The 2022 New England Patriots might not have been a mess of quarterback Mac Jones’ doing, but his reaction to it, especially on the football field, should come with some form of accountability, according to former Patriots assistant Michael Lombardi.
“Did the Patriots mess up with their decision with the staffing? I think that’s fairly obvious, and I think he’s admitted that. Okay? So that’s one,” Lombardi said, when appearing on The GM Shuffle. “Did Mac Jones’ behavior, conducive to that of an ultimate leader? No. He’s got to admit that, too. So there’s culpability on both sides.
“This isn’t a one-sided, let’s favor the player route. Let’s understand the player has to show a sincere accountability for his behavior, his lack of maturity. Some of that late tackling stuff on the field, that didn’t endear himself with his teammates either. So he’s going to have to cover that up. He’s going to have to show that he’s mature, too.”
Let me make this clear: the Patriots are NOT "shopping" QB Mac Jones. However, both sides need to show accountability for last season's disappointing offensive performance.
Check out #GMShuffle at https://t.co/b4sYN4CC91 pic.twitter.com/ADRzNzySie
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) April 6, 2023
To be fair, coach Bill Belichick has never fallen on the sword for some of the staffing blunders he made last season. Sure, he made the necessary changes in the offseason, which suggests he knows what he was doing wasn’t working.
But he hasn’t actually come out and admitted publicly to getting it wrong and changing course, which is absolutely fine as long as the necessary changes are being made.
Lombardi does make some good points about Jones. The frustrations with the way things were going and some of the decisions being made with the team are completely understandable.
Jones, a former Pro Bowler and first-round draft pick, was basically trotted out onto the field as a crash test dummy for a Belichick-approved vehicle with Matt Patricia at the wheel. But the controversial tackles out of frustration, alleged backchanneling with Alabama coaches and on-field tirades were a bit much for a player only in his second NFL season.
This isn’t just on the Patriots to get right.
Both Jones and Belichick need to figure it out together if they have any hopes of competing, much less winning a stacked AFC East division.
