Getty Mac Jones, Patriots quarterback
It was obvious that, for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, last season was a disaster. Trying to work within an offense built by Joe Judge and Matt Patricia—two guys who are decidedly not offensive coordinators—did not do much to accentuate Jones’ strengths, and the results showed as he took a step backward after an All-Pro rookie season.
But did that 2022 season really leave a permanent scar on Jones? Were things really that bad?
According to former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III, now an analyst for ESPN, it sure did. And Griffin puts the blame squarely on Bill Belichick for it.
“For me, this comes down to coaching. In Year 2, Bill Belichick messed up his young quarterback,” Griffin said on “Get Up!” the ESPN morning show. “When you give him a defensive coordinator and a special teams coordinator as his offensive coordinator, and now he is on his third coordinator in three years in the NFL? That is, to me, the epitome of coaching malpractice.”
Griffin doffed his cap to Belichick’s overall record, but declared Jones “permanently” damaged.
“Bill Belichick is one of the greatest coaches we’ve ever seen, he is arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, but he really overthought this and it’s hurt Mac Jones permanently in my opinion,” Griffin said.
Mac Jones ‘Is Not a Creator’
At the same time, though, Griffin said that part of Jones’ issue here in 2023 has been that he is not being used correctly by the Patriots. He pointed out that, during Jones’ stellar rookie year, when he threw for 3,801 yards with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, Jones was dropping back in play-action almost twice as much as he is this year.
“What I look at this, it’s like, Mac Jones is not a creator,” Griffin said. “But they’re asking him to create. So that starts with a scheme problem. When you look at what he did in 2021, had the No. 6 offense in the NFL, who was his coordinator? Josh McDaniels. Right, one of the best OCs we’ve ever seen in this league. Now, you move forward to this year and they have one of the worst offenses in the league.
“What’s the difference? Well, in 2021, they were doing play action 27% of the time—that’s the type of player that Mac Jones is. Right now, they’re doing it 14% of the time. So, because of that, they’re asking him to, ‘All right we’re gonna ask you to scramble a little bit, the play is gonna break down, you’re gonna do all these different things.’ And that’s not who he is.”
Many Factors Weakening Pats Offense
It is not quite as simple as having Jones get into more play-action situations, though. Fact is, the Patriots’ offensive personnel has taken a nosedive since 2021, and that’s playing into Jones’ struggles.
For example, in order to run a play-action, an offense must make the defense credibly think there could be a run coming, and the New England rushing game has not been very threatening this year. New England has 374 yards of rushing, which is 24th in the NFL, and has averaged 3.4 yards per attempt, which is 28th.
That’s because the team has slapped together an injury-riddled offensive line that has yet to come together, and might just be overmatched. It’s also because Rhamondre Stevenson has not been as explosive as he was last season, and Ezekiel Elliott, while still having something left in the tank, is not a top-level running back anymore.
And the receivers. Sigh. You know about the Patriots receivers. It’s been one of the worst receiving units in the game, without much speed or a true outside threat. Jones is not a great deep-ball passer, but it would help if he at least had a deep-ball receiver on hand.
No doubt, Belichick deserves significant blame for what’s happened to Jones this year. And his approach to the OC position in 2022 is one of the worst decisions he’s made in his New England career. But did it cause some kind of permanent PTSD in Jones? That seems doubtful.
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‘Coaching Malpractice’ Still Harming Patriots’ Mac Jones: Ex-NFL QB