New England Patriots: Play calling stunting Mac Jones’ development
The New England Patriots had the momentum. The Dallas Cowboys offense was just inches away from the goal line, but the Pats defense forced a fumble and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback. The offense, with no timeouts left, got the ball at their 20-yard line with 1:30 left in the first half.
With a chance to drive the ball into field goal range (about 40 yards) and add to a slim 14-10 lead, the first play called was a Damien Harris run that gained one yard. The next two plays, Mac Jones took a knee to run out the clock.
Head coach Bill Belichick’s explanation for running out the clock:
"“Because we were going to get the ball in the second half. We went back and wanted to get settled in on the second half at halftime.”"
That’s horse crap. Over the previous 20 years, there were plenty of times the Patriots scored to end of the first half even though they were getting the ball to start the second half. Scoring on back-to-back drives were demoralizing for the opponents, and often put games out of reach.
New England had a chance to do that Sunday against the Cowboys. But the Patriots played it safe, and eventually lost to Dallas in overtime.
Even worse: 1. Jones was 7-for-7 for 100 yards and a touchdown in the first half, and 2. Jones thrived with the 2-minute offense against the Jets, Saints and Texans.
These are the situations the New England Patriots should be putting Mac Jones in. Protecting Jones now is stunting his growth for the future.
On Sunday we had the latest instance where the coaches took the ball out of Jones’ hands by playing it safe. One could argue some of these conservative decisions cost the Patriots a win or two. For certain we can say Jones, with his otherworldly accuracy, loses for not gaining valuable experience.
Belichick and the New England staff decided that Jones is the Patriots franchise quarterback the moment they released Cam Newton. So why are the coaches not treating Jones like a franchise quarterback?
Jones being a rookie shouldn’t be an excuse. His job is to win games. Sometimes that means putting the game on his shoulders and letting Jones go for it. Jones won’t always succeed, but from the experience Jones can learn to succeed. That’s invaluable experience at that moment and for the future.
Hate to bring up the comparison, but Tom Brady wasn’t always Tom Brady.
The 24-year-old that improbably led the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl XXXVI win isn’t the same player that led the comeback from 28-3 down against the Atlanta Falcons. There’s a huge difference between being green and being the GOAT.
What will Jones become? We don’t know yet. But he won’t develop into the best version of himself as long as the coaches keep opportunities from Jones. Besides taking two knees to close the first half against the Cowboys, we’ve seen:
Down by two, Jones drove the offense 38 yards from the 25-yard line to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 37. Despite Jones playing well that game, and with rain coming down, Belichick opted for a 56-yard field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-2. Kicker Nick Folk, who hadn’t kicked a successful 55-yard field goal since 2014, missed.
A third quarter punt for zero yards by the Houston Texans put New England on Houston’s 36-yard-line. The first two plays were runs. New England got three points, but it was a disappointing yield after having excellent field position.
Weekly Browns (and Cowboys!) tweet pic.twitter.com/lxWnan7Ese
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) October 18, 2021
Jones will face similar challenges in his career. Why wait?
There are signs the coaches are reducing the restrictions on Jones. They’re opening up the playbook some. We’re seeing Jones throw more intermediate passes instead of a bunch of short slants, hitches and screens.
Against the Cowboys, one play after throwing a pick-6, Jones looked deep and connected with Kendrick Bourne for a 75-yard pass for a score. Hard to imagine that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels would had called that play after a Jones interception a few weeks ago.
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Attempting a 56-yard field goal in the rain isn’t winning football. Letting Jones air it out can be winning football, but he needs coaches that have faith in him to put the ball in his hands.
The failures will be as beneficial as the successes. Belichick and McDaniels need to trust Jones now to develop him for later. Mac Jones won’t become the Mac Daddy if the coaches are holding him back.