Patriots Mac Jones: ‘Trust’ in Belichick?

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones appears eager to put last season’s woes behind him … while strengthening his relationship with coach Bill Belichick.

FOXBORO — For the New England Patriots, returning to their winning ways this season may be … in the immortal words of Billy Joel … a matter of ‘trust.’ 

Or, might they be the inspirational musings of Patriots starting quarterback Mac Jones? 

Either way, the 24-year-old appears ready to turn the page from both his and the team’s disappointing finish to the 2022 season. To do so, the Patriots must rebuild a collective faith in each other, seemingly lost during last season’s  struggles. While the process will be neither quick, nor easy, Jones knows that the first step begins with him.  

“That's the big thing … As the quarterback — at the end of the day when we're on that field —they need to feel confident in me and I need to feel confident in them,” Jones told reporters following Wednesday’s training camp session. “I think that's built through trust; I think that's the big word here for this training camp is ‘trust.’”

Despite an impressive rookie campaign, Jones struggled to rekindle his previous success in his second year. In addition to missing three games due to an ankle injury, he displayed notable discomfort in New England's new offensive system coordinator by former offensive coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. At times, the disconnect between the players and the coaching staff was so overt that Jones was observed hurling expletive-laden frustrations, believed to be in the direction of his coaches. Ultimately, he finished the season with 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

However, for Jones to successfully move forward, it was imperative to repair what many had considered to be a fractured relationship between coach and quarterback. In fact, Belichick’s alleged vexation with Jones became the source of unsubstantiated trade rumors throughout the offseason. 

Understandably, Jones was quick to quell any lingering questions about his connection with Belichick. 

“I think we're good,” Jones said of he and Belichick. “I think the biggest thing that we've all talked about is just having a fresh start. I think there's a lot of learning experiences from last year that we've talked about and this year, it's all about just working together. You’ve got to come up with a plan, obviously talk about it, and then execute it. I'm excited for that part of it.”

In addition to Belichick, Jones is also grateful for the opportunity to work with both new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien (who also doubles as quarterbacks coach) and Evan Rothstein, who is serving as assistant quarterbacks coach. 

“I think Coach O'Brien does a great job laying out what we do well so far, and Evan [Rothstein] too,” Jones said. “We're going to learn every day what we do well and then from there, you just keep moving forward and execute the plan.”

For all of the discussion surrounding the Patriots need to change their passing game, O’Brien’s hiring seems to indicate a return to a timing-based scheme, predicated on vertical routes and completions from quick, accurate throws. While the Patricia-led regime attempted to incorporate more zone reads into their repertoire, Jones is at his best when leading his receivers under the defense, releasing the ball quickly and delivering it accurately — as well as using the run to facilitate play-action passes.

It is also where O’Brien shines as well.

Accordingly, Jones has wasted little time in demonstrating his progress. During mandatory minicamp practice sessions, he demonstrated greater accuracy, command and added strength on nearly all of his throws. Despite getting off to a shaky start on Wednesday — i.e. tossing an interception to safety Kyle Dugger on his first pass attempt during team drills —  he finished the day completing 4 of 7 passes in 11-on-11s, and 1 of 3 in 7-on-7 drills, with five scoring strikes an interception. Through it all, Jones is beginning to develop a solid working relationship with O’Brien, while being given greater responsibility to command the offense at the line of scrimmage.

Still, the Alabama product is taking it one moment at a time, in true Patriots fashion. 

“For me, I'm just trying to be really consistent, try not to ride the wave, just stay my course and hopefully, everybody on our offense feels that, too.”

Jones and the Patriots will return to the practice fields adjacent to Gillette Stadium at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday for their second training camp practice.  

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