Patriots QB Mac Jones seems to want to throw deep more often
FRANKFURT, Germany — It seems that Patriots quarterback Mac Jones praises a question when he likes the subject matter.
It happened twice Friday when Jones held court at DFB Campus, where the German national soccer team trains, ahead of Sunday’s game against the Colts at Frankfurt Stadium.
The first time was when a reporter asked pointed out that the offensive line was improving before asking if Jones felt more comfortable in the pocket.
“Good. That’s a great point,” Jones said. “They’re doing a good job up there. I need to sit in there, go through my reads and execute the offense. They’ve done a great job in recent weeks and they’re improving every week along with the skill players, the receivers, tight ends and running backs. We’re all in it together. It takes 11 people and it’s very important as the quarterback to make sure that we’re all on the same page.”
The Patriots’ offensive line has played much better with the return of Cole Strange and after moving rookie Sidy Sow to right guard and usual right guard Mike Onwenu to right tackle.
The next time it happened was when a European reporter asked Jones if he would feel more comfortable airing the ball out more with wide receivers and offensive linemen getting healthier.
“That’s a great question. I think, like you said, every week is a different game plan. There’re different people playing sometimes because of injury, and that’s every team. The biggest thing is how can I execute the game plan? I always say take what the defense gives. So, if they give you that, the deeper throw, then take it. If you’ve got time, then you’ve got to take it, and I can do a better job with that,” Jones said.
“At the same time, you can’t force, right? You can’t press. You have to read the play for what it is based on that play. That’s a great question, and I think there are offenses around the league that you see that do that a lot, and some of them are more run the ball, do this and that. So, it really depends on the day and game plan and team, really.”
Jones went on to explicitly say he likes throwing deep.
“I actually threw the ball pretty good last year deep, statistically, and there were some things that were good there,” Jones said. “I want to do that every year. I like throwing the ball deep. I did it in college a lot, and I had a lot of success. It’s definitely in my blood and I want to do that, so got to improve there and make it work.”
Jones is just 6-of-20 for 133 yards with three touchdowns on passes of 20-plus yards this season, per PFF. He ranks 23rd in PFF’s deep passing grade, 16th in deep attempts and 30th in deep completions. He was 26-of-67 for 808 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions throwing deep last season. He was 21st in deep passing grade, 11th in deep passing attempts and ninth in deep passing completions.
Early struggles by the offensive line wasn’t allowing Jones to wait for receivers to get open deep, and there have been issues with Jones’ pass catchers, as well. Two of Jones’ deep incompletions have been drops, and the Patriots’ wide receivers rank among the NFL’s worst in separation.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/PAq74Hf
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