Mac Jones faced his fair share of adversity last season after an encouraging rookie campaign.
A year after getting acclimated to the Josh McDaniels-led offense, the New England Patriots quarterback was forced to work with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in charge of the play-calling. Predictably, that experiment failed. Jones regressed, and the offense as a whole was dysfunctional.
Jones' frustrations with the offense grew over the course of the season and he often wore his emotions on his sleeve. On multiple occasions, he was seen on the television broadcast yelling at coaches on the sideline.
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That didn't sit well with former Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light. The three-time Super Bowl champion shared his take on Jones' 2022 "antics" in a new episode of Tom E. Curran's Patriots Talk Podcast.
🔊 Patriots Talk: Matt Light weighs in on prospects for the Patriots and Mac Jones in ‘23 | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"I like the way his rookie season ended. I like the way that he approached the game there," Light said. "I don't like what I saw last season for a lot of reasons. And as an offensive lineman, I don't ever want the guy behind me to ever put himself in a position that Mac did. Just in terms of the antics, the optics.
"Like, look at the optics of it. Forget about the why. The why is irrelevant. Like, if you went to our military and you asked some of our top generals if they agreed with what they had to do, they'd say, 'No, I did not, but I'm part of an organization. This is my duty, and I'm going to fulfill that duty with valor and integrity.' You know what I'm saying?"
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Light believes Jones' vocal disapproval of the play-calling caused a distraction in the Patriots locker room. And unlike seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, Jones hasn't earned that right to put his coaches on blast.
"It's bigger than you, Mac," Light added. "It always has been for the organizations and the individuals that do it at the highest level. By the way, not for nothing, you don't think that Tom Brady had the right to do that? But about five years into his 20-year career. And Mac's doing this one year in? You know what I'm saying? So like, compare and contrast the best to ever do it in the history of the game to the guy that took his position, and the things that have happened during these last couple of seasons, and there's just no place for it.
"So that's number one. I was disappointed in how that played out during the regular season. And I think it opened up the door to be a distraction for everyone else in that locker room. So he can't do those things. Do I think he's talented? Yeah, for sure. I know he's talented. But this will be the year to see, can he put aside the things that can really make a workplace difficult and just focus on being the best version of himself that he can possibly be?"
Want a chance to meet Tom Brady? The Light Foundation is giving away two luxury suite tickets to the Patriots' regular-season opener vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, during which Brady will be honored for his 20 unforgettable years with the franchise. The grand prize also includes an opportunity to meet The GOAT. You can enter the raffle here.
Also discussed in the episode:
- How the Patriots’ locker room has changed.
- How Bill Belichick has changed throughout the years.
- Light's assessment of the 2023 Patriots.
- Can Belichick adapt to win in today’s NFL?