Josh McDaniels hopes Mac Jones won’t let mistakes ‘snowball’ into a bad season

Rookie seasons in the NFL can be overwhelming for any player, never mind one thrust immediately into the starting quarterback job of the New England Patriots.

So as offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels goes about the task of shaping Mac Jones to succeed in that role, he needs to worry not only about preparing his new QB how to manage opposing defenses, but also the ups and downs of an NFL season.

“These are all new experiences, win or lose, so he is dealing with all of that as we go week to week here,” said McDaniels. “We have a good practice, there is an emotional response. We have a practice that is not our best, we have to handle it a certain way, and my job in that regard is no different than if I was coaching a specific technique or fundamental on the field that he was doing that I wish was a little different. Just try to give him some guidance and wisdom on handling a protection, or handling an outcome.”

With the season off to a bumpy 1-2 start, it’s critical to McDaniels that Jones not let what has happened over the first three weeks affect his performance negatively going forward, and instead grow from it. He’s hoping Jones’ three turnover game won’t carry over into Sunday night’s game with the Buccaneers.

“You are going to have adversities,” said McDaniels. “You may have a bad quarter, may have a bad day, you may have a bad week, it doesn’t mean you can let that snowball into a bad season. Just taking as much as you can from each opportunity to learn. The adversities are sometimes our best teachers.”

When it comes to Jones’ development, McDaniels pointed out that he is still seeing things he has never seen every day and will continue to throughout the season. It’s up to the coaching staff to strike a balance between trying to get Jones ready as quickly as possible and overloading the rookie.

“I have tried to take each one of those as a teachable moment for him, whether it’s on the sideline or Monday in the film room, and try to just improve little by little,” said McDaniels. “And in that regard you are trying to compete to win as hard as you can every single week, every single play, every single game, and at the same time I’m trying to take a little bit of a long approach in terms of, you can’t give him everything that somebody else took five or six years to learn in four or five months. It’s impossible, there is not enough time, so he learns things every week. He does a great job of categorizing those and compartmentalizing what he sees and what he has learned from week to week, day to day.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3ukPMxR