It's Not Mac, It's Bill.

It's been a month since I last wrote. Work has kept me busy. So I've been paying attention and I think a portion of the fan base of the Patriots needs to come back to earth around the quarterback situation.

Mac Jones was a pro bowl quarterback in 2021 as a rookie. He did that in the Brady offense under Brady's coordinator. Two things Mac Jones has not had this year. 

I get the Bailey Zappe hype. The guy lit it up in his final year of college but that doesn't mean anything. Check out Colt Brennan's college and pro career. Now Zappe played decent prior to the Bears game but what happened in that game?

Zappe showed he cannot carry the team. Although Zappe was decent prior to Monday Night, he was said not to be ready for thr NFL due to the offense he ran in college. And then with Mac, they're not running the same offense they are with Zappe. 

When Zappe was drafted, he was called a less talented version of Mac Jones. If that's true, how good would Mac look if they gave him the Zappe offense? Even if they slowly incorporated the offense they want Mac to run. 

The Patriots offense of years past was about taking what's being given and having receivers that are smart enough to read defenses. The Patriots "simplified" their offense to get (force) the ball into the hands of Jonnu Smith, Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker.

When I was writing for the Gillette Gazette in August, I was covering the offensive line. The Patriots in their version of the Shanahan offense couldn't stop anyone. I was told the line was fine repeatedly and that our defense was just playing lights out. 

According to player Profiler, Mac Jones's protection rate is 67.6%, 33rd in the league. There are 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL and every player after that is a back up. Meaning his line is playing like backups when he's in the game. 

I don't have the stats for the number of times Mac Jones has been hurried but he's was hit at least 10 times and sacked five times in his first 3 starts. On top of that, the line gave up 10 tackles for a loss in those games. 

Isaiah Wynn has been having a down year and Trent Brown had a bad game versus Chicago. When Mac Jones is in the game, the line is playing like Marshall Newhouse is still a member of the starting lineup. 

Fans need to put pressure on the Patriots coaching staff, not Mac Jones. They drafted a Tom Brady clone and are trying to make him into John Elway. Mac is good but he doesn't have the physical tools Elway had. And even though Matt Patricia has defensive knowledge, he's still adjusting to being an offensive coordinator.

Mac's sophomore slump is all Bill Belichick's fault, plain and simple. And blame needs to be allocated properly.