QUARTERBACK MAC JONES
PRESS CONFERENCE
December 22, 2021
On how this week's preparation has been different from last week's:
MJ: I think every week is a new week. You have so many days to prepare. We're all working hard. That's all you can ask; to just work hard every day and get ready to play against a really good Bills team. That's all you can ask.
On if he prefers virtual press conferences over in-person press conferences:
MJ: In-person is cool.
On his mindset of "flushing a bad game down the toilet":
MJ: I think every experience is a learning experience. Everyone's different. Everyone comes from different places, but whether you win or you lose, you can still learn. In college, you lose games and you have to learn from it. In the NFL, obviously, it's hard to win, so you have to learn from the errors you make personally, which are the most important because that's how it affects the team. I'm always very hard on myself because if I don't play great, then it affects the people around me. Those guys are playing really well and I can play a lot better. It just goes back to me.
On the difficulty to stay level-headed as a rookie:
MJ: I just try to control what I can control and that's trying to be the best quarterback I can be. Everyone in this building is trying to be the best player, person they can be. It's a great culture and I've learned from the older people that whatever you put into it is what you're going to get out from it, so just doing that every day and then, when the game comes, you feel prepared for the game mentally and physically.
On if it is helpful to study tape of teams with similar offenses as the Patriots:
MJ: Yeah. Just watching as many games as you can and seeing similarities between offenses is always good. One thing that's evident is that the Bills are really good at a lot of things and they don't have a lot of weaknesses. They've done some different things from the last time we played them and we have too. There've been some weeks in between, but it's a quick turnaround and they're a great defense. They have a great team overall and it'll be a great battle for us on Sunday.
On his level of comfort with Tre Nixon:
MJ: I think all the receivers we've had, all the way back from OTAs, have put in a lot of effort. I know Tre's one of those guys and so does everybody else. They're ready to go and they step up whenever their time comes. All the receivers are prepared equally because they have a standard that they hold themselves to in their receiver room, just like we do in the quarterback room and, ultimately, altogether as an offense. I think they're all prepared. They're all ready to go and, whoever plays, I have trust in all those guys.
On why he wore a glove against Indianapolis:
MJ: I think everyone's different, but I tried it out and liked it. I'll just continue to use what helps me. Everyone's different. Like I said, some people like it. Some people don't. At the end of the day, like you said, some people have superstitions and stuff like that. I'm definitely one of those people, but at the end of the day, I've just got to go out there and do my part, regardless of what I'm wearing.
On his reaction to Garrett Gilbert's performance as a starter for the Washington Football Team:
MJ: I think Garrett is great in the quarterback room and he's a great teammate. He played really well. He got a chance to go out there and spin it around. We're all very happy for him. He's very nice to me and everybody in our quarterback room. He provided a lot of great information.
On how difficult it is to focus on the game plan with all the surrounding distractions:
MJ: I think it just goes back to everyone's been here. We've been together. We have a lot of banked reps as an offense, regardless of who's playing what position and who's in there. We have that standard and I'm still trying to play to that standard, just as everyone else is. It's just a new week, a new chance to prepare together, and kind of go out there and put a finished product on the field on Sunday.
On having bad practice days:
MJ: I think every day is a new day and is a learning experience. Whether it's Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, you're just trying to fix the things that you can fix, and then improve on the things that you know what you need to do, like your fundamentals. For me and everyone else, it's just "improve your fundamentals" and then, by the time Sunday comes, you're just playing the game that you know how to play and have played for a really long time.
On how the Patriots plan to bounce back after the loss to the Colts:
MJ: I think you just have to keep moving forward and understand what we're about to face in a really good football team. It comes down to controlling what you can control and that's your attitude and your effort. We're trying to do that every day and, eventually, we'll stack days together and we'll get a chance to play, like I said, against a really good team who have a lot of talented players, but they're also really well-coached.
