Mac Jones entered the NFL with a reputation for being an intangibles-first quarterback whose leadership and cerebral approach to the position would help him overcome relatively average raw ability.
And while Jones’ much-hyped leadership certainly has translated, his on-field play this season clearly has regressed. One of the biggest issues has been Jones’ field vision, with the New England Patriots quarterback making more bad decisions this season than he did in 2021. Sunday’s 26-3 home win over the Indianapolis Colts in Foxboro marked the first time in seven games that Jones didn’t throw an interception, but he also missed a handful of open receivers and made multiple poor reads.
Consequently, there’s a growing number of fans and pundits who believe that Jones doesn’t see the field well. That claim was brought to Bill Belichick on Monday during his weekly “The Greg Hill Show” interview, but the Patriots head coach pushed back against the emerging criticism of Jones.
“I think that’s one of his strengths,” Belichick said during the WEEI appearance. “I think he sees the field pretty good.”
There’s no question that Jones isn’t seeing the field as well this season as he did during his rookie campaign. The question is whether the regression is natural or due to external factors, such as terrible offensive line play and coaching turnover. We probably would go with the latter, but you could argue the answer really is a bit of both.
In any event, Jones and the Patriots have much work to do during their bye week, as New England must get its struggling offense figured out before hosting the New York Jets in a pivotal Week 11 rematch.
