Mac Jones 12. Patriots (13): Despite all the speculation about offensive playcalling and good feelings around QB Mac Jones’ development, perhaps the focus should be on a defense devoid of top-tier talent. New England was steamrolled for 150 points in its final five games of 2021. Syndication The Providence Journal

Every NFL team is a little rusty entering camp, but it’s never a good sign when your starting quarterback admits to reporters that things aren’t going well. But that’s exactly what happened with Mac Jones at the New England Patriots training camp.

Following reports that the New England offense looked “distressingly bad” during practice, Jones admitted to reporters that the offense was disjointed and promised to “figure it out.”

“I’m going to figure it out. I always have. I always will,” Jones said in a video shared by Patriots reporter Mike Reiss. “At the end of the day, you’re going to have your ups and downs with anything new. But I’ve learned a lot of different systems and the guys around me have too. We know what football looks like. We know what a good play looks like and the schematics behind it. It’s not just the result, it’s the process of how it looks.”

“Run the play, hat on a hat, pass protection, hat on a hat, and the guys getting open which they’ve done. There just needs to be more consistency. We all trust each other at the end of the day. When I walk on the field, there’s ten people that look into my eyes I know that they’re going to trust me to do the right thing on game day.”

The Patriots restructured their offense after coordinator Josh McDaniels left to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders following the 2021-22 season. The Patriots brought in former NFL head coaches Matt Patricia of the Detroit Lions and Joe Judge of the New York Giants, but neither of them has ever coordinated an NFL offense before.

New England still has a month before the season officially starts, but things aren’t looking good.

[Mike Reiss]