There was a lot of discussion about the changes the Patriots needed to make on offense after the 2022 season, but having more fun rarely came up in conversations.
Quarterback Mac Jones said on Thursday that it was one thing he kept his eyes on this offseason, however. Jones told reporters that one thing he “put a lot of thought into is just enjoying the game and especially practice” this year. Jones noted that the work is “the most important part” of what players will be doing, but “we’ve got to have that juice” that comes from the team leaders making sure people are having fun as well.
“Yeah, I think it always stems from winning, right? To win, you have to do a lot of really good things consistently, all the time I feel like I need to do that better, just try to lead the team more so from the mental side and all that stuff,” Jones said, via a transcript from the team. “Obviously, the plays and the physical stuff is there; I just have to go out there and try and lead. Really, for me, I’ve always kind of been a fun person, in my opinion. Hopefully people agree. But, that’s why people like to play with me, you know? Because we like to go out there, and have fun and compete. So, I just have to be consistent there. I feel like sometimes if I’m not consistent, you can tell, and that’s something that I’m trying to work on. So, I’m just trying to stay the course, but at the same time, have fun and then when bad things happen, just accept it and kind of move on.”
Fun has never been one of the first words that come to mind when thinking about the Patriots under Bill Belichick and it’s been particularly out of fashion over the last few years, so Jones is right that winning will be the best way to ensure smiling faces around the team come the end of the season. Whether the team can make that happen is one of the big question marks in the AFC East.
