Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson insists he wasn't taking a shot at the Patriots when he offered his latest assessment of Mac Jones.
Pederson recently was very complimentary of Jones, who the Super Bowl-winning coach believes played "extremely well" for Jacksonville in recent weeks. However, Pederson also pointed out that Jones "still reverts back to his Patriots ways every now and then," which was perceived as a dig at the operation in New England.
But as Pederson recently explained to the media, his remarks were meant to portray the difficulty of transitioning from one system to another.
"It's no different than myself," Pederson told reporters, per ESPN's Michael DiRocco. "I grew up in Green Bay, right? Played for Green Bay. You learn certain things. You go somewhere else, like, I went to Cleveland and you revert back (to) terminology, hand signals, plays, things like that. That's what you're talking about. And sometimes he pulls out an old hand signal or throws out some old terminology or something because that's what he's known, right? That's what he's been a part of for the last several years.
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"And it's not a slight, a knock or anything. That's what I meant, you know? Like I said, he's been great. He's been great for the room. He's played extremely well. We've got to keep continuing to grow and it's just sometimes -- especially as quarterbacks -- and as astute as he is, and he studies extremely well, just the terminology and learning our way and how we do it. That's what I meant by that."
If Pederson was taking a shot at the Patriots, it would have been warranted. Between poor offensive coordinator hires, a weak supporting cast and other dysfunction, New England never really set Jones up to succeed. The 2021 first-round certainly shoulders some of the blame for how his Patriots tenure flamed out, but the team repeatedly fractured the relationship to the point of being broken beyond repair.
It's why an offseason divorce seemingly was the only option. Jones now has an opportunity to start fresh in his hometown, while the Patriots will try to not let history repeat itself with Drake Maye.
Featured image via Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union via USA TODAY Network
