FOXBOROUGH – Mac Jones knows that the Patriots offense has to improve following their disappointing showing in training camp and the preseason.

Jones played in seven drives over the final two preseason games with New England scoring in just two (a touchdown and a field goal) as the quarterback only found success when working out of the shotgun. Despite the lackluster performance, Jones said that the Patriots' offensive progression has ‘been good” over the last couple of weeks.”

“A lot of learning experiences and [there’s] always room for growth,” Jones said Wednesday. “I think it's been good. I think we've ironed out a lot of things and it's good that they're happening now. I feel confident in what we're doing. We just have to go out there and do it for 60 minutes, and that's just play-by-play. Obviously, during practice, same thing, play-by-play, go out there and execute it, and once you turn on the game film and you look back and there's 45, 50 good plays then hopefully you come out on top.

“But that's more about executing it and doing your job individually. If we all do that, 11 guys do it close to right every play, then you'll have a good play.”

In assessing individual plays through Jones and the Patriots' offensive starters in their two preseason games of work, you would find very few good ones. Jones, in particular, completed 13 of 21 passes for 132 yards, not throwing a touchdown but threw an interception.

Outside of Jones, the Patriots' starters failed to generate yards on the ground while experimenting with their new blocking scheme. The three stretch runs they ran against the Raiders either ended in stuffs or a penalty.

Like his coaches though, Mac Jones doesn't view the success of a plan by a singular result. He explained how the coaching staff his told him and the rest of the offense how to improve on plays that didn't work either in practice or in one of the preseason games.

“You can have a bad result with one [play] and you’re like, ‘aw I don’t really like that one,’” Jones said. “But a lot of times it’s more about the process of the play and what you’re trying to do, so I don’t think canning a play because it doesn’t work one time in a game or practice is [a good] idea.

“I think, like I always say, I just like to know why and when the coaches explain that to me, they’ve done a great job explaining, ‘hey, this is why we’re doing this,’ and from there it’s my job to execute it and do a great job. That’s one of the things that I feel like we have ironed out. I’m very particular about what I’m supposed to do on each play and all of us are and we want to know as a receiver, where do I line up and what do I do. As a quarterback, what are my reads on this specific play. Everybody has their own job, but it’s all about what you do on that play to make it a better play.”

Part of the reason why Mac Jones didn't many successful plays in the preseason was due to the amount of duress he was constantly under. Jones was sacked three times and was under pressure several more times in the seven drives he played.

A notable instance that Joens was under pressure against the Raiders came on a cornerback blitz, in which the defensive back wasn't picked up by any of the Patriots' linemen or the running back blocking in the backfield. The unblocked corner was able to hit Jones right after he released the ball.

When asked if he trusts his ability to make adjustments at the line-of-scrimmage and throughout the game, Jones didn't necessarily didn't give a direct yes or no response. But said he enjoys the process of trying to figure things out throughout a game.

“I think it's all about your tools and problem-solving. I tend to enjoy the problem-solving part,” Jones said. “That's the fun part of the game, like I said. We have good coaches that are going to put us in a position to do that. We have good experience with some of the looks we've seen last year and preseason.

“So it's all about what are my tools and how can I fix it? That's the big thing for me, just being able to apply that how I know how to do it and just play the play for what it is.”

Now that the preseason is over, Jones is excited that the regular season is upon the Patriots. As Jones prepares to play in full games again, he said that the Patriots' coaches reminded him that games are long, so don't get down on a few plays that might not be successful early on.

Before the Patriots worry about in-game adjustments, they have to game plan for the Dolphins – which Jones is very excited to do.

“I think it's always fun. That's one of the best parts of football is getting into the x's and o's and just coming together, and completing plays together, and getting everybody on the same page,” Mac Jones said of game planning. “So, when you see a play that you put in and it works, it's a really good feeling during the game because it helps the team win. So, trying to get there.

“Obviously, this week's really just focused on the fundamentals and what we can do better. Then we'll kind of get into the game plan and all that. But it's football, 11-on-11, and we just have to go out there and execute like we need to do.”

The Patriots will look to see if they can execute their game plan well enough against the Dolphins on Sept. 11.