Devin McCourty was on NFL Network this morning and, on the back of Robert Kraft's recent comments, continued the strong support for Mac Jones among players entering his third season.
"Sources say Mac Jones rubbing people the wrong way"@devinmccourty says... pic.twitter.com/LV4rNdFjik
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) February 27, 2023
A transcript:
Mac Jones, good, bad, medium, you're there every day ... in New England there's talk swirling about him.'
"I like to remind in New England that in 2014 it was put 'Jimmy Garoppolo in, get Tom Brady out, it's over.' In 2022 he just retired and everyone's sitting there like, 'He there throwing 50-something passes, almost 60 passes, he could really play.' So I wouldn't go too hard off of what people in New England are saying.
“What I’ll say about Mac is the combine is sponsored by No Bull this year. Mac is No Bull. They know the future is Mac Jones. And I’m excited for this guy this year because now you get Billy O’Brien coming in as an offensive coordinator,” McCourty said. “Great success, has done well everywhere he’s been offensively. He gets to come in and now work with Mac. He’s going to have stability around him. I think the team is going to go get another guy to be a receiver in that offense. Hopefully bring my guy Jakobi Meyers back and be a part of it.
“But I’m excited because last year you come in, you have movement, you get to work with Josh McDaniels, who I think is one of the best offensive minds in this league. You get to work with him your rookie year and then get Matty P with a mixture of Joe Judge with Coach Belichick, all guys who were new to calling the actual offense. Obviously Bill (is) more experienced than any coach in the NFL as a head coach really but just so much movement, so much change, it's only your second year.
“I think it speaks volumes that he’s a captain in that locker room in only a second year and really kind of was a captain the year before as a rookie leading those guys, so I’m excited for Mac. I think sky’s the limit. I think he’s the future of New England. Any doubts, I think you’re wrong if you don’t think that. I think he’s the future. He’s in that building right now, doing different things, working with guys, talking to guys, that’s what he wants. He wants to be that quarterback."
There were reports he's rubbed people wrong this year, the tripping...
"As a teammate, I don't care who he trips out there, he wants to win and I think that's what he's about. He comes from a winning pedigree at Alabama, wants to do those things.
“Some of the rumblings that comes out ... (Jason and I) always talk about this, ‘Sources say Mac Jones rubbing people the wrong way.’ Who? Did he rub somebody the wrong way in a meeting? Probably before. Have people left meetings and said, ‘Man, Dev’s an a-hole today.’ Yeah.. Mac came into a leadership role as a quarterback and he speaks to what he thinks… ‘Hey. I don’t like this play. I want to do this play.’ Same thing, when I was in there and I’m like, ‘I don’t like this play’ because we’re the guys out there. And I think what people don’t always understand and our locker room Bill pushes that. We're in a captains' meeting every week. (He'll say), 'If you don't like something, tell us, we'll throw it out.' ....
"I think Mac has all the intangibles and the things that you want in a quarterback. He’s only in his second year going, his third year third offensive coordinator. Hopefully Billy O is there for a while and I think you’ll see the true growth.”
BSJ ANALYSIS
Well, I think this settles it, and talk radio/busybodies might actually try to find something real to write about this team.
The owner came out strong for Jones.
Now one of the longest-tenured Patriots, who is more respected than anyone else in the locker room as a positional player, has said doubters are wrong, and that Jones is the future of the franchise.
I mean, what else do you need to hear to stop the nonsense about how they need X, Y, Z at the QB position going forward. And you may also want to note that no one has mentioned Bailey Zappe and next season.
"But Bill hasn't, he said..."
Yeah, that's Bill Freaking Belichick after a losing season when the offense was awful, including the quarterback. What do you think he's going to say, 'Yeah, I screwed Mac this year ... it wasn't his fault, we're not counting this past season.' I mean, let's get real. Belichick isn't throwing bouquets at anyone after last season. (Although it would be nice for everyone, including the players, to hear Belichick take real responsibility publicly since his players had to suffer in public all of last season).
No one is saying Jones is The Guy right now. Nobody knows that and there's much for him to prove this season, and we'll talk about it down the road later. But he deserves a real chance, and has shown some very good promise. Too bad last season was a complete waste, but thems the breaks and it's onto 2023.
Jones obviously has the support of the locker room, and there are no concerns with what he's doing behind the scenes. He's acting like a franchise QB. We'll see if he is one soon enough.