Mac Jones Correctly “Calls Out” Teammates

After the New England Patriots loss on Sunday night, quarterback Mac Jones sounded frustrated with the commitment of some teammates. Though Jones denied he was “calling out” anyone when asked about it the next day, he then reiterated the point he was making. The Patriots have now lost consecutive games by a single score and he wants everyone to start doing a bit extra to help get over the hump. This is not problematic behavior from Mac Jones, this is leadership.

What Mac Jones was saying is a matter of semantics. In reality, he was calling out his teammates to work harder. He was also encouraging them to push themselves further. The wording of the message is just a matter of what one wants to infer.

Bottomline is, Mac Jones believes the Patriots are only a couple of plays removed from being 2-0, and he’s correct. But in reality New England now sits at 0-2 for the first time since 2001. It is not wrong for Jones to want his teammates to commit more in order to turn things around. This is simply part of his job as a team captain.

If Jones was merely finger pointing this would be a different discussion. However, the first person Mac Jones says needs to do more is Jones himself. He has blamed himself almost in full for each loss. After the Eagles game, Jones said, “I felt like in the most critical times, I played my worst.” Following the Dolphins loss, Jones was asked what he was thinking about. His response: “What can I do better? It starts with me as a quarterback.”

Any attempt to make Mac Jones comments into a negative misses the point. He wants his teammates to study harder and lift longer. But more than anything Jones wants to win. If they so fall short of that goal after doing all they can to succeed, it would be easier for both Mac Jones and New England Patriots fans to stomach.