From 6am texting to criticism, Pats’ Jones takes over

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) One thing rookie quarterback Mac Jones has learned during his fledgling New England Patriots career is that no matter what the situation, his coaches want to see confidence in everything he does on the field. .

One of the first things we talk about is being strong and confident, Jones said. If you know what to do, just be loud. And, if you don’t know what to do, be loud.

It’s been a balancing act as he walks the tricky line of trying to learn at a fast pace and improve while avoiding mistakes.

Jones has had their expected ups and downs, but Thursday was probably his best day in training camp.

Despite training in constant rain, he showed why the Patriots picked him in Alabama in the first round of the April draft.

He connected with receivers in traffic. He had touched the fade routes for touchdowns. Other times, he had pinpoint accuracy on deep passes along the sideline, bonding with running back James White and wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson.

And he did the little things that will never make a highlight, like properly checking the ball all the way to the running back instead of forcing passes that weren’t there down the field.

It’s the latest step in a long process that Jones says will continue to evolve as he prepares for the Patriots’ first preseason game next week.

Every day is a new day. Today was obviously a rainy day, but you go out and attack today and then tomorrow tomorrow, Jones said. We just have to go together and do our best, then watch the tape and improve in the afternoon.

Hes also regularly picked the brains of his fellow quarterbacks.

One example: veteran Brian Hoyer said he got a text from Jones at 6 a.m. talking about football.

Were all learning from each other, whether text at night or whatever, they are always there if I have a question, or we have group chats, stuff like that so everything can balance out, said Jones.

This learning process also included what offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels described this week as Jones’ uncanny ability to take criticism.

He’s good at being yelled at, McDaniels said. He probably thinks his name isn’t Mac sometimes. These are rookies at training camp. There will be good pieces and then there will be pieces that are nothing like what we talked about last night in the meeting. But this is the part of the process that we enjoy.

Limiting these mistakes led Jones to adjust and improve his routines. He says it helps that his days are super scheduled, and he tries to stick to the diet.

He also dives into the playbook during meals and even in his spare time he finds himself drawing plays.

It helps sometimes when you’re a visual learner, he said. A lot of the guys on the team do that, so I just learned that from some of the older guys.

In the meantime, he plans to continue to find ways to maximize every day.

Every day a new day, but you have to improve yourself, choose something to improve yourself every day, whether it’s bending your knees or focusing my eyes, whatever, try to do something, did- he says. And that’s how all the rookies approach it, and that’s how they do it here, so it’s really good.

PERSONAL CHOICE

Jones and Newton both declined to respond on Thursday when asked about their COVID-19 vaccine status.

I think as far as our team goes, everyone has their personal choice and were all trying to make the right decision to protect everyone, Jones said. And we all want to play. So, it’s a bit of a personal thing. I think a lot of the guys on our team are, and that’s a good thing.

Newton referred the question to a reporter before also declining to answer.

I think it’s too personal for everyone to discuss, and I’ll be keeping it with coach Bill Belichick last week when asked about the percentage of Patriots who had been vaccinated before camp started.

I do not know. Quite a few of them, he said. Most of them probably, but whatever the protocols, follow them well, so these are individual decisions. There are categories for everyone. Wherever they adapt, they adapt.

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Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/khightower

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