The Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones Thread

Eddie Jurak

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Yeah, the Bedard quotes were silly. He makes it sound like Cam was missing things, but really Cam made the call he's supposed to, as did Mac (that's good) then Agholor tried to make sure the rook saw the blitz.... Agholor isn't going to make sure a 10+ year vet former MVP saw the blitz in camp. He did exactly what he's supposed to, pointed out the Mike, made the seam throw, on to the next one.

It's good that Mac looks like he knows what he's doing, but mostly this is selling smoke to the fanbase by making it seem like "wow I can't believe how much he knew" when really what I see there is a WR trying to help his rook QB, and the rook knowing what he was supposed to be seeing.
Way to pee in the corn flakes, CD. I mean, I think it is right that Bedard is infatuated with Mac Jones now and that he was never a fan of Cam's ability to run the NE passing offense.

That said, Bedard's point is not that Jones did better than Cam on this meaningless spring OTA play. It is that he is flashing skills that 1) Cam, based on a legthy NFL career including last year in NE, simply lacks, and 2) are needed to fully unclock the Pats passing offense. It's a valid point if one doesn't leap off into hyperbole.
This is pretty much spot on. Mac’s mental processing needs to be top notch because he needs to do the little things correctly to succeed vs seeing a guy open and then ripping it into a closing window.

His deep ball hangs at times and can be off target a bit, but it doesn’t mean he can’t throw it deep. He will be fine.
I'd like to hope that Jones can improve his arm, at least to some degree. I feel like Brady did, though I'm not an expert, I don't remember thinking he had a great arm at the very beginning of his career, though he damned sure did eventually. But I think it is more of a threshold question - does he have enough of an arm to allow the rest of his skills to play, or is he Steve Walsh 2.0.
 

BaseballJones

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Maybe we'd all feel better if Mac made the wrong reads and threw the ball into the ground?

I mean, people, it's just no-defense passing drills so of course we shouldn't go crazy. But isn't it better that they're seeing good signs from Mac as opposed to NOT seeing good signs from him?
 

SMU_Sox

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I have no doubt that Mac will be able to improve his arm strength when and not if he takes the NFL strength and conditioning program seriously. He also, like 99% of guys coming out, doesn’t have perfect mechanics which sometimes cause his balls to sail or be worn burners or be under thrown or fade. If he can go from 13.5 yards vs 15 yards from the same throw from Trey Lance to 14 or 14.25 he will be fine. His arm strength is below average to average right now but I think he is capable of getting to average. He might always be on be on the lower end of average but that trait alone isn’t a death sentence.
 

Old Fart Tree

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I mean, people, it's just no-defense passing drills so of course we shouldn't go crazy. But isn't it better that they're seeing good signs from Mac as opposed to NOT seeing good signs from him?

Yes! It is better! Let's just not put him in Canton yet. ;)

(I know, you weren't putting him in Canton. We're just starved for things to talk about here...)
 

Ed Hillel

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Tom Brady did not exactly have a "live arm" coming out of college, either, and dude learned to flat out zip it over the course of his career. It's also not nearly as important as being able to read defenses and make the proper decisions quickly. That is what makes QBs elite in this league, far more QBs can zip the ball than make the correct decisions.
 

Harry Hooper

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Tom Brady did not exactly have a "live arm" coming out of college, either, and dude learned to flat out zip it over the course of his career. It's also not nearly as important as being able to read defenses and make the proper decisions quickly. That is what makes QBs elite in this league, far more QBs can zip the ball than make the correct decisions.
Curran must be a member of the Jeff George fan club.
 

joe dokes

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I mean him not having an A+ arm isn’t exactly news. But we’re also not talking about late career Chad Pennington either. I see that comparison and it is just dumb.
Otoh...early career Pennington was quite good with an average-at-best fastball. That would be an asset
 

Cellar-Door

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Way to pee in the corn flakes, CD. I mean, I think it is right that Bedard is infatuated with Mac Jones now and that he was never a fan of Cam's ability to run the NE passing offense.

That said, Bedard's point is not that Jones did better than Cam on this meaningless spring OTA play. It is that he is flashing skills that 1) Cam, based on a legthy NFL career including last year in NE, simply lacks, and 2) are needed to fully unclock the Pats passing offense. It's a valid point if one doesn't leap off into hyperbole.
I'd like to hope that Jones can improve his arm, at least to some degree. I feel like Brady did, though I'm not an expert, I don't remember thinking he had a great arm at the very beginning of his career, though he damned sure did eventually. But I think it is more of a threshold question - does he have enough of an arm to allow the rest of his skills to play, or is he Steve Walsh 2.0.
And I'm saying that's not at all true. Bedard worded it to make it seem like Jones was doing something Cam didn't or couldn't.... except he wasn't.

It's good that Mac Jones can identify a blitz... so can Cam he has done it many many times over a decade in the NFL... and in actual games. I was pointing out that Bedard is full of shit at most times, and that he phrased his post in a particular way to make it seem like Jones was doing something amazing that Cam didn't rather than the reality... Jones did something nice that an NFL QB has to do.
 

Dr. Gonzo

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The fact that anyone cares about Curran’s and Bedard’s opinion on player evaluation is the biggest story here. Many more capable writers on the beat. These two bring nothing.
 

E5 Yaz

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The fact that anyone cares about Curran’s and Bedard’s opinion on player evaluation is the biggest story here.
We've got people here who still give a shit about what Seth Wickersham writes
 

tims4wins

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Reiss on Mac. A few thoughts on Reiss. He's not a true football guy - he's learned a lot these last 20 years, but he's not an Xs and Os or mechanics guru. That said, he doesn't usually seem to go overboard. I think that his take on Jones may actually give me a more positive perspective than Bedard, but maybe it's one and the same.

https://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4823083/first-impression-of-mac-jones-rare-to-see-patriots-rookie-keep-up-mentally

1. Mac's QB mind: Sometimes a first impression of a Patriots player at practice is so obvious, you can't miss it. A few that come to mind over the years are Deion Branch's smoothness in and out of his breaks, Wes Welker's quickness and change of direction, Randy Moss effortlessly gliding down the field while leaving defensive backs in his wake, and Jake Bailey's sky-scraping punts.

When it came to quarterback Mac Jones on Thursday, it wasn't as obvious as those examples, and perhaps that's because a razor-sharp football mind is hard to sum up in one snapshot.

That was one of my biggest takeaways from watching practice: Jones is putting himself in position to possibly compete for the starting job come training camp in July because he's keeping up with the challenging mental aspect of the Patriots' playbook.

This is uncommon for rookie Patriots quarterbacks who are adjusting to the volume of information, and also the fast pace in which coaches teach it. It's a lot to process, and that doesn't even factor in how a simple shift by the defense can require a reaction from the quarterback that changes everything in an instant.

Along those lines, every throw from Jones in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills Thursday seemed to go to the right place. There was little, if any, indecisiveness. He's probably further along than any Patriots rookie quarterback, at this point, than anyone who came before him.

This is not to overlook Cam Newton, who on one play, was put in a tough spot when running back Tyler Gaffney made the incorrect read, and Newton was right on it -- a reflection that his command of the offense continues to evolve, so it's premature to write the veteran QB off.

It was one day in shorts and T-shirts in May, which is critical context. But those seemed like encouraging signs for the Patriots.
 

BaseballJones

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"We respect him for trying really hard to do his job."

It's not condemnation, but it's not exactly praise.
It was perfectly fine. Mac is a rookie. He obviously is adjusting well but has a long way to go. What else should BB have said?
 

simplyeric

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It was perfectly fine. Mac is a rookie. He obviously is adjusting well but has a long way to go. What else should BB have said?
Nothing. I'm not saying he should have said anything else. Just that "Mac Jones has earned respect from BB" is, while technically correct, also somewhat misleading.
It's barely praise. If it wasn't BB, I'd say it's bordering on a negative assessment. It's the kind of thing someone says when they don't have anything good to say but they want to say something good-sounding. Now, BB doesn't necessarily care about that, but it's basically saying "he gets a B for effort, and is a pleasure to have in class" one month into the school year.

No hot take here. It's not worth a lot either way.
 

SMU_Sox

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We’re in this drip period of news and where we won’t get a ton of meaningful information. We can poo-poo stuff or just post and react to it but know that it is low impact. Personally I think since this is a fan site we should post and react to stuff knowing full well it is May/June OTAs and practices which are learning vs competition. I’m not responding to any one in particular just the types of reports we will get in the next month to month and a half before real camp starts.
 

tims4wins

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@SMU_Sox as the guy who posted the tweet, I realize it's 99% meaningless, but I still enjoy the little daily morsels that we get. They mean practically nothing until we can see these guys in preseason action, but it's still fun to track. Mostly, it's fun to have hope at the QB position after what we went through last year (and even the last year or two of Brady there wasn't a clear cut future).
 

simplyeric

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We’re in this drip period of news and where we won’t get a ton of meaningful information. We can poo-poo stuff or just post and react to it but know that it is low impact. Personally I think since this is a fan site we should post and react to stuff knowing full well it is May/June OTAs and practices which are learning vs competition. I’m not responding to any one in particular just the types of reports we will get in the next month to month and a half before real camp starts.
Hope I haven't seemed out of line. As T4W mentioned, it's just a little morsel, and I was just having a thought about what it might mean.
Partly. because I want there to be good news. I would love to have BB come out and say "he's absolutely crushing it" or something. But obviously he's not going to do that. So as I read it I was processing it as "what does this actually mean...oh, it barely means anything". (although, I suppose BB could have said something like "yeah he's got a lot of work to do to learn the program and earn the respect in the locker room that he needs" or something)

Anyway, it's June. I still think Cam is going to be our starter and bring us to the playoffs.
 

SMU_Sox

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@tims4wins I’m more in the camp of let’s have fun with the drips that come out . I’m in favor of content and discussion. I appreciate you and others posts here.
 

Cellar-Door

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So if we want to daily updates...
Cam got hurt
Stidham was apparently good in 11v11
Mac struggled apparently..... not surprising honestly
 

Old Fart Tree

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It was perfectly fine. Mac is a rookie. He obviously is adjusting well but has a long way to go. What else should BB have said?
Someday, BB is going to just go out trolling, giving interviews with quotes like “he’s the greatest I’ve ever seen” and “if he’s not in canton in 15 years someone fucked up”.

today is not that day
 

Cellar-Door

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Mac “struggling” is probably just as much of overreaction as “Mac is starting” after one OTA

he was limping and the int came on a miscommunication - looked good to me.

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/ezlazar/status/1400964590947782659
I'm going of the reports of they guys giving updates.. Bedard, Kyed etc. Who said Stidham looked sharp and Jones had a rough day with a lot of checkdowns and some missed throws.
It's camp, I'm not at all worried, but if people want the daily updates sometimes (probably most times) that's gonna mean the rookie struggled.
 

SMU_Sox

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One of the biggest early adjustments unless your name is Joe Burrow is learning what is NFL open. It’s not Mac’s fault but his receivers were often wide open. He didn’t even have the opportunity to challenge tight windows because of it and while he would challenge them at a fair rate he wasn’t known for making a ton of tight window throws. Again think it was 44 for Mac in his final year vs 121 for Burrow. Mac could continue to improve as he has some challenges on tape. If you look at the Waldman and Scho video earlier there is at least one examples of him throwing it up for his guy in a minuscule window. I am glad Stid had a good day. Would love to see a real 3 QB battle.
 
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It's been mentioned in a couple of the write-ups I've read that:

A) young QBs, as we know, often look to check-downs early, BUT....
B) the check-downs Mac engaged in were probably the right call most of the time BECAUSE...
C) all the top tackles were out so it was Cajuste and a bunch of other scrubs AND...
D) the top RBs were also not in the mix.
 

Bowser

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Wow, those Kicker/Snapper/Punter Guy monikers are pretty brilliant. Doughboy? Little Bud? Sorry but this all sounds like an entitled a-hole who's trying to be endearing ... and everyone goes along with it because Cam Newton.
 

JM3

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Note: not sure what's going on with this conversation.