Mac Jones wants to go back to Alabama Mac

By Steve Atkinson 

On Boston Sports radio especially the 2-6 show Felger and Mazz they get pissed when he  brings up Alabama all the time. Their point is ‘what’s the big deal about Alabama you play for the Patriots nobody cares what sport I played in high school.” However, when you are a professional quarterback who was set up to fail after doing things that you were used to doing in 2021 in Mac’s rookie year you have to go back to your roots.

Not only does Bill O’Brien bring stuff from the Patriots offense from 2011 but he also brings what Mac was great at when Jones was at Alabama. RPO’s play-action and quick passes. Jones also had an all-time receiver group so all he had to do was throw it up there so they could catch it.

Mac Jones wouldn’t have to keep bringing up Alabama If Belichick got O’Brien last season.

Really though who cares that he keeps bringing up Alabama. If Belichick didn’t put Matt Patricia in change last year he wouldn’t have to bring it up because he’d be running the same offense now for three years. But O’Brien is coming from Alabama where Jones played so he has to bring it up and show people that this year will be different.

Mac Jones on Bill O’Brien

Albert Breer of the MMQB spoke with Jones after practice, last week and talked about how playing for Nick Saban and Belichick helps with working for O’Brien.

Yeah, for sure, there was a lot of crossover,” Jones says. “We speak the same language. He used to coach for Belichick and [Nick] Saban, and I played for Belichick and Saban. We understand that it’s a tough place to play. In practice, everything’s going to be hard. You’ve got defensive head coaches, so they’re trying to make it hard on you. We love the challenge. We speak the same terminology. Sometimes I’ll bring up an old play, and everyone’s like, What’s that? And O’B’s like, It’s this. We’re talking the same language. It’s fun. He’s learned a lot, which is cool for me to see in just talking to him. You learn so much going from college to pros back to college to pros. He’s kind of picked up a little bit each way. I learned that about my coaches at Alabama. A lot of guys take what they learned at Alabama and take it to their next stop or vice versa. It’s cool to see that for sure.”

Wouldn’t you want your quarterback doing what he’s good at? I’m sure Brady took what he learned at the college level to the pros when he first started. I don’t remember him talking about what he learned at Michigan to the media but so what? Mac has connections with Saban, Belichick, and O’Brien that come from the same thing really. The Alabama offense is somewhat like the Patriots one.

Don’t let the wannabe Michael Felger’s of Boston Sports talk radio get inside your heads. Mac Jones is just telling you what he is used too and that last year was a clown show.

“I think that’s a big thing for me, keeping it loose and going out there and slinging it,” Jones told Breer. “Going back to the Alabama Mac.” When I’m in the right headspace and I can go out there and let it fly and not think too much and go play football,” Jones said. “That’s what it’s all about for me, play football with my teammates and enjoy one another.”

If the offense looks out it looks now regardless of the line they are in good shape. The quick passes and screens will definitely help with the weak offensive line. We saw that a little during the Packers game.

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