Mac Jones gets candid on pressure of emulating Tom Brady’s success in New England - “Definitely big shoes to fill”
Mac Jones always knew that he was the heir apparent to Tom Brady, even if he may not have said it. However, now after a couple of years on the job, he feels more confident about opening up about how it feels to follow in the footsteps of a great quarterback.
The New England Patriots were in Green Bay for offseason practice. The Packers are also going through a big change in the quarteback position. Aaron Rodgers has gone to the New York Jets and that means Jordan Love has the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of a future Hall-of-Famer.
Luckily for the new Packers quarterback, Mac Jones was on hand to share some of his experience of doing something similar in New England. The Patriots quarterback said that he considers Tom Brady to be the greatest quarterback of all time and that it is tough to follow. So, the only way he copes with it is by being his own player and competing with himself than with anyone else.
He said to The Athletic,
“I think Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL. So to follow up on him, it’s just trying to chase the standard that he set every day. Honestly, we’re definitely two different players. That’s the only advice I’d have for (Love). Just continue to grow and be yourself. That’s all you can do: Put your best foot forward and compete. But it’s definitely big shoes to fill.”
Can Mac Jones eventually follow in Tom Brady's footsteps for the New England Patriots?
Replacing an elite quarterback is never easy. When they are future Hall-of-Famers, it becomes even more difficult. In recent years, there have been some that have succeeded. Aaron Rodgers memorably replaced Brett Favre and possibly eclipsed him with the Green Bay Packers. Justin Herbert is currently following in the footsteps of Drew Brees and Philip Rivers with the Los Angeles Chargers and doing fairly well.
But they are the exceptions rather than the norm. For Mac Jones to get anywhere near Tom Brady, he needs better tools around him and better guidance. Tom Brady benefited from observing Drew Bledsoe for a year before starting his legendary career. Mac Jones was thrown into the big games directly and has had to learn on the job.
That is why Bill Belichick is crucial to the team's success and the return of Bill O'Brien should not be underestimated. If they can continue guiding their current quarteback, eventually we can have a conversation where we might consider putting both players in the same bracket.