Robert Kraft praises Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and criticises his team’s offensive scheme last season. With several adjustments, the team owner is confident about the upcoming NFL season.

“I’m a fan of Mac Jones,” Robert Kraft said during a media roundtable.The New England Patriots team owner was asked about his quarterback’s performance after two seasons in the NFL.

“He came to us as a rookie and had to play right away. He led us from the start, did a solid job and led us to the playoffs,” Kraft expressed his satisfaction with Jones’ first NFL year.

Jones at Patriots: Kraft hints at changes

“Last season we tried different experiments that obviously didn’t work for him. This offseason, we’re making changes again to put him in a better position to perform,” Kraft said of Jones’ second year

With that, Kraft is certainly criticising the work of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Patricia, who usually coached the defensive side of a team, was in charge of the Pats offense.

Judge, who usually was the special teams coach, coached the quarterbacks. The result for Mac Jones: no 3,000 passing yards, 14 touchdowns with eleven interceptions and a passer rating of 84.8 in 16 games. At times Jones even threatened to lose his place to rookie Bailey Zappe, who was brilliant at times. The Patriots also missed the playoffs.

New England Patriots: New coach for Mac Jones

At the end of last season, Kraft wrote an email to season ticket holders apologising for the disappointing performance and promising to do better in 2023.

The first step: a new offensive coordinator. That post was given to Bill O’Brien, who hired on at Alabama in 2021 and was preparing Jones for the NFL Draft at the time. That Alabama collaboration may make for a better Patriots understanding on offense.

“Mac Jones works very hard, he’s in the stadium almost every day in the offseason working out. I think Bill O’Brien will get the best out of him. I’m very positive and hopeful going into the new season,” Kraft said, summing up the quarterback situation with the Patriots.