New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is already operating at a high level when it comes to diagnosing defenses before the snap. ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning broke down Jones’ impressive work.
On Manning’s ESPN+ show “Detail,” he took the time to dissect Jones’ film from the Patriots’ 45-0 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 10. It was one of Jones’ most impressive performances, pummelling Cleveland while completing 83% of his passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns with zero turnovers.
There was one play, Jones’ touchdown to Kendrick Bourne in traffic, which on the surface looked like Jones’ best pass of the season. Manning actually felt Jones could have done better controlling the defense with his eyes. The quarterback stared down his receiver too much. He breaks it down in the (top) tweet below.
But then there was a moment of excellence, where Jones showed command for the offense. At first, he audibled into a passing play at the line of scrimmage after seeing the safety showing blitz. But as Jones changed the play he realized the blitz-show was a bluff, so Jones went back into the original play, a run up the middle with Rhamondre Stevenson. That went for a nice gain. It reminded Manning of a coming-of-age play from his days at Tennessee. (That breakdown is in the bottom tweet.)
This is great: Peyton loved seeing Mac Jones audible into a pass when he saw the safety come up to blitz, then go back to the original play (run) when he saw the safety wasn't blitzing
Peyton also showed the first time he did this in a game back at Tennessee in a bowl game vs NW pic.twitter.com/4cG4E8vyfH
— ✯✯✯✯✯ (@FTBVids_YT) November 24, 2021
It’s always fun to hear Manning break down a quarterback’s body of work.
