One of the biggest reasons New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is being criticized for his decision to pull Mac Jones on “Monday Night Football” is rooted in how it could impact the confidence of the 2021 first-round pick moving forward.
Jones, after all, was booed off the field by Patriots fans in attendance at Gillette Stadium despite getting merely three offensive possessions following a three-week absence due to a high ankle sprain. Bailey Zappe took over for Jones, a decision the quarterback explained was part of the plan, confirming Belichick’s sentiments.
Belichick, however, doesn’t seem to be putting much thought in any long-term impact as it relates to Jones’ mindset.
“No, I think Mac has plenty of confidence,” Belichick told reporters Tuesday morning following New England’s 33-14 loss to the Chicago Bears, per a team-provided transcript.
If there was one thing that could hinder the Alabama product’s confidence, though, it might be getting booed by his home fans while hearing chants for his back up. Those cheers took over Gillette Stadium when Zappe entered for New England’s fourth offensive series, especially with the 2022 fourth-rounder igniting the offense on a pair of scoring drives to erase a 10-point deficit. That pandemonium ran out in the second half given a pair of interceptions and a New England defense unable to do anything right.
“Yeah, I really can’t control that,” Belichick said when questioned about the crowd’s reaction to Jones and Zappe. “Just trying to coach a football team. Obviously, I have a lot of work to do there. So I’m going to focus on that.”
Jones lauded Belichick for his open level of communication after the game. Other players, however, acknowledged how they were caught off guard when Zappe entered the contest. And Zappe himself shared how he didn’t know Jones would be the starting quarterback until the public did.
Belichick, to no surprise, again deflected when asked if he thought he needed to address the quarterback situation with the team.
“As I said after the game, I think we need to all do a better job coaching, playing, offense, defense, special teams,” Belichick said. “We need to do a better job in every area. Period. So everything needs to improve based on last night.”
Belichick has invited the quarterback controversy given his unwillingness to name a starting quarterback. He had the opportunity to do so in recent weeks and again after Monday’s loss and hours later, but instead referred to many questions as “hypothetical.” It’s fair to think the only way to restore Jones’ confidence at this point, though, would be for the Patriots to name him their starter entering Week 8 against the New York Jets.
