I asked the question of Mac Jones on Monday — less than a day since he hopped off the Gillette Stadium field on one leg — in the context of his end zone interception to DeVante Parker: how to strike the delicate balance between his super competitive nature wanting to make a play, and just conceding to make sure the team got three points in a five-point game.
"Yeah I think that's a great question Greg," Jones aid. "Definitely, like you said, super competitive. So just knowing when to call it quits and put the good plays out there. I did that a lot yesterday. We did that a lot. It's just the more consistent we can do it, the more opportunity that we won't even be in that situation. So just trying to get more good plays out there. Trying to do it right every time.
It's the devil-and-angel war every NFL QB deals with. They got to this point by never thinking they were out of play. But sometimes the battle is better never being waged. It's especially tough for young NFL quarterbacks who, really, have no idea what they're doing — when you compare those players with their future selves 10 years down the line. I'm sure Aaron Rodgers, the Patriots' adversary today, would attest to that. He had so many grand plans for the way he wanted to conduct himself after sitting for three years behind Brett Favre when Rodgers took over in 2008. I know because I was there and talked to him about it, and observed him daily. I'm sure, today, he'd tell you now that that kid had no idea what the was talking about.
While that topic is relevant for Jones to some degree — although it's pretty early for it just 21 games into his career — it's not important in this moment as Jones deals with a high-ankle sprain.
The most important words Jones uttered — super competitive — are very relevant. And considering what has been going on behind the scenes for Jones since he suffered the injury, it probably wasn't a coincidence.
A basically stationary Jones appearing on the practice field Friday was great theater. I'm sure it gave some Patriots fans hope that he could take the field at Lambeau today. Of course, after he was declared out on the injury report, reality set in for most.
But this is not a situation that is going to resolve itself neatly, at least not in the context of Jones' career. Many seem to be in some sort of rush for the Patriots to make a decision about Jones and his future off this season. No matter what transpires over the next 14 games, that is simply not going to happen. But it does mean Jones needs to take care of his business.
The Patriots can decide to give Jones a contract extension after the 2023 season, his third season. But the only way that's going to happen is if he somehow leads the Patriots to a Super Bowl title in the interim.
Tom Brady got his first contract extension in 2002 (his rookie deal would have been up after 2003). It was for five years and $30.5 million, and there were heavy team success incentives. Sounds like a good bump, but it was still a drop in the bucket considering Drew Bledsoe's extension some 18 months earlier was for 10 years and $103 million.
Jones is on his rookie contract through 2024. The Patriots can also pick up his fifth-year option. So that takes him through 2025.
So, contractually, there is no need to make a decision on Jones anytime soon. Most likely, an extension would come in the Summer of 2024.
But in terms of Jones' play, the process can be sped up in Bill Belichick's mind by what happens this season — and that's where Jones' injury situation comes into play.
We already know Jones and the Patriots have had issues with turnovers — as illustrated by the criticisms of former Patriots executive Mike Lombardi on his GM Shuffle podcast:
"As much as I like Mac Jones, I thought Mac Jones would protect the ball and play smarter than he's played," he said. "To me, he was in danger of either changing what he did, or he is going to lose his job. You're not going to play in the NFL if you keep turning the ball over the way he was."
Was Lombardi, who actually said BEFORE the Ravens gave that Jones could "get his ass benched" for turnovers, a bit over the top in his criticism? Yes. Did he, in my opinion, leave out a lot of context with the coaching decisions and each interception (hello, DeVante Parker)? Absolutely.
But believe this: Belichick and, especially, the neophyte coaches he put in charge of offense, Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, have a similar opinion about turnovers being the root cause of a problem for an offense that is 8th in the league in yards per play, but 25th in points. Of course, that leaves out a crap-ton of context, but that doesn't really matter to them. They like the stats because it backs them up. I'm just not sure they put most of it on Jones, but I don't rule that out.
But Jones, as he comes back from this, needs to know that he's already being made the scapegoat in some Patriots circles.
And coming back early as a lesser version of himself is only going to give them more ammo, should it go badly.
This is where the Jones' super competitive nature comes in.
Jones is a phenomenal teammate. He was on that practice field solely as theater to them, to further earn their respect. Memo to Jones: You don't need to; those guys in the locker room love you, know you're tough — and know you've been put in a crappy position this season.
In the worst-case scenario, Jones comes back next week against the Lions, is compromised by the injury (he was already limited in terms of talent when healthy), and things go poorly against Detroit and Cleveland. Three consecutive losses starting with today would basically end the Patriots' season.
You think Belichick and his appointed offensive braintrust are going to sit there and admit defeat with their plans for the offense? Heck no. They are going to put the squeeze on Jones.
That last time a Patriots season was all but over in October — 2020 after a fourth-straight loss dropped them to 2-5 — Belichick went on radio and started making excuses, like the cap was the issue because of how much they went for it when Brady was QB.
Jones, as misguided as that would be, will then be in the crosshairs even more.
That's why it's extremely important for Jones to be careful about how he comes back. He is super competitive. His teammates' belief in him is paramount. He wants to be a warrior, and prove himself tougher than most.
But like striking the tough balance on the throw to Parker in the end zone, Jones needs to thread this needle carefully. Jones doesn't need to be 100 percent when he returns, but he better be able to be effective.
I'm sure he wants to make a play here, mostly for his teammates. Sometimes it's better to take the points.
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NICKEL PACKAGE
1. Obviously a tough blow having to downgrade WR Jakobi Meyers to out on Saturday. What does that mean? Continued snaps for Lil'Jordan Humphrey over Kendrick Bourne? Possibly, but we see this as a big 12 personnel game. Really, it would be DeVante Parker and Nelson Agholor, with Bourne spelling Agholor, along with the tight ends. Bourne should be the next one up in 11 personnel. Will that happen? I doubt it.
2. The lasting memory of Brian Hoyer for many was his before-halftime meltdown against the Chiefs, which came in 2020 after Cam Newton couldn't make the trip due to Covid. “I don’t think I’d still be here if I wasn’t [a good player],” Hoyer said this week. “I mean, look, I’ve played for 14 years. I have a lot of bad memories. I have a lot of good memories, too. One game doesn’t define me. One play doesn’t define me. I’m excited for any opportunity I get a chance to go play. So I really couldn’t care less about that.”
3. People bring up his 0-11 streak as a starter, but that needs some context. Hoyer left New England in 2012 and his first real gig was in Cleveland starting in 2013 when he was a combined 10-6 as a starter for two seasons. He was 5-4 the next season in Houston. That's 15-10. And then started the 0-11 thing on some really bad teams.
4. For those that think I'm a little too hard on Cole Strange — he's doing just fine three games into his career — PFF, which inexplicably has New England's line ranked No. 3 (methinks they have an issue, like the AP college football poll, of being biases and wedded to their preseason rankings), singled out Strange as the unit's weakest link. That is totally fair and true. But the Patriots also have four pretty good other linemen (ok, 3.5 with Isaiah Wynn), especially since Trent Brown has been great the last two weeks.
5. This could very well, we think, be Belichick's last game at Lambeau Field. He'll be 78 the next time the Patriots visit, unless something weird happens with the schedule. He had the players view film this week of the Packers — going all the way back to Curly Lambeau, and when the Packers sometimes had to be on the same sideline as the opposing team.
"Some of our players, honestly, they don’t know who some of these people are," Belichick said. "I mean, this is 80 years ago or more. I mean, Lambeau started in what, 1921? About 100 years for him. Now he was there, what, 25 years? Mid 40’s? I forget what his last year was, but somewhere in there. But, I’m just saying, it’s just kind of, you see a lot of names, you see them on the stadium, see everybody talking about them. The stadium’s named after him. Who is he? Who’s [Don] Hutson? Bear Bryant, [Don] Hutson, [Curly] Lambeau, [Knute] Rockne, Notre Dame. I think there’s a lot that these players and coaches, I’ve talked to the coaches about it too, you know, ‘I’ve heard about it, where is this all kind of connected?’ It’s all kind of interesting.
"But it's like why are both teams on the same side of the field?" Belichick said. "But that was baseball stadiums. But it's quite, honestly it's quite a scene there. The whole, the community, it's kind of in a residential area. Then all of a sudden the stadium just like pops out in the middle of nowhere and here you are. That's Green Bay. But the fact that they played two games away from Green Bay for however many years they did that, it was quite a few, in Milwaukee. It's really a state team. See all the cheeseheads. It's great."