Patriots owner Robert Kraft a ‘strong believer’ in Mac Jones (team is blessed)

Prior to the 2022 NFL season there were a lot of believers in New England Patriots young quarterback Mac Jones.

Riding high off a strong rookie season, Jones got himself in better shape, had a year of experience under his belt, looked more confident with the playmakers around him and then Matt Patricia and Joe Judge happened.

Okay, okay, Mac Jones should take some of the responsibility in showcasing a pouty attitude and outward frustration with the play calling and play callers.  He also dealt with a high ankle sprain and watched from the sidelines as Patriots fans and even players suffered Zappe fever.  There was even discussion as to whether Bill Belichick preferred the rookie Bailey Zappe over Mac Jones.

New England Patriots QB Mac Jones had bad bad Year 2

To sum it all up, it was a season Jones would rather forget, but at the same time a season of growth for a second-year quarterback who went through the usual growing pains young quarterbacks must work their way through.  But was Mac Jones set up to fail in 2022?

If so, it didn’t have anything to do with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft who has sung the praises of Jones after the 2021 NFL Draft and even now.  Kraft, like many Mac Jones supporters believe that with the right coaching, the Alabama product is more like the 2021 version of Mac Jones rather than what was seen in 2022.

"“We’re blessed to have a great young quarterback in Mac Jones, and I’m a strong believer in him and his development,” Kraft said during an appearance on Fox Business."

Whether you are a supporter or critic of Mac Jones, you must agree that going from Josh McDaniels to the combination of Patricia and Judge as offensive play callers was a disaster and Belichick is to blame for that.  The hiring of Bill O’Brien is both a correction and acknowledgement of that wrong and in Year 3 Patriots fans can really see what they have in Mac Jones.

New England Patriots edge rusher Matt Judon took Mac Jones outbursts as a positive.

As far as all that frustration he showed on the field, fellow teammate Matt Judon addressed those rants and turned that into a positive for a quarterback he also believes in.

"“I think everybody sees that and they be like, ‘Oh, he’s showing frustration or he’s showing youth’ or whatever,” Judon said during an interview with the NFL Network, as transcribed by NESN.  “No, he’s just being emotional.  He wants to win.  He loves to win.  He’s been winning his whole life, and he’s showing the passion that he has for the game.  Some people take that as a negative thing and criticize him about it.  We take it as a positive.  We say, ‘This young man want to win this bad that he’s showing his frustrations.’”"

Although showing frustrations and emotion is what quarterbacks and leaders do, the issue with Mac Jones doing it was that he has yet to do anything in the NFL.  He was also a part of some of that bad offensive play the Patriots exhibited in 2023.

Now the challenge is to see whether he can take last season’s woes and build on them.  Kraft believes, Judon believes, many New England Patriots fans believe, now Mac Jones has to make Bill Belichick believe.