How Mac Jones vs Tom Brady is spotlighting how NFL offenses have grown in the last 20 years
jones-explains-declined-football-first-touchdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Mac Jones has clearly passed Cam Newton in his development. The next comparison is between Jones and brady-laments-lack-work-ethic-today-s-america-urges-people-stop-blame-game" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Tom Brady. Over the last few weeks, many have debated whether Jones is better than Brady was back in 2000. One of the elephants in the room that this discussion glosses over is how NFL offenses have grown since Brady was a rookie.
Many point to the old games before 2000 in 4:3 and black and white coloring as the era of different offenses. But now, in 2021, the NFL is distinctly different in terms of offense. The era of slower offense now includes games that were broadcast in 16:9 and in high definition.Here are some of the ways Brady vs Jones shows how this has grown over the last 20 years.
Mac Jones vs Tom Brady: The growth of offense
Pass attempts
In Tom Brady's first season as a starter in 2001, he threw the ball 413 times. Mac Jones is seen as a game manager by many doubters and has already thrown the ball 384 times in 13 games.
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That total includes Jones' three-pass performance against the Bills. If not for the crazy weather conditions, Jones may have already passed Brady in pass attempts. Keep in mind that the Patriots are a defensive football team with the same head coach from back in 2001. This is one example of how the NFL has changed. Put simply, teams throw the ball even more now than they did back then.
Yards per attempt
Mac Jones is being called a game-manager who doesn't throw deep. However, his yards per attempt are a higher average than Brady's first starting season. In 2001, Brady was averaging 6.9 yards per attempt. In 2021, the rookie Mac Jones is seen by many as playing it safe, but he's averaging 7.5 yards per attempt. Put simply, deep passes are happening more often in the NFL in 2021 than they were in 2001.
2015 Mac Jones would not BELIEVE what 2021 Mac Jones is playing in tonight. twitter.com/MacJones_10/st…
It took Tom Brady until 2004, his fourth season in the NFL, to break through Mac Jones' rookie numbers. If Mac Jones' yards per attempt climb at the same rate, Jones could be averaging over eight yards per attempt. It took until 2007 for Brady to average more than eight yards per attempt with weapons like Randy Moss.
Mac Jones is in the same vicinity for yards per attempt without a "Randy Moss" and is still seen as conservative. Put simply, quarterbacks have to throw deeper every season to impress people. While Mac Jones' arm hasn't been the best in the league, it's usage is more common than Brady's in 2001.
The differences may seem slight to some, but this is how things change over time. Rarely is there a sudden shift. Rather, it is a slow, gradual increase. Only when one looks back does one realize there was a change. It is now far enough from 2001 that this has happened.