Former Bill Belichick Staffer Talks About Mac Jones, Patriots

Head coach Bill Belichick couldn’t predict that second-year quarterback Mac Jones would miss time due to an injury. The New England Patriots suffered a big loss to the Baltimore Ravens and Jones suffered an injury. Does it get any worse than this? NFL analysts criticized Jones for his performance in the first two games of the season. According to Mike Lombardi, Jones would have been benched anyway.

Former Patriots assistant Mike Lombardi discussed the current situation in New England and didn’t fail to mention Jones’ role with the team.

“New England is not doing anything they stand for,” Lombardi said. “They want to avoid losing before they win. As much as I like Mac Jones, I thought Mac Jones would protect the ball and play smarter than he’s played. Now he’s hurt with the high ankle (sprain). To me, he was in danger of either changing what he did, or he is going to lose his job. You’re not going to play in the NFL if you keep turning the ball over the way he was.”

Bill Belichick to solve big Mac Jones issue and protect the football

Lombardi and many others criticized Jones for the mistakes he made so far. He had a good rookie campaign, but his performance in Week 1 and Week 2 was… average? Lombardi didn’t mince his words and made strong comments about Jones’ game. The quarterback threw for 786 yards, two touchdowns, and give interceptions in the first three games of the season. Lombardi doesn’t like any of that.

“And he’s not good enough to overcome bad mistakes,” Lombardi said. “Part of the allure for me with Mac Jones is that he was going to be a smart player. Protect the football at all costs. But he’s playing out of control. What does he think he is? He’s throwing the ball up for grabs. Seriously. You’re not overly skilled, so when you’re not overly skilled, you have to make up for it with good decisions, good placement. You can’t hurt your team like he’s been hurting his team.”

The former Patriots assistant had strong words for Belichick, too. Lombardi said that the Patriots don’t even look like themselves, adding that players make too many mistakes. Patriots players should protect the football and avoid making the same mistakes over and over again.

“I’ve never seen a New England team like this,” Lombardi said. “This is so anti-Belichick. It’s so not who they are in that building. They just haven’t been themselves. And you can say, ‘Well they don’t have an offensive coordinator.’ It’s not the plays. It’s the mistakes they’re making in the game. You can blame it on the coaches all you want. I think that’s pretty naïve if you want to do that.

“Think about it. They’ve had eight turnovers in three games. It’s not just interceptions, it’s fumbles, too. They’re not protecting the football.”