Quarterback Mac Jones was largely criticized by Patriots alumni and media for his outbursts of frustration with the offense last season. Now, a current Patriots player is coming to his quarterback’s defense.
Matthew Judon was a key part of the New England defense throughout the season, and played at a high level. He was a sack machine, recording 15.5 sacks on the season. He was a part of a Patriots defensive unit that tallied 54 sacks in total, tying them with the Dallas Cowboys for third-most in the NFL.
In the meantime, Jones had his ups-and-downs last year, tallying 2,997 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. The passion he played with was not lost on Judon, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Zack Cox.
“I think everybody sees that and they be like, ‘Oh, he’s showing frustration or he’s showing youth’ or whatever,” Judon said in an interview with NFL Network. “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 wants to win this bad that he’s showing his frustrations.’
“Now, we’ve got to tame it sometimes, and we’ve got to understand how to speak and understand when we can do that and stuff like that, but he’s young. It’s his second year.”
New England will look to rebound offensively, as they continue to revamp the unit.
Jones will be entering a crucial year as well, as he looks to reach the 3,000 passing-yard plateau for the second time in his career. It’s no secret that he is passionate about the game. However, one has to wonder if he will show it a bit more inwardly in 2023.
