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Mac Jones won the New England starting quarterback, putting the rookie in the center when the Patriots kick off their 2021 NFL schedule against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Was former Alabama All-American surprised to have a choice over incumbent Cam Newton?
“Not really,” Jones said during an appearance Tuesday on WEEI-FM’s “Merloni and Fauria”. “I mean, like I always say, I’m getting ready to be the starter, and every day you come in and I was lucky to have a lot of reps, so nothing really changes. I’m just trying to d ‘be a good teammate. Trying to learn the parts every day. Fix what I messed up. Listen to (offensive coordinator) Josh (McDaniels) and all the guys in the quarterback, and follow the advice as I go. I’ve always done since I’ve been here. Like I said, nothing really changes. It’s exciting. “
But perhaps Jones should have been surprised, given Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s background with rookie quarterbacks.
Belichick has been the head coach of 459 NFL regular season and playoff games. Only six times Belichick has started a rookie at quarterback.
“Mac has a lot of strengths,” Belichick said, “but we’re looking at a whole different level than where he was, so we’ll see how it plays out in the NFL.”
In his last season with the Cleveland Browns in 1995, Belichick knocked out nine-season veteran Vinny Testaver from seven games into the season in favor of Eric Zeier, the team’s third-round pick from Georgia. But after four games with Zeier, Testaverde returned to the lineup.
In 2016, Belichick had to accompany Jacoby Brissett in games three and four of the season, with Tom Brady serving an NFL suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo sidelined with injury.
Belichick had Brady as a starting quarterback in 324 games. But even Brady didn’t start out as a rookie. Instead, he played in one game and threw three assists in his first season in the NFL.
“When you’re a rookie you have to earn your respect,” Jones said, “and I try to do that every day. When you’re young, whether you’re in college or in the NFL, you just have to go to work and then you earn the respect of your coaches, your teammates, everyone in the whole organization or the team. And you try to do it every day. It’s a daily job. and a daily battle, and it’s not something that you did in the past or that you’re going to do in the future, it’s just today.
Belichick said the biggest challenge for rookie quarterbacks like Jones is “just the volume. Just the bulk of what you have to deal with – the number of different covers, different blitzes, different looks. And then I would say the difference in the passing game. Alabama had more of a pro-style passing game than most colleges, but the college passing game, in general, is not very similar to the pro passing game, and so even if throwing the ball does is throwing the ball, there is a difference between throwing passing routes that require reading defense and cover and working on progressions versus reading a defensive wing or reading numbers on screens bubble and games like that, RPOs, and therefore a whole different concept of throwing the ball.
Jones spoke about how he took on the challenge of adjusting to a professional playbook as complex as that of the Patriots.
“I kind of found stuff that works for me,” Jones said. “I learned from a lot of the older guys on the team. “Hey, how did you do that?” How did you learn all these pieces? It takes a little while. I spent a lot of time on it when I got here, and every day I stick to my schedule. And I’m just trying to break it down, watch a movie but also focus on the things we want to do.
Since the Patriots released Newton on August 31, the former NFL MVP still hasn’t signed. Jones called Newton a “very good mentor”.
“Ever since I came here we knew I was there to help him and that he was there to help me,” Jones said, “so I never felt like we were bumping into each other. head or something. Obviously Cam is a good guy, and he’s a great player, and hopefully he lands somewhere and has a chance. But I certainly learned a lot from him. .
The Patriots and Dolphins kick off Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CDT at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. CBS-affiliated television stations in Alabama will broadcast the game.
“I think nerves are a good thing,” Jones told reporters Wednesday. “You can still be nervous, but you can’t play nervous. I always said that. It’s my first time there, but at the same time we’ve all been playing for a long time. And it’s all of us together, so it’s really not a one-man show at all. It takes all 11 people, and I just have to focus and do my job every game and take it game by game. ”
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at Arch AMarkG1.
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