Nothing like the end of August/early September for some classic Belichick misdirection - whether it's cutting Lawyer Milloy in '03 right before Week 1 against the Bills, trading Richard Seymour to the Raiders before the '09 season, or trading/releasing/signing Jamie Collins what seemed like double digit times, nobody like Bill to keep you on the edge of your seat for final roster cuts. He surprised the Patriots fanbase once again today by cutting 2022 4th round pick and only quarterback who was a legitimate threat under center last year in Bailey Zappe.
Zappe came in and started week 4-6 in 2022 after Jones suffered what appeared to be a catastrophic knee/lower leg injury based on his reaction, while only amounting to a high ankle sprain that kept him out 3 weeks. My friend and colleague HellaTI will accuse me of being a Mac Jones apologist for not including the picture in this blog, but this blog is not about Mac, it's about the recently cut Mr. Zappe.
In his 3 starts, the Patriots went 2-1, with their only loss being a 3 point battle against the Aaron Rodgers led Packers in Lambeau - and this was the only real inspired football we saw all year from the former dynasty - including including a 29 point victory against the NFL's darling Detroit Lions and a 23 point victory over the former Patriot QB prospect Jacoby Brissett - Deshaun Watson was likely in the locker room getting some extra treatment. Keep in mind this was with a Matt Patricia led offense, so an additional 10 points needs to be added to any point differential on behalf of the Patriots to adjust for the lack of knowledge/negligence on that side of the ball - still love Matt P but he's a defensive guy.
Then came week 7 against the then reeling Chicago Bears - before folks knew that Justin Fields would actually be good - with the Patriots at a crossroads at 3-3 at Gillette: stay committed to Zappe who had the momentum, or give the reigns back to Jones who was returning to the fold - and in a very un-Belichick like move, they did a 'wishy washy - let's play both guys' kind of a deal. Mac played really poorly in the first quarter, Bailey came in and brought the team some great energy throwing a touchdown to former Patriot and later to be learned Raiders plant Jakobi Meyers, as well as leading another touchdown drive, which were their only points of the night. He didn't play particularly well after that, but on a week where he at best split the snaps at practice, showed his moxy and ability to drive the ball down field. Never mind actually inspire the Foxboro faithful for the first time all year with the ZAPPE chants raining down from the nosebleeds onto the turf.
Bill and co. decided to go with their first round pick the rest of the season, finished 8-9, and missed the playoffs for the second time in three years after making it to the playoffs 18 of the previous 19 seasons. Less than a year later, the Brock Purdy of the east coast is now gone, off to sign with the Falcons or some other franchise in need of a QB - and the Patriots are going all in on Jones in year three.
I am confused on what appears to be an anointing of the quarterback as opposed to a proper winning of the competition... it's just odd and un-Patriots like. Even in '02 when Brady was already a super bowl winner, Bledsoe was still in town and Tom had to compete every week for that damn spot. Maybe it's the first round pick effect? If Mac was absolutely blowing it out of the water this preseason, then I'd say 'ok, he's the starter, keep Zappe on as the backup guy/work in progress you know can play good ball and has a great arm' but Mac has barely even played this preseason - like he's TB12 in year 20 after winning his sixth ring. What are we talking about? Am I living in bizarro world? He played the first half against the Packers, threw a couple of good balls, and led a touchdown drive. Bailey didn't play great, but he was available and game ready playing in front of an Adrian Klem led offensive line with very little capability (miss you Scarnecchia) - give me that all damn day over the guy who thinks a 10-7 rookie season and 6-9 second year means he doesn't (really) have to play in the preseason.
Granted, I did not see every throw from practice this year and rumor round town is that Mac looked good - that's great, I'm rooting for him and I hope I am proved wrong that he is the guy and the Patriots go 13-4 this year and win the division. But I'd rather see a guy who pushes the ball like a Zappe and go 6-11 with some aggression and potential for the future than a QB like Jones who, to me, does not have that same ability to drive the ball down field like is needed against this stacked AFC east QB group to compete on the big stage. Perpetuity in 9-8 is the worst place to be as a fan in any sport, and that's what I believe the Patriots are looking at going into this season, as sad as that is for me to say. Can't wait until Brian Hoyer ends up back in town tomorrow and the Patriots social team starts posting Mac Jones copying the TB12 'let's go!' with Hoyer walking awkwardly at his side pregame and the viewer is not allowed to turn the sound on because it's sneaky pretty cringe/doesn't particularly inspire hope and belief in the leader of the team. Really looking forward to that. Best wishes to Zappe in his future endeavors, like that dude's game a lot.
P.S. Yes Zappe was the best QB prospect on the Patriots since Tom - Jimmy G a very close second, then Brissett rounding out the top 3.
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