Gene Frenette: Mac Jones' decline with Patriots also a product of Bill Belichick negligence
Seeing a dispirited Mac Jones, both on the sidelines and in his press conference after the New England Patriots’ 10-6 loss Sunday to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany, makes it harder to imagine the quarterback having a future in New England beyond this season.
Jones, a product of The Bolles School, continues to struggle for a Patriots team where he’s adjusting to another new offensive coordinator and has no viable weapons surrounding him.
While Jones must take responsibility as quarterback of the NFL’s second lowest-scoring offense (14.1 ppg), as well as a ghastly red-zone interception that cost his team the game against Indianapolis, it also cannot be ignored that head coach Bill Belichick put him in an untenable position.
More: Gene Frenette: Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence must find higher gear to put AFC South race on lockdown
Since Jones’ splendid rookie season in 2021, with Josh McDaniels as his offensive coordinator before he took the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job, Belichick let him go through last year without a defined OC and things only got worse this season when he brought back Bill O’Brien to run the offense.
Compounding the lack of offensive continuity, Belichick’s suspect acumen as a talent evaluator left Jones short-handed of an adequate surrounding cast that he desperately needs to reach his potential.
Jones doesn’t have the athleticism of a Lamar Jackson or Justin Herbert, but he can be a functional QB if provided with a legitimate weapon or two. The Patriots have a decent running back in Rhamondre Stevenson, but not much else to put any fear in a defense.
On top of that, the Patriots’ offensive line — ranked 27th in pass protection at 52.4, according to Pro Football Focus — has made Jones’ job more exasperating by its inability to help him buy time so receivers can gain separation. Jones is the No. 28-ranked passer in yards per attempt at 6.27 yards.
Speculation has ratcheted up in New England about the futures of both Jones and Belichick being on shaky ground. Things came to a head against the Colts when Jones was reamed out by O’Brien on the sideline for an errant end-zone pass that was almost intercepted.
Later, after a relatively easy TD pass for Mike Gesicki was badly underthrown and intercepted by Colts safety Julian Blackmon, a frustrated Jones was benched for Bailey Zappe.
Jones’ mood in the postgame session was far more somber than after most losses. Considering it was the second time this season he got benched, Jones understands the uncertainty about the QB position with New England (2-8) enduring its worst season since 2000, the year before Tom Brady’s arrival.
“I’ve played well in my career before, but just not right now,” Jones said. “It’s peaks and valleys and I’m kind of in a valley right now.”
Belichick gave his predictable generic response to the Jones situation, saying the team had a lot of things to work on during its bye week. But it’s abundantly clear the job security for a six-time Super Bowl championship coach and Jones will be a hot topic the next two months.
Whatever honeymoon period Jones had in New England is gone. He knows what the consequences can be for sub-par quarterback play, but in this instance, Belichick the GM didn’t do him any favors.
Protection woes discourage deep-ball attack
It’s painfully obvious the Jaguars’ offense isn’t throwing the ball downfield as much as fans expected. According to NextGenStats, the average depth of routes for Jaguars’ receivers is 9.9 yards, lowest in the NFL.
While the Jaguars should have a more vertical passing game with Trevor Lawrence and one of the league’s better receiving corps, they also have to trust the offensive line to provide the protection necessary for the quarterback to take those shots.
In nine games, Lawrence has been sacked 24 times (tied 7th-most in NFL) after absorbing just 27 sacks all last season. He now has 49 turnovers in his third season, the most by any quarterback other than the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen (51).
Since the Tennessee Titans’ biggest strength is their defensive line with stalwarts Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry, it’s unlikely Lawrence will take a lot of vertical shots in Sunday’s matchup. Tennessee has allowed the 10th-fewest pass completions (195) and only 7.2 yards per attempt.
NFL draft trivia
Jacksonville native LeRoy Butler, recently inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, was one of three safeties drafted by the NFL in the 1990s to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Who were the other two, both taken after Butler’s draft slot at No. 48 with the Green Bay Packers in 1990? Answer at the bottom.
Napier’s recruiting class taking hits
It was bad enough Florida’s defense got trucked by LSU and quarterback Jayden Daniels for 701 total yards last week, but the 52-35 loss clearly had a negative impact on the recruiting front.
The Gators had three commitments on defense flip to current and future SEC rivals, starting with 5-star edge rusher Jamonta Waller from Mississippi deciding to switch to Auburn during the game. UF later lost 4-star Louisiana cornerback Wardell Mack, who flipped to Texas.
More bad news came Wednesday when Dublin, Ga., 4-star defensive tackle Nasir Johnson backed out of his UF commitment and pledged to Georgia. Who knows what other recruits the Gators might gain or lose between now and early signing day on Dec. 20, but the last thing Florida’s horrific defense needed was having its projected top-5 recruiting class take a triple hit on that side of the ball.
Florida coach Billy Napier is already under enough pressure to turn the program around, so Gators’ fans will be monitoring this closely. As long as Texas quarterback DJ Lagway holds firm on his commitment, there’s no need for panic to set in.
More: Gene Frenette: Jaguars need to fix offense soon or promising season could slip away
Kelce’s win-win bye week
So without the Kansas City Chiefs playing last weekend, a charmed life continued for tight end Travis Kelce.
While in Argentina to watch his love interest Taylor Swift perform in concert on her “Eras Tour,” Kelce was on stage after the show and the two engaged in a lengthy PDA.
Prior to that smooch, Swift changed the lyrics to her song “Karma” to acknowledge their relationship, singing: “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me.” The original lyrics were “Karma is the guy on the screen, coming straight home to me.”
While the Swifties were going crazy on social media over the superstar calling that audible, Kelce got another unexpected bonus during his bye weekend. Three of the Chiefs’ closest pursuers for the No. 1 AFC playoff seed — the Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals — all lost.
NFL draft trivia answer
Besides Butler, the only NFL safeties drafted in the 1990s to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame are current San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch (No. 82 pick, 1993) and Raines High product Brian Dawkins (No. 61 pick, 1996).
Quick-hitting nuggets
Did you see where former Jaguars’ pass-rusher Arden Key, now with the Tennessee Titans, said this week that if they can take away Lawrence’s first read, he is likely to hesitate and the defense can get him to the ground. The implication was clear that Key believes Lawrence is weakened by forcing him to go to second and third reads. Trevor will surely take receipts on that assessment and use it as motivation, but he also has to prove he can make Key eat a little crow. ...
Sad to hear about the passing of NASCAR broadcasting legend and fellow Vermonter Ken Squier this week at 88. Squier brought the Daytona 500 into prominence with his flag-to-flag coverage on national television for the first time in 1979, which remains the most iconic race in the sport's history, due in part to the epic post-race fight between Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough. Squier's unique broadcasting style breathed life into NASCAR at a time when it had little cachet on the American landscape. He co-founded Motor Racing Network with legendary NASCAR executive Bill France, Sr. Squier was an absolute media giant in my home state, starting his career by broadcasting a race from the back of a logging truck on a Vermont dirt track at the age of 14. RIP, Ken. . . .
What Mississippi State did in firing Zach Arnett before he could finish his first season speaks to the panicky, delusional world of the Southeastern Conference. Arnett, elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach after the death of Mike Leach, was hurt by having the SEC’s lowest-scoring offense, impacted by losing quarterback Will Rogers the last four games to injury. This quick dismissal without any hint of off-the-field scandal was a bit surprising. I guess MSU forgot that Dan Mullen and Leach both had losing records in their first year. Unless it had wink-wink assurances of luring Mullen back out of the ESPN booth, this felt like a surreptitious firing. ...
Pigskin forecast
Jaguars over Tennessee Titans by 17 (49ers’ hangover remedies); Philadelphia Eagles over Kansas City Chiefs by 4 (paybacks); Arizona Cardinals over Houston Texans by 1 (Jaguars’ thank-you card); Pittsburgh Steelers over Cleveland Browns by 3 (Deshaun Watson MRIs); Missouri over Florida by 6 (defensive leaks); Miami over Louisville by 1 (party spoiler); Georgia over Tennessee by 3 (scary moments). Last week: 5 right, 2 Draymond Green headlock defenses.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Mac Jones' downfall with Patriots a product of Belichick providing no weapons
