We finally got our hands on the all-22 film (don't ask; no thanks to the NFL which has bungled its American product), so we're now able to put Mac Jones' play in better context now that we can see all the routes, the coverage and how pressure might have affected him.
Let's just say, Jones was once again impressive.
It's just our opinion, but we grade passes on whether it was a good decision (best option available), minus decision (better options available), neutral (debatable) or no-decision (pre-determined screen or quick pass). We also provide film analysis on key sequences to explain our decision and what options Jones may or may not have had.
We're working backward, so we'll be back with an analysis on the Dolphins' game on Thursday.
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New England Patriots at 15:00
2-6-NE 29 (14:25) M.Jones pass short right to K.Bourne to NE 36 for 7 yards (B.Hall, M.Maye). P1
Good read. Kendrick Bourne the only open receiver.
2-9-NE 37 (13:03) M.Jones pass short left to J.Smith pushed ob at NE 42 for 5 yards (M.Carter II).
Good read. Jakobi Meyers stumbled down the field, a checkdown was only option.
3-4-NE 42 (12:32) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short middle to J.White to NE 47 for 5 yards (J.Guidry). P2
Neutral. Might have had Nelson Agholor on an in-cut to the right but took easier checkdown to White. Jones never looked right.
1-10-NE 47 (11:51) M.Jones pass short left to D.Harris to NE 49 for 2 yards (M.Carter II).
Good read. Jets had four defensive backs covering two deep routes. Poor location on pass to Damien Harris in left flat.
2-8-NE 49 (11:13) M.Jones pass short left to J.White to NE 49 for no gain (C.Mosley).
PENALTY on NYJ-S.Lawson, Roughing the Passer, 15 yards, enforced at NE 49 - No Play. X3
No decision. Screen pass and Jones got hammered.
1-10-NYJ 36 (10:46) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short middle to J.Meyers to NYJ 29 for 7 yards (C.Mosley).
Minus read. Jets bring an extra rusher and go Cover 1. Agholor appeared to have a step on the cornerback. Jones, perhaps reacting to the hit on the screen pass, checks it down without much pressure. An aggressive shot was there if he wanted to take it.
3-4-NYJ 30 (9:33) (Shotgun) M.Jones sacked at NYJ 40 for -10 yards (M.Maye).
No decision. Had zero chance against immediate pressure.
FIRST DRIVE: 3 good reads, 1 minus read, 1 neutral (3-1-1), 2 no-decisions.
New England Patriots at 7:45
1-10-NYJ 24 (6:30) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short left to J.Meyers to NYJ 25 for -1 yards (M.Carter II).
Good read. Jets, despite Jones trying a shoulder fake, played this read-option with bubble and slant options perfectly.
2-16-NYJ 30 (5:31) M.Jones pass short left to N.Agholor to NYJ 28 for 2 yards (B.Echols).
No decision. Called screen.
3-14-NYJ 28 (4:55) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete short middle to J.Smith.
No decision. Called screen. This was a play that should have gone for big yardage but Smith dropped it.
SECOND DRIVE: 1-0-0. 2 no-decisions.
New England Patriots at 4:10
1-10-NE 28 (4:10) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short left to J.White to NYJ 44 for 28 yards (B.Hall; M.Carter II). P5
No decision. Called screen.
2-5-NYJ 39 (2:42) M.Jones pass incomplete deep middle to K.Bourne (B.Echols).
PENALTY on NYJ-T.Ward, Neutral Zone Infraction, 4 yards, enforced at NYJ 39 - No Play.
Good decision. OK throw. Still don't think Jones saw the flag (it was thrown with his back to the official) and there were only two options on this play and none of them were good.
(1:56) M.Jones pass short left to J.Smith pushed ob at NYJ 14 for 19 yards (A.Colbert). NYJ-B.Echols was injured during the play. Pitch to #28. Lateral back to #10 at the 45.
Good decision. Some will say Jones could have had a touchdown to Agholor deep but I have no issue with his decision. That's a good chunk of yardage and about a 98 percent chance of success. Throw to Agholor is about 60 percent. And they got the touchdown on the drive. Hard to quibble.
THIRD DRIVE: 2-0-0, 1 no-decision.
New England Patriots at 9:52
1-10-NE 25 (9:52) M.Jones sacked at NE 14 for -11 yards (J.Franklin-Myers). FUMBLES (J.Franklin-Myers), touched at NE 15, recovered by NE-Y.Durant at NE 13.
No decision. No chance.
2-22-NE 13 (9:10) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short left to K.Bourne to NE 16 for 3 yards (J.Guidry; C.Mosley).
No decision. Called screen.
3-19-NE 16 (8:32) (Shotgun) M.Jones sacked at NE 9 for -7 yards (S.Rankins).
Minus read. My main issue is Jones locks on to the right side and never considers throwing to the left where Agholor has a chance if Jones puts it up on the sideline against two defenders. Nothing was open on the right side and Jones ends up taking a sack he didn't need to.
FOURTH DRIVE: 0-1-0, 2 no-decisions.
New England Patriots at 5:50
1-10-NE 14 (5:50) M.Jones pass deep left to J.Meyers pushed ob at NE 38 for 24 yards (J.Guidry). P9
Good read. Beauty throw to a "covered" receiver.
2-8-NE 40 (4:53) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short left to J.White to NE 39 for -1 yards (Qu.Williams).
No decision. Appeared to be a called rub route and Hunter Henry didn't execute the rub.
3-9-NE 39 (4:13) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete deep left to J.Meyers.
Good read. Jets bring pressure and Jones throws another ball up to Meyers. No one else was open.
FIFTH DRIVE: 2-0-0, 1 no-decision.
New England Patriots at 2:09
3-4-NE 37 (1:24) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short right to H.Henry to NE 47 for 10 yards (A.Colbert). P10
Good read. Jets bring pressure, Patriots have one of their rub routes called against man coverage. Easy pitch and catch.
1-10-NE 47 (1:04) (No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Jones pass short left to N.Agholor ran ob at NYJ 43 for 10 yards. P11
Good read. With Patriots hurrying, Jets go zone and Jones finds a quick out for 10.
1-10-NYJ 43 (:59) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short left to J.White to NYJ 40 for 3 yards (Qu.Williams).
Minus read. One of the rare times when Jones had plenty of time and good protection, he misses an opportunity to throw a deep post to Meyers. Keep this one filed away. This a good teaching play for Jones the next time they face a two-deep zone: fake the throw to Agholor to freeze the safety, throw the post.
2-7-NYJ 40 (:40) (No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Jones pass short left to J.White to NYJ 29 for 11 yards (M.Carter II). P12
No decision. Called screen.
1-10-NYJ 29 (:33) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete short left.
Minus read. Had a chance to throw underneath earlier before having to throw it away.
2-10-NYJ 29 (:26) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short right to J.Meyers ran ob at NYJ 21 for 8 yards (B.Hall).
Good read. Easy money and out of bounds.
3-2-NYJ 21 (:22) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete short middle. NE-J.Herron was injured during the play. PENALTY on NE-M.Jones, Intentional Grounding, 10 yards, enforced at NYJ 21.
Neutral. Hunter Henry is wide-open on a blown coverage but Jones can't see it because of the pressure yielded by the offensive line.
SIXTH DRIVE: 3-2-1, 1 no-decision.
New England Patriots at 11:15
1-10-NYJ 35 (11:15) M.Jones pass short left to N.Agholor to NYJ 26 for 9 yards (C.Mosley)
Good read. Properly read the cornerback and fit it in to the only down-field receiver open.
SEVENTH DRIVE: 1-0-0.
New England Patriots at 4:40
1-10-NE 43 (4:40) M.Jones pass short middle to H.Henry to NYJ 25 for 32 yards (B.Hall). P14
Good read. Easy play on Jets' coverage bust.
1-18-NYJ 33 (3:43) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short right to J.Smith to NYJ 30 for 3 yards (M.Carter II; C.Mosley).
Good read. Nothing readily open. Hoping for Smith to break a tackle.
2-9-NYJ 13 (1:56) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete short right to H.Henry (M.Maye).
Neutral. This was the play on the TV copy where I wondered if Jones could throw up a ball in the left corner of the end zone for Agholor to make a play. On the all-22, Agholor is really well covered ... I still might have tried it, but I don't fault the decision.
3-9-NYJ 13 (1:52) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short right to J.White to NYJ 14 for -1 yards (M.Maye).
Minus read. Maybe the only play Jones probably wishes he had back. Jets show pre-snap that they're in zone coverage. Once the safety dove on White out of the backfield, Henry was open for play that could have been a touchdown.
EIGHTH DRIVE: 2-1-1.
New England Patriots at 12:42
1-10-NE 48 (12:42) M.Jones pass short left to J.Smith to NE 49 for 1 yard (C.Mosley).
No decision. Called screen.
3-10-NE 48 (11:26) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete short left to H.Henry.
Good decision. A play was open to the right but Jones couldn't throw it because of pressure to that side. He correctly tries to work a play with Henry, but the tight end fails to work back for the ball.
NINTH DRIVE: 1-0-1, 1 no-decision.
New England Patriots at 6:11, (1st play from scrimmage 6:06)
2-9-NE 22 (5:27) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete short left to J.Meyers (C.Mosley).
Good read. Better play (possibly really lazy) by Mosley, who wasn't where he should have been.
3-9-NE 22 (5:23) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete short left to K.Bourne.
Good read. Bourne drops Jones' final pass of the day.
10TH DRIVE: 2-0-0.
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GAME TOTAL
17-5-4, 10 no-decisions (pre-determined screens or quick passes)
So Jones, in just his second NFL game, only made 5 minus decisions in 26 real attempts. That means Jones made a good or solid decision on 81 percent of his dropbacks.
To me, that's a tremendously positive percentage for such a young player. With a player like Jones, as long as he's doing the right thing a vast majority of the time, the rest will work itself out.
Patriots notes:
Matthew Judon (knee) was the only Patriot not to participate in practice. Trent Brown (calf) and Damien Harris (finger) were limited. Kyle Van Noy (throat) was a full participant. ... Patriots announced they signed OL Jake Eldrenkamp to the practice squad. Eldrenkamp spent part of the 2019 offseason with New England. Eldrenkamp, 27, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Los Angeles Rams on May 1, 2017, out of Washington. The 6-foot-5, 305-pounder has spent time on the practice squads of the Los Angeles Rams (2017), Cleveland Browns (2018) and Indianapolis Colts (2019-20). He was signed by New England on Jan. 8, 2019 and released on May 21, 2019.