Vince Wilfork made headlines in late December when he called out New Engalnd Patriots quarterback Mac Jones for his controversial on-field outbursts.
“I’m tired of that,” Wilfork said. ” … I’m tired of seeing him throwing a fit and attention-grabbing.”
Well, the Patriots Hall of Famer changed his tune this week.
“We can’t have you throwing temper tantrums every single week, and I think he cleaned it up,” Wilfork said during an FS1 appearance. “But one thing I take from that is, I love his passion. It shows me that he cares. It shows me that he knows he has more to give and the team has more to give.
” … Hopefully, he got that out of his system. I think he did. I think he piped down a lot. I’m pretty sure Bill (Belichick) and the coaching staff had some words to say to him. So, he piped down a lot. That goes to show me that he’s coachable. But I do like the grit and the passion that he plays with.”
Wilfork is right to point out that Jones’ in-game antics lessened toward the end of the season. Coincidentally or not, his level of play also improved over the final few weeks.
Patriots legend Julian Edelman also was critical of Jones’ behavior during the season. It’d be interesting to hear whether he also believes the sophomore quarterback did a better job of harnessing his emotions down the stretch.
Ultimately, Belichick’s opinion on Jones is the only one that matters, and he’s ensured we still have no idea where he stands on the 24-year-old signal-caller.
