Dave Baldwin, Brian Hoyer’s offensive coordinator at Michigan State, was watching the Patriots’ Week 1 game against the Dolphins when Mac Jones threw his first career touchdown pass. He saw the way Jones refused to accept the football from his teammates, unconcerned with the keepsake from the milestone and more focused on the bigger picture.
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“That’s fantastic,” Baldwin thought. “This kid doesn’t worry about one ball. He wants to win the game.”
Then he had another thought: “I hope somebody grabs that ball for him.”
Sure enough, his old pupil was the one to save the ball and stash it away. Jones can downplay the milestone now. Doing so will help him further win over teammates and coaches as he establishes leadership as a rookie. But somewhere down the line, he may wish he has that ball. Hoyer has been around long enough to recognize that which Jones can’t yet see.
“It’s that fatherly, big brother leadership that you can provide,” Baldwin said. “You know the younger one is more talented, but at the same (time) you can still provide that leadership to make sure he brings that program to the winning program they are.”
Hoyer is around for more than just collecting footballs. When the Patriots brought him back this season, they did so for the hidden value a veteran quarterback can bring a rookie. In his 13th NFL season, Hoyer has started games for seven teams. He’s never had prolonged success as a starter, but he’s been around a variety of offensive schemes and seen every defense a quarterback can.
The best quarterbacks don’t always make the best backup quarterbacks. Cam Newton pointed this out last week after he was cut, noting that his presence alone would have been a distraction because of what he’s accomplished in his career. Hoyer is not a threat to Jones’ starting position. But the 35-year old has also played so long in the NFL because of what he can bring to a quarterback room.
“It’s not how you throw the football, it’s all the other things that you take care of,” Baldwin said. “I think that’s what Brian learned as he progressed through that situation. He’s played in every game or every stadium there in that league. No, he hasn’t been a great winner, but he’s been through every adversity. I think as a young quarterback coming through, Brian can put his hand on his shoulder and say, ‘Listen, this is what’s going to happen. We’re going to have ups and downs, but this is how we’ll get through this.’”
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Developing a quarterback properly involves a lot of variables. Joey Harrington once told me 80 percent of what determines a quarterback’s success has nothing to do with physical talent. Jones’ talent, football acumen and work ethic are part of the equation. So, too, are the people around the quarterback, on the roster and the coaching staff. But an often overlooked aspect is who is with a young quarterback in his position room.
“He’s going to tutor that young man, and a lot of times what he gets from him might be more than what he gets from the coaches,” said John L. Smith, who coached Hoyer at Michigan State.
“And from a coach’s standpoint, you’re saying, ‘Damn are we lucky we have that guy to help.’”
Often a player will better process feedback from a peer than a coach, too. A quarterback doesn’t need to sit behind a veteran the way Patrick Mahomes did with Alex Smith in Kansas City. But having someone like Smith around helps. Veteran quarterbacks know what a player’s routine should look like during the work week. They understand how to watch film and digest a game plan. They understand what defenses will try to do and how to adjust during a game.
“If they have a cohesiveness in that film room, they’ll be special on the field,” Baldwin said.
A few years ago, the Bills discovered the value a veteran backup can have for a rookie. Josh Allen, drafted at No. 7 in 2018, entered his first season with only Nathan Peterman behind him on the depth chart. General manager Brandon Beane realized that was a mistake and added Derek Anderson and Matt Barkley. Neither player is heading to the Hall of Fame, but both quarterbacks had stuck around the league long enough to know how to stay on top of preparation during the week. In order to get the most out of every rep at practice, you need to be a day or two ahead of film study.
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“That way you have a really good idea so that when you go out to practice, you’re not flopping around trying to guess the defenses that they’re playing,” Anderson said. “That really helped me early on in my career because I didn’t do that. But I’d go out there and we get in the middle of red zone, I’ll be like, ‘Dammit, like I don’t know what their coverages are down here,’ before we even go into the red-zone period. Like I’m gonna sit back here and take three sacks, coach is gonna get pissed. That seems pretty basic, but just little things that help you get ahead, make you stay on top of you know what you’re doing.”
Jones has been lauded for his understanding of the game and preparation. But after the Patriots’ Week 1 loss to the Dolphins, he said he needed to be more vocal during practice and not let things slide. He’s learning how much what happens during the week will impact what happens on Sunday.
That learning process will be quicker because of Hoyer’s presence. He started his career at Michigan State as a backup to Drew Stanton and did everything he could not only to push Stanton but to help him prepare during the week. John L. Smith was the head coach at Michigan State at the time and could tell Hoyer was picking things up faster than any quarterback on the roster.
“Damn is he smart,” Smith said.
Baldwin remembers the way Stanton and Hoyer could anticipate what he was going to call in practice based on their recall of game-plan meetings and a recognition of what the defense was trying to do. Hoyer has always seen the game the way someone needs to in order to stick around the NFL as long as he has.
“He’s a football junkie,” Baldwin said. “He was just a kid that wanted to take advantage of every situation. To accept that role in the NFL, you do what you can with that opportunity. He’s a team guy. There’s a lot of individuals. Brian Hoyer has never been an individual. He’s a team guy. Whatever it takes for that team to succeed, he’ll do it.”
The Patriots’ Week 2 matchup against the Jets will provide the first on-field comparison between Jones and fellow rookie Zach Wilson. Jones was drafted later but has some built-in advantages over Wilson. He’s been dropped into an organization that has won at a rate no other franchise in the league can match. He has a sturdy offensive line, two veteran tight ends and a few crafty receivers at his disposal. Add Hoyer to that mix. While Wilson is backed up by fourth-year pro Mike White, who has never thrown a pass in a regular-season game, Jones has the guidance of a player who has been in NFL quarterback rooms for more than a decade.
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“That’s what Brian will offer to that kid,” Baldwin said. “You may not see it now, but you’ll see it as we go down the line. Brian can be there on the side as a second set of eyes.”
Smith was never sure what Hoyer’s NFL future would hold. He knew he was smart enough and accurate enough, he just thought he would have to be in the right place at the right time to carve out a career. Hoyer has exceeded his expectations.
“He’s a guy that’s amplified his plusses,” Smith said. “Hoyer is a guy who just wants to win. Even if he’s not contributing on the field, he might be contributing more off the field. He’s worth his weight in gold because he knows what he can add.”
Smith knows Hoyer would have a bright future in coaching if he wants it, too.
“I’d hire him,” Smith said.
(Photo of Hoyer, right, with Jones: Damian Strohmeyer via Associated Press)
