GRADING Mac Jones Performance in Patriots vs Eagles

CLNS Media Sports Network

Mac Jones looked significantly better under pressure in this game than he has throughout his career. He also used his legs to get out of a few pressures and even move the chains. Jones’ athleticism may be average, but he maximized it tonight. CLNS Media's Taylor Kyles and John Zannis discuss Mac's performance vs the Eagles.  If you enjoyed this content, please make sure to watch the full episode HERE: https://youtube.com/live/MwZ_jS9dsxE | Patriots Postgame Show  Fanduel Sportsbook is the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. NEW customers can bet $5  and get $200 in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Plus, all customers who bet $5 will get $100 OFF NFL SUNDAY TICKET from YouTube and YouTube TV. Now is the best time to join FanDuel! The app is easy to use and you can be on everything from spreads to player props and more! So, visit  https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON and kick off the NFL season with an offer you won’t wanna miss.  21+ and present in MA. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at  https://fanduel.com/sportsbook. Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMa.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234. NFL Sunday Ticket Offer ends 9/18/23. No refunds. Terms and embargoes apply. $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket, not YouTube TV. YouTube TV base plan required to watch YouTube TV. Redemption requires a Google account and current form of payment. Commercial Use Excluded. Subscription renews; cancel anytime.

Transcript

00:00 So you look at it here, they give up the two sacks and they're missing two starting offensive linemen here.

00:05 And you've already got question marks at the right tackle position. I thought they held up well there as well.

00:12 So you got Mack doing what he did, which is 54 pass attempts.

00:16 I don't know that we saw this in the game plan here in terms of what they wanted to do.

00:21 I don't know if they set out this way thinking this is what they wanted to do, but this is how the game evolved.

00:25 And as you said, there wasn't much room to run.

00:27 Stephenson couldn't get anything going. They tried to work Zeke in a little bit.

00:32 There really wasn't much there at all.

00:34 So Mack throws the ball 54 times, goes over 300 yards, throws three touchdown passes,

00:42 made some really, really good throws after a really slow start.

00:46 And again, you're going to have to look at it, and I'm sure you'll dig deep into it,

00:51 but your overall snapshot performance on how Mack played.

00:54 Because, yeah, he left some out there too.

00:57 Yeah, I think he mentioned that there were plays where he didn't probably read it right,

01:02 or his eyes weren't in the right place.

01:04 I think the – I believe it was a four-down.

01:07 It was one late down in the game where he looked to his left to the bunch,

01:11 and it looked like there was a lot of just contact, Hunter Henry and Juju ran into each other.

01:17 I think that was his first look, and then he got pressure and kind of – I don't want to say panicked,

01:22 but it looked like Kendrick Bourne might have been open behind the coverage to his right,

01:27 and he didn't see it.

01:28 Obviously, the high throw, he admitted the pick six was a high throw.

01:31 Obviously, that's a worst-case scenario.

01:33 Like people get away with bad throws.

01:35 You just pray it doesn't end up in the ball so long it gets intercepted.

01:39 But at the same time, I thought he made more than enough throws to make up for the mistakes as well,

01:42 and he was the reason they stayed in that game.

01:45 Like, again, like you said, the film is going to tell the true story,

01:49 but I wouldn't say Mac Jones was a reason that they weren't in that game.

01:53 Again, he was every reason that they were.

01:55 I thought that just little bits and pieces around him didn't come through when they needed to.

02:01 Like I know Demario Douglas had some great catches.

02:04 He was four for 40, but there were also a few times where he and Mac didn't seem to be on the same page.

02:08 So those were like lost plays.

02:10 Kayshaun Booty, there was – looked like one or two miscommunications to him,

02:14 and then he couldn't make it on the sideline.

02:16 Kendrick Bourne not coming up.

02:18 I think there was one where he was short, and obviously the third and 12.

02:21 So, you know, guys definitely could have done more for him in critical situations,

02:25 but I'm sure that he wasn't perfect either, and I'm sure he's right that there were times

02:28 where his eyes maybe didn't put him in the best position to succeed on certain plays.

02:33 Yeah, but again, you have to look at it relative to last year and what you saw from Mac.

02:41 Oh, yeah, totally different person, totally different person.

02:44 It looks like – so that's kind of what – is it perfect? No.

02:47 Could it get better? Yes.

02:49 But again, it's – we're talking a guy who at times last year, you know,

02:55 people wanted a practice squad player, a below replacement level player to replace him.

03:01 I wasn't one of those people just to –

03:03 It was fine. They were so fed up with it. Right or wrong.

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03:25 You know, he clearly took a step back.

03:29 You know, is this closer to year one?

03:31 Is this, you know, is this even slightly better than what you remember from –

03:34 I was going to say this is past year one because he looked great in the pocket.

03:38 And he was – I think the combination of consistent pressure

03:42 and the fact that his offense wasn't functional and didn't give him answers like Bill O'Brien's offense does,

03:47 those are the reasons that Matt crumbled under pressure.

03:49 Because in college, he was fine throwing under heat.

03:51 Like he didn't have a big weakness outside of his physical limitations.

03:55 It was like he's smart, he's a point guard, he's going to get the ball, he's going to find the matchups, blah, blah, blah.

03:59 Last year didn't put him in a position to do any of those things.

04:02 And now, even when the pressure does kind of get home and he feels it,

04:05 you can see he's more confident.

04:07 Like he looked nimble in the pocket.

04:08 He used his legs several times to extend plays.

04:11 We saw flashes of that last season.

04:13 But again, he couldn't really – he was forcing things.

04:16 So the bad really took over even though there was a ton of good with him scrambling.

04:20 Like by next-gen stats, he was the most elusive quarterback.

04:23 Like obviously, you know, it's not exactly – he's not the most elusive quarterback in the league.

04:27 But relative to the number of times he was pressured and got out of it,

04:31 he was statistically the most elusive.

04:33 So there's something to that.

04:34 That's like the Sam Houser led the league in defensive rating sort of stat.

04:40 But he was running a lot last season, and I think there was more mobility that he showed

04:44 than he got credit for because he forced things.

04:46 He did.

04:47 And I will say that like you want to see Mac under pressure.

04:49 How's he doing when it's on schedule?

04:51 Is he finding the right guys?

04:52 He's finding the right guys all these plays.

04:54 Like him and O'Brien are really in sync.

04:56 And again, it's the giving him answers to the test that I thought was going to make Mac

05:00 the best version of himself because O'Brien will not put you in position

05:04 where you're basically just wasting it down.

05:06 And I think we're seeing Mac confident, and I thought he looked –

05:09 I thought he for the most part looked really good.

05:11 He looked like a professional quarterback.

05:13 He looked confident.

05:14 He didn't look shook.

05:15 And again, how much of it – again, we're going to say this 100 times because, oh,

05:19 I don't want to dog Matty P because, you know, the iteration of Matty Patricia

05:25 that we saw last year doesn't do justice to the Matt Patricia

05:28 that once served this franchise well.

05:30 So people do feel bad to kind of heap it all on him.

05:33 But the reality is there was no trust and no confidence last year,

05:37 and that obviously had to affect Mac.

05:39 The question was how big an effect would the Bill O'Brien effect have on this?

05:46 Like, yes, I mean, all preseason long, all training camp long,

05:51 almost every single sound bite was along those lines; right, Taylor?

05:56 It's professional.

05:58 It's tight.

05:59 It's like we know what – it's like it's obvious he knows what he's doing.

06:03 Almost everything they said about Bill O'Brien was a referendum

06:06 on the previous regime and the way that the offense was run last year,

06:10 which was a total freaking clown show.

06:12 So, yes, we knew it was going to be better.

06:14 The question is how much better, and is it good enough to overcome

06:18 some personnel deficiencies, which would be an O-line that's still kind of

06:22 playing its way into shape and into proper health,

06:26 and a less than dynamic receiving core, which, again,

06:30 they got good performances out of Kendrick Bourne.

06:33 Hunter Henry is definitely his new binky now that Jacoby Myers is gone.

06:37 And, you know, I think that's going to be a security blanket for Mac

06:40 and someone who's going to make plays for him.

06:42 But the fact that you're relying on Boutte, and, again, Parker is out,

06:48 to have to make a play a couple of plays late in the game,

06:51 that's not necessarily great.

06:52 They're still going to have to battle some personnel issues,

06:54 which will, I think, limit what they're able to do.

06:57 But Mac looked like he knew what he was doing out there,

07:00 and I think that that's what people wanted to see was, okay,

07:04 he looks like an NFL quarterback.

07:05 It's not the guy that was kind of like – I mean, flat out,

07:09 he was missing throws last year.

07:11 He just looked bad all around.

07:13 It wasn't just the offense.

07:15 I think it was – you know, a lot of it was on him too.

07:18 I mean, I agree.

07:20 I feel like I'm beating a dead horse at this point.

07:22 But, yeah, I think he's significantly better.

07:24 He looked like the kind of quarterback that you want to see in that he was,

07:27 again, he was accurate.

07:28 He was making largely the right decisions.

07:30 He was doing well under pressure.

07:31 All those things.

07:32 I think that who we see right now, especially for Mac,

07:35 is not who he's going to be by midseason because, one,

07:38 O'Brien's offense is going to continue to grow.

07:40 I guarantee you there's things you saw in this game plan that O'Brien is going

07:44 to have a version of in the next game where he knows the

07:47 Dolphins defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio,

07:49 is going to see it and have something off of it.

07:51 And that's going to help Mac because Mac is going to have this comfort in the

07:54 system, the mesh.

07:55 Like I'm telling you, this is a great start for Mac for the most part in this

07:59 game, and I really think that he's going to take, like,

08:02 quantum leaps in terms of his intelligence and on-field performance

08:06 thanks to O'Brien.

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