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Patriots QB Jones, other regulars likely not playing tonight

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Aug 11, 2022

Patriot quarterback Mac Jones says he's slowly but surely picking up the team's new offense. (AP photo)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – We could be keeping up with the Joneses tonight as the New England Patriots welcome the New York Giants to Gillette Stadium for the teams’ preseason opener at 7.

Patriots second year quarterback Mac Jones, who has seemingly struggled with what is perceived to be a new offensive system, won’t play at all, along with a lot of other first-teamers, ESPN reported on Thursday. For New York, embattled Giants QB Daniel Jones, also in a new system under first-year head coach Brian Dabol, is expected to get some work.

It is, after all, a meaningless game, but it is also, other than some moments in practices, Patriots fans’ first look at the 2022 version in game conditions.

Mac Jones is hoping the Patriots are closing in on getting a better grasp of the offense.

“I think we’re close on a lot of things,” Jones said. “It’s just that two percent we need to fix.

“I think we’re going to figure it out, and that takes time and patiece. Ad I think we’re making a lot of progress, so it’s good.”

Patriots coach Bill Belichick during his last media availability on Tuesday said there was no decision on if or how much Mac Jones would play tonight.

“We haven’t even had those conversations yet,” he said then, but apparently those discussions have been had and Jones will not play.

He added it’s been a mixed bag as far as the progress with the system goes for Jones and the other quarterbacks.

“There’s some plays that quarterback’s right and there’s a breakdown in protection,” he said. “There’s some plays where the quarterback’s right and there’s a breakdown in a route.”

And, of course he said, “There’s some plays that the quarterback could play better.”

Fans may get their first in-game look at rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton, or perhaps focus on the offensive line and top pick Cole Strange at guard. It will also be interesting to see what the Patriots do at cornerback.

And, as Belichick said, there is hardly any game planning for the preseason, so the focus will be on who is out on the field and for how long.

“We’ll find out (tonight),” Belichick said. “Some of these guys have never played a game in the National Football League or for us. So I don’t know. We’ll see.”

FAN REMINDERS

Fans should be aware that the improvements are still being made to the North End Zone. Here are some reminders:

All entrance gates will be accessible; two gates have been renamed:

Ticketmaster.com Gate (formerly the PrimeSport Gate) and CVS Health Gate (formerly the uBid.com Gate)

Seats in the north end zone remain fully accessible and have not been affected by the construction. Fans will still be able to walk between the east and west sides of the main concourse.

The north end zone concessions have been relocated to temporary nearby locations on the main concourse. The north end zone video board is taking shape and a section of the new video board will be in place prior to the start of the 2022 regular season.

Fans should also be mindful of all posted signage and adhere to construction barriers that have been erected for fan safety.

(Patriots media relations dept. contributed to this report)

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