Paul Perillo Made an Excellent Point on Mac vs. Zappe

[upstater1]

I complemented Zappe for being more compact and resetting his mechanics faster than Mac, especially on that last throw where he waited for Tyquan to get open.

I still haven't seen him be accurate downfield yet. That has yet to be determined.

BUT I do worry a little about his height. On the first possession, he had Hunter Henry wide open for a split second, but I'm concerned he didn't see him in the end zone initially since there were a lot of bodies down there, all near the goalline, and Henry was in the back of the end zone. This is the play with the illegal touching.

Despite media reports that these two QBs are identical, I don't see it that way.

Both of them have aspects to their play that are better than the other.

Bailey may even be more mobile in the pocket, but you can tell on his run he can't outrun defenders chasing him down from behind like Mac has several times.

 

[Ross12]

I saw on “Inside the NFL” that Jules thinks Zappe is the guy.

 

[venecol]

Mac definitely needs to play better than he did, but he was responsible for a much larger chunk of the offense than Zappe has, and the cast around him was still finding it's stride (along with the coaching staff).

I disagree with this at least in the CLE game. Zappe can only do what the coaches allow him to do. For obvious reasons, he was limited in the GB game coming off the bench (15 PA, 1 TD/0 INT). He was given more work in the DET game (21 PA, 1 TD/1 INT). At CLE however, he carried that offense (34 PA, 2 TD/0 INT). CLE had a good game plan to limit our run game and were mainly successful. They forced Zappe to perform and he did, spreading the ball to 7 different receivers with 4 having 60+ yards. In fact, the run game had a negative EPA. Bailey carried the load on the road.

 

[Thelonious]

That's why I've limited mine to being even with NFL.com's because since I'm a nobody, at least people can cross-reference the overall totals against the league's if there's any doubt. Again, the biggest change I made was being able to break them down by span of games, down, quarter, etc. I did that because I got tired of not being able to find those and just figured it would be easier to start tracking them. So that's sort of how it started. CBS Sports is the only site that has those (down, quarter), which is where I compare those against to make sure mine are right.

It's changed a bit and I added the ability to also break them down by QB in 2016 because I wanted to break down completions/attempts by each QB to each receiver while Brady was out. That also came in handy during preseason, since obviously various QBs appear in a game and at least that way, you could sort of see who they were targeting, etc. The directional totals are obviously also tracked by the league, but they don't separate out the zones, etc. by player. They just show overall totals. So I added that, along with the rushing/receiving chart by distance, etc. along with red zone receiving.

But all of that is just manipulated off the plays and how the league does it. I'm going to add player pages at some point along with some other week-by-week breakdowns. Just haven't gotten around to it. Not enough hours in the day

I enjoy your work. Steady as she goes.

 

[Sicilian]

I disagree with this at least in the CLE game. Zappe can only do what the coaches allow him to do. For obvious reasons, he was limited in the GB game coming off the bench (15 PA, 1 TD/0 INT). He was given more work in the DET game (21 PA, 1 TD/1 INT). At CLE however, he carried that offense (34 PA, 2 TD/0 INT). CLE had a good game plan to limit our run game and were mainly successful. They forced Zappe to perform and he did, spreading the ball to 7 different receivers with 4 having 60+ yards. In fact, the run game had a negative EPA. Bailey carried the load on the road.

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I'm not really talking about pass attempts, so much as checks at the line, audibling out of plays, input on the gameplan, etc. I would be very surprised if Zappe's role goes far beyond running the play that's called with maybe one alert for when the defense is lined up in a way that guarantees a stuff. No doubt that Zappe played a big role in moving the ball, but he did it by running what plays the OC called. Mac had permission to control more pre-snap IMO.

 

[PatsFan2]

I'm not really talking about pass attempts, so much as checks at the line, audibling out of plays, input on the gameplan, etc. I would be very surprised if Zappe's role goes far beyond running the play that's called with maybe one alert for when the defense is lined up in a way that guarantees a stuff. No doubt that Zappe played a big role in moving the ball, but he did it by running what plays the OC called. Mac had permission to control more pre-snap IMO.

Mac Definitely knew the plays and can make pre snap reads but that wasn't exactly getting us in the EZ consistently. I think when Mac is cleared and if he gets his job back Fat Matt or whoever will be calling the plays: the current formula is working.

 

[rogerthat]

I don’t see them as identical, either. IMO Mac really excels on the intermediate over the shoulder type throw…he has very nice touch. Whereas Zappe's game is the quick read short stuff.

 

[Sicilian]

Mac Definitely knew the plays and can make snap reads but that wasn't exactly getting us in the EZ consistently. I think when Mac is cleared and if he gets his job back Fat Matt or whoever will be calling the plays: the current formula is working.

I actually agree 100%. It's definitely a valid argument to question whether Mac SHOULD have more control at this point, even though I think longterm he's capable of it. But right now, if they keep the offense exactly the same, swap Mac in for Zappe, and let the complexity and responsibility grow organically, I think that's the direction they should take.

 

[PatsFan2]

I complemented Zappe for being more compact and resetting his mechanics faster than Mac, especially on that last throw where he waited for Tyquan to get open.

I still haven't seen him be accurate downfield yet. That has yet to be determined.

BUT I do worry a little about his height. On the first possession, he had Hunter Henry wide open for a split second, but I'm concerned he didn't see him in the end zone initially since there were a lot of bodies down there, all near the goalline, and Henry was in the back of the end zone. This is the play with the illegal touching.

Despite media reports that these two QBs are identical, I don't see it that way.

Both of them have aspects to their play that are better than the other.

Bailey may even be more mobile in the pocket, but you can tell on his run he can't outrun defenders chasing him down from behind like Mac has several times.

On the deep ball that will come with more familiarity T Thornton is going to take one the distance pretty soon. On running if you go through your progressions quick enough like Zappe that won't even matter. Mac will not make a living or stay healthy running in this league he needs to learn to go through his progressions and stop locking on to guys. H Henry came alive with Zappe he was a non factor with Mac early on.

 

[venecol]

I'm not really talking about pass attempts, so much as checks at the line, audibling out of plays, input on the gameplan, etc. I would be very surprised if Zappe's role goes far beyond running the play that's called with maybe one alert for when the defense is lined up in a way that guarantees a stuff. No doubt that Zappe played a big role in moving the ball, but he did it by running what plays the OC called. Mac had permission to control more pre-snap IMO.

Maybe. If so, I hope they change that because Zappe is more than capable to audible and be flexible at the line. That's all he did in college, where they typically call the plays from the sidelines. I get it, the kid is a rookie, but he's been improving with every game and he looks very comfortable out there. Facing a pass rush from Myles Garrett is no joke. He seemed unfazed.

 

[venecol]

I actually agree 100%. It's definitely a valid argument to question whether Mac SHOULD have more control at this point, even though I think longterm he's capable of it. But right now, if they keep the offense exactly the same, swap Mac in for Zappe, and let the complexity and responsibility grow organically, I think that's the direction they should take.

I actually read that Mac was told to run the plays called. This was discussed weeks ago.

 

[PatsFan2]

I saw on “Inside the NFL” that Jules thinks Zappe is the guy.

Wow! say it ain't so I think Jules is high on Zappe's pocket presence and ball distribution.

 

[venecol]

I don’t see them as identical, either. IMO Mac really excels on the intermediate over the shoulder type throw…he has very nice touch. Whereas Zappe's game is the quick read short stuff.

There's been several analysts that have stated Zappe was going through his progressions, and not throwing to his first read. He had four 20+ yard passes where ball placement was both accurate and well placed to allow YAC. He has 11.7 Y/C whereas Mac has 12.1 Y/C. That's not dramatically different (5% diff.).

I can't wait to see the coaches call plays that allow deeper passes. I'm confident he can make those throws.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I'm not really talking about pass attempts, so much as checks at the line, audibling out of plays, input on the gameplan, etc. I would be very surprised if Zappe's role goes far beyond running the play that's called with maybe one alert for when the defense is lined up in a way that guarantees a stuff. No doubt that Zappe played a big role in moving the ball, but he did it by running what plays the OC called. Mac had permission to control more pre-snap IMO.

I actually doubt this is the case, but if it is, it's an excellent arugment for slavishly following what Matt Patricia says at least until you get your doctorate in astrophysics. You see what happens when you're too cool for MP's perfect playcalling. Seriously, this could be the mecchanism by which Mac decides "here's the guy I throw to, here's who I don't." Apparently it's best that a 2nd year guy not get all that latitude just yet.

 

[captain stone]

If Belichick makes the determination that the playbook is limited with Zappe, and that gives the team a lesser chance of winning against better competition, then that will be the right decision.

They're not playing against better competition Monday night; so might as well keep doin' what you're doin', then re-ass-ess for the J-E-T-E game the following Sunday...

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I can't wait to see the coaches call plays that allow deeper passes. I'm confident he can make those throws.

Any reason you are confident? Or just confident for no real reason?

 

[rochrist]

Any reason you are confident? Or just confident for no real reason?

Well, you figure 62 TD passes last year, some of them must have been deeper passes.

 

[venecol]

Any reason you are confident? Or just confident for no real reason?

Watching his college tape. Kid is money. He's a TD machine. Let Zappe cook.

 

[Tunescribe]

Any reason you are confident? Or just confident for no real reason?

He's pushing an agenda.

 

[Tunescribe]

They're not playing against better competition Monday night; so might as well keep doin' what you're doin', then re-ass-ess for the J-E-T-E game the following Sunday...

The Bears defense is a bit better than what they've face the last two weeks but that should be offset by how terrible their offense is.