Q. New offense here. I mean, that's a lot of offenses in like seven years. How challenging is that?
MAC JONES: I think it's great. I think when people say it's a bad thing, I think it's a great thing. You obviously want to have continuality with a certain person, but at the end of the day you're learning from each person's backgrounds.
I think of Coach Daboll at Alabama, Sark, Mike Locksley. You're getting different coaching backgrounds from everywhere.
And then obviously in New England you get a lot of good coaching there. So here with Doug it's been awesome. He's a great quarterback mind. And like I said, I'm taking from each coach, taking what I want and what I want to know and what I want to learn, and it's been a great time here. I feel like I've learned a lot about offensive football here. So I'm definitely going to try to add that to my game.
Q. Is this a different style of offense, level of offense? Is it deeper? How does this work, compare?
MAC JONES: I think it's a mixed bag. I think we do a lot of things really well. Just being here for the last couple of months, it's very detailed, attention to detail is there. I don't think there's a lot of drop-off from each group, which is really good. Sometimes it's hard, maybe the 1s look good but the 2s and 3s not so much.
I think it shows that the coaches are doing a great job in the meetings and the quarterbacks and the players are all communicating. So I think that's important with every team, and I think the offense is very versatile. I think it's deep, short and in the middle. It's kind of everything in between. It's been good.
Q. What's one thing you take a lot from Doug? What's maybe one thing that's stuck with you or been really impressed with you that you took from Doug?
MAC JONES: I think it's just straightforwardness. He's not going to tell you lies. He's going to tell you what it is. It's the truth. And it's also, he does it in a very quarterback-friendly way because he's played, right?
So, he's going to tell us to go out there and rip it. Maybe we had a bad practice and he says, hey, you guys just keep ripping it, have fun, and try to make great decisions. But also try some throws because at the end of the day if you don't try, you'll never know if you can make the throw. I think practice is a great time to do that.
I've learned that from him. Obviously a lot of things. And like I said, the attention to detail in team meetings and everything, I've been very impressed. That carries through the whole staff, the whole organization. Definitely been pleased with that.
Q. You have to compete for the second string job but how do you keep that competitiveness, knowing the guy you're competing against is a teammate. How do you balance that mentality for yourself?
MAC JONES: I've competed my whole life. And I find great joy in competition. I try to be myself. I'm not going to change because of one thing or another.
Like I said, I think we have a great room here. Trevor and C.J. have been awesome. And I feel like we're brothers in there and that's what you want.
And you want to bounce ideas off each other and compete every day. And sometimes we have these net challenges and stuff. It's like three brothers out there just throwing the ball around. We compete in that regard. We compete in every other regard.
But at the end of the day we're on the same team. We're all working for the common goal, and that's, every good team I've been on, that's the case. The bad ones, not so much.
Q. You were saying C.J. stepped up in a way and been kind of a mentor for you. How has he done that? And maybe any tips or anything that's stuck with you?
MAC JONES: Yeah, C.J. has obviously been fortunate to play in this league for a long time. He's a great dude. Definitely love the conversations we have, but he's taught me a lot.
I think he was in San Francisco. So there's some things that I ran at Alabama and whatnot that are similar. And we always talk about certain plays like that. He's very smart and hardworking. And I think the group just fits together really well.
Q. Other than the obvious that you're playing against other people, what's the biggest difference for you in a joint practice with the Buccaneers versus the normal one for you?
MAC JONES: I think it's a really cool opportunity. I've been fortunate to be in a couple of joint practices and experience it and I really enjoy.
It's different when you're in college. You don't ever go against another team. But for the young guys, I think it's good because you're like, hey, you're practicing against another team, it brings a little more juice out.
And I do think it was a clean practice both days, which is sometimes hard to do. But I really thought that both teams did a good job. And it's a lot of fun, you compete. You see is different looks, you can try different throws maybe you wouldn't try.
Now it's always weird when you have to play in the game now too because you practiced all week and now you're going to go into the game having known what they've done but it can always switch as well.
Q. How different is it, (indiscernible) getting into that game?
MAC JONES: It just depends. Every team is different. Sometimes people don't show much and some show a lot. You have to be ready for both sides of the story. And at the end of the day it's about going out there, having fun, trying to stick to my rules and try not to do too much.
Q. How about the concerned, no fighting in these two practices?
MAC JONES: Yeah, he's really worried about me fighting (laughter).
I think he was very straightforward. I think we have professionals on our team. I think the old guys did a good job. Like, when you're young, you're going against another team, there's some competitive juices going.
But they explained, hey, fellas, we're not here to fight. And I think Tampa Bay did a good job doing that and being professional. Hats off to both head coaches for making that happen. It's tough sometimes you see fights break out and it ruins the practice. But I feel like it was good.
Q. Mac Jones versus Vita Vea. Go!
MAC JONES: It's a big dude right there. I mean I played against him my rookie year. They've got a talented group over there. And not only that, the scheme is really good. He's definitely got a couple of pounds on me, even though I'm a little heavy right now. (Laughter).
Q. How wild is it, out of the six quarterbacks on the field over these two days, two of them played high school football here in Jacksonville?
MAC JONES: It's pretty cool. John, obviously I've watched him a long time. He's a little older than me. Had a chance to throw with him and train with him a few times. He's a great dude. He's earned everything he's gotten. He fought for everything.
And seems like he's a great guy, had a chance to train with him in the offseason, same with Kyle and Baker. Obviously Baker's journey is something that's inspiring for me and a lot of quarterbacks. It's not going to be perfect from the start to the finish. You might go up and down and then he kind of found his little home.
Hopefully that can be inspiration for me and many others. And obviously I'm focused on right now and being on this team and being great.
But, yeah, I think it's a great group of people. And like you said, have two guys from Jacksonville, it's big motivation for a great football city and town with good youth sports and high school sports. I'm definitely looking forward to watching some of that this fall.
Q. You might not get much, as a backup you might not get much time in the regular season, practice time and playing time. How do you approach these next two games knowing that?
MAC JONES: I think it's different. Some years you're the starter and you may not be playing much. A lot of times it's a coach's decision. But I always want to get out there and play as much as I can. I think that's good whether you're the starter, back-up and third or fourth. It doesn't matter. You want the reps in the game.
I think that's really beneficial for the young people. I don't try and put too much pressure on these games. I think it's two games that are very important but for a lot of people they might not even be playing. But for a lot of people it's very important. So you have to understand that. I'm just looking forward to competing. It's not all going to be perfect but you've got to learn from it and continue to build momentum into the season.
Q. Have you talked to Baker about that at all, whether it was here or in training, the inspiration you've gotten from his story?
MAC JONES: I talked to him a little bit last year, I think, or two years ago when he was on the Panthers. We talked a little bit. I just enjoy watching quarterbacks' journeys and everyone's is different. I can definitely find motivation from that one. And maybe I'll pick his brain a little bit more.
But he's a great quarterback he's fighting back and has done a good job of that. And I think a lot of people can take note.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports