What a disappointing weekend in New England. First, we have to deal with the Red Sox deciding to implode against the Yankees. Seriously, all they had to do was win one game to stay on top of the wildcard standings. Now they barely hold a playoffs spot after being swept out of Fenway for the year. But before the Sunday Night Baseball debacle, there was an equally ugly face plant from the Patriots.
The Patriots had a lot of momentum coming into the season. I was optimistic. Tim was optimistic. Both of us thinking they would win at least 11 games. That might still be the case, but now they are struggling mightily. The worst part is their big free-agency spending spree hasn’t accounted for much of anything yet. The biggest thing dragging fan’s hopes down has been the underwhelming play of first-round pick Mac Jones. Jones has been fine, especially for a rookie QB making the first three starts of his career. Through three games, Jones has passed for 737 yards, two touchdowns to three interceptions, and has completed 67.5% of those passes. So, yeah, he’s been fine.
Watching Sunday as the Saints came into Gillette and were in control of the game the entire afternoon, I noticed that the Patriots’ offense was much better when they let Jones take control. Jones was the quarterback for an unstoppable Alabama machine in college. His top two wide receivers and his running back were all first-round picks this year. He seems more comfortable when the offense has four or five players spread wide.
After a dismal first 28 minutes, the Patriots had a chance to get some points on the board by going with their two-minute offense. And what do you know:
A 31-yard gain by Kendrick Bourne to get them to the Saints side of the field.
This was followed up by:
A 12-yard gain from Nelson Agholor.
After a short run on first down:
So here we are. The Patriots march down the field using a spread out passing game. They have a 3rd and 1 set up. So spread them out, keep the defense on their heels and score or set up first down on the next play:
What?! That was it? With a timeout and in a spot where you can take shots at the endzone it was this? A handoff out of shotgun to the 3rd string (maybe 4th string, special teamer) Brandon Bolden? I don’t get how McDaniels takes the ball out of Jones’ hands there. He was cooking all the way down the field. I especially liked Bolden trying to slide backwards for the yardage.
Later in the game on third downs they trusted Jones to make a play on 3rd down and here are two instances:
On one occasion, they tried a screen to Jonnu Smith and his troubling trend of dropping passes continued.
Jones has proven to be a competent quarterback and one that makes the correct decisions add in the fact he doesn’t skip passes to his receivers over the middle all the time and I think we have something here. I understand the Patriots like to establish the run and have a great running back in Damien Harris. I also think that when healthy and after playing together for more than half a quarter the offensive line will be one of the best in the league. All these things can come together and be a really well balanced offense.
It isn’t time to give Jones complete unfettered control over the offense. If Damien Harris is running well and the line is moving people, stick with it. But don’t be afraid to have Jones make a play at a key point in the game. Fans would rather see an aggressive call not work, rather than running behind your backup right tackle, with your 3rd-string running back on a crucial 3rd down.
Photo of Mac Jones by Elsa/Getty Images
The Never Weres 
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