Over the last few seasons, Dan Orlovksy's been perhaps the most vocal supporter of Mac Jones among national football pundits. But the former NFL quarterback's commentary on Jones always has felt a bit over the top.
Well, now we might know why.
During a Wednesday WEEI appearance, Orlovsky casually revealed he frequently texts Jones about his footwork.
"I still don't like Mac's feet," Orlovsky said on the "Jones & Mego" show. "I text Mac that almost every week. Like, 'Your feet still ... ' He's gotta get better at that. Even the game-winning touchdown, he's falling away. So, directly to the performance, I still believe in Mac Jones. But that would be the one thing that, just because you win, you can't avoid looking at (footwork)."
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Orlovsky then was asked whether the New England Patriots quarterback is receptive to constructive criticism.
"Yeah, I've always had a good relationship with Mac," he said. "I was obviously a big fan of his coming out of school. Had the opportunity to see him a couple times this past offseason. He's really receptive. My experience with him has always been like, this dude really wants to be a really good player. And he wants to work at the things that he thinks he needs to work at, or maybe someone else thinks he needs to work at. So, he's always been really receptive."
Obviously, that makes it harder to take Orlovsky's ESPN sermons on Jones at face value. He clearly has some level of bias.
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Moreover, some have said Jones texting Orlovsky is another example of the third-year QB seeking outside council, something that reportedly angered Bill Belichick last season. In 2022, Jones allegedly asked for advice from his former college coaches amid mounting frustration with the state of the Patriots offense.
Those feel like two different things, but you could draw a line between the two.
In any event, Jones is coming off arguably the best win of his young NFL career. He'll look to make it two wins in a row this Sunday when 2-5 New England visits the 5-2 Miami Dolphins.
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Featured image via Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Images