I had mentioned a week ago that I thought that the Patriots would have to trade up with the Lions to get Mack the Knife. Today I caught Kiper and McShay doing a mock and they had the Patriots trading up with the Lions to take Mac Jones.
I watched a feature called QB21 with Kirk Herbstreit on Mac Jones last night and it's similar (not as good, tho) to Gruden's QB camp. I've given up any hope of landing Mac, because I feel like the secret is out and remain unconcerned with the herd's criticism over his game. I maintain that he is the closest thing to Brady I've seen in the last 20 years and would be THE perfect fit in Foxboro.
I've already stated my case on him several times, so will attempt to not beat it to death, but the show (on ESPN) dug into his back story and featured a film session that illustrated who the guy is. He understood every aspect of what was happening in each case presented and broke it down with ease. He's a natural.
Lately, I keep seeing references to big armed, perfectly put-together guys with all the right numbers who were Draft Day Darlings but flamed out in the NFL because they couldn't figure out how to avoid trouble long enough to hold that job and gain vital experience. They forced their teams to move on from them. This is where Jones stands out, I believe. He can figure out the vectors/patterns and deliver the ball to one of his guys and not the guys in the other jerseys. Folks forget that Tom Brady wasn't Tom Brady in the early years here, but managed games beautifully almost from the jump and moved the sticks behind a scheme that limited his exposure to areas where he needed time to work things out. The TDs followed and over time he improved his arm strength and accuracy, along with everything else and became the GOAT. I will also dare to chum the local waters by suggesting that Mac throws the ball quite a bit better than Tom did coming into the NFL at all 3 levels. OK, I'll call it a tie in the short zones, just to be kind. Jones has all the arm you need to win games in the NFL and I chuckle when I hear the oft-repeated but false claims that he's "average" or a "product of the system".
Herbie played some clips of Brady for Jones to comment on and it wasn't a coincidence. Mac acknowledged that he didn't feel comfortable comparing himself to the best player of all time, but he didn't stutter when he said it. He knew all about Brady's back story and his skill set, i.e., commanding the pocket and it was pretty plain to see that there are some definite parallels to their games and both he and Herbie knew it. He wasn't fazed by competition at Alabama, by Nick Saban screaming at him and I don't think he'd be overwhelmed by getting a job here. And all that entails. If it happens, and I doubt it will, then I'll be one hundred per cent sure it was the right move.
It's a pity that it won't happen, but I'm keeping a candle lit that we get lucky and other teams balk at the chance to take him because he doesn't fit enough of the accepted archetypes of modern draft "science". Teams cannot measure what goes on between a QBs ears well enough to give it the weight that it deserves, so will settle instead for what a tape measure and stopwatch can tell them. If we can get to him then we will take him.