

#Insta cleaner mac mac#
And there are learning experiences from the Bucs’ loss that Mac needs to clean up. McDaniels is starting to buy into the shotgun, tempo, under 20 yards, horizontal system, and the Pats have done it before (hello, 2011).īut now it’s on Jones to hold up his end of the bargain as McDaniels calls the game to his strength. We know how Jones wins and doesn’t, so the question now is whether he can perfect his craft? Still, shocker, keeping Jones clean makes the offense more productive. Mac is staying afloat while under pressure, especially for a rookie. Jones is an above-average passer when he’s kept clean and is below NFL average quarterback when he’s under pressure. When he’s getting the ball out quickly, Jones’s PFF passing grade climbs to 78.6 compared to 59.6 when he holds the ball for over 2.5 seconds.Īnd a chunk of these shotgun, time to throw, and passing distances trends are forming because Mac is under too much pressure. The Pats’ rookie also has a drastic split by time to throw.

The Patriots can feature a quick passing attack with intermediate throws sprinkled in to get larger gains through the air, and everything for this offense takes shape from there.Īs the examples above suggest, Mac is a much better passer in the shotgun than from under center, where he can see the defense clearer and rely on his college developments.įurthermore, longer seven-step drops don’t favor Jones’s physical skill set as a passer with average arm strength and exacerbate the issues in pass protection by making the offensive line hold the fort longer. Here, the Bucs are in a two-man coverage, and Jones recognizes that the deep safety is staying over the top of Henry’s seam run, so he works a back-shoulder ball on a great release by Jakobi Meyers. On a positive note, the tape shows a passer in Jones who is excelling in McDaniels’s quick-game concepts and intermediate throws when the Patriots spread the field. Several factors are at play here, including the fact that the Patriots only have one deep threat (Nelson Agholor) and that the offensive line is struggling to protect Jones long enough to push the ball downfield. The chart above shows Jones’s splits on throws of 0-19 yards versus 20-plus air yards. The first trend that sticks out from the first month of the season is that Jones is executing at a high level on short and intermediate throws, but the numbers drastically tail off on deep passes.

The Patriots are learning their passing games’ strengths and weaknesses that’s good, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is catching on.īut the question now is can the Pats become so efficient at this style of offense that it makes up for the lack of big plays? Let’s dive deeper: The tape and film are in lockstep the Pats should run a quick-hitting short and intermediate attack with Mac Jones in an up-tempo shotgun system. Statistical trends are forming for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones four games into his rookie season, and all of them are obvious based on the eye test.
