Mac Jones Sticking With This Offensive Philosophy He Learned In High School

FOXBORO, Mass. — It’s been a tried and true method for New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones to this point.

And the second-year pro doesn’t plan to stray away from the philosophy of “you’ll never go broke taking a profit” anytime soon. It has become an integral part of Jones’ offensive makeup.

“Yeah, and it will always be that way,” Jones said Wednesday following practice.

It’s an ideology Jones has adhered to ever since he was a teenager playing football in Jacksonville, Fla., at The Bolles School, where he also had a humorous nickname.

“My high school offensive line coach, Coach Lance (Picard), he told me that,” Jones said. “He used to call me Sunshine, too. So he’s like, ‘Sunshine, you’ll never go broke taking a profit.’ We ran the wing-T, so if the back was open, give it to him and let him get the 5, 10 yards and good things will happen.”

Jones’ strength is trying to pick a defense apart with short and intermediate throws, and he emphasized his philosophy with a more well-known football adage of “taking what the defense gives.” But what has hampered Jones in trying to ascend is his inability to protect the football.

The 2021 first-round pick has thrown an interception in each game he has played in this season, including tossing a season-high three picks in a Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. In 22 career regular-season games, Jones has thrown at least one interception in 14 of them.

The mistakes piling up from Jones is what gave Bailey Zappe a chance to supplant him, but with the Patriots moving forward with Jones as the starter for now, the signal-caller would be wise to follow his philosophies more closely, as it just might put him on a better track.

“I think that’s important,” Jones said of limiting turnovers. “The ball is No. 1, and we got to do a better job of that. And I do, too. Definitely just watch the tape and see what we can do better. But they’re part of the game, you just got to move on from them. We’re trying to identify how we can be better and that’s the important part, right? You just go about your day, run the play how it’s supposed to be executed and if it’s not there then just throw it away and move on to the next play.”