Getty New England Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick would like to make a change at quarterback, according to one analyst.
Bailey Zappe outplaying Mac Jones this offseason would do Bill Belichick a huge favor, according to Pro Football Talk host Mike Florio. That’s because Florio believes New England Patriots’ head coach Belichick “would like to be able to tell Mac to go sit his a** on the bench.”
Florio offered the opinion during an episode of PFT, during a discussion with Chris Simms about possible quarterback competitions brewing around the NFL.
Florio’s blunt assessment hints at doubts Belichick may have about his QB1. Yet, Simms didn’t sound as convinced there’s any controversy, beginning the brief discussion by saying, “I don’t think it’s a real competition.”
Zappe did perform well in relief of an injured Jones in 2022, while the latter has yet to convince many he belongs as a starter.
Mac Jones May Be on Borrowed Time
Belichick hardly gave his presumptive starter a full-throated vote of confidence when the 71-year-old said the Patriots will “see how it goes” while Jones and Zappe compete at training camp.
As Ben Volin of The Boston Globe pointed out when he followed up with Belichick, the coach “didn’t explicitly say ‘yes'” when asked about Jones’ status as the starter.
Tried to pin Belichick down today on whether Mac Jones is the starting QB. He didn’t explicitly say “yes”
Those in favor of Jones might have expected a stronger endorsement. Especially since the Patriots have spent this offseason equipping him with new targets, including tight end Mike Gesicki and Super Bowl-winning wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Letting Jones know Zappe is still under consideration is a tacit message to the team’s first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft to up his game. Jones needs to improve after a disappointing second season during which he threw just 14 touchdowns and mustered a mere 6.8 yards per completion.
Many of Jones’ struggles could be attributed to Belichick’s questionable decision to appoint former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and ex-Special Teams coach Joe Judge as co-play callers for the offense.
Lacking a coherent and expansive system did Jones few favors. The 24-year-old unleashed a profanity-laden tirade at his coaches during a defeat at the hands of AFC East rivals the Buffalo Bills last season.
Having Bill O’Brien back to design a more daring, imaginative playbook will help, but Jones has also talked about reacting better to adversity this season, per Volin. The latter noted how the signal-caller’s reaction “was obviously something that didn’t go over well with the coaches last year.”
Mac Jones talks about how he’s working hard this offseason to react better when things don’t go well. Was obviously something that didn’t go over well with the coaches last year
Temperament will play a key role in Jones convincing his doubters he belongs as the leader of New England’s offense. If he can’t quiet the negativity, Zappe may be seen as a more amenable alternative.
Bailey Zappe Has Edge Over Mac Jones in 1 Area
Stoking a genuine quarterback controversy would require Zappe outplaying Jones during camp. It hasn’t happened so far, but Zappe has continued to demonstrate an edge over Jones in one key area.
That area is the deep ball, with Chad Graff of The Athletic reporting “Jones has had a better completion percentage than Zappe through camp, but Zappe has targeted deeper routes more frequently.”
Zappe also expanded how the Patriots attacked defenses through the air when the fourth-round pick in 2022’s draft got onto the field as a rookie. Specifically, Zappe posted excellent numbers throwing “beyond the sticks” during a game against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6, according to Pro Football Focus.
Bailey Zappe targeting past the sticks in Week 6:
🔹 8/10
🔹 196 passing yards
🔹 2 TDs
🔹 158.3 perfect passer rating
Engineering a win over the Browns wasn’t the extent of Zappe’s positive contributions last season. He went 2-0 as a starter after also helping to beat the Detroit Lions.
Zappe even represented an improvement over Jones in a losing effort. Like when he entered the fray and outplayed Jones, but still couldn’t prevent the Pats from slipping to a 33-14 defeat to the Chicago Bears in Week 7.
Bailey Zappe has changed the Patriots offense tonight 👀
There are reasons to believe Zappe has greater upside than Jones for a Patriots offense needing to stretch the field more often in 2023. Yet, the slew of changes on this side of the ball still represent Jones’ best chance to finally live up to his first-round status.