6:30 AM
Mac Jones sits next to the same person on the bench when he arrives on the sideline.
It's Mac and McDaniels, the even-keeled, deep-breathing first-round pick from the University of Alabama and his offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, who is usually holding his play sheet or flipping through a binder of data and pictures from game action.
Jones has steadily ascended during the team's 6-3 start, so, too, has the buzz around McDaniels.
That dynamic provides context for Bill Belichick comparing his assistant to Nick Saban, and paying him a compliment. In the highest regard, Belichick holds his former assistant with the Cleveland Browns, Nick Saban, who has led Alabama to six national titles over the past 15 years.
It's like when we were in Cleveland. "Josh and Nick are the same way, they know what every player on the field is doing."
He knows what the 11 guys are doing on offense, what their keys are, what their adjustments are, and how to attack them. Josh has taught me a lot. He excelled in every area.
There is one area in particular that has proven to be the most valuable to the New England team, and that is the area of the field. The NFL Network and Fox are on. He has helped bring Jones along masterfully.
"Josh is one of the best offensive minds in football, and I always like to learn how he wants to do it," Jones said. My job is to see how he sees it. The good thing is that we see it the same way from the beginning.
Jones, the 15th pick in the draft, has been better than the other first-round quarterbacks.
Jones had his first three-touchdown performance in his career in Sunday's 45-7 win over the Cleveland.
His efficiency has been one of his top assets, and he finished with a 70+ completion percentage in six of his 10 games. The Dallas Cowboys quarterback had a 70 percent completion percentage in nine games in the rookies record.
Jones deserves all the credit for his emergence, but his teammates have noticed how he's benefited from having a smooth transition to the NFL.
It's huge. Mac's knowledge of the game is going to be a lot from Josh, who has been in this league for a long time. I think it's a big deal to work with Tom for a while. Hunter Henry said that Mac is lucky to have a guy like Josh.
Mac Jones has passed for 2,333 yards with 13 touchdown and seven pick-sixes in 10 games with Josh McDaniels as his tutor.
In his 12 prior seasons as offensive coordinator, he was responsible for eight top 10 rankings, including the No. 1-ranked offense in 2007, 2012 and 2017. He's been on six Super Bowl winning teams.
Brady's early success as quarterbacks coach/coordinator came with Josh. When Brady tore his knee in the 15th play of the season, the coaching chops of Josh McDaniels were on display. The playoffs were not a factor in the 11-5 finish by the Pats.
When Brady was serving a four-game suspension, the team prepared Jimmy Garoppolo to open the season and then had Jacoby Brissett ready to go. The opening stretch was where the Pats went 3-1.
In the last season, the two worked together, with the quarterback calling him one of the best minds he's been around.
Jones knows that he's fortunate to have someone by his side.
"Josh is a great coach, and he's been close with me ever since I got here," he said. He put me in a position to lead the offense.
The focus is big-picture.
He explained that it's a delicate balancing act.
Whenever you have a young player like this, you have short- and long-term goals. Let's fix A, B and C this week. He said that they want to get to D, E, F and G in a month or two.
Each of Tom Brady's Super Bowl appearances has been given a first-hand account. Man in the Arena: Tom Brady will be broadcasted on the Disney Channel.
Each defense is different. We didn't prepare for the rest of the season, so there are things we're preparing for this week. The challenge of the NFL every week is that a young player has things that we want to work on mechanically and fundamentally with him in his game that has nothing to do with the opponent.
Jones' top assets coming out of college were his accuracy and decision-making in a quarterback, as well as his processing skills.
Mel Kiper Jr. made an obvious connection to Brady before the draft, but the coach said he doesn't want to measure Jones against anyone.
He has played 10 games in his first season. I'm looking at the progress made in this area last week. We're talking about everything: stance, stance, drops, pocket movement, eye level, reading the defense, progressions, patience, and his throwing mechanics.
There are a million things we work on. I think we're just trying to chop wood little by little in every area and help him prepare for the game while trying to keep a big-picture focus on this season and his daily improvement."
During their four-game winning streak, the Pats have scored 150-50 against their opponents. The Seattle Seahawks with Russell Wilson were the only team to score 100 points in a four-game span since 1950.
New England has scored at least 150 points in five of the last six games. In 2007, and 2012 there were four other times that happened.
Is it the second chance as a head coach?
Every year, top NFL head coaching candidates mention his ability to develop quarterbacks as one of the primary reasons. He was a finalist for the Philadelphia Eagles' job.
Bill Belichick said that Josh McDaniels is an excellent play caller. Timing. The plays are being set up. Josh is a very forward thinker.
In February of 2018, the Indianapolis Colts had announced an agreement to hire Josh McDaniels, only to be shocked when he found out that the team had lost in Super Bowl LII.
Although it's clear that he won't jump at any job, the man who was the Denver Broncos head coach from 2009-10) has said he hopes to be a head coach again. He's happy in New England, and he's also happy to have him.
"I don't think he has any weaknesses as a coach, he has risen through the ranks and earned the title," said the coach, who noted his rise with the team, starting as a personnel assistant in 2001, then as a general coaching assistant in 2002 and quarterbacks coach in 2004.
He has a great idea of how to use the skills of the players on his side of the ball and how to try to attack the weaknesses, whether it be personnel weaknesses or schematic weaknesses, or how to force the opponent into a situation that he's able to take advantage of.
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He's an excellent play caller. Timing. The plays are being set up. Josh is a very forward thinker. He's got great composure during the game and never loses track of the situation. I can't tell you how many times I've asked Josh what he thought about it. He will say, "We just talked about that." I have a lot of confidence in him.
Confidence is extended to players.
"He sees your skill set, sees what you're good at, and tries to put you in the best situation to be great," said running back Brandon Bolden, who entered the league in 2012 with the Pats.
The coaches on his staff share the same opinion.
Troy Brown is an assistant receiver and returners coach. He's very detailed about the plays he calls and the things he puts out there. Josh's attention to detail is one of the biggest things that I have observed.
Henry said that playing for the New England team helps make his job a little bit easier.
The team's quarterback of the future, Jones, has benefited the most, with his early growth reflecting favorably on the team's coach.
While he hopes to one day be a head coach, his focus is on developing Jones.
He said that you're always trying to figure out how to win the game. Our job will always be to develop the player so he can play his best at the end of the year and be the best version of himself that we can possibly be so our team can play to its potential at the end of the year. That's our goal.
