Reports: Mac Jones Goes Behind Bill Belichick’s Back To Fix Offense
According to reports, Mac Jones tried to take matters into his own hands to turn around the Patriots’ faltering offense.
Chris Simms, an analyst for NBC Sports and Pro Football Talk, claims that Jones went looking for answers behind Bill Belichick’s back.
Mac Jones Goes Behind Bill Belichick’s Back To Fix Offense
According to former NFL quarterback and current football pundit Chris Simms, the Patriot’s offense was so bad this year that Mac Jones started reaching out to others outside of the Patriots’ organisation for assistance.
Simms claimed during an appearance on “NBC’s Pro Football Talk Live” that the circumstance made Jones angry and that Jones was openly discussing it throughout the season.
Chris Simms on the Patriots:
"Mac Jones wasn't happy. He was telling people he wasn't happy. He was calling people about, 'Hey, can you help us with ideas.' From my understanding, Bill Belichick found out all these things. … And that's where it did get personal." pic.twitter.com/hD7ZK7ftgR
— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) January 12, 2023
“He was telling people he wasn’t happy,” Simms said. “He was calling people about, ‘Hey, can you help us with ideas and do stuff like that?’”
Simms claimed that when Bill Belichick learned about the situation, he was not pleased with Jones.
According to what I understand, Belichick learned about all of these things, Simms added. He learned that Mac was communicating with others and that Belichick was the subject of some back-channel chats. I believe that’s where things started to turn personal.
#BREAKING: Mac Jones has reportedly requested a TRADE from the Patriots…
I’m being told that Jones is “very frustrated” with the coaching staff and doesn’t feel any support from the fan base; who has bood him off the field and chanted for Zappe all season. 😨 pic.twitter.com/gzF32Spk7v
— Simon Charles (@S_CharlesNFL) January 11, 2023
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Belichick spoke to the second-year quarterback about the decisions.
As you might expect, Belichick also informed Mac Jones about it, which is why it stopped, according to Florio.
On Monday, reporters questioned Belichick about whether he intended to keep Jones as the starting quarterback for New England in 2023. He didn’t exactly respond with enthusiasm.
"The idea that Jalen Hurts is a Franchise QB is comical. Extremely talented runner. One of the worst passers we’ve seen in yrs. Frenetic playmaking isn’t a skill you can live off. Eagles need to evaluate the QBs. And should take Mac Jones QB Alabama"
Same narrative, new player. https://t.co/Wo553bDLNU
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) January 12, 2023
Mac can play quarterback in this league, according to Belichick. “We all need to work together to discover the best approach for our football team to be more effective, quarterback is clearly a significant position.”
Jones’s stats suffered greatly in 2022 as a result of this season, when he was sacked a career-high 34 times. The only quarterbacks with a worse QBR than Jones this season out of the 31 quarterbacks reported by ESPN were Baker Mayfield, Carson Wentz, and Davis mills.
Tom E. Curran says he wouldn’t be surprised if the pushback on Mac Jones in the media was coming from Joe Judge and/or Matt Patricia.@tomecurran pic.twitter.com/DfoKmzgKLe
— Jones & Mego with Arcand (@JonesandMego) January 13, 2023
Jones missed the following three games as a result of a high-ankle sprain he also sustained during New England’s Week 3 loss to Baltimore. The quarterback dilemma started at that point when rookie Bailey Zappe led the Patriots to a 2-0 record in Jones’ absence. With just one interception throughout that time, Zappe completed 73 per cent of his passes for 596 yards and four touchdowns.
After being benched by Belichick, Jones was replaced by Zappe when he came back on Oct. 24. Zappe was a former first-round pick out of Alabama. Despite Jones regaining the starting job, New England finished the season with a 5-5 record.
Left everything out there.@MacJones_10 | #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/bg1vRll2xj
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 9, 2023
The Patriots still had a chance to squeak into the postseason with a Week 18 win over the Bills, but Buffalo returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and defeated New England, 35-23.
FOR MORE NFL UPDATES-
Troy Aikman Questions Quality Of NFL Play: How’s This Professional?