Mac Jones Responds To Bulletin-Board Material From Colts' Linebacker Bobby Okereke
BOSTON (CBS) -- If Mac Jones is drawing any added motivation from what Colts linebacker Bobby Okereke said this week, he's not letting it show.
The Patriots' rookie quarterback was asked during his weekly press conference on Wednesday for his thoughts on the words from Okereke, who said the Colts will try to make the Patriots "one-dimensional and see what [Jones] can do." The insinuation, of course, was that the Colts feel comfortable with a strategy of stopping the run and forcing Jones to win the game with his arm.
Rather than defend his own abilities, Jones opted to shower praise upon the Colts' defense.
"I think they have a great defense, and they've done a lot of different things each game to stop what their opponent does well. So we just have to be ready to go regardless of the situation," Jones said. "We've just gotta do what we can do to control what we can control, and that's just playing well on our side of the ball. We already knew that they have a great defense, so we're going to expect the expected and realize it's going to be a good dog fight."
The comment from Okereke came after Jones threw just three passes in the Patriots' win in Buffalo. That game, though, was played in very unique weather conditions, as the strong wind is not something that NFL teams deal with on a regular basis. (The rocket-armed Josh Allen was 15-for-30 in the game.) On the season, Jones has completed 70.3 percent of his 384 passes for 2,869 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Jones was asked in a follow-up question if comments like those from Okereke motivate him.
"No. I mean, everyone has their opinions and my job is to be the best quarterback I can be. And I can do a better job of that every day at practice, so that's what I can control," Jones said. "And like I said, they have a great defense and there's great players all around, so everyone's entitled to their opinion."
A reporter then asked Jones: If you were to be feeling extra motivated, would you actually tell us?
"It's just part of the game," Jones said with a laugh. "Everyone's confident. When you're in the NFL, both teams have confidence in what they do, and you just have to believe what you know and what you believe in."
Jones and the Patriots will play the Colts on Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Tune in to Patriots-Colts on Saturday night on WBZ-TV! Kickoff is set for 8:15pm, and stay tuned after the game for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
