Patriots’ Bailey Zappe Addresses Potential QB Controversy: ‘Always Ready’

It’s not quite the controversy some might have thought it would be in the early stages of Patriots training camp two months ago, when it seemed possible that the productive play of Bailey Zappe in his brief stint as a starter last year made him at least a threat for the starting job this year. But there was Zappe, after a loss in the NFL’s Week 5, fielding questions from reporters at his locker, coming off the second straight game in which he’d gotten playing time.

The problem, though, is that in Zappe’s brief time on the field during Sunday’s 34-0 home loss to the Saints, he was every bit as bad as starter Mac Jones. Zappe completed three passes in nine attempts, gaining just 22 yards. That followed his brief Week 4 appearance in a 38-3 loss to Dallas, in which Zappe was 4-for-9 passing, for 57 yards.

If there is a quarterback controversy in New England, it would center around which guy is playing worse, Jones or Zappe. The Patriots, it could be argued, are in the midst of the league’s worst quarterback controversy, a battle of ineptitude.

Still, Zappe was asked whether he was told by the coaches to be ready to start in Week 6.

“I mean, being in my position, number two, I know you always have to be ready, no matter what. It could be the first play of the game, it could be the last play of the game. So, I’m always ready, I’m the two, so that’s my mindset.”

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Bailey Zappe Has Struggled Mightily in Brief Stints

Generally, for a true quarterback controversy to take hold, there has to be an understudy making a clear case to overtake the leading man. For the Patriots, Zappe missed some wide-open throws on Sunday against New Orleans, tamping down the volume on calls to replace Jones. Coach Bill Belichick said on Sunday that Jones will continue to be his starter.

And why not? There’s nothing that says it should be Jones. If anyone should replace Jones, perhaps it should be Malik Cunningham. Or Caleb Williams .. you know, a year from now.

For now, there is Zappe, who helped bury any hope for a quarterback competition with an underwhelming training camp that only firmed up the coaches’ inclination to go with Jones.

“Just trying to do my job,” Zappe said, per the Patriots’ transcripts. “Complete footballs, seeing coverages, making my reads. I missed a few throws, so going into this week – I missed Hunter [Henry] and KB [Kendrick Bourne], so that’s something I’ll do extra this week, trying to get with those guys and try to get on the same page with them. It all comes down to trying to execute.”

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At Least Zappe Has 0 Turnovers

Give Zappe some credit, too, in his comparison to Jones. In the two games in which he appeared, Zappe did not commit a turnover. Jones, meanwhile, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble on Sunday, running his turnover mark to six over the past two weeks.

“We’ll get back and look at the film from this week, but ball security is something that we preach here 24/7,” Zappe said, in a not-so-veiled reference to Jones’ shortcomings. “That’s the number one thing, so I think that is the biggest thing that once we look back at the last five weeks, look back at this game, and getting back here tomorrow the coaches will talk about ball security.”

 

 

 

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