Bill Belichick on Monday morning provided one of the more awkward clips you’ll hear all week.
During his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” the New England Patriots head coach was asked a question about rookie quarterback Mac Jones. A nearly 10-second pause ensued, followed by an invoking of former Patriot, and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Tom Brady.
Radio host: “Bill, Mac looked great (Sunday), only the second quarterback to throw for 300 yards against Tennessee in regulation. You look at Josh McDaniels and his gameplan for him. He seems to be bringing him along perfectly to really showcase his talent. Does Mac’s ability on the field make it easier for Josh to, kind of, gameplan better or bigger than, maybe, quarterbacks you’ve had in the past?”
Belichick: “Make it easier to gameplan over Tom Brady? No.”
To Belichick’s credit, he eventually gave a genuinely insightful answer on Jones, and what it’s like to coach and manage rookie players.
“Yeah, look, Josh does a great job on that, I’ve said that multiple times,” Belichick said. “Josh does a fantastic job of game planning, game-calling and in-game adjustments. I think, when you coach a team or when you coach a player, you don’t just sit there and think about, ‘Is he a rookie? Is he a second-year player? Is he a seventh-year player? Is he a ninth-year player?’ You just coach them to try and help them get better. And, you know, that’s a sliding scale. I understand that, that coaching a rookie’s not the same as coaching a 10-year veteran.
“But, whatever that player — regardless of how many years he’s been in the league — whatever he can handle, whatever he can process, whenever you feel like you’re getting near the top, then you need to pull back a little bit until you’re comfortable with the level of information and volume that you’re teaching the player.”
Jones was decent in Sunday’s 36-13 win over the Tennessee Titans, but his impressive stats masked what was an uneven performance from the rookie — especially in the red zone. The Patriots quarterback finished with 23 completions on 32 attempts for 310 yards and two touchdowns.
The 8-4 Patriots will visit the 7-3 Buffalo Bills next Monday night with first place in the AFC East on the line.
