Zappe waived (Edit: so was Malik!)

[Lagaffe_07]

Trevor Siemian is a QB who has won in the league with bad teams. He fairly young and supposedly is a good guy. He'd be an upgrade on Zappe and a veteran who can have Mac's ear like he had with Hoyer.

Anyway I'm just going to enjoy the "OMG we have no back up QB" crowd today.

Hoyer was valuable because he was in the system for a good decade. He had experience in it. He was in the league for 12 years when Mac was drafted.

Siemian has been in the league for 6 years. He is not that experienced and has no experience in the system. He also only threw 200 more yards than Mac in 6 years in his career. I don’t know a thing that Siemian could teach Mac that he doesn’t already know.

I agree however that he is probably a little better than Zappe.

 

[amfootball]

You know you've written the same basic post, EVERYTIME you commented on this thread and I've only read 2 pages, I can't imagine how many times you've said the same thing over and over. You've made your point. We are clear about where you stand. Move on.

You move on.

 

[Rob0729]

It is amazing to me that people are acually applauding this move because they want to be right about Mac being better than Zappe. There is zero reason Zappe should have been cut yesterday. Zero.

Zappe showed last season that he could win us games when called upon as a rookie. We had 3 years left on his next to nothing contract and Bill just took that and literally tossed it to the league and said have at him.

Now we wait to see if we sign some retread like McCoy or Wentz who have zero experience in our system when we could have actually signed one of those guys weeks ago when it was apparent to Bill that Zappe was going to be cut. He continues to make decisions that go against any barometer of reasonable. As someone else posted, he could have got Mac some help with a 4th round pick; instead gets a backup QB (even after Mac had a good first season) then dumps him the next year. And on top, we couldn't tell if the offense was any better in the preseason because the OL was a disaster so much so that just a few days ago we went bargain basement shopping using draft capital to try stop the bleeding.

Literally we had 4 Qbs yesterday, and now we have one. This is so mind boggling that X exploded yesterday with rumors/dreams that we are going to sign Brady! That is how bad this is.

This again is another huge mismanagement of assets by Bill at the most important position.

This is the ridiculous state Bill has left us all in. I really don't know anymore what it is going to take for people to see that the game has passed Bill by and while he was once a savant at making moves that were one step ahead of everyone else, he has now become the court jester still trying to muster the old act while his peers are laughing at him.

Zappe seemed to have shown throughout the preseason that he has had difficulty grasping the new Patriots offense. It could be that he just isn't a scheme fit. He might have been able to handle the Patricia dumbed down offense last year, but possibly not being able to grasp an offense where there are a lot of presnap reads and route adjustments and it makes it too hard for him to process the information. It could be that he was able to perform in an offense where there wasn't a lot of thinking and he just makes the quick read and throw.

The Pats drafted several players on offense last year to fit the Patricia system. Pierre Strong was drafted because he was a runner who is best suited to run behind a zone blocking style. And I think Zappe fits in this category. He came from a simplied spread offense where he didn't have to think too much before the snap and just make the quick read.

If Zappe isn't picking up the offense and looks like a bad scheme fit, why keep the guy. He is never going to develop in this system. They can get an AJ McCarron who could be a solid starter for a couple of games if needed as a back up.

All this said, I think Zappe will pass through waivers and will end up on the practice squad. I don't think the rest of the league were all that high on the guy. Word was the Bears had no respect for the guy.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

Hoyer wasn't subject to waivers at cutdown before, so they could make a handshake deal to keep him around or on the PS. This is a bit riskier because any team can claim Bailey.

Isn’t there a year where did that and Hoyer ended up signing with the Colts?

I think it was a calculated risk. And they feel that if zappe is claimed they can find a player on the open market that is similar.

 

[patfanken]

You move on.

I will.

 

[Kontradiction]

why make that gamble with your back up quarterback? A quarterback who you have on your roster for the next three years for peanuts? A quarterback who as a rookie won you games!?

Because he stinks.

 

[Bill Lee]

He's a ****y self-defined Alpha.

If so, his ego just took a beating by getting cut by the team that drafted him.

Even if he clears waivers and comes back to the PS, he'll always know the team didn't mind taking the risk of losing him for nothing in return.

Even worse, if he clears waivers, he'll have undeniable proof no one did want him enough to make a roster spot for him.

Even a ****y Alpha will have to find a way to internalize and rationalize all of this.

And it's about time BB makes a clear statement on the starting QB.

Bill Parcells used to say, when you have two quarterbacks you don't have one.

 

[mike_usagisan]

If so, his ego just took a beating by getting cut by the team that drafted him.

Even if he clears waivers and comes back to the PS, he'll always know the team didn't mind taking the risk of losing him for nothing in return.

Even worse, if he clears waivers, he'll have undeniable proof no one did want him enough to make a roster spot for him.

Even a ****y Alpha will have to find a way to internalize and rationalize all of this.

I hope he has a huge chip on his shoulder and uses it to get better.

 

[TheBeers]

I'm not panicking yet, but it seems to me that if this was the situation they were seeing in camp with Bailey, they probably should have started to deal with it at least at the same time as they started scooping up tackles.

Clearly they are okay with losing him or they wouldn't have waived him. They probably prefer him over other recently cut/waived QB's purely on system familiarity, but maybe that preference is marginal at best.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Clearly they are okay with losing him or they wouldn't have waived him. They probably prefer him over other recently cut/waived QB's purely on system familiarity, but maybe that preference is marginal at best.

Then why not keep him through cutdowns and waive him if they find someone better? Or find someone better from the likely to be cut people and throw a low draft pick for him?

I'm not going overboard and I don't care that much, but I think backup QB is kind of important and wish it seemed like they had a real plan in place.

 

[1960Pats]

I'd rather not ... but that's just me

It's not just you. I shudder when I think of the Pats with a running QB.

 

[Rob0729]

Then why not keep him through cutdowns and waive him if they find someone better? Or find someone better from the likely to be cut people and throw a 6th for him?

I'm not going overboard and I don't care that much, but I think backup QB is kind of important and wish it seemed like they had a real plan in place.

Obviously, they think Zappe is replaceable with another QB on the market. They may prefere Zappe, but not like they cannot replace him. I would personally rather have AJ McCarron for the short term.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Obviously, they think Zappe is replaceable with another QB on the market. They may prefere Zappe, but not like they cannot replace him. I would personally rather have AJ McCarron for the short term.

Yeah, I know that's right, but I am just wondering when they started feeling that way about Bailey was. Was it only at the end of camp? Was it in the middle of camp? Was it after spring workouts?

It just seems like we're now at a place where if something goes wrong with Mac, we're either dumbing down the offense for Bailey, who they obviously don't feel great about, or some retread who hasn't succeeded anywhere else to even be some other team's QB2 or QB3. I just wish they had gone after someone else sooner.

 

[Pape]

Obviously, they think Zappe is replaceable with another QB on the market. They may prefere Zappe, but not like they cannot replace him. I would personally rather have AJ McCarron for the short term.

Or they think he won't be claimed, and will hit the practice squad freeing up a roster space on the 53 while they sort out position groups

 

[Brewskies]

Doug Flutie, please answer your phone!

How about calling Tom Brady

 

[1960Pats]

Gotta admit that got me good.

I guess I'm just different. When I read that I'm thinking that the post, and the one being responded to, belong in the Brady forum.

 

[Rob0729]

Or they think he won't be claimed, and will hit the practice squad freeing up a roster space on the 53 while they sort out position groups

They can't know for sure of this. And if Zappe isn't claimed, what does that say about him anyway. If Zappe is all that good, there will be several teams trying to put in waiver claims for him. My guess is that he won't be claimed in waivers which means the league does not look at him as a solid back up and developmental player.

 

[Rob0729]

Yeah, I know that's right, but I am just wondering when they started feeling that way about Bailey was. Was it only at the end of camp? Was it in the middle of camp? Was it after spring workouts?

It just seems like we're now at a place where if something goes wrong with Mac, we're either dumbing down the offense for Bailey, who they obviously don't feel great about, or some retread who hasn't succeeded anywhere else to even be some other team's QB2 or QB3. I just wish they had gone after someone else sooner.

This is why I am saying AJ McCarron. He is a decent back up and has experience in the system playing for Houston in 2019 and 2020. He could be added today and be up to speed in time to come in for Mac if he ever went down.

 

[Kontradiction]

How about calling Tom Brady

Nah, he’s done. After as much **** as you just talked about him since he left, I’m surprised you’re even posting this. Or was it a joke?

 

[n1997y]

I don’t know a thing that Siemian could teach Mac that he doesn’t already know.

I’m sure there are lots of things he could teach Mac. About playing in Mile High, one obvious topic.

More than that though, any time you think you know it all and have nothing to learn from somebody, anybody, you’re just showing how much you’ve got to learn.

no matter how much you know, everybody else knows something you don’t. Forgetting that is a huge blind spot.

so I really hope Mac listens and learns from his backup, whoever it turns out to be.