Yes, and next year would be year 4. That's what slim said with, "But after that, (year 4) all bets are off."
I think you could say the same thing about Mayo and Jacoby Brissett. When JB was the starter I think the conservative approach could at least be somewhat justified. However, with Maye taking over, I think Mayo needs to change his approach. So far, it does not seem as if Mayo recognizes that his conservative attitude needs to change. I'm willing to give Mayo until the end of the year at least even though you SJH have said that Mayo has committed several fireable offenses and should have been fired like yesterday. That is never going to happen. At least let the year play out and then we can talk. However it is not promising I think we can agree.
People love to pretend 60% of the league is in decades long failed rebuilds when the NFL is designed for franchises to turn things around quickly. Yeah, one playoff game since the end of 2019 is actually really bad! It's not Patriots fans being entitled!
I don’t know that franchises turn around “quickly”. Washington is currently showing that it can be done. Although it should be noted that while the new ownership and front office seemingly turned it around quickly, they haven’t won double digit games since 2012 and haven’t won a playoff game since 2005 so while it’s a quick turnaround for the current front office, not so much for all the guys before them.
Semi consistent winners are rare, making the playoffs isn't. The Patriots are as far from the former as any team, and further from the latter than most.
I mean, I could very easily see how AVP wouldn't know, Jones played 18 offensive snaps 2 years ago, I doubt AVP was scouting the Patriots 2022 offense in any way. Unless someone brought up that Jones was an option I would guess his focus when he came in was on the 45-50 offensive players he needed to scout and develop.
It sounds a lot less bad when you put it that way. Jones also played an offensive snap in the season opener last year, although did not figure into the box score. At the same time, the implication that AVP never watched a single game film from the past 2 seasons seems a bit odd?
TBH, it's probably the kind of thing he should be telling AVP, since he's been here for years now. It's nowhere near the top of my list with Mayo, but I do think that's not really a great sign.
Worrying about gimmick plays that the CB can run while installing a new offense with a rookie QB seems like a supreme waste of time.
Ah so acknowledging Mayo has looked over his head all year and mentioning another poor look makes us Felger and Mazz callers now?
I'm not really seeing the connection. Doesn't seem like it's a huge added lift for either Mayo to tell AVP or for AVP to add in a few plays here and there at the very least.
Ok, but when AVP first became aware of it, he immediately added Marcus to some practice reps and got him into the game for a few plays. So I don't think that reasoning follows in this case.
Question: In light of this news, which other defensive players are frantically texting AVP to offer their services? Are any seldom-used offensive players - like a Jaheim Bell - doing the same ?
What AVP told the press was that he responded positively to Jones' text because "he liked self-starters". So he gave Jones... two snaps on offense
So, I'm not going to push back on this description of his game. And "fringe" player is not the best description. So, lemme pull that one back and try again.
I mean... he's a solid slot corner, and on offense he's at best a gadget player. He doesn't run routes. Getting him the occasional screen or end around sure... he's not a replacement for any of their WRs.
Not to mention, every time he's on the field defenses know there's a very high probability he'll get the ball on a designed play. So yeah, gadget player and nothing more.
He can also be useful as a distraction/decoy in that role. If they run him out there for 10 offensive snaps a game and run different actions, it could open up opportunities. He's just one more tool in the tool box that AVP should utilize for an offense with limited talent.
So he threw a bone to an ambitious guy during a winnable game because of "culture?" That might be more upsetting than his not digging into the offense to know enough about the resources he has on hand.
If you have a guy in a Patriots uniform who can bag you 78 yards on four receptions (that's actually 95 YAC) you'd better know about him, even if you decide not to use him.
What's even more amazing is that it never came up at all. By anyone. No wonder he had to text him. He was like "I'm tired of nobody saying anything. Guess I'm gonna have to do it".
he has very limited experience doing anything other than being a gadget player. He was almost never used on offense in college.
Kevin Faulk was a great route runner, the most Marcus could do out of the backfield is catch screens or swing passes.
Faulk could also block, which is a huge responsibility of the 3rd down back.
Take the quotes off if you like; it's not really germane to the point. The point is that Jones is a usable offensive asset on a team struggling offensively, and AVP appears to have been in the dark about that until Jones approached him.
I support your right to be outraged and insist that AVP should be roundly condemned for what he did and didn't do on this front
Agreed. That is one of the best answers he's given to a reporter's question all season.
If I were AVP and got messaged by “M. JONES” asking for a greater role in the offense, I’d probably be pretty confused too.
