Ever since the New England Patriots and Mac Jones finished off a disappointing 8-9 season in 2022, the quarterback has come under fire lately.
Questions of the now third-year QB’s immaturity have led some, like Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, to speculate if the Patriots really want Jones in the long term. That’s because, after a relatively sparkling rookie season, Jones struggled last year. As a result, it didn’t seem like Bill Belichick was enthused about his ceiling.
Factor in Jones lashing out at his coaches, taking dirty shots at opponents, and it seemed apparent he has some growing up to do.
On the latest episode of Good Morning Football, Devin McCourty (Jones’ teammate of the last two seasons) wasn’t having any of the recent criticism. The long-time veteran in the Patriots’ secondary thinks the hoopla surrounding Jones’ seeming immaturity is overblown:
"Sources say Mac Jones rubbing people the wrong way"@devinmccourty says… pic.twitter.com/LV4rNdFjik
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) February 27, 2023
Honestly, it’s not an awful thought.
More than other positions, QBs get the leeway to critique teammates and show more fire because it’s their offense and their show. Jones is still a young player, sophomore slumps can happen, and he plays for a high-profile team.
That said, I’m not sure I buy every piece of McCourty’s defense. For one, McCourty has been Jones’ teammate for a couple of years, so he’ll naturally have some bias baked in. Not that defending your colleagues is a bad thing; it’s just that your opinion might not be entirely impartial.
Plus, segments of McCourty’s defense concern a juxtaposition to Tom Brady and how the Patriots seemingly wanted to give up on the legendary QB at the start of the 2014 season. However, by then, Brady had won three Super Bowls and had two of three career MVP awards under his belt.
Of course, the Patriots wouldn’t give up on someone with his track record. That’d be silly!
At this stage in his career, it doesn’t matter if Jones “wants to win” alone. Everyone wants to win at this level of football. He’s not unique in that regard, and it doesn’t protect him wholly from criticism. Your actions, not words, make you immune to backlash (for better or worse).
In this case: that is winning. Jones has zero playoff wins and just finished a mediocre campaign. He’s not remotely comparable to mid-30s Brady. Until he has even a fraction of the track record of the GOAT, the critique about his approach to quarterbacking won’t stop — whether guys such as McCourty like it or not.