I'm Still Watching the Patriots, but Just Out of the Corner of My Eye...

Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.

I can now say with great certainty that there are not a lot of New England Patriots fans who want to see Mac Jones trotting onto the field on game day.  

Recent reports are that in addition to losing the fan base, Jones has lost the locker room as well. A lot of people believe if he has a future in the NFL, a majority of it will be spent holding a clipboard on the sidelines. I agree, he doesn't check enough NFL quarterback boxes for me, and the ones he did check as a rookie, his Pro Bowl season, like decision-making and accuracy, have all been unchecked over the last two seasons. His lack of a strong arm, inability to run for a first down, successfully run a quarterback sneak, or even move out of the pocket to buy some time, all factor into why Mac Jones is not the right guy for the New England Patriots. 

Sure, a lot of the blame falls on Bill Belichick and his coaching staff, and Robert Kraft, but a quarterback has to be able to hit an open receiver in the end zone at least some of the time, and Mac Jones has failed miserably in that department. Other than his strong performance against the Bills, he has done little to inspire confidence. It seems that most of his 12 INTs have come at times when the team has shown some life. He's proven to be one big buzz-kill…

As my wife recently pointed out, nobody wants to give up their season's tickets because if the Patriots organization can turn it around, and right now that's a big IF, those tickets will be gone. But in order to keep season ticket holders, there has to be some indication that a competitive team is not light years away, and up to this point, there's been no indication of that. There are too many areas that need rebuilding, on and off the field.

As a fan from the beginning (1960 AFL), in my opinion, this year's team is the most uninspiring team that has taken the field, if not the worst. 

Jones' on-field antics/arrogance cannot be forgotten, though winning can and has played a big part in doing that for other quarterbacks, but at 2-9, his behavior has remained front and center. He's been pulled from games, and now he's been benched, which is the NFL equivalent of punching your ticket out of New England. 

Unfortunately for the Patriots, Bailey Zappe is not the answer. He has proven to be more of the same. He will get his chance against the 2-7 Chargers at home this Sunday.

MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images. Getty Images.

How uncompetitive are the 2023 Patriots? Their Week 15, Prime-time, Monday night game against the Chiefs, the team that features Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and now, Taylor Swift, has been "flexed out" by the NFL, the first time in NFL history that has happened to a Monday night game. The game has been demoted to Sunday at 1:00.

Fortunately for the NFL, Fantasy Football and legal gambling will keep New England fans watching other games for the remainder of the season.  All they can really hope for now is that the Patriots lose out and get the number one draft pick…

Maybe Mac Jones should have bought Isotoner gloves for the entire Patriots team. Nah, even that wouldn't have helped him…