FOXBOROUGH - There have been plenty of signs this summer that the Mac Jones we’re about to see this season is in a much better place than where we left him last winter. Happier. Enjoying the game more. Energetic. But that only goes so far. What matters more is how well the 3rd year pro performs when the lights go on. One teammate sees change, and it’s the kind you’re going to want to hear about.
“Overall, he’s a way better quarterback,” said Adrian Phillips. “He took last year on the chin. He’ll be the first one to tell you that that’s not how he wanted to play, and, for all of us, that’s not how any of us wanted to play… And he’s coming out here every day and he’s trying to light our defense up. Like, literally, light us up. I’m talking bombs, anything that he can do, and you just love to see that. He’s always checking the play, he’s always ready to give you something that you have to think about. I just think his confidence is through the roof.”
When told of those comments, Mac laughed, flattered by the safety’s comments, although not publicly willing to accept it as truth.
“I think, just with AP (Phillips), I think one of the things he’s been helping me with is just asking questions,” said Jones. “Obviously, we haven’t even played a game yet, so I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I think just talking with him, asking him questions when we’re going against them, asking him, ‘Hey, what did I do there?’”
Jones says that’s been beneficial, because he can get his own defense’s perspective on what he’s doing and how’s he’s doing it. What works? What doesn’t? He says that group shoots him straight.
“Sometimes they’re like, ‘No, it really didn’t work,’” said Jones, adding, “That’s what practice is about. It’s about trying out new things, trying throws that you wouldn’t maybe throw in the game, which I’ve tried to do.”
In his first preseason action of the year Saturday night, Jones looked to be in command, not only at the line of scrimmage - he changed the run on Rhamondre Stevenson’s 23-yard jaunt - but also how he operated in the pocket. You saw a decisive quarterback. You saw one who played with poise. You saw footwork that spits in the general direction of those who say Mac is a statue in the pocket.
In particular, the bomb to DeVante Parker that fell incomplete (Parker short-armed the throw) was a clinic on pocket movement. Mac felt the rush, slid to avoid it, then climbed the pocket to find a soft underbelly before uncorking an accurate throw. That’s how it’s done.
“Keep growing, keep competing, keeping it fun,” said Jones. “Go back and forth with the defense. I think we’ve done that more this year and really just try and carry it over to the game.”
It was another step forward for Jones, another opportunity to rebuild what was broken a season ago. And while the race hasn’t officially begun, the preliminary work has put him on a path that should lead to more success, one that both the player himself and this team desperately need.