No one is neglecting Mac Jones in 2022.
The New England Patriots quarterback has the attention of at least three coaches thus far in training camp, with coach Bill Belichick, quarterbacks coach Joe Judge and offensive line coach Matt Patricia spending time overseeing the development of the second-year quarterback. In particular, Jones has repeatedly mentioned how much Bill Belichick is doing for the quarterback’s development. Though that seems to be happening in meetings behind the scenes. For the most part, Belichick has simply watched Jones at practice while Judge and Patricia have taken turns chatting with the young quarterback. Judge takes the lead during positional drills. Patrica takes over for team drills, which includes calling the plays on offense during 11-on-11 drills.
And so it seems that Jones is drawing heavily from defensive-oriented coaches: Patricia and Belichick. That has made for a unique perspective.
“Obviously coach Belichick has done a great job kind of explaining exactly what we’re going to do as an offense,” Jones said Wednesday after the first day of Patriots training camp practice. “Matty P has seen so many different defenses — along with coach Belichick — so it’s like they combine their knowledge of how to attack the defense. That’s something that’s really stood out to me. They’re great guys — they all bring different energy to the room when they’re presenting. … The important part is that we’re all on the same page regardless of who’s talking and who’s (deciding) on a play. It’s always an open conversation and I love it.”
Last year, Jones spent the majority of his time with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels. McDaniels seemed, at times, to be physically attached to Jones at Patriots practices. They were also meeting constantly throughout the season — and, for the most part, Jones was hearing only McDaniels’ voice in meetings and on gameday. Jones seemed to benefit, nearly winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and enjoying the most success among quarterbacks in his draft class. He led the Patriots to a 10-7 record while completing 67.6% of his passes for 3,801 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for a 92.5 QB rating.
This is a transition for Jones, who has multiple voices in his ear.
“You want to listen to the good coaching that you can get from the three different coaches who have all been head coaches,” Jones said. “So they’ve seen a ton of football and that’s what I’m just trying to take in. What is something that each of them says in a meeting that I can take with me, whether that’s about life or football?”
Belichick said he hasn’t felt he needed to give Patricia any advice on coaching a different side of the ball. Belichick noted that Patricia has spent the last four years working on offense, whether as a senior football researcher in New England or a head coach in Detroit.
Belichick faced a question about how Patricia’s transition is going in this new role.
“It’s not about a one-person transition, it’s about putting together – four staff members went to Las Vegas, we had new staff members and new players, quarterback going into his second year,” the Patriots coach said before Day 1 of training camp. “It was a lot of things going on, it’s all got to come together on all the ends, it’s not one person.”
Clearly, it’s not one person. It’s three.
