Mac's Future
- Thread starter TomRicardo
- Start date
Not if they want to maximize their chances of one of the top three picks.
I think most of the team has checked out on Mac and they won't win another game with him as QB.
I think most of the team has checked out on Mac and they won't win another game with him as QB.
I'd like to maximize my enjoyment of watching these games. They're gonna lose anyway, might as well play Malik or Grier
As has been said elsewhere, this team is what their record says they are.
They’re a bottom 3-5 team with a bottom 3-5 roster, especially at the QB position. I don’t think they’re going to win many games with Mac, Zappe, Grier, or Cunningham throwing the ball.
Hence I’m with @FL4WL3SS — I hope they see what they have in Grier and Cunningham. This season alone Josh Dobbs and Will Levis showed flashes of competence without much pedigree, and that’s at least something interesting to watch for.
As far as starting Mac Sunday, I think it’s interesting that DMac today predicted Grier would start. Could be nothing, could be something.
https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/patriots/devin-mccourty-thinks-pats-starting-qb-will-be-will-grier
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I honestly think the only thing that has really really held them back across a full season has been the QB play. The OL was horribly banged up and a mess early in the year, but has not been a disaster more recently. If you replaced Mac with a really good QB this team would be a playoff team and if you replaced him with even an average one they would probably be right around .500.
Every time I read this thread title I think of John Rambo in First Blood saying "I ain't got no future".
I don't know who I hope starts Sunday, my hunch is that it won't matter much regardless. In the end, while the players themselves will never tank, it's best if they lose.
We know Mac is more than capable of that, and I have a strong hunch Zappe, Grier, and Cunningham are as well.
We know Mac is more than capable of that, and I have a strong hunch Zappe, Grier, and Cunningham are as well.
I’m fine with Mac finishing it out. He’s awful and gives us no chance to win - but I really want a 1/2 pick.
The thing is, these games exist so we can watch them. I can’t watch Mac any more, as we know exactly what’s going to happen. We’ll lose with Zappe or Grier, but at least it would be interesting for a while.
But we all know they’ll roll Mac back out there, and it just sucks.
But we all know they’ll roll Mac back out there, and it just sucks.
The combo of Mac Jones and Dexter Lawrence might lead to highest number of backfoot throws ever recorded in an NFL game.
Whatever the question is - aside from what player is a possible Victoria Texas High School football coach - Bailey Zappe is not the answer. We have seen enough of him to know Mac is better.
We should also trust Belichick enough to know Jones is the best option. While at the same time blaming him for that being so.
Ugly football is ugly football. I guess for my money less ugly football is better than more ugly football. But largely it is a difference without a distinction. Aside from there being a novelty to Grier taking some snaps, my guess is by halftime the novelty is gone.
Eh, I disagree with this. I think Zappe's lack of tools plus the fact they cut him and have basically refused to start him makes me pretty confident in stating he is worse than Mac, but his actual play on the field as a whole hasn't been obviously below Mac's level, even including his performances in relief this season. I would even argue his performance against Cleveland was the best start by a Patriots QB since October, 2021. I think it's in the realm of possibility that he outperforms Mac if given starter snaps and preparation (which wouldn't make him the QB of the future or anything, but still).
Given how terrible the Patriots have been evaluating offensive talent in the past few years, why are we so confident than they are correct in assessing that Mac is their best current option at QB?
For as bad as Mac is on every level. I don't recall him throwing the ball into what the announcers called "a Colts team meeting". This should never happen in the NFL. If you are trying to throw a hail mary you best miss long.
Can't blame the o-line here. He had all day. Worst case is you chuck it out of bounds and live to see another play. But yeesh. When guys show us who they are it's best to believe them.
It is first and ten with 36 seconds left. You need a TD. A win is unlikely. But there's a chance and any NFL QB needs to do better.
View: https://youtu.be/ZWXmdLajGYk
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Considering that wasn't even the worst INT a Patriot threw in that quarter, I don't think this is definitive proof he's worse than Mac.
Didn't Zappe make that throw because he thought there was defensive off-sides and he had a free play?
It's what I thought anyway, but as he made the throw, i also thought, 'wait, it's legal to actually throw a ball hard? You don't have to lob it?'
Zappe is terrible, but it's a different kind of terrible. I'm up for that.
It's what I thought anyway, but as he made the throw, i also thought, 'wait, it's legal to actually throw a ball hard? You don't have to lob it?'
Zappe is terrible, but it's a different kind of terrible. I'm up for that.
If you think you have a free play, you can’t come up short on the throw. Air it out and see if your guy, who is covered by like 3-4 guys, can outrun the defense. Sick and tired of seeing these floaters.
He should have just spiked the ball. It’s the same as the punt with no returner. We are always trying to be too cute. We had one smarter-than-the-other-guy moment all year — the field goal block. Otherwise we just look silly time after time. Do the tricky shit when you have the basics down.
Also, don't throw any ball to a guy in quadruple coverage unless said guy is the love child of Randy Moss, Gronk, and Justin Jefferson. There were 4 Colts DBs on one Pats receiver. 4 of them.
We can debate which is worse. But debating between Mac and Zappe is like debating whether you would rather die from brain cancer or dementia.
You only think Jamie Moyer’s throwing hard because he was relieving Tim Wakefield.
And you know what, pick 1/1 can also turn into another Kenneth Sims.
Losing sucks, let win some goddamned games.
View: https://twitter.com/SavageSports_/status/1727309644325126501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"“If I get an opportunity, I’m just going to go play and win.”"
Losing sucks, let win some goddamned games.
View: https://twitter.com/SavageSports_/status/1727309644325126501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"“If I get an opportunity, I’m just going to go play and win.”"
I get what Bill is doing. But I also find it so silly. Just name the starter. There’s no advantage occurring here — the Giants defensive scheme isn’t going to change depending on which of the three stooges comes out for the first snap.
And if he hasn’t decided yet… then ooooofahhhh that’s bad.
And if he hasn’t decided yet… then ooooofahhhh that’s bad.
It’s actually kind of nice — I want them to win but there is a silver lining if they don’t. It’s kind of a win-win.
That could be argued if inside the organization people knew who the starter was, which doesn't seem to be the case. In 2001 he talked about how it was unfair to the team and the quarterbacks to try and get two guys ready to play, so he made a decision to go with Brady and put a stop to those questions right away. I know it's not exactly Brady and Bledsoe now, but why keep the charade up? Just pick a guy. The team is 2-8. And if you're not turning it over to the backup, don't take Mac Jones out of the Colts game. Dude seems lost.
I don't think it's reasonable to assume based on what we know that people inside the organization don't know who the starter is. Given that there are clear advantages to preparing with a specific guy as starter, and his previously expressed opinions on the matter, it's entirely possible that they're not telling rather than that they don't know.
If he's not doing that, and he really hasn't told his QB room who is starting, I'd still assume he's doing that for a reason rather than because he's floundering haplessly. He's been doing this job for a while and he's not showing obvious signs of having lost his marbles.
You are right in so far as nothing actually matters here. Starting Zappe or Mac or Tom Brady isn't going to make the playoffs, win the division, or even get the team a .500 record.
What is possible here, is that Belichick sees Jones is capable of something. Jones strikes me as a guy who struggles with the mental side of things. Yes, I know his throwing mechanics suck. But there's also a decision making and perhaps more importantly leadership void in the Mac Jones portfolio.
Belichick may just be trying to see how either of these guys responds to some uncertainty. Sort of a "who wants it more" kind of thing.
What happens in the Colts game and who starts against the Giants are 2 separate decisions. Not completely uncorrelated, as Mac's horrific outing in Germany needs to be taken into account. But if Zappe or Grier are not showing in practice that they are deserving of a start, then starting Mac may very well be the best decision. It may be that Mac is getting the start but will have a very short leash, and so they want to have Zappe up to speed on the game plan.
As to why they would pull Mac after the terrible pick vs. the Colts, yet still maybe start him this week....I don't think it's that complicated. BB was pissed at that throw, and recognized that sometimes a guy just doesn't "have it" that day. That was late in the game but still, Mac perhaps (in Bill's mind) didn't deserve the shot at that last drive after that bad throw. But that doesn't necessarily mean BB doesn't think that Mac isn't their best QB moving forward.
It's happened plenty of times in NFL history where a starting quarterback got pulled for poor play but was right out there the next week starting again.
It's happened plenty of times in NFL history where a starting quarterback got pulled for poor play but was right out there the next week starting again.
Right, just as discussed, it’s kind of rare that it happens late in a one score game.
I think he has to be doing it to learn something about the players. It’s not for competitive advantage.
That's somewhat what I was getting at with the trolling comment. As soon as he named anyone as the starter for this week, he knew the media would make that circus out of it. Why bother with that mess?
What is the benefit to the team of publicly naming the starter in this context? I get why the media and fans want it. What incentive does the team have to release it?
@PhilAPerry
What I'm hearing:
* Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe split reps evenly this week.
* Multiple offensive starters can't tell who's starting.
* With quarterbacks sharing reps, players turned to side sessions in practice to hone timing/rhythm.
* One starter guessed Jones would start.
What I'm hearing:
* Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe split reps evenly this week.
* Multiple offensive starters can't tell who's starting.
* With quarterbacks sharing reps, players turned to side sessions in practice to hone timing/rhythm.
* One starter guessed Jones would start.
Is there really going to be a media circus? The Patriots have become largely irrelevant and I can’t imagine there’s too much intrigue the last half of this season, apart from wondering if Bill is back or not. Mac being benched or not seems pretty unimportant to the short, mid, or long term success of the NEP.
1. I agree with those who say BB is doing this with purpose. We may not understand it, but my strong hunch is that in his mind this is, in the end, in the best interest of the Club. For me, trying to understand it more than that is fruitless, but it’s interesting to think about.
2. I also think that whatever BB’s purpose, it very well could be a case of BB again looking for a way to be smarter than everyone else and zigging where others zag. Like not putting a returner back, or what have you. It could be hubris instead of genius, but it is deliberate and thought out.
So, it could be dumb, but given that the thing that makes Belichick do these things is also the thing that makes him not call time out against the Seahawks, I am ok with it, even when he gets it wrong.
2. I also think that whatever BB’s purpose, it very well could be a case of BB again looking for a way to be smarter than everyone else and zigging where others zag. Like not putting a returner back, or what have you. It could be hubris instead of genius, but it is deliberate and thought out.
So, it could be dumb, but given that the thing that makes Belichick do these things is also the thing that makes him not call time out against the Seahawks, I am ok with it, even when he gets it wrong.
It sounds like Jones and Zappe are both going to play and it really doesn't matter who gets the first series to start.
They're irrelevant nationally, but the NE media is a beast of its own. If Zappe or Grier were named the starter, media outlets would be falling over each other write Mac's professional obituary. Besides, the Jets are irrelevant nationally and look at the attention Zach Wilson's stumbles have received.
Get ready for the media circus with the waiving of Grier.
they are making a mockery of his career!
they are making a mockery of his career!
