Getty Josh McDaniels
If you think you’re the only New England Patriots fan who sits at home and criticizes some of Josh McDaniels play calling decisions, think again.
On Tuesday, October 12, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator revealed he has his own in-house critique.
ALL the latest Patriots news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Patriots newsletter here!
McDaniels Says His Wife Gives Him ‘Crap’ About Play Calling
According to NFL.com‘s Mike Giardi, Josh McDaniels gets criticism from his wife about his play calling.
Giardi tweeted: “Earlier this week, Josh McDaniels saying his wife gives him crap for some of his play calls is quite amusing. Said they tried hard to be balanced Sunday and that it eventually paid off late but there was a couple series that Josh admittedly would like back.”
That’s pretty funny and also potentially awkward if the criticism comes in from home at the same clip as it does on some of the tougher weeks for McDaniels. The Patriots’ long-time coordinator is taking some of the heat for rookie quarterback Mac Jones’ ultra-safe approach.
Jones and the Patriots haven’t taken a ton of downfield shots and it has led to some harsh criticism. Recently, former New York Jets coach and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan said the Patriots wouldn’t make the playoffs because Jones is a “peashooter.” Ryan even compared Jones to former Heisman-Trophy winner and NFL bust Danny Wuerffel.
Is that criticism and others like it even fair?
Is Mac Jones & the Offense Being Judged Unfairly?
Jones’ career in the NFL is all of five games. Any labels that appear too summative should be considered premature assessments.
CLNS’ Evan Lazar cautions Patriots fans and media about judging Jones too harshly as a rookie. Lazar wrote:
If you aren’t ready to crown Mac Jones after five games, fine. Nobody earns a red or gold jacket after five mostly good games as a rookie. But if you aren’t impressed with what Jones is doing to this point, then you are either trolling or trying to be contrarian for the sake of a take.
Make no mistake about it, the Patriots’ coaching staff is impressed with what they see from Jones; his competitive toughness, poise, accuracy, and football IQ won them over already. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said as much about Jones’s accuracy last week, saying, “Mac puts the ball in a place that the receiver can run with it. Overall, I think Mac’s been pretty accurate. The receivers haven’t had to work excessively to make the catch.”
Ultimately, we should be evaluating Jones through the prism of a rookie quarterback in his fifth career start because, after all, he’s a rookie quarterback in his fifth career start.
As we watch the rest of the 2021 season and continue to witness Jones’ acclimation to the NFL game and his deeper understanding of how he can best help the Patriots win football games, we’ll get a better understanding of who he can ultimately become.
Until then, we should probably follow Mrs. McDaniels’ example and save our critiques for Mr. McDaniels.