You can add Mike Vick to the growing list of people who are concerned about whether the Patriots are doing right by Mac Jones in the quarterback’s second season.
New England overhauled its offensive system and coaching staff during the offseason, and the results haven’t been pretty. The Patriots were awful during training camp and the preseason and weren’t much better in their season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The overarching concern: Matt Patricia isn’t an adequate play-calling replacement for Josh McDaniels. Vick co-signed that take during FS1’s Week 2 pregame coverage while issuing a somewhat aggressive challenge to Jones.
“He’s gonna have to overcome coaching,” the former NFL quarterback said. “I think it’s going to be difficult for him going down the stretch. The thing is, (the Patriots) took two steps forward last week and then 10 steps back. They made plays, they just didn’t finish drives.
“And when I mean ‘overcome coaching,’ it means he’s gonna have to be special. He’s gonna have to be Patrick Mahomes or Justin Herbert in Year 2 — if that even makes sense. But he has to just be different and has to show that he can play this position at a high level.”
Obviously, it’s unrealistic to expect Jones to perform like Herbert or Mahomes — two of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. But Vick might be right in suggesting that Jones and the Patriots offense must succeed in spite of Patricia.
New England will look for better results Sunday afternoon when it visists the Pittsburgh Steelers.
