a passing league. Jones needs to have time to throw the football. While the rookie gets rid of the ball quickly, and will stand in there and take a hit to make a play, the Patriots can do better.
To truly open up the offense, and get the ball downfield, Jones can’t be getting blown up before having a chance to make those plays.
More to the point, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels won’t loosen the reins on Jones any more if he’s not confident the offensive line can protect him.
On Tuesday, McDaniels acknowledged having to take Jones’ safety into account when calling plays. That appeared to be the case after Gregory flew by Yodny Cajuste during the second quarter and knocked the stuffing out of Jones, forcing a fumble.
While McDaniels had Jones throwing early and often during all of the prior series, he was more run-heavy for the remainder of the game. He went away from a 55% passing rate on first downs, which had yielded almost 13 yards per play, to 27% the rest of the game.
“I certainly believe if you’re concerned about something relative to the protection, I’ve gotta do the smart thing and tweak a few things here and there,” said McDaniels.
Along with having the play-calling more heavily weighted toward runs, another of those “tweaks” involved moving Michael Onwenu to right tackle. Onwenu, who has been the starter at left guard, missing one game due to being on the COVID-19 list, is no stranger to the position. He played right tackle last season, and had a terrific rookie year manning that post.
With starter Trent Brown on injured reserve, it’s been a merry-goround of players at right tackle, be it Cajuste, Justin Herron, or Yasir Durant.
The Patriots need to strongly consider leaving Onwenu in that spot at least until Brown returns. And based on the difficulties Isaiah Wynn has had at left tackle this season — also getting blown up by Gregory on Sunday — perhaps Brown would go there, and resume playing the position he held during his first run with the Patriots in 2018. That would mean keeping Onwenu on the right and moving Wynn inside to left guard.
Whatever the case, whatever the configuration, McDaniels and offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo need to come up with a better mix up front. At this point, it doesn’t look like Dante Scarnecchia is walking through the door to save the day and fix what ails a group that was supposed to be one of the strengths of the team.
Currently, there are holes on both sides of the line, not just one.
“Mike’s a super-unselfish guy. I know Mike will do whatever we ask him to do,” said McDaniels. “We felt like that was the best decision at that point in time to put him over there. I thought he responded decent.”
McDaniels said he had confidence putting Onwenu anywhere on the line. So it’s no doubt something he and Bricillo are considering.
Onwenu, meanwhile, is open to anything. “Wherever my team needs me,” he told the media Wednesday.
The Jets, who come to Gillette on Sunday, have an aggressive front, and will be looking to get to Jones and knock him around much like everyone else.
Jones has a 60% completion percentage if under pressure, and his interception rate more than doubles with the pass rush on his doorstep.
With no pressure, Jones’ completion percentage rises to 75.5 % while gaining 7.6 yards per attempt.
“It’s rough out there,” said Woody. “They gotta find some combination up front and get that settled. When your quarterback gets hit, it throws everything off.”