Bill O’Brien: 'Blame Me’ for New England Patriots' Offense!

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien is not yet ready to denounce Mac Jones’ future — or even his present — as the team’s starting quarterback.

FOXBORO — Second verse, same as the first? 

Following another dismal performance from quarterback Mac Jones, the New England seemed destined — if not, forced — to relieve him of his starting duties heading into their Week 13 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium. 

However, Pats offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien believes that the largest slice of “blame pie” for the 25-year-old’s offensive woes should be served to another key component of New England’s offense — himself. 

“Things haven’t gone great for him this year, but I don’t think he’s the No. 1 guy to blame,” O’Brien told reporters of Jones via videoconference on Tuesday morning. “If you want to blame anybody, blame me. I’m the one that designs it and it’s not going very well.”

Despite an impressive rookie season, the former 2021 first-round pick (no. 15 overall) has struggled to recapture his previous success. Following a 2022 campaign in which Jones frequently clashed with then offensive play caller Matt Patricia and quarterbacks coach Joe Judge, O’Brien’s hiring was expected to bring both him and the Pats offense back to the “basics” of football. In this case, New England would return to a timing-based scheme, predicated on vertical routes and completions from quick, accurate throws. During his time at Alabama, Jones was quite proficient at running this type of offense. It is also where O’Brien typically shines as well.

Unfortunately, the Patriots offense has only fallen to new depths of futility, with Jones bearing much of the blame. The Alabama product’s inability to make sound decisions when most needed has led to a foundering of both his confidence and his mechanics — as well as his being benched in four of New England’s games to date. After completing only 12 of 21 passes for 89 yards — along with two baffling and costly interceptions — New England’s third-year starter relinquished the ball to backup Bailey Zappe to start the third quarter of the team’s 10-7 loss to the New York Giants in Week 12. 

Still, O’Brien believes that the prowess of a pro-caliber quarterback still lurks beneath the surface when it comes to Jones. Accordingly, the 54-year-old coach offered an optimistic viewpoint on his quarterback’s future, while reminding everyone that both wins and losses are the results of a collaborative effort.

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien speaks with quarterback Mac Jones (10) as quarterback Bailey Zappe (4) looks on :: (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

“Look, at the end of the day can he execute better? Are there things that he can do better? Sure,” O’Brien said. “But there’s things that all of us have to do better to put a winning product on the field, and right now that’s not what it is. What I see is a very confident guy, that’s a very bright guy, a very hard-working guy that’ll continue to work hard and try to improve on the things he needs to improve on.”

Benched 4 Times, Patriots Mac Jones: 'Wanna Be The QB!'

Consequently, O’Brien’s comments appear to have clouded the predictive waters for determining the identity of New England’s starting quarterback this weekend against the Bolts. Throughout the previous week, both Jones and Zappe essentially split the team’s practice reps, with veteran Will Grier getting looks with the second and third units. However, Grier was taken out of contention when the Pats released him last week. Scout team rookie Malik Cunningham was not chosen as a game day elevation, leaving Jones and Zappe as the only two quarterbacks on the active roster.

Will it be more of the same when the Pats take the field for practice on Wednesday?

“I think it’ll be the same as last week relative to going into the week,” O’Brien said of determining the playing status of his quarterbacks. “Let’s do a good job this week of installing a good game plan, teaching it to the players, and then the players going out there and executing it on the practice field. That’s really what it comes down to, then perform it on game day.

“As an offense, both coaching and playing-wise, we just haven’t done that. We haven’t been consistent enough. And so we’re going to continue to work hard on the practice field, and see how it all shakes out on game day.”

As Shakespeare once wrote: “What’s past is prologue.”

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