On the List

Sports loves lists. Top 5 this and Top 10 that. Lists are fun and sometimes quite illuminating.

Sometimes. Sometimes you just need to settle for the fun. Not that fun is bad. 

Some lists are long and carry as much noise as signal. How would you like to be on a list that included George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt, but which also included James Buchanon, Warren G. Harding, and Donald Trump? Hmm. It's a bit difficult to discern any meaningful pattern there. The list of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks is even more of a head-scratcher, if that's any consolation to those of you who still care about democracy.

Some lists are short and much easier to draw inferences from, like any list with Adolph Hitler on it. That's a list you definitely do not want to be on. 

The point is context. It's the other names on the list that give it meaning.

So, as we enter the spit-screaming phase of end of the year awards season in the NFL, and the hollering class pimps their favorites for MVP, DPOY, and so on, I noticed a list that had one of the few dogs I have in the hunt - Mac Jones for Offensive Rookie of the Year. 

Quick Aside: Mac isn't the current favorite for the award. Alien visitor from another planet, Ja'Marr Chase, is the betting favorite and there are a few other worthy candidates various pigskin pundits and bobbleheads support. It's obviously difficult to compare players at different positions even with advanced statistical analysis, PFF grades, etc., and whatnot. Unless there's a bonus clause in your contract, it doesn't have any real, tangible value. It isn't worth a game in the standings. It doesn't win the opening toss in the Super Bowl. And yet, all of Sports Nation takes these things way more seriously than we should.

Anyway, I saw a list in a tweet from Mike Giardi that provides a little bit of that context I was talking about.

Mac Jones is the 4th rookie QB in NFL history w/ 10+ wins and 20+ pass TD. 

- Others: DAL Dak Prescott in 2016, IND Andrew Luck in 2012, SEA Russell Wilson in 2012.

Does this add value to the OROY discussion? Probably not. As lists go, though, it's not a bad one to be on and it's unquestionably better than being on the list of the three worst rookie QBs in NFL history. For me what's interesting is that this is a much different list of names than I'm used to seeing as comps for Mac Jones. 

• Andy Dalton

• Chad Pennington 

And yeah. That's the list. (Surprisingly, the haters didn't mention Hitler.) 

Much has been made of Mac Jones' "situation" and how that has enabled - and therefore discounted - his success. Belichick. The Patriot Way. The offseason reload. Josh McDaniels got smart again after a year of stupid in 2020. That running game. Is Mac Jones the only reason the Patriots have 10 wins and a spot in the playoffs? No. Of course not. Don't be silly. 

More importantly, I hear you saying, QB Wins is not a real stat! Sure, quarterback is the most important position in football, perhaps in all of sports. Okay, the quarterback handles the ball on every snap, makes pre-snap calls at the line, processes terabytes of asymmetrical information in real-time as large, unsympathetic men do preposterously athletic things in an endeavor to do him physical harm, and then has to throw an oblate spheroid into a target the size of a coffee mug in 3 seconds or fractions less but yeah. QB Wins. Bitch, please!

Okay.

Jones and the Patriots are perfect for each other. I just don't think that should count as a negative. 

Ja'Marr Chase is catching passes from his college QB Joe Burrow in Cincy. That sounds like a pretty sweet situation, too. Should we discount his 266 yards receiving against the Chiefs? Should he only get credit for 213? No. Again. Let's stop with the silly. I saw the highlights from that game. Ja'Marr Chase is a problem for everyone outside of Cincinnati.

Whatever. The Patriots are my team and Mac Jones is my boy. I get the haters. It comes with the Lombardi Trophies. But here's just a little more context for Mac Jones, Boy QB…

• 16th in Passer Rating

• 15th in Yards Per Attempt 

• 13th in Passing Yardage

• 13th in Passing TD

• 10th in QBR

• 8th in Completion Percentage

As a rookie. 

Not bad for a guy on the same list as Tom Brady.