Mac Jones looked noticeably trimmer at the Patriots' first practice on Monday — to the point Kendrick Bourne offered with a laugh: "his stomach is gone." Jones admittedly has changed his diet and some of his habits.
"For me, I just cleaned up my diet," Jones said. "I've learned more this offseason about nutrition, sleep, wellness, all that stuff. ... Just following their plan, eating healthy, taking out a lot of the things that are bad for my diet. ... I definitely trimmed down body fat a little bit, and then I get a chance to build back up before the season starts and being able to absorb the hits."
Jones has also been working on his throwing mechanics and arm strength, with Tom House and others.
"I got a chance to work with a lot of different people," he said. "It was good experience. Any throws short, intermediate or long, you want to get better at it and you want to have people that have knowledge of the game. He did a great job of helping me there and obviously I've worked with people I've worked with since I was very, very young. But at the end of the day, you're out there by yourself and you're the quarterback. And that's what you want to be able to do is go out there and feel comfortable doing what you want to do and continue to grow."
Jones also got together with his various receivers and tight ends, including the newly acquired DeVante Parker, at various points of the offseason.
All of that stuff is terrific ... and absolutely expected of a quarterback who was the 15th overall pick and a potential franchise player.
It's not cause for celebration. It doesn't portend anything for Jones and the Patriots' offense for this season. It's expected. A job requirement, if you will. It's called being a professional, and that first offseason as a true pro is the biggest one because being a professional QB is all you're required to do for the first time. As a rookie you go from the college season, bowl season, all-star games, draft prep, team visits and then the draft, straight into the dizzying circumstances of learning a new offense, competing for a job, and then prepping for each opponent. Jones had it worse than most. Due to his competition with Cam Newton, he had been going all-out from August of his final college season, to the end of his first pro season.
Jones is, with all apologies to Dennis Green, exactly who we thought he was.
That is certainly a good thing for the Patriots, but is anyone the least bit surprised? It would have been breaking news had Jones spent the offseason on the pre-Awaken180 Bedard offseason/in-season program — sedentary on fleek, baby.
Don't get caught up in the nothingness of the NFL offseason where every player is in "the best shape of their lives" and ready to take "the leap."
The truth is, as far as Jones goes, we won't know anything about his progress until much later in the season. And here's the most important thing: whether Jones is a personal success in Year 2 is largely out of his hands.
Even a great quarterback like Tom Brady was limited by his surrounding cast, which is why we always argue against the NBA-like narratives that people love to invent around NFL QBs. When Brady's offensive line couldn't hold up, the offense wasn't good and they lose Super Bowls. When was surrounded by subpar receiving talent, Brady couldn't squeeze water out of a rock. When the Patriots couldn't run the ball, defenses were able to play coverage stall out Brady's decision-making progress.
In a vacuum, you should be able to see what the Patriots did last year in the first year of the system for just about everyone important (Jones, Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne) — sixth in points, 15th in yards, third in combine explosive passes and runs (ahead of Buffalo and the great Josh Allen, by the way) — and say that was the base line. They should improve every year as long as this hand-picked group stays together, plus you have the addition of Parker and Tyquan Thornton.
But we all know this isn't a vacuum. Considering the choices Bill Belichick has made on the offensive side of the coaching staff, this could end up being a QB black hole — Jones could get swallowed up and we might not hear from him again.
The truth is, for all the reasons why we should think the Patriots' offense should be better in Jones' second season — including his own personal improvement — it only highlights the risks Belichick is taking with his direction this season.
Jones clearly has done everything in his power to be a better QB and leader for the Patriots ... and may not matter one bit if he's not put into a position to succeed by the coaches with every gameplan and playcall.
Jones knows this as well as anyone, not that he would come close to admitting it at any podium.
It's great Jones had done what's expected this offseason and he has controlled everything he can control as far as being better in Year 2.
The rest is out of his hands. And that would be true for any quarterback, including Brady.