Last week in our members' chat, one of our astute and brilliant readers (aren't they all?) asked me what was in this for Brian Hoyer if he's a longshot to make the roster, since players don't their base salary until the season.
Basically my answer was, besides the injury factor and anything can happen, Hoyer is a football player. He has been playing football for most of his life. This is what he does. So he'll do it until no one offers him a job.
And then I asked if he's seen ever seen Bull Durham. Most athletes are like Crash Davis. Brian Hoyer is, at this point, Crash Davis.
And that would make Mac Jones the Patriots' version of Nuke LaLoosh, in certain respects.
I think they've got the cliches down!
You couldn't listen to Jones in his first availability with the media on Thursday without thinking of that scene in Bull Durham.
(By the way, I never noticed the Hard-Hitting Whiten headline and, wouldn't you know it, Mark Whiten — the future Red Sox — was in the Sally League for the Blue Jays when Bull Durham was filmed in 1987. Easter egg!)
Crash: Write this down. ... "We gotta play 'em one day at a time."
Nuke: Boring.
Crash: Of course. That's the point. ... "I'm just happy to be here and hope I can help the ballclub."
Nuke: Jesus.
Crash: Write, write -- "I just wanna give it my best shot and, Good Lord willing, things'll work out."
This was Mac Jones on Thursday ... in his very first words to the illustrious Patriots media.
You’re going to have good days. You’re going to have bad days, but honestly, just got to take it day-by-day and don’t look forward to tomorrow, don’t look back to yesterday. Just be where your feet are.
We’re all trying to be the best Patriots we can be. Yeah, it’s not going to be perfect every day. ... Eventually you get it and things start rolling your way.
Well, someone has been working and playing well with others, haven't they?
Obviously Hoyer hasn't tutored Jones on this. Maybe they've barely spoken. Plus, coming from Nick Saban and Alabama ... Jones has two master's degrees: one in Sports Hospitality, the other in How To Never Give The Media Cretins Anything Ever.
But, man, the Patriots' Nuke LaLoosh is certainly ahead of schedule in at least one respect, that's for sure.
This had to delight Bill Belichick to no end. After serving the first round pick a little slice of humble pie before meeting the goon squad, Jones went out and aced the interview. Belichick probably read the transcript, delighted in it, giggled to himself, rolled around in the printed pages, and then muttered "Even I'm not this boring. Jackpot!"
Look, we kid because we love. Jones wasn't all that bad. There were a few nuggets, and he could be the future QB1 around here, so here were the highlights:
No. 1, it was just noteworthy that the Patriots made Jones and three other rookies available. Normally they're scared to talk after preseason games, let alone after an OTA. I think this was another test for Jones, and they threw in the other rookies (Rhamondre Stevenson, Tre Nixon and Quinn Nordin) to not make it obvious — sort of like giving Jones the third rookie reps on Thursday (wink, nod).
On Cam Newton and the other QBs: "He’s done an awesome job being a good mentor. He brings great energy. Brian and Jarrett have done a good job of helping me in the film room. All three of them – just watch their reps and learn as much as I can. You don’t have to be in on that play to learn. I just have to figure out how to do that. I’ve been getting a lot better at just watching tape and learning how to do that and they’ve helped me in that regard."
On the toughest part of the adjustment to the NFL: "Really, just an everyday grind, so when you’ve got to come in and get your routine. That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out – what’s my routine? You know, in college you have one routine, in the NFL you have another. Every day you kind of fiddle with things. Obviously, there’s things that I like that I’ve done and things I need to adjust. Everyday stick to my routine and try to watch X amount of film, do my rehab and work out hard and be a good teammate and learn how to be a good Patriot."
Jones gave a good answer on dealing with the Patriots' playbook: "It’s ‘alright I got the play, what am I supposed to do on this play?’ Get everyone lined up, make the Mike-point and then roll from there. Honestly, it’s going to be a growing process. You know, I’m learning and I’m learning from the other guys. They can do it really fast. My goal is to hopefully be able to do it even faster every day and I’ve tried to do that. The veteran players, it’s kind of like second nature for them. I have to figure out how to do it fast and execute the plays really fast to a level in a new offense."
Jones' most telling answer came when talking about how he studies the playbook: "I just have to continue to learn to watch film in an NFL manner. It’s different than college. There’s more to it. It’s pro football. I’ll figure it out. I’m continuing to grow in that aspect. I’m obviously trying as hard as I can. It’s not like I’m leaving early or doing anything like that."
I'll figure it out. It's not like I'm leaving early. ... Like that. This tells me he is not close to overwhelmed. You talk to some guys after a month in this offensive playbook and their head is spinning. Jones knows he's going to get it.
The relationship with the other QBs seems solid: "They’ve all been very nice to me, treated me very well. I’m just tying to help them out the best I can too. Whatever I can do. Yeah, we’re all in this together so it’s not like, you know, there’s competition but people want to have a misconstrued word there like it’s bad competition or unhealthy. We’re all close. We’re all going to get better together. That’s what we’re going to do."
On Josh McDaniels: "Josh, he expects everything to be perfect. That’s why he’s so great at what he does. Our relationship is great. He does that with all the quarterbacks, so if you miss one detail, it’s not good enough. ... But Josh has put us all in a great position. He’s a great teacher. He’s a great coach. He’s a great person. I’m looking forward to this relationship to grow.”
So, yeah, some good stuff in there between the staleness.
Can't wait until his next availability...
... Mac Jones is going to win some. He's going to lose some. Some days ... it's going to rain. Think about that for a minute.