New England Patriots: Mac Jones and the path towards redemption

If Mac Jones wants to get in the good graces of all New England Patriots nation, he goes down to New York and plays one of his best games this season against a stout Jets defense and a team looking to add this Week 8 AFC East to their list of receipts.

Coming off a rookie season which had him destined for a Year 2 leap has been anything but that for Jones, who has not only taken a step back on the field, but has had to overcome a high ankle sprain, Zappe fever, and endless speculation regarding his relationship with the team.

Lost in all of that is that Mac Jones is just a second-year quarterback who has gone from Josh McDaniels as his offensive coordinator to two coaches in Matt Patricia and Joe Judge who specialize in defense and special teams.  Is there a tug-o-war going on in Foxborough between Jones and the coaching staff, including Belichick?

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has something more to prove in Week 8

If there is something going on behind the scenes, the way Mac Jones becomes a force is to simply play well.  Despite the turnovers, Jones has shown some flashes in his last two games.  Against the Baltimore Ravens, he found DeVante Parker time and time again for what was the veteran receivers’ best game in a Patriots’ uniform.  Against the Chicago Bears on Monday night, Jones kept plays alive with his feet despite the tender ankle.

Limit the turnovers and use his vision of the field better and Mac Jones can at least get his play and command of the offense back to what it was in his rookie season.  He needs to for a 3-4 Patriots team to avoid getting buried by the Jets of all teams.

With much to prove, Jones knows the Patriots season hinges on his ability to become a better quarterback.

"“We have a plan.  For me, right now, that’s to become a better quarterback individually and a better player.  I’m doing everything I can to do that.  I just want to prove that every day,” Jones told the media this week.  “That’s what I’m going to do.  This is a team sport.  So sometimes it’s hard for me to talk about myself all the time.  I want this to be about the great offense that we’re trying to form.  I think we’re making good strides.  We want to do things better.  Our coaches are doing a great job.  They’re working really hard.  We’ve made a lot of progress together.  I think being close is never good enough.  But I think we’re getting there.  We just want to fix the things that we can fix and be better.”"

In order for all of that to happen Jones and the Patriots coaches need to be on the same page.  That means simplifying the offense in the same way they did Bailey Zappe.  Get back to Mac’s strength of spreading the ball around and not launching the ball down the field.  The ability to push the ball will come once Jones is able to read defenses better and take advantage of what they are giving him.

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As far as a great offense, there has been glimpses of that.  We’ve seen DeVante Parker go off, we’ve seen both Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry make the kind of plays we envisioned when both signed.  We’ve seen what Rhamondre Stevenson can be as a featured back.  Above that they have a wide receiver in Jakobi Meyers showing the league he is a legit top target and there is a blazing rookie wide receiver in Tyquan Thornton ready to shine.

I haven’t even touched on Damien Harris, Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor.  All capable players who may be playing for the Patriots future in the Week 8 battle vs the Jets.

Speaking of the Jets, Mac Jones will be facing a very tough Jets’ defense on Sunday.  A good performance will be necessary to win and cement his status as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots.