In his nine years in the NFL, Jonathan Jones has seen it all. From being part of championship teams in two of his first three seasons to the team's current three-season playoff drought, Jones has now been in New England through thick and thin and is one of the few remaining veterans who know what it takes to play winning football, week in and week out.
The team's 1-6 start to the 2024 season is as tough as it's ever been, but Jones continued to express confidence that they had what it takes to turn the season around and starting winning some football games.
"No one's going to change it but us, and as coaches, as players, it's on us, and just telling guys to look in the mirror and let's just go out there and improve. I think at this point in season, that's all we can do," said Jones from the locker room on Thursday as the team prepared to take the field for their second practice of the week.
"If we turned on the film and we didn't see any good plays, then I'd be extremely worried, but it's the point that we'll have good plays and then there's a bad one that sets us back," said Jones, stressing consistency. "And in this league, we don't have too many opportunities to have a lot of 'my bads.'"
There's little question this is a new-look Patriot team filled with a number of young players and new faces that have been thrust into the fire early this season. Every team needs to find their identity, but with younger teams it can take a little longer for everyone to get on the same page.
"We have an extremely young team, and it's figuring out how this team wins, figuring out what this team wants to be about," said Jones. "There are certain pillars of the organization, of football that are never going to change, and just getting those guys to buy in and out, how to keep everybody going in the same direction on that concept."
For his part, the veteran Jones is putting his experience and knowledge to use, but it will only count if those around him absorb and apply his message.
"I just try to be that example," said Jones. "That's kind of how the guys have done it before, they showed up and be consistent and be who they are. And I've tried to be that person for the last nine years. Just show up, do what I can do, extend to help. You know, show guys things that I see when that comes up. But at the same time, we're professionals, it's our job to learn how to be professionals and to be professionals."
With nearly half the season gone by hourglass sands are quickly running out on 2024.
"The time is now... at some point, we have to wake up," said Jones.
Van Pelt Assesses Offense's Progress
Thursdays are coordinator days at Gillette Stadium, providing an opportunity for offensvie coordinator Alex Van Pelt to weigh in on the strides that his offense has made over the last two weeks with rookie Drake Maye under center.
As expected, Van Pelt loved the team's first drive of the game against Jacksonville, when for the first time all season, the Pats executed an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive.
"We scored a touchdown, I think that was the key," said Van Pelt of the opening drive. "I was really proud of the guys' first two drives. I thought we did some good things. Showed some progress. We got better as an offense. Kind of stalled out there in the middle of the second quarter, in the third and then got a nice drive there towards the end of the game to put us back in it. But we're getting better."
Despite a couple turnover-worthy plays, the offense was safe with the ball and didn't log a giveaway, while Maye showed good strides in his second start, looking calm and in control while again hitting a handful of big-time throws that draw all the attention.
But its the subtle parts of Maye's game that are also earning praise from around the league. His footwork, understanding of opposing defenses and ability to get through multiple reads are all areas where the rookie is showing remarkable progress.
"[Drake's] development is where we need to be right now," said Van Pelt. "I think he saw the field extremely well last week. He knew exactly what the defense was in when they tried to disguise, took advantage of some throws down the field in those situations. So his development, I'm really happy with what he's done from week to week and that's since the start of the season."
While there's plenty to feel good about with Maye and the passing offense, it's the run game that has fallen by the wayside in recent weeks. It's a fact that Van Pelt is acutely aware of and a problem that desperately needs to be fixed to maximize what Maye can do.
"The disappointing thing for us was the run game," said Van Pelt. "You know, we have to find more production through the run. I think the pass game's getting better each week through practice and translating over to the game. So that's positive. Just got to keep continuing to fight and continue to grow and continue to get better each week."
The offensive line plays a key role in the rushing attack and, as with pass protection, it's an area where injuries have prevented any kind of continuity. Still, Van Pelt thought better results were attainable even with a patchwork offensive line.
"There's definitely some variation of runs that maybe we haven't shown yet," said Van Pelt. "There's a lot of stuff that we can do, but ultimately we have to be better up front, you know, and move those guys off the ball, get our backs to the linebacker level, and let them do what they do best."
Getting the ground game going and continuing to nurture Maye's development are good ingredients for an offense looking to improve their 30th-overall DVOA rating.
"I think we all understand we're frustrated," said Van Pelt. "You know, nobody's going to be happy at 1-6. That's just the reality of it.
"We have a big game this week. All of our focus should be on how we can get a W on Sunday. It's a very good opponent coming in. I understand the frustrations as part of losing football. The best way to take care of that's to get a win, but I think our focus right now needs to be solely on the Jets, because it's a challenge."
