Bedard: Mac Jones is a broken, dispirited player and Bill Belichick is to blame

The destruction of Mac Jones is now complete.

With a chance to rescue yet another offensively ineffective afternoon by the 2023 Patriots, Jones did this from the Colts' 15-yard line with 4:25 to play, trailing 10-6:

Jones was benched after the play for Bailey Zappe, who threw his own interception on the next series.

"I just thought it was time for a change," Bill Belichick said. 

And with that, the fall from grace for Jones as New England's potential franchise quarterback after being the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft is also complete.

That interception represented everything that's gone wrong since Jones' promising rookie season. He arrived as a whip-smart quarterback, the kind that would flourish in the Patriots' advanced passing system. Jones would be able to know the play-call, see the defense and instantly know where to attack. He'd remain poised and stand in the pocket to deliver the right ball.

In 2021, this play would have been a layup. A no-doubt six points.

Instead, it resulted in a turnover. Instead of being calm, Jones is jittery from the get-go. And despite there being immediate pressure allowed by third-string left tackle Vederian Lowe, Jones didn't stand firm and just take the hit. He again threw weakly off his back foot. Pass didn't even come close to having enough on it.

"It was a terrible throw," Jones acknowledged.

Jones sounded like a broken and dispirited man in his postgame press conference. His voice broke a few times, like he was near tears. He had reached his breaking point. After getting benched again heading into a bye week and getting the full Bill O'Brien treatment — totally warranted after taking a red zone sack before a missed field goal after being handed the ball at midfield — Jones seemed to know what we all do at this point: his time as a starter in New England is all but over.

"It's really hard out there in the NFL," Jones said. "It's really good defense. But there were a lot of open guys out there that I could have hit.

"I put a lot of work into it. I've got a lot of faith in myself. But there's just things that I've got to get fixed, and just learn. Just keep learning and figure it out.

"To make people believe, you've got to be better."

Jones is incapable of that at this point. No one believes in him, despite what his teammates say with a microphone in their face. They also realize that for a variety of reasons – some that have to do with him, some that don't — he is beyond repair for the 2023 season. Too much damage has been done.

What a quick, strange trip it's been for Jones into irrelevancy. From promising rookie to burned out in his third year.

It feels like years ago that Jones, as a rookie starter, led the Patriots to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth. He was an injury replacement in the Pro Bowl and second in NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. He completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, threw 22 touchdowns against 13 interceptions and posted a 92.5 rating. He was sacked 28 times.

Not star-making numbers to be sure, but it was a really nice start to what felt like a promising career. Certainly not the most physically gifted quarterback, but back then you had a sense that Jones would improve with each passing year. A quarterback you could win with.

Heading into Jones' second season, Belichick had this to say about his quarterback:

"I think Mac’s done a great job. He's worked extremely hard. He’s got a tremendous work ethic in all areas. I think there's a dramatic improvement. His physical work and conditioning, working on his mechanics, working on his footwork, working on his understanding of our offense, of opponents' defense, of situations all those things. .... He's made tremendous strides. He did a great job last year but he's starting it from a much much higher point this year than where he started last year. His offseason work has been significant. I think everyone recognizes how well he prepares and how much further along he is than he was a year ago."

Since then, Jones is 8-16 as a starter. He's completed 65.2% of his passes with 24 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. He's been sacked 55 times. 

What the hell happened? That's the essential question the Krafts should be asking today through the end of the season, if they weren't already doing it. I think we all know the answer, whether some want to admit it or not.

Sure, there's a chance that Jones just never had it, that Josh McDaniels' stage managing in 2021 covered up the weakest parts of Jones' game. But so much has gone wrong here in terms of coaching and personnel that it's impossible to tell.

There's no denying that, like everything Patriots, this was a Bill Belichick Production.

And he deserves the blame, first and foremost.

As we illustrated throughout the 2022 offseason, Belichick decided to pick up the How To Ruin Your Young Franchise QB In 3 Easy Steps book — and add his own chapters, and a sequel edition:

1. Change the coordinator.

Simply because you didn't prepare for McDaniels to leave and provide continuity to your young QB. That's just dereliction of duty.

2. Change the scheme the players had grown into.

Simplifying the scheme in hindsight was not a bad choice — deciding not to employ someone who had actually done it before, let alone putting defensive and special teams coordinators in charge, was just the height of arrogance or a total blindspot about modern NFL offensive football, take your pi.

3. Change the offensive line so the protection is worse.

Jones needed x-rays after two of the first three games and missed time with a high ankle sprain.

Bonus chapter: Installing coaches with no experience on the other side of the ball - authored by Andy Reid and Juan Castillo with the Dream Team Eagles in 2011.

Updated 2023 chapters:

4. Change the coordinator and scheme again.

5. Don't bring in any talent to the outside receivers and relying on players no one else wanted (DeVante Parker, Juju Smith-Schuster, Mike Gesicki) or late-round flyer draft picks (Demario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte).

6. Spend your first three draft picks on defense.

7. Bypass offensive tackle help in free agency and the draft and relying on unreliable players (Trent Brown) and low-cost free agents (Riley Reiff, Calvin Anderson) who didn't work so you had to trade for more help right before the season started (Vederian Lowe, Tyrone Wheatley). 

8. Give your third-year quarterback no pass protection and no running game for the early part of the season.

What went on early this season and the unrelenting pass rush (average pressure rate, Weeks 1-6: 40%) resulted in pocket PTSD that he has not been able to shake, like on the final interception.

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Given all that, is anyone surprised Jones looks like he's a total loss and is probably questioning whether he can ever be an effective quarterback in this league?

Jones has definitely played a part in this. His mental toughness should still be in question. As opposed to other promising quarterbacks, he just doesn't possess the, "I don't give a f$%6k that I just threw four interceptions, I'm him and I'm about to throw four TDs on your ass to win this thing," calm cockiness that you seem to need to have. Jones seems to be one of those people that just is never calm. And that's a bad sign for a quarterback.

But it's also undeniable that Belichick is at the heart of this because he treats the QB position like it's any other on the team. He's done it his entire career, back to Cleveland. If he didn't stumble onto Tom Brady, you wonder where his career might have gone.

But he did, and the 20-year run was glorious.

He's going to retire, at some point, somewhere, as the all-time winningest coach to go along with his record six Super Bowl titles.

But he's also going to retire with a losing record without Brady, including 27-33 in New England since Brady and counting — 4-13 in his last season of games.

And having run off the greatest QB of all time, who won a Super Bowl in his first season without Belichick.

And having ruined a promising 15th overall pick.

"I've played well in my career before, but just not right now," Jones said. "It's peaks and valleys, but I'm kind of in a valley right now, and just got to bounce back."

Mac Jones may be done here as the starter, but Bill Belichick set the stage for it to happen.

Maybe he should be done as well.