Getty Mac Jones cries out after interception, New England Patriots
While it is far too early to realistically suggest the New England Patriots have a quarterback controversy, it isn’t too soon to recognize some of the intangible qualities Bailey Zappe possesses that Mac Jones sometimes lacks.
Boston Globe’s Christopher L. Gasper praised Zappe while calling Jones out.
“Zappe doesn’t pout or assign interceptions to changes in offensive philosophy,” Gasper wrote. “There’s a lesson there for Jones and some motivational material for [Bill] Belichick.”
Jones has long been known as a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeve, perhaps even to his detriment. Multiple times through the first year and three games of Jones’ NFL career, the young quarterback has been caught on camera looking less than confident and poised after his or one of his teammate’s errors.
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 26: Quarterback Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots sits on the bench after the loss to the New Orleans Saints after the game at Gillette Stadium on September 26, 2021 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Jones has acknowledged the issue, and it hasn’t seemed like a major deal throughout his brief tenure with the Patriots. However, when you watch Zappe conduct himself in such stark contrast, it was a bit refreshing to see a young quarterback appear unflappable.
Quite honestly, it sounds as if Belichick and his staff have noticed and appreciated the difference too.
“He does a good job of seeing the game and can come off and identify and articulate what he saw, what happened — and that’s usually right,” Belichick said after Zappe helped lead the Patriots to a 29-0 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 5. “What he saw is usually what I saw or, maybe, when you look at the film, maybe there’s something that’s a little gray in there, his explanation is actually good. It was the way he saw it. Maybe he might not have done the right thing, but he saw the game.”
The specificity of Belichick’s compliment makes you wonder if he’s not getting the same sensations when he speaks to Jones–especially while the team transitions from having Josh McDaniels as the offensive coordinator to a team of assistants led by Matt Patricia.
This is a little more interesting story than some would like to admit, but if Zappe starts on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, performs well, and the Patriots win, there will be less room to avoid the elephant in the room.
Zappe might give the Patriots a better chance to win over the long haul.
Bailey Zappe’s Grandfather Believes in Him
Family support is important, and Zappe seemingly has that in spades. Zappe’s grandfather Doug Zappe recently wrote into a Patriots.com mailbag expressing his opinion on New England’s QB decision.
As you might expect, he was pro-Zappe.
It is pretty safe to assume Belichick won’t be considering Mr. Zappe’s opinion when he makes any decisions on his quarterback situation. However, that’s a pretty cool deal when a quarterback’s grandfather is in tune with things enough to show support for his grandson by offering his take via a mailbag on the team’s official website.
Bill Belichick Doesn’t Want to Show His Hand With Mac Jones’ Recovery
Is Jones ready to return to the field? Belichick isn’t giving anyone much information on the subject. On Friday, when speaking to the media, Belichick acknowledged Jones could do more this week than he had in the last, but he didn’t say anything definitive.
Obviously, this was by design, as it has been Belichick’s MO for decades. He did decide not to call Jones “day-to-day,” as he mentioned he elected to give that phrase a “break” after “maximizing” it over the past few weeks.