Mac Jones, Bill Belichick working on "fresh start" with offense in 2023

FOXBORO -- For everybody involved with the Patriots offense, last year was rough. Very rough. And that's putting things lightly.

This year, though, figures to be different -- both because experienced offensive coach Bill O'Brien has replaced Matt Patricia, and because the head coach and quarterback have apparently agreed to mentally move on from that experience.

"No, I think we're good," Jones said Wednesday when asked if there was any lingering frustration between himself and Bill Belichick from last season. "I think the biggest thing that we've all talked about is just having a fresh start. I think there's a lot of learning experiences from last year that we've talked about. And this year, it's all about just working together, right? You've gotta come up with a plan and then obviously talk about it and then execute it. So I'm excited for that part of it. "

Jones, who will turn 25 years old before the season opener in September, is facing a critical year in his development and career. After a promising rookie campaign in 2021, he took a major step back under the Patricia/Joe Judge offense in 2022. When asked for his self-analysis on what he needs to improve upon this year, he said it all starts by listening.

"Yeah, I think every season, regardless of what sport you're playing or what you're doing for your jobs, you're trying to become better at what you do. And for me, it's just a lot of listening and taking everything in and really just working hard," Jones said. "Just trying to try new things in the offseason."

As for the coaching, Jones was asked about Belichick's input on the offense. Just as he did in minicamp, Jones said he appreciates Belichick's coaching points on what the defense might be presenting on certain plays, while noting Bill O'Brien and assistant QBs coach Evan Rothstein advise him on offense.

"Yeah, I think he's done a great job. I think at the end of the day he does a great job explaining defenses and all those things that can help a quarterback, and especially in the red zone because it's a little bit tighter down there," Jones said. "But yeah, I think OB does a great job as well explaining everything, and Evan. So it's kind of those three guys that you can lean on and obviously the players too, right? You can ask the players questions, and I think it's great that our defense is really good and it makes it hard. It's gonna be a great camp because we're gonna go back and forth hopefully, and just battle with each other."

While Jones was put in an unenviable position last year with the offensive coaching staff, he also endured a few moments where his emotions poured out in front of the television broadcast cameras. While he didn't talk about those moments specifically on Wednesday, he did speak about controlling his emotions as the offseason and season plays out.

"Really just for me, just trying to be really consistent. Try not to ride the wave and just stay my course," Jones said. "Hopefully, everybody on our offense feels that too. I think Coach O'Brien does a great job laying out what we do well so far, and we're gonna learn every day what we do well, and then from there you just keep going forward and execute the plan. So definitely excited for them."