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The New England Patriots bounced back after a terrible 2020 season and have reclaimed their spot in the postseason. However, Mark Dondero from WEEI believes there could be some concern that rookie quarterback Mac Jones' ceiling may not be as high as we think it is. Dondero didn’t say anything that outrageous. We haven’t seen the Patriots really open up the playbook this season. Josh McDaniels game plan has been obvious, run the football and protect Mac. However, I don’t think that has anything to do with Mac’s ceiling. I respect Mark as a broadcaster, but he’s reaching here. Though Mac Jones was the most NFL ready quarterback coming out of the Draft, he’s still a rookie. I also think that we should accept that Mac Jones is probably not going to develop a new skills set. However, what we’ll probably see is, Mac will improve his current skill set. Jones is not going to be successful in the NFL because of his physical skill set, he’s going to be successful because of his mind.

The New England Patriots finished last season 7-9 and most people, myself included, did not believe that the Patriots were destined for the playoffs this season. Bill Belichick had spent a lot of money in the offseason, and it was going to take time for the veterans to acclimate themselves to the Patriots offense. The Patriots also elected to start rookie quarterback Mac Jones over Cam Newton. It just felt like the first stages of a rebuilding year for New England, after Belichick tore it all down last season. With one game against the Miami Dolphins remaining, the Patriots already have ten wins and have already secured a playoff spot. Bill Belichick and his players have proved a lot of people wrong this season, and I don’t think any other coach would be able to pull off what Belichick pulled off this season. I don’t think the Patriots are going to make a playoff run, I’m not even sure if they’ll win a playoff game, however just being there is success enough.

The New England Patriots made a surprising move when they made their 2019 first round pick N’Keal Harry inactive for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Harry has struggled to find his place in the Patriots offence since he was drafted, and he’s offered more blunders than highlights. With Harry out, the Patriots elevated Kristian Wilkerson from the practice squad. Wilkerson was an early training camp fan favourite. As New England moved into the preseason, Wilkerson developed a bad case of the drops, and quickly fell out of favour. However, with Harry not performing, and the Patriots offense struggling in back-to-back losses against the Indianapolis Colts and the Buffalo Bills, Bill Belichick had to try something. Rookie quarterback Mac Jones connected with Wilkerson three times during the game, two of those passes going for touchdowns. Wilkerson had a chance at a third when he had a step on the defender, but Wilkerson dropped the pass. All-in-all, it was good outing.

The New England Patriots played their final home game of the season and they absolutely blew out the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mac Jones and the Patriots offense were able to drop 50 points on the hapless Jaguars, and the Patriots were able to hold Jacksonville to ten points. New England had a couple of rough weeks. First they lost to the Indianapolis Colts on the road, then they dropped a game at home to the Buffalo Bills the very next week. That also saw New England drop from the top of the AFC East and the number two seed in the AFC, to the sixth seed. Heading into this game I said that just winning wasn’t enough. If New England wanted to build momentum they needed to flex their muscles against a much weaker opponent. They did just that. As an added bonus, the Tennessee Titans took down the Miami Dolphins, and the Dolphins loss combined with the Patriots win, guaranteed New England a playoff spot. In this video I break down the game, and talk about New England moving forward.