Paul Perillo Made an Excellent Point on Mac vs. Zappe

[One-If-By-Sea]

Then why wasn't Mac asked to do what he did last year, this year?

Why do you ask questions you already know the answer to?

 

[Rob0729]

Play action is such a simple tweak I never get when it’s not used more

Especially since Jones was most successful in college out of play action and running the RPO. You would at least expect them to do more play action even if they don't do RPO.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Especially since Jones was most successful in college out of play action and running the RPO. You would at least expect them to do more play action even if they don't do RPO.

NFL teams are scared of flags that aren't getting called. Difference rules in college but teams are scared.

 

[Thelonious]

Well, for a while the Mac apologists claimed Zappe was only better because they had limited the playbook, ignoring that the playbook had been even more limited for Mac last year. Now this. Now, with a much widened array of pass plays, a condition under which Mac tossed giveaway balls all over place, Zappe's success somehow indicates Mac's superiority? You guys are really desperate. Just play the guy who's playing better, the guy who "gives you the best chance to win.". I believe we have heard that phrase before.

 

[lancerman]

For the TL;DW crowd he basically says that at the beginning of the year the Pats were trying to become more explosive because Bill knows we need that to compete with the class of the AFC and with that comes more mistakes. He doesn't absolve Mac for the mistakes that he made during that time, but he does point out they haven't tried anything like that with Zappe, and that's a lot of the reason why Zappe looks better.

It's degree of difficulty, and this is what I have been thinking since Zappe started playing. OF COURSE Zappe hasn't made the same mistakes as Mac because he hasn't been asked to do the things Mac was early in the season. Zappe has basically been asked to do what Mac did last year.

I think this is obvious to anyone with a pulse. Mac had a leash last year. Everyone hear acknowledged it. They needed to take the leash off eventually. He was going to start making better plays but also more mistakes. People were jarred that year 2 wasn’t an improvement in every aspect. It was never going to be. When you teach a kid how to ride a bike, once you take the training wheels off, they are better skill wise than when they started, but they will still look less sturdy and have issues until they figure it out.

This is Mac without training wheels. He needs to get the time to figure it out. Every young QB will have growing pains. Peyton Manning went into the league with no training wheels, he looked great, but he also led the league in interceptions.

Eventually you do need to give your QB the chance to fail a bit and learn what it’s like without a safety net so they can adapt or grow. Or we can just keep him as a system QB and have a low ceiling and wonder why never seem to win key games in critical situations

 

[venecol]

Tom E Curran has been preaching this since "zappe fever" started. Zappe has been great. But it's recency bias. Mac Jones looked just as good last year.

Since the Indy game last year, Mac has gone 2-6 with 10 TD/ 12 Int. That's not good in anyones book.

 

[venecol]

Well you likely will be disappointed next Monday night then...

Mac nearly played yesterday. That isn't the sign of a coaching staff prepared to bench him.

Decision to start Zappe was made on Saturday, so no he didn't almost play on Sunday.

 

[PatsFan2]

Decision to start Zappe was made on Saturday, so no he didn't almost play on Sunday.

Did somebody think otherwise? wow! you can't make these things up.

 

[PatsFan2]

Since the Indy game last year, Mac has gone 2-6 with 10 TD/ 12 Int. That's not good in anyones book.

venecol blasphemy those are heir apparent numbers don't you know.

 

[PatsFan2]

Especially since Jones was most successful in college out of play action and running the RPO. You would at least expect them to do more play action even if they don't do RPO.

Who do you think is the best QB from last years class?? FTR I am not impressed with any from it they all have glaring deficiencies.

 

[Rob0729]

Who do you think is the best QB from last years class?? FTR I am not impressed with any from it they all have glaring deficiencies.

Right now, the class is a bust. Fields is already busting out. Mac Jones and Trevor Lawrence have a chance to be good, but neither have shown it consistently and Lawrence is not the generational talent as advertised. Zach Wilson is a boom or bust QB who has mostly busted. Trey Lance is likely a bust too since he won't even have a shot until his third year and he has been awful in limited playing time.

I don't know if either Jones or Lawrence have glaring deficiencies, but neither have shown they are a franchise QB yet. And they do have deficiencies. But when I think of a glaring deficiency, I think it is a major exploitable weakness and I don't think either guy has that.

 

[venecol]

I actually thought the same thing UNTIL yesterday. Outside of one run our ground game was doing nothing. Zappe wasnt a game manager yesterday, he was actually carrying the load offensively and threw for over 300 yards with ZERO bad throws. That doesn’t mean mac shouldn’t get another chance when healthy, he absolutely should. But zappe has been better hands down.

The only real argument you can make here is the playcalling has been mostly better and more imaginative lately. We are doing alot more playaction (which many of us were pining for early on) and those have been incredibly effective for zappe.

Exactly, Zappe successfully carried the load on Sunday. Run game had negative EPA.

 

[venecol]

Zappe played D1, not Power 5 however. Western Kentucky is in Conference USA outside the Power 5. Zappe actually played against teams like Michigan St and Indiana

And threw for 400+/- yards w/ multiple TDs and no INTs against those teams.

 

[VrabelJr]

Play action is such a simple tweak I never get when it’s not used more

Play action is one of those things mostly clueless fans love to yell out at bars as a panacea to all offensive problems. The prerequisite is that you actually establish a running threat first. The second is that you have receivers that can function in the space behind the LBs that play action is supposed to create. The QB also needs to be able to quickly identify whether the play action worked or else an LB is going to get a very easy interception.

Like any tactic, if you use it too much it stops working.

 

[aluminum seats]

Play action is one of those things mostly clueless fans love to yell out at bars as a panacea to all offensive problems. The prerequisite is that you actually establish a running threat first. The second is that you have receivers that can function in the space behind the LBs that play action is supposed to create. The QB also needs to be able to quickly identify whether the play action worked or else an LB is going to get a very easy interception.

Like any tactic, if you use it too much it stops working.

I think you may be calling me clueless here. Kinda hurts my feelings

 

[VrabelJr]

I think you may be calling me clueless here. Kinda hurts my feelings

No, no, no I would never. But... do you yell such things while at a bar?

 

[venecol]

That was about a 20-25 yard pass. Not quite a deep ball.

That was a 29 yard pass. He was 4 for 5 which is excellent on deep passes (not your definition but everyone elses). You continue to minimize his play which is very weird.

 

[venecol]

I agree that Mac played very well in that Jacksonville game. But I do not think he was as good as Zappe was yesterday.

You mean the Urban Meyers coached Jags?

 

[Rob0729]

That was a 29 yard pass. He was 4 for 5 which is excellent on deep passes (not your definition but everyone elses). You continue to minimize his play which is very weird.

View attachment 46383

I was wrong about the Parker attempt. It was marginally deep. Twenty yards is an intermediary pass in my opinion. Thirty plus is a deep pass.

And I am not the only one who has said this including Evan Lazar and PFF (although I don't hold much stock in their analysis). I would like to say "I don't know why you are singling me out", but I think we all know why.

 

[venecol]

I was wrong about the Parker attempt. It was marginally deep. Twenty yards is an intermediary pass. Thirty plus is a deep pass.

And I am not the only one who has said this including Evan Lazar and PFF. I would like to say "I don't know why you are singling me out", but I think we all know why.

I posted from @Ian stats data base. I'll let him explain to you why 15+ is considered deep.

I'm not singling you out. You've just consistently been making excuses for Zappe's good play while at the same time making excuses for Mac's poor play. But I think we all know why.