QUARTERBACK MAC JONES
PRESS CONFERENCE
December 15, 2021
On if he got some rest during the bye week:
MJ: Yeah. It was good. Yeah. We're into the new week, so we're rolling.
On when he turned his attention towards this week's preparation:
MJ: Just when you step in the building, we start getting the plan together. You've just got to start getting ready for the next week. You just focus on the day that you're on and when you have the days off, you just relax and then, right when we came back, we were ready to roll.
On if he started preparing for the Colts on Monday:
MJ: Yeah.
On how his thumb is feeling:
MJ: My thumb's good.
On why he was put on the injury report:
MJ: I had to be put on there, but it's good [wiggles thumbs]. I can move it. There's nothing wrong with it. I think it just has to be on there for protection and stuff.
On why he started wearing a glove on his left hand:
MJ: I just tried it out. All the other quarterbacks were wearing gloves so I wanted to copy them.
On how it felt to wear a glove:
MJ: It's good. Whether you have a glove on or not, you've just got to do what you're supposed to do as a quarterback, so play fakes and all that are important, getting the ball to the right guy. Your left hand's not super important, but there are things that you need to use it for.
On the Colts defense:
MJ: I think they're a great defense. The main thing is the takeaways that they have. They're number one in the NFL there. There are not a lot chinks in the armor. They do everything pretty well. They have good players at every position. Obviously, the atmosphere will be good and stuff. I think it'll just be a good matchup and we've just got to do what we've got to do. They have a great defense.
On how the Patriots are handling the recent spike in Covid cases:
MJ: I think we do everything we can to stay healthy and try and follow all the protocols, so that's all you can ask. What's going on around, we just try to focus on the upcoming game and, like I said, staying healthy, whether that's wearing your mask or whatever and keeping our distance. We've done that all year. That's all we can do.
On David Andrews having to wear an Alabama cap after losing bet:
MJ: Yeah. He told me. It's just funny because he just got a chance to come up here, so I told him he's got to wear the hat. That was part of the deal. It's just all fun and games.
On if there is a follow-up bet with David Andrews if Alabama and Georgia play again:
MJ: Not yet. We're just focusing on what we can focus on here and see what happens there. We'll do that later.
On Bobby Okereke's comment that the Colts want to make the Patriots "one-dimensional":
MJ: I think they have a great defense. They've done a lot of different things each game to stop what their opponent does well. We just have to be ready to go, regardless of the situation. We've just got to do what we can do to control what we can control. That's just playing well on our side of the ball. We already know that they have a great defense, so we're going to expect the expected and realize it's going to be a good dog fight.
On if Bobby Okereke's comments motivated him:
MJ: No. Everyone has their opinions. My job is to be the best quarterback I can be and I can do a better job of that everyday at practice. That's what I can control. Like I said, they have a great defense and there are great players all around, so everyone is entitled to their opinion.
On if he would tell the media if he was motivated by Bobby Okereke's comments:
MJ: Like I said, it's just part of the game. Everyone's confident. When you're in the NFL, both teams have confidence in what they do and you just have to believe what you know and what you believe in.
On how feels about the growth of the Patriots passing game:
MJ: From the start, just gelling with everybody and having some new guys, myself included, just getting on the same page is important. We know that we have to be able to have our best passing games and running games coming up, just because you need your best football in games like this one coming up. You have to be able to do both whenever you want.
On if he watched Patriots-Colts rivalry games of the past:
MJ: I love watching those type of games, but this year is this year. They have a great quarterback too now. I always say this, "Our offense is going against their defense and vice versa". We both have great teams and we're just excited to go to a great atmosphere and get a chance to compete with a great team.
On how he has adapted to the longer schedule of the NFL compared to college:
MJ: We've talked about it and addressed it. I understand that we have to play our best football starting now. That's what's important. The older guys on our team, obviously, know that because they've been through this, some of them 10+ years. Just understanding that you have to focus on where you're at right now and don't worry about how long it could be or how long it was or how long it felt. We're right where we want to be, but we want to continue to work. There's no looking ahead and there's no looking back at this point.
On how often he checks his phone during the week:
MJ: I look at my phone. It's just I don't have it all the time on me. I'm doing a lot of stuff every day. When I'm here, I'm focusing on what I can focus on. Hopefully, no hard feelings or anything there [after taking a couple days to respond to Peyton Manning]. That was last week, so we are kind of just moving on. Like I said, I don't go on my phone all the time. It is what it is.
