7/3/2023 0 Comments The ringer jobs![]() ![]() The Patriots didn’t take an offensive player until the third day of the draft, and they even traded up for a kicker before adding a pass catcher. Riley Reiff will take over at right tackle, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was signed to replace Jakobi Meyers, and Mike Gesicki will take over for Jonnu Smith as a roving tight end to complement Hunter Henry. Despite plenty of predraft rumblings that the Pats might be shopping Jones and could be in the mix to draft a first-round QB, Jones remains the starter, and the rest of the offensive roster remains largely intact. While getting Jones’s development back on track appeared to be the team’s top priority heading into this offseason, it’s fair to wonder about Belichick’s long-term vision for the offense and his young quarterback now that the bulk of the team-building work for 2023 is complete. And his performance in 2023 could determine Belichick’s next big move-and whether the Pats will be in the market for a new quarterback next offseason.īelichick’s message seems to be that if offensive coaching and quarterback play were the big issues the team had last year, simply changing the former should solve the latter. We should expect the play-calling to be better-it couldn’t be worse-so it will be up to Jones to determine how much better the offense will be. But outside of the coordinator, the actual offense won’t look dramatically different this fall. Patricia is gone, back to coaching defense with another organization, and Belichick has handed the offense-and Jones’s development-to Bill O’Brien, who, for all his personnel missteps in Houston, is an experienced coordinator and play caller and should get better results out of the young quarterback. Now, it’s unclear how committed Belichick is to the 2021 first-round pick beyond next season. He was a league-average passer in 2021 based on most efficiency metrics-an impressive feat for a rookie passer-but only Houston’s Davis Mills and the Jets’ Zach Wilson were worse in expected points added in 2022, according to TruMedia.Īt this time last year, Jones appeared to be New England’s future. The results of this unorthodox move from Belichick were predictably disastrous: The Pats fell to 24th in offensive DVOA after ranking ninth the previous season, and Jones’s fall was even steeper. After Josh McDaniels departed in early 2022, the Pats personnel stayed largely the same, and Bill Belichick replaced McDaniels with longtime NFL defensive coach Matt Patricia-who then overhauled the entire structure of the offense. ![]() That the Patriots offense needed to be more aggressive was a sentiment seemingly shared by the entire New England fan base that watched first-year offensive play caller Matt Patricia essentially sabotage what had been a productive offense in 2021, Jones’s rookie year. Mac Jones during the Patriots' 24-10 loss on #TNF /LdojOW9alg- Sports Illustrated December 2, 2022Īfter that game, Jones explained that he wanted to be able to push the ball downfield more often. "Throw the f-g ball! F-g quick game sucks! F-k!"
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