Mac Jones approached the podium inside the Gillette Stadium media work room on Thursday afternoon smiling. Jones has clearly enjoyed this camp and seems to be fully ready to show he can be ‘the guy’ for New England moving forward.
Jones was asked if he feels like he has anything to prove this season after the way 2022 ended and he quickly steered the conversation to 2023.
“I’m not really focused on last year,” he said. “I’m just trying to move forward and prepare really well. That’s all you can do, is prepare and let that turn into game execution. At the end of the day, you’ve got to go out there and give it your all, feel confident, have a lot of confidence in the guys and coaches and see where we’re at.”
If Jones had zero confidence last year – especially with the staff around him – he’s been brimming with it since the start of OTA’s. Whether its his on-field play during camp, his mannerisms with teammates or just his interactions in the locker room with members of the media, it’s clear Jones is much more comfortable than he was last January. Jones was asked what a successful year would be in his eyes.
“Yeah, I think every year you make goals, individual and team. I like to keep those to myself. Obviously, you want to strive for really good things,” Jones said. “For me, it’s just really about leadership and leading the guys and working through the highs and the lows. It’s not going to be perfect, never has been and never will be. So, just try to work through it and come up with solutions to win games and it really starts this week.”
On paper, this team is a long way off from being a Super Bowl contender. Thankfully, games aren’t played on paper. Jones knows the history of this franchise – particularly the last 20 years of it – and wants to be a part of the ‘rebirth’ so to speak. But, he also knows that can’t happen without a strong performance in Week 1 to get things rolling.
“Yeah, I think it would be great,” he said when asked what it would mean to him to be part of the Patriots getting back to that high level. “I think it all comes down to putting in the work, really just focusing on what you can control, and that’s your attitude and your effort. There’s a lot of things that I can do better in that area, and I’m looking forward to kind of showing that by just being consistent, steady. Just go out there and do my part, lead the guys, really just bring everybody together, go out there and execute. Honestly, we’ve got a really good team and we’ve just got to do that.”
The guy who brought all of that success will be in the building on Sunday and has provided Mac with mentorship. Now, there will never be another TB12, but with a new OC, a new look offense and some Brady wisdom now in his head, it’s up to Jones to go out and show that he truly can be ‘the guy’ for this franchise moving forward.
“I would say it’s more like the learning experiences, just from film and things like that, and then obviously getting the chance to talk with him a little bit. He’s definitely a great player, has done everything right here, won a lot of games, won a lot of championships. So, really looking forward to having him here,” Jones said of Brady. “I think it’ll be great juice in the stadium, and for us, just play our game and focus on what we can control. I’m definitely really appreciative of him, this team and everybody.”