New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has recently been caught by television cameras voicing vociferous frustrations and annoyances with the offense, including expletive-filled rants on the sidelines.
Jones makes no apologies for wanting to win.
“I think football is an emotional sport. I like to show my passion on the field,” Jones said Tuesday on WEEI’s Merloni, Fauria, and Mego. “We’re out there to win and do everything we can to win. Sometimes we’ve just gotta put together a better performance. A lot of that is just the leadership that comes from getting the guys to play and doing a good job of working together. And just trying to create longer drives and score more points. At the end of the day, it’s an emotional game. You want to be able to show emotion and not let it affect your play.”
Jones famously criticized play-caller Matt Patricia two weeks ago on the sideline. During Monday’s 27-13 victory in Arizona, he frustratingly dropped an expletive over having to call a timeout.
The second-year quarterback said he’s always striving for perfection, and frustration over miscues sometimes simply boils over.
“It’s football, right? It’s part of the game,” Jones said. “We’re all out there competing and we’re trying to win and make things work. So you’ve gotta work through all the problems and solutions. That’s how’s the course of the game works. There’s good plays, bad plays, there’s how do we fix it, and we move onto the next drive. So that’s how every game goes at every level.”
Jones certainly isn’t the first — nor the last — quarterback to have his sideline frustrations amplified, particularly in primetime games. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, have all done it.
Patricia noted Tuesday that he “loves” Jones’ passion and isn’t worried about the in-the-moment frustrations. Patricia cited the likes of Tedy Bruschi, Junior Seau, Mike Vrabel, Willie McGinest, all fiery defensive players he’s coached, as having similar hunger.
“This is a super passionate game, right? We love this game. We put a lot into it. We’re working hard. We care. We’re trying to win, so I love all that,” Patricia said via MassLive. “All of it is — you just care. You really care. Mac and I — I know he wants to win and he’s doing everything he can just like we all are. So that stuff’s great.”