thesack12 wrote:Its still too early to completely write off Jones, but we all knew that his outlook projected to have a pretty low ceiling. Its the main reason that most of us didn't want anything to do with him @ #3.
I'm not saying he's reached it, but its starting to make you wonder if he's close to his peak already.
Fans are quite fickle, but man seeing Gillette stadium erupt into a thunderous standing ovation last night when Jones got benched and Zappe entered was crazy.
Zappe came in to lead 2 consecutive TD drives, then faded hard in the 2nd half. So who knows how long Jones' benching will last. Still the fact that Jones did get benched and we are wondering if he's going to get his job back shows that Jones' outlook is quite shaky.
I was more than thrilled that the 9ers didn't give up all that draft capital to draft Jones, and that has only been solidified since draft night. Trey Lance may ultimately underwhelm as well, but he has a chance to be special. Jones' max out always projected to being a rich man's Andy Dalton type.
I mean, a rich man's Andy Dalton is Tom Brady. But Jones has a much narrower window to get through to be a special QB. Everything above the shoulders has to be excellent, because everything below the shoulders is subpar.
I actually liked Mac Jones despite not really wanting to. I hated him at three because of his limited upside, but I would have taken him at 11, and I liked him quite a bit more than Lance, whose accuracy issues terrified me and who didn't profile as an elite athlete. Jones has a stronger arm than his detractors suggest, and he's more athletic than many assume. He ran about a 4.7 40, which is basically what Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers ran, and both of them were considered athletic QBs coming out (at that time, anyway; standard has changed a bit since 2005). Granted it was at his pro day, so maybe take a tenth of a second off, but still a solid time. But he's not a physical specimen. His arm strength is still only okay, and he's clearly not going to hurt people with his feet. I think it was the right call to go for the upside of Lance, but I'm not at all convinced Lance will even come close to his ceiling, particularly playing for Shanahan.