Is Mac Jones a dirty player? Here’s what readers said.
"When there's smoke, there's fire."
On Monday, New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner posted a video of New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones striking him below the belt during Sunday’s game between the two teams.
The video went viral and raised a question that many have asked at several points before: Is Jones a dirty player?
We asked that question in a recent poll, and 476 readers responded with their thoughts. The majority (55%) of these readers claim that Jones is dirty, while others (45%) believe that such a label is unfair.
‘Once is a mistake. Twice or more is a pattern.’
Among those who voted “yes” in this poll, many cited the numerous times Jones has been accused of similar dirty plays in the past. Throughout his career, Jones has been caught on video falling or getting up in ways that put the bodies of other players in danger.
For most of these plays, Jones has denied any intent to cause harm. But because Jones has had to make these denials multiple times, Boston.com readers are starting to believe that these incidents are no accidents.
“Doing something [one] time could be an accident,” Ross R. from Peabody said. “Doing the same thing twice could be a coincidence. Doing the same thing multiple times is a pattern.”
Jones has been accused of poor on-field behavior multiple times by many different players. Some readers believe that these players are forming a plot to falsely smear Jones’ reputation, particularly out of contempt for the once-dominant Patriots. But Michael from Wrentham believes that the likelihood that such an instance is true is very low, at least lower than them actually believing that Jones’ conduct on the gridiron deserves scorn.
“Rarely does a player get involved in more than one of these kinds of instances,” he said. “Several of these events have involved Mac in the last few years, and it’s more plausible for Mac to be making bush league moves than for multiple NFL players (many with distinguished praise as stars, such as Long and Darius Slay) to just set up a league-wide vendetta against him. Whether we like it or not, a track record is a track record, and Jones’ reputation has remained consistent regarding his cheapness.”
Jones’ less-than-stellar track record is one of football’s most widespread. Even after Jones’ denials, very few of his teammates seem eager to back him up. To Hugo from Roxbury, that’s a telling sign.
“He has taken several cheap shots at opponents in just a couple of years in the league,” he said. “You also don’t see his teammates defend these actions so they are admitting the truth. He’s dirty.”
The frequency of these controversies is perhaps the biggest reason why 55% of readers voted that Jones is a dirty player. One time could very well just be a one-time thing, but these readers claim that Jones’ multiple accusations nullify his benefit of the doubt.
“It is simple,” Bill B. from Hingham said. “Once is a mistake. Twice or more is a pattern.”
‘At this point, I’m done with Mac Jones’
By far, the most common phrase people responded with was some form of, “When there’s smoke, there’s fire.” To many readers who voted yes, the fact that Jones is responsible for these dirty plays is reflective of the type of player he is.
“[Gardner’s] video shows that he did something unacceptable to Sauce Gardner, and at this point there have now been several accusations of unacceptable behavior,” Peter from Woburn said. “At this point, I am done with Mac Jones.”
Several readers took issue with Sunday’s incident in particular. ORC from Weymouth said that only a certain type of player would dare to hit another person that low under any circumstances.
“You don’t go after a man’s private area,” he said.
Some readers even noticed comparisons between Jones’ behavior and that of another professional athlete with a similarly dirty reputation.
“He’s the NFL’s Grayson Allen,” said Alvan L. from Jamaica Plain.
Some who voted that Jones is dirty claim that Boston bias stands in the way of those who voted otherwise. If Jones played for another team, Ralph from Holden believes that these poll results would look a lot more one-sided.
“I don’t want it to be true, but if a quarterback on some other team (let’s say, for instance, the Jets) was doing the same thing there would be no controversy in Boston over it,” he said. “We’d all label him a dirty player.”
‘Dirty, no’
The most popular reason readers voted “no” is that they believe “dirty” is too strong of a word. These readers claim that Jones plays the game with a competitive edge that can sometimes rub players the wrong way, but that his actions aren’t wrong.
“He’s aggressive, smug and has a chip on his shoulder because he’s not Brady,” Mike from Seacoast, N.H. said. “But dirty, no.”
A lot of readers claim that some of Jones’ antics aren’t the result of malicious intent, but rather impulsivity and poor decision-making. Many believe that Jones acts with a hot head—oftentimes to his detriment—which is why he comes across as dirty to players and fans.
“I think Mac gets caught up in the heat of the moment and often makes bad decisions as a result,” said Rob G., who lives in Chemnitz, Germany. “This is an observation of his game in general, but it also applies to his ‘dirty’ plays.”
These readers believe that Jones doesn’t have a good grip on his emotions and fails to think before he acts. But that doesn’t mean that he actively seeks out controversy or wants to hurt other people.
“[Jones] loses a bit of emotional control every now and then,” Ron D. from Hopkinton said, “but doesn’t go into a game intending to be dirty.”
‘Defensive players are soft these days’
While many “no” voters believe that Jones isn’t a dirty player despite some of his actions, others believe that these actions aren’t even dirty. Those readers believe that Jones’ controversies are just the byproduct of playing an intensely physical game.
“Mac is a competitor and incidental contact is part of the game,” said DR from New Hampshire.
But how much incidental contact is part of football? According to Jeff from Needham, Jones appears to cross the line sometimes, but he hasn’t done anything truly worthy of outrage.
“Maybe [Jones is] a little [dirty], but [he] hasn’t done anything extreme,” he said. “Defensive players are soft these days.”
Most of the players who accuse Jones of being dirty play on the defensive side of the ball. Some readers believe that Jones is a saint compared to what some of what defensive players are allowed to do to quarterbacks.
“He’s just being picked on by whiny defensive players, who are frustrated because they don’t get to hit him more,” Bob K. from Lincoln said. “They beat the crap out of him and then are outraged because his arm may have brushed the wrong place or his foot came up when he slid?”
Even if Jones’ plays are illegal or unethical, some readers believe that they don’t hold a candle to what other players have done. To them, if Jones is a dirty player, then several more players are far dirtier.
“Other players do much worse and are never mentioned,” said W.A. D. from Bethlehem. “You see it all the time on TV. In addition you never see what happens in the pile. All kinds of things. It was reported that Conrad Dobler bit people.”
Regardless of severity, some readers who voted “no” believe that Jones’ actions could get him into much bigger trouble one day. If he doesn’t clean up his playstyle a little bit, his reputation as a dirty player could get far worse than it already is.
“[Jones] is giving the perception that he is dirty and should be careful,” Joel F. of Winchendon said. He could/will get run over and knocked out of a game/season/career.”
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