Bill O'Brien Says the Patriots Coaches 'Had a Really Good Meeting About How to Fix the Offense, and it Doesn't Include Benching Mac Jones

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Take this, all you Zappestans. Spare me, everyone who's been filling my phone and my X timeline with photos of Malik Cunningham. The plan going forward to get this sputtering Ford back in the race against all those Ferraris that have been lapping LeMans with it isn't to replace the driver. It's to keep the pit crew working until they get it fixed. We've got that confirmed by the Carroll Shelby of the Patriots offense:

NESN - Asked Tuesday whether he believes Mac Jones will start New England’s Week 6 game in Las Vegas, O’Brien replied: “I do.” …

O’Brien was asked whether there would be any benefit to sitting Jones for a week to give the embattled QB a “mental break.” He dismissed that notion. 

“There’s no time for mental breaks,” O’Brien said. “Those are on your days off, I guess, you can take a little mental break. It’s the grind of the season. In order to be in this league as a coach, as a player, as anybody in this league, you have to be mentally tough. There’s a grind that goes to the league. It’s a 17-week grind, and we all have to be mentally tough. 

“The sun came up today. We’re going to practice today, and we’re going to get after it and be fundamentally sound today and see what happens tomorrow. One day at a time.” …

O’Brien said New England’s offensive coaches had a “really good meeting” Tuesday to discuss next steps, including some schematic changes aimed at helping New England’s struggling offensive line. The No. 1 key to righting the ship offensively, he said, is improved ball security. Only one NFL team has committed more turnovers this season than the Patriots’ 10.

“At the end of the day, we’re turning the ball over too much,” O’Brien said. “That’s the No. 1 thing. We have to stop turning the ball over. …

“It’s not about one guy,” O’Brien said, “but as the quarterback you’re going to shoulder a lot of that, and he understands that. He’s working hard. He’s in here early, in here (Monday) trying to think about things to do better. 

“We had a good fundamental meeting right here about half an hour ago. We’re ready to go for practice (Tuesday), take things one day at a time and try to dig ourselves out of it.”

There is no lack of Pats fans who have watched the same games I have and come away with the idea that the solution to all our problems is A) a second year guy from Western Kentucky who went 3-for-9 for 22 yards (2.4 YPA) and who a passer rating of 52.4, or B) a UDFA from the practice squad who was signed to be, at most, a gadget player in the Taysom Hill mold. But respectfully, you and I are seeing two very different realities. 

I'm not here to make excuses for Mac Jones, who owns his share of the blame for these fiascos. But if you will, allow me to make excuses for Mac Jones:

According to Pro Football Focus' stats, Jones is getting an average of 3.01 seconds to throw, which is 5th lowest in the league, second lowest among QBs with as many pass attempts as him. (Matthew Stafford has more and is getting just 2.90 seconds.) And the Patriots offense has their fourth lowest pass blocking grade, which surprising only in that it's not even lower. But the math doesn't always work out in analytics. 

And on the rare occasions Jones does have a clean pocket, he's looking for receivers who can't or won't run themselves open. Watch the Strong 2 in this one. That would be Juju Smith-Schuster, lined up on the numbers. He's running a staple of O'Brien's system, which is a Juke. The concept is that, if the defender is playing him with outside leverage, to get vertical and expect the ball to come out quick on a shallow. Especially if there's no middle defender (MOFO), as is the case. Patriots slot receivers have feasted on these situations since the days of Troy Brown. But Smith-Schuster runs back into his defender. He runs a Whip, which is what's expected of him if he sees inside leverage or is staring into a linebacker sitting between the hashes:

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Meanwhile everyone else is covered. So to answer the question, where was he supposed to go with the ball when what should've been his best option and gone for about 20 yards on an easy throw, is being totally mis-run? 

Granted, this is just one play. But it's indicative of a larger problem. One that Mac Jones is the least contributing factor to. You don't have to by my word. Listen to the words of the coordinator who's seeing his best laid plans blow up before his eyes and his reputation (as well as his future head coaching prospects), get consumed by the radioactive mushroom cloud that's been unleashed. Bill O'Brien understand they have much to fix. And the solution to it all is to keep grinding with Mac Jones under center and make all the moving parts around him function as intended. 

No time for mental breaks.

You have to be mentally tough. 

The sun came out today. 

Improved ball security.

One day at a time. 

And above all else, do you job. The beautiful thing to pin our hopes on is that it literally can't get any worse than a home shutout. Let's pray that meeting was good enough to make the badness go away.