I agree. I think it was the right move by a mile.
Since the question is how will NE win, IMO, the plan is a little different than what is being projected or reported. Many places have indicated NE will be a running team with occasional passing with an effort to minimize Jones’ role and have him be a game manager.
But the way they have been utilizing him, to me, shows something different. They have been trying to have the offense go at a much faster pace and with Mac in the game they have passed a lot more than they have run.
If you heard Josh McDaniels, he has indicated they love what they’ve seen from Jones and he’s been running things the way they want him to. There’s also been talk of being less predictable than in year’s past. They really want to keep drives manageable and have 2nd and short and avoid 3rd and longs, as last year they barely converted any long third downs.
So the sense I get is they will try to play faster, prevent teams from changing personnel, and try to be a more balanced offense. With Jones not being a runner, I think they will pass more than they will run. So lots of short passes, a strong run game, but then chunk plays on play action.
Bottom line, I think Jones and the receiving options are getting a bit under projected and the RBs are probably being a little over projected in terms of workload.
On a side note, Jones so far has adjusted play calls at the LOS, has made quick and correct decisions, gets the ball out quickly, and his accuracy has been better than advertised. I saw a stat that said he only three 4 errant passes in the preseason games. Everything else was considered catchable. The asterisk in all of that is that he really hasn’t been playing against defensive starters. But he’s looked great when he’s played.
Former OC Charlie Weis has commented that Jones has absorbed more and has been doing better at this point than Brady did. Obviously Jones is not even out of diapers yet and has 20 years to play to get anywhere near Brady. But drawing favorable comparisons to someone that helped develop Brady can only be a good thing.