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Tuscon, Ariz. – No one knows Mack Jones as a quarterback like Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels studied it prospectively. He developed it as a rookie. Now, McDaniels is back to studying Jones, this time as an opponent, and the Raiders plan to stop him on Sunday.
And yet, dating, living and working together after a full season cuts both ways. So does Jones believe he knows how to attack McDaniel?
“Yeah,” the quarterback said Thursday. “Lets see.”
Then he laughed.
“They can do whatever they want,” Jones continued. “They can blitz the 11, none of them. What they want to do, you just have to read and react.”
It was McDaniels talking. An old lesson instilled in Jones last year, the idea that an offense can always be right because there is no such thing as perfect coverage or an impenetrable front. Every defense ever created has a weakness.
If you can find it, you can theoretically use it. Read and answer.
That’s why identifying safeties before and/or after the snap is so fundamental to the system McDaniels built in New England, a system that has since been aligned to the foundation and minimally redecorated with RPO tines and the Marcus Jones package. Few, if any, offenses ran more passing plays on option routes than the Patriots did under McDaniels. Therefore, the confounding Jones figures to be on the Raiders’ defensive work list for Sunday.
Because if Jones makes good reads, even with a depleted set of weapons, he should be able to poke holes in the NFL’s worst-ranked defense according to Football Outsiders’ opponent- and situation-adjusted metric, DVOA. The talent in Las Vegas’ secondary doesn’t scare anyone, so the defensive staff, led by former Patriots assistant and Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, is trying to make up for that deficit with abundance. The Raiders will play the spin in any coverage, most of the time.
“It’s a great scheme, they do a lot of different things,” Jones said. “They have a large library to choose from, it just depends on what they want to choose.”
Up front, the formula is a bit simpler. Pro Bowl edge rushers Max Crosby and Chandler Jones are key to the Raiders’ pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Jones and Crosby replaced the Pats’ O-line for long stretches of practice together in late August when Isaiah Wynn was healthy. Now, the Patriots are choosing between the injured Yodni Cajuste and the tight end Connor McDermott at right tackle.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for us going forward,” Mc Jones said.
“These two guys are obviously big problems,” added center David Andrews.
How well the Pats can keep the Raiders out of bounds should determine how long Jones has to sort out any secondary disguises and find open receivers. But with Jacoby Meyers and Devante Parker likely sidelined with concussions, his receiving options could come down to departed veterans Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor and second-round rookie Tyquan Thornton. And if Ramondre Stevenson (ankle) is out, the Patriots will suddenly be without their top two pass catchers and three of their top five tight ends.
In this scenario, the offense may choose to play a difficult game plan, where problems may still lie ahead. Because while the Raiders are a slightly below-average defense by most metrics, the Patriots’ rushing attack is even worse, ranking among the worst blocking teams in the league since Jones returned in Week 7 from a high ankle sprain. Will the Patriots take the ball out of Jones’ hands and still pass it? Or spill it and hope it can spread to a non-threatening receiving corps?
It’s a decision McDaniels and the Raiders will try to make for the Patriots, knowing that the question and reaction can only take Jones. Because while there is no such thing as a perfect defense, there may not be good answers for a tight-knit quarterback operating with a below-average set of weapons and a pair of offensive tackles on Sunday; Regardless of how familiar or prepared Jones would be to see his old mentor again.
“I think Josh is a great coach, a great person, just a great leader. He prepared me really well last year,” Jones said. “Obviously, he had a chance to coach the football team and he did a great job. After all, we’re up against their defense… but he knows a lot about us. Obviously, we know them too. (I) think it’s a good match. “
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