New England Patriots: Mac Jones and the mastery of quarterbacking

The New England Patriots  new quarterback Mac Jones has major superlatives to work with to become a dominant NFL starting quarterback. That’s no surprise to read on these pages.

Watching film on Jones provides great insight into the subtle yet critical competencies that can lead to a winning NFL team and maybe even to a title.

Now, this analysis in no way is suggesting that anyone but Cam Newton will be New England’s starting quarterback in 2021.

Mac Jones it the future of the New England Patriots

Cam will be No. 1 and he will be excellent and very likely lead the Patriots to the playoffs.

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That being said, let’s speak about the future of the team with Mac Jones at quarterback. It may be in 2022, or 2023, whenever.

This article is going to present some thoughts on some of the subtleties of the art of quarterbacking that he’ll bring to the position when he takes the reins.

These abilities have not been greatly elaborated upon in the media in deference to his supposed lack of “measurables”.

They certainly have been downplayed by some.

Yet, in taking a close look at some of Jones’s work at Alabama, there’s is not too much to dislike. Now, for certain, the Alabama offensive line, receivers, and running backs were on a different level in college than the Patriots’ comparatives are in the NFL. No doubt.

But there were certain features in Jones’s game that stand out and are directly translatable to the NFL.

Let’s take look at a few of them.

New England Patriots plusses and minuses on offense that will impact Mac Jones

First, the positives:

The Patriots offensive line is top-notch, arguably one of the best in the NFL. At the NFL level, it’s pretty nearly as good as it gets. While they lost All-Pro Joe Thuney to free agency, they have last season’s super rookie Michael Onwenu to slot in at left guard if that’s their choice.

The preference here would be to use Trent Brown at offensive left tackle where he played for the team in 2018 and move Isaiah Wynn over to the right tackle slot.

Since that’s not likely, Wynn starts at left tackle. Onwenu takes Thuney’s place at left guard. Pro-Bowl-level center David Andrews is back. At right guard, the Patriots field the excellent Shaq Mason.

That’s quality all across the line and it will be a big benefit to Newton and Jones if he plays at all this season. It’s a big plus for either.

Then, the Patriots have a good running back room with Damien Harris coming back, Sony Michel as a backup, and the draftee Rhamondre Stevenson as a big, short-yardage back. That’s solid, but there’s no Najee Harris, the best back arguably in the draft there either.

On the plus side, however, the Patriots have one of the best pass-catching backs in the business in James White. For whatever reasons, White had a subpar 2020 yet still caught 49 passes.

That’s a super year for a usual back. White’s far better than that. He’s one of the very best at catching the ball out of the backfield.

The previous year he caught 72. He’ll hopefully be back at his best in 2021. That’s a big plus for the Patriots’ offense.

The next plus, and it’s another huge one, is the tight ends. Since the departure of Rob Gronkowski that unit has been a disaster. Waiver wire types or low draftees first, and higher draftees last season failed to deliver.

That all changed in free agency when the teams loosened owner Bob Kraft’s purse strings and brought in two of the best on the market, Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry.

Combined they caught 101 passes. That just a “slight upgrade” over the total of 18 caught by last season’s unit.

Now, the negative

Some have suggested that on the outside at wide receiver, Jones had a better crew at Alabama than New England does now. Let’s not go there.

Suffice it to say, in Davonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and a third guy, the terrific John Metchie III (likely next year’s plug-and-play All-American), he had a wagon load of talent. The Patriots don’t.

While they added Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne to Jakobi Meyers, they also lost their best receiver, Julian Edelman to retirement. At best, they are still a below-average receiving corps.

The superlatives rookie Mac Jones will bring to the team’s offense

Mac Jones is faster than you think:

Jones’s abilities have been explored previously but let’s delve a bit deeper into why he could be one of the steals of the recent NFL draft.

First, Jones is not so slow-footed as some might suggest.

Note: Jones doesn’t seem to currently possess a sculpted body at the moment either. (That should change soon, or the dreaded Hill will take its toll, Mac!). He will be in better shape (Patriots’ shape) once in the team’s nutrition and conditioning program. You can take that to the bank.

With all that in mind, you may think he’s leaden-footed slow as has maybe been hinted at in the media. You’d be wrong.

At his Pro Day’s “unofficial” 40-yard dashes, Jones ran a 4.72 and a 4.68 forty as reported on Twitter by Tom Pelissero,

That’s faster than the Combine 40 of one Patrick Mahomes who ran a 4.80. (Thanks to an astute reader – we have a lot of them – for the enlightenment there.) Watch Jones’s film, he’s not slow.  When this young man gets in that “Patriots’ shape”, expect maybe a 4.60 forty-yard dash or so.

So, if he’s not slow, what does that mean? It means a lot and mostly good things. (Note: check out this YouTube on Mac Jones with former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez and new Texas head Coach Steve Sarkisian. It’s well worth a look. It’s totally enlightening and lots of Jones’s attributes are explored there.)

First, Jones can scramble some. He didn’t have to very much with the Crimson Tide. Their offensive line was a like crimson steel wall. Also, their receivers were open a lot more than New England’s receivers are likely to be.

In addition, Jones can also throw the ball on a scripted play on the run.He can also move up in the pocket, move sideways in the pocket, and side-step a rush. So, he’s not at all immobile. That’s all negative hype that’s frankly pure baloney.

His pocket-related moves are fabulous intangibles. They’re strengths that aren’t “measurable” but they are some of the keys to success in any passing offense. And Mac Jones can ace any test on those facets of quarterbacking.

Mac Jones is an RPO quarterback

As was very nicely pointed out by Phil Perry in his podcast on nbcboston.com speaking with Mark Schofield, a guest from USA Today’s Touchdownwire, Mac Jones is no stranger to the Read/Pass Option (RPO) style of quarterbacking.

It has been written here that the Patriots coaching staff has not been proficient in using that style even with Cam Newton at the helm. Yet, as Perry and Schofield discussed, Alabama football is and Jones was the master practitioner of that offense.

While Jones is far less likely to run off that formation than Newton, he still can utilize it, as can Cam newton, as just another tool in the Patriots arsenal they can throw (or run) at opposing defenses.

New England Patriots have a young quarterback who can make the throws

Mac Jones has been criticized for not having a strong arm. Yet at his pro day, he was clobbered for overthrowing two receivers. That’s more baloney. Jones just makes the right throws at the right time and finds the right receiver in so doing.

In addition, he’s well-versed in play-action which he used all the time at Alabama. He’s a master of offensive sleight of hand, deception. In addition, he can operate an RPO-type offense. He may not be a top running threat but he’s familiar with that offense and can run it.

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Alabama uses play-action extensively, as well as trick plays. Jones can execute all of it. He can also deliver a nice, soft throw in a hurry on a quick screen. James White will appreciate that.

Watching his film, it also occurs that it is a true shame that one Julian Edelman will not be on the end of some of those quick throws to the sideline to make 7-10 yards upfield in a snap.

Jones also is a master at looking off one receiver and then turning and throwing to another.

In addition, he masterfully uses the pump-fake often (why more quarterbacks don’t is a mystery) thereby freezing defenders and further allowing his other receivers to get more open.

It’s an amazing trait that is too often overlooked and underused by even the best of NFL quarterbacks. Jones uses it to perfection, all the time.

Jones puts the ball where it’s supposed to be. Jones’s completion percentage of 77.4 percent speaks to that in a tangible, measurable way for certain.

He also has great field vision. He can find the open receiver and lay the ball out on a dime to maximize the potential gain on any and all plays that need some time to develop.

Jones will likely have some time with New England’s top-shelf offensive line on a good many plays and he will hit a receiver or in many cases his excellent tight ends as a result.

He also doesn’t need lots of space to find a receiver.

While his top guys got open in space because of their superior talent, Jones also found them and his tight end in a short window, often. It wasn’t all playing pitch-and-catch, even at Alabama, although Jones made it look that way.

New England Patriots young QB Mac Jones can run on occasion 

Mac Jones can also tuck the ball and run some to pick up a first down or avoid a rush as previously mentioned. He’s not a statue in the pocket, He’s far from it. And, like a certain No.12, he has a facility for quarterback sneaking for a key first down or touchdown on occasion.

That particular skill is frowned upon in these pages. That’s especially true when a big bruising running back like LeGarrette Blount, or, a rookie who admires that former Patriot great, new Patriots big back Rhamondre Stevenson is on board.

Yet, on occasion it makes sense and Jones can execute it. That’s another “intangible” that’s quite tangible in sustaining a drive or on an occasional touchdown plunge.

Summary

Those are just some of the immeasurables that show that Mac Jones has the potential not just to be good, but be very much better than good. This young man has the seeds of greatness.

The New England Patriots for too many years let the greatness of their former 6-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback wither on the NFL vine.

They failed to consistently provide him with the necessary offensive weapons to allow him to maximize his potential. If they had, it would have resulted in double-digit Super Bowl wins, easily.

Tampa Bay had the tools last season, and the result was predictable, if not a given. Now, it says here, New England has the skills in their new quarterback to make things like that happen again.

Hopefully, the team won’t make those same mistakes with Newton or Jones. They’ve begun the process but are still lacking in the wide receiver room.

Hopefully, they will augment that position and provide more tools for Cam Newton and later on Mac Jones to do all they can do with proper talented teammates alongside. If so, they will win and win some more.

The team still has holes to fill. Let’s see if they fill them before camp and begin the process toward Super Bowl greatness again. They have the quarterbacking talent now to maybe, just maybe get there.

The lessons of the past should have been well-learned. The new direction seems to have the owner’s blessing. That’s a real positive.

Let’s see if they will now do what’s necessary to complete the puzzle and put a top offense into full operation. If they do, who knows how high they may soar, even this season.