A well-known NFL analyst for ESPN believes New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is “permanently” ruined as a signal caller and that it is all the fault of legendary head coach Bill Belichick.
After making major adjustments to the coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball and already having a well-respected defense, there was a lot of hope the New England Patriots could have a bounce-back season in 2023. However, after four games the team could easily be winless if not for eking out a hard-fought victory over the lowly New York Jets in Week 3.
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While the defense has been good this year and is currently ranked sixth in our current NFL defense rankings, their counterparts on the other side of the ball have been a mess again this season. After scoring 20 in a tough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, the team has scored fewer points than the week before in the three games since (20, 17, 15, 3).
ESPN analyst slams legendary New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick
Their 55 points over the first four games is the lowest they have scored to start a season since 2000 and it has led some to wonder if this is just an unfixable situation. The issues on offense were a focus of the conversation on a Tuesday edition of ESPN’s “Get Up,” and former NFL QB and analyst Robert Griffin III explained why the New England Patriots are not using Jones in a way that best plays to his strengths.
“Mac Jones is not a creator, but they’re asking him to create. So that starts with a scheme problem. When you look at what he did in 2021. He had the No. 6 offense in the NFL, who was his coordinator? Josh McDaniels. One of the best OCs we’ve ever seen in this league. Now you move forward to this year, and they have one of the worst offenses in the league. What’s the difference? In 2021 they were doing play action 27% of the time. That’s the type of player that Mac Jones is.
“Now they’re doing it 14% of the time. So because of that they are asking, ‘We need you to go out and scramble a little bit, the plays going to break down and you’re going to do all these different things,’ and that’s not who he is.”
– Robert Griffin III
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The team brought back former OC Bill O’Brien this season, however, Griffin the III puts the blame for Jones’ struggles the last two seasons on head coach Bill Belichick. And he firmly believes Belichick’s decision to make Matt Patricia and Joe Judge the co-offensive coordinators last season was a decision that forever changed the National Championship-winning QB.
“For me, this comes down to coaching. In year two, Bill Belichick messed up his young quarterback,” he said. “When you give him a defensive coordinator, and a special teams coordinator as his offensive coordinator, and now he’s on his third coordinator in three years in the NFL, that is the epitome of coaching malpractice. And Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest coach of all time but he really overthought this and it’s hurt Mac Jones permanently.”