Patriots HC Bill Belichick sees “Dramatic Improvement” in QB Mac Jones

New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick praises Mac Jones for his drastic improvement from Jones’ rookie to his sophomore season!

The sophomore year will be a huge year for rookie QB Mac Jones coming off an impressive rookie campaign. While making the Pro Bowl and making the playoffs all in his rookie year after just missing the playoffs with veteran QB Cam Newton, people still don’t believe in him. Many believe it was a fluke year and the talent around him is making up for what he lacks, therefore, seeming like “smoke and mirrors.” However, New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick is here to assure Jones is the real deal.

During Belichick’s press conference this morning (7/26), he emphasizes the dramatic improvement he’s observed prior to training camp, reported Mike Reiss for ESPN. History shows Belichick admires individuals who work hard and are looking to be their best every day. It seems Jones is beginning to earn his respect and most importantly the team’s respect.

"“He’s made tremendous strides,” Belichick said Tuesday morning, the day before the Patriots’ first official practice of training camp.“He did a great job last year, but he’s starting from a much, much higher point this year from where he started last year. His offseason work has been significant, and I think everyone recognizes how well he prepares and how much further along he was than a year ago.”"

Bill Belichick’s Respect for Mac Jones

Last year around this time, Jones was competing for the starting spot with veteran QB Cam Newton. He managed to beat him out and have a remarkable season looking back on it. However, Jones led the Patriots to a 10-7 record and while losing in the wild-card (47-17), it was still an impressive outing. Ultimately, he finished his rookie season with 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Not to mention, Jones finished with the second highest completion percentage (67.6) behind any rookie in NFL history just short of Dallas Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott (67.8), according to Michael David Smith for NBC Sports.

Belichick sees the potential and is willing to invest his time and resources into his development going forward. He understands how vital it is that he improves annually to ultimately compensate for whatever the Patriots team may lack.

"“We’re just a lot further ahead in the conversation [offensively],” Belichick said. “The plays that we talk about, or concepts we talk about, Mac has already done it before. It’s easy for him to say, ‘Are we going to do this on that? Are we going to do this on something else? What do you think about splitting them a little bit wider? Splitting them a little bit tighter.’ Suggestions like that.”“And we have a much better feel for what he can do, what his strengths are, and how to try to play into those. He’s self-aware, too. He knows what he does well. We want to try to feature those.”"