NEW ARTICLE: Zappe’s Emergence is Certainly Changing Patriots’ QB Conversation

[JohnJH]

I'll say this. If Zapp plays well in training camp he'll be the starter no matter what the team does at QB. I think the team adds talent at WR and LT In the off season.

Even if we do end-up with a true "Franchise QB", It might be a benefit to let Zappe be the starter, and have the rookie sit a year while the team hopefully builds up the O-Line and offensive skill positions.

 

[Steve102]

I did not realize Ewers is just 20.
Sources: Ewers' UT return becoming more likely

 

[Real fan 02]

Sure. I think someone will want him, but it'll be for next to nothing. I think for a needy team, he's worth more than he is to SF.

Well.. I'd say a 5th.. low 5th rounder he'd go for.. he has at least a playoff appearance on his resume. Lance with for a 4th. As of right now. The jobs zapps to loose. No matter who the QB will be I wan to see what the team does to add talent. Now say we get a tee Higgins, draft Marvin Harrison jr. Now we can do some things offensively. For the life of me please get a 3rd down back. I'd also like to see zeke back next year.

 

[Real fan 02]

Even if we do end-up with a true "Franchise QB", It might be a benefit to let Zappe be the starter, and have the rookie sit a year while the team hopefully builds up the O-Line and offensive skill positions.

Absolutely agree with that. Just have this feeling we won't be getting that guy in the 1st.. my gut says they take Harrison Jr. , Add guys in FA.. draft a LT.

 

[Steve102]

Well.. I'd say a 5th.. low 5th rounder he'd go for.. he has at least a playoff appearance on his resume. Lance with for a 4th. As of right now. The jobs zapps to loose. No matter who the QB will be I wan to see what the team does to add talent. Now say we get a tee Higgins, draft Marvin Harrison jr. Now we can do some things offensively. For the life of me please get a 3rd down back. I'd also like to see zeke back next year.

MHJ will be gone when they pick, but yes, I am in on Tee Higgins/Michael Pittman or Evans, a 3rd down back, and zeke. Henry can stay here too. The next two games will tell a lot re: Zappe.

 

[Real fan 02]

MHJ will be gone when they pick, but yes, I am in on Tee Higgins/Michael Pittman or Evans, a 3rd down back, and zeke. Henry can stay here too. The next two games will tell a lot re: Zappe.

Absolutely agree. Higgins just goes up and gets it. Pittman is a tough SOB.. runs excellent routes and also goes up and gets it.. Evans is a solid veteran, 1,000 yard guy each season. Just think adding 2 difference makers will change this offense completely. I believe juju will be in the mix.. Parker will either be asked to restructure or get traded.

 

[varjao]

I get WR is a big thing in the game nowadays but if you don't have the QB to maximize the use of a WR services and protect him, is a waste of resources, and the QB will need protection too, so I don't see how investing a 1st round pick in a WR is wise given our context

QB and OL are the priorities.

With a good OL a good QB can make do with OK receivers, I'm not saying do miracle, transform scrubs in stars like Brady but there are dozens of names that could be signed plus keep taking chances on the draft but use the 2nd and 3rd rounders for that, that's a sweet spot for WRs and one of my main complaints about BB drafting

ALSO AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

They should go all in in offense in this draft, if Belichick takes a defensive player in the first 2 rounds he should be fired on national television. I don't give a ****, first 3 rounds (even 4) should be all in used to get offensive players.

 

[JohnJH]

Absolutely agree with that. Just have this feeling we won't be getting that guy in the 1st.. my gut says they take Harrison Jr. , Add guys in FA.. draft a LT.

Yep. We may have to either luck out and find "The Guy" at QB later in the draft, and address what positions we can in the upcoming one in the first couple of rounds, and get the QB in the 2025 Draft.

 

[VrabelJr]

They should go all in in offense in this draft, if Belichick takes a defensive player in the first 2 rounds he should be fired on national television. I don't give a ****, first 3 rounds (even 4) should be all in used to get offensive players.

Your points about OL being a priority make sense but it's hard to say whether we should draft anyone on defense or not until we see how free agency plays out. Depending on who we lose on defense and how we address WR or OL in FA and how the board is running (there's a big gap in OT after Fashanu and Alt) I'm not opposed to trading down and still landing a generational LB, DT, or Safety.

 

[Real fan 02]

Yep. We may have to either luck out and find "The Guy" at QB later in the draft, and address what positions we can in the upcoming one in the first couple of rounds, and get the QB in the 2025 Draft.

I'll tell you something 26-8, if we had 26 TDs at the QB position this season we are a dangerous playoff team that no one wants to see. With this defense!! 26-8 is Wilson's numbers. Think about that. Sign Wilson to a deal. He comes in as a bridge, while developing the next QB.

 

[Ian]

Read the whole thing. Love ya Ian but the article is a stretch to me.

Dude hit on a bunch of 50/50 balls, held the ball for 3.5 seconds leading to a turnover on the first play, and generally stunk the first half.

So…he still played well for half a game.

Look, I hope I’m dead wrong and he balls out for two weeks…but, I sincerely doubt he has done anything yet to change any minds inside 1 PP.

Just getting around to this thread. Where I am with him is that what's been interesting is the fact he hasn't been an error-repeater, which has been good to see. Another note is that, unlike Mac, he's talked about correcting mistakes coming off each week and then we've actually seen it be applied to the games.

There's been an upward trajectory that's been nice to see and granted, he's not the most physically gifted kid, but he's not doing many dumb things, and there's been improvement each week. Not to mention his poise and demeanor sort of can't be overlooked.

As I wrote, you can have the most athletically gifted guy in the world and all the tools but if he doesn't have the ability to produce in a key moment, that's obviously not ideal. But the point was that if we see it continue over the next two weeks, what he's done certainly reduces the urgency of having to go up and grab a top QB. That would allow them the flexibility to move back, stockpile picks, and add talent on offense (offensive tackle, skill players, etc.).

Then they can explore QB in the later rounds, sign a veteran, and see what they have in Rourke (who a ton of people have been high on), etc.. It's also possible he heads into this offseason with more support from the players, which would make more guys want to work out with him, along with the fact he's probably going to get a little stronger and even become a little more fundamentally sound. So things have suddenly become a little more interesting.

At the same time, he could go out and blow all this up with a lousy game in Buffalo this weekend. So who knows?

 

[The Gr8est]

Well.. I'd say a 5th.. low 5th rounder he'd go for.. he has at least a playoff appearance on his resume. Lance with for a 4th. As of right now. The jobs zapps to loose. No matter who the QB will be I wan to see what the team does to add talent. Now say we get a tee Higgins, draft Marvin Harrison jr. Now we can do some things offensively. For the life of me please get a 3rd down back. I'd also like to see zeke back next year.

Too bad we didn’t keep Pierre Strong.

That was the role he was drafted for.

 

[p8ryts]

Too bad we didn’t keep Pierre Strong.

That was the role he was drafted for.

I'm not certain Pierre is better than Zeke.

 

[Ian]

I'm not certain Pierre is better than Zeke.

They let him go too early, so it stinks we'll never know. I just think back to that gain he had last year as a rookie and how fast he accelerated when he got out in space. Would have been nice to see what he could have done, although I don't know how he was in blitz pickup as that seems to be the thing that keeps most of those types of guys from lasting here.

 

[Real fan 02]

Just getting around to this thread. Where I am with him is the fact that what's been interesting is the fact he hasn't been an error-repeater, which has been good to see. Another note is that, unlike Mac, he's talked about correcting mistakes coming off each week and then we've actually seen it be applied to the games.

There's been an upward trajectory that's been nice to see and granted, he's not the most physically gifted kid, but he's not doing many dumb things, and there's been improvement each week. Not to mention his poise and demeanor sort of can't be overlooked.

As I wrote, you can have the most athletically gifted guy in the world and all the tools but if he doesn't have the ability to produce in a key moment, that's obviously not ideal. But the point was that if we see it continue over the next two weeks, what he's done certainly reduces the urgency of having to go up and grab a top QB. That would allow them the flexibility to move back, stockpile picks, and add talent on offense (offensive tackle, skill players, etc.).

Then they can explore QB in the later rounds, sign a veteran, and see what they have in Rourke (who a ton of people have been high on), etc.. It's also possible he heads into this offseason with more support from the players, which would make more guys want to work out with him, along with the fact he's probably going to get a little stronger and even become a little more fundamentally sound. So things have suddenly become a little more interesting.

At the same time, he could go out and blow all this up with a lousy game in Buffalo this weekend. So who knows?

Ian,

26-8 are Russell's numbers. We have not seen numbers like that from the QB position since a GOAT was around . I'm saying take a shot at him in FA . Any QB coming in would be competing with Zapp. I'm sure Mayo isn't just going to hand Zapp the job. Still draft a guy of course. However it's vital that the team address so many other needs offensively as well. On defense I've pitched the idea of trading for Jhaire Alexander in green bay to pair with gonzo. Left tackle, 3rd down back are some other needs as well.

 

[Real fan 02]

Too bad we didn’t keep Pierre Strong.

That was the role he was drafted for.

Agreed. Harris has shown some burst but I'd like to see what he could do as a 3rd down back if possible.

 

[UGAPatsfan]

Just getting around to this thread. Where I am with him is the fact that what's been interesting is the fact he hasn't been an error-repeater, which has been good to see. Another note is that, unlike Mac, he's talked about correcting mistakes coming off each week and then we've actually seen it be applied to the games.

There's been an upward trajectory that's been nice to see and granted, he's not the most physically gifted kid, but he's not doing many dumb things, and there's been improvement each week. Not to mention his poise and demeanor sort of can't be overlooked.

As I wrote, you can have the most athletically gifted guy in the world and all the tools but if he doesn't have the ability to produce in a key moment, that's obviously not ideal. But the point was that if we see it continue over the next two weeks, what he's done certainly reduces the urgency of having to go up and grab a top QB. That would allow them the flexibility to move back, stockpile picks, and add talent on offense (offensive tackle, skill players, etc.).

Then they can explore QB in the later rounds, sign a veteran, and see what they have in Rourke (who a ton of people have been high on), etc.. It's also possible he heads into this offseason with more support from the players, which would make more guys want to work out with him, along with the fact he's probably going to get a little stronger and even become a little more fundamentally sound. So things have suddenly become a little more interesting.

At the same time, he could go out and blow all this up with a lousy game in Buffalo this weekend. So who knows?

We actually are thinking alike on the ideal path forward…I’m deeply concerned about pinning the future success of the franchise on a rd 1 QB because history shows that isn’t nearly the lock some want to believe.

I’d absolutely rather take a franchise T, build along the LOS, upgrade the skill spots etc.

Good points re: error repeating…I think that was Mac’s biggest issue. Same mistakes over and over.

I think Purdy showed you can build a great cast, and have a decent “system guy” run it.

To me, Zappe just doesn’t seem to have the physical tools….though he absolutely looks better physically than Mac ever did.

And it DOES seem like the team “believes” in him.

Kind if intrigued by these next two games as we’ll know a lot after.

I know zero about Rourke…have to look him up.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

I'll tell you something 26-8, if we had 26 TDs at the QB position this season we are a dangerous playoff team that no one wants to see. With this defense!! 26-8 is Wilson's numbers. Think about that. Sign Wilson to a deal. He comes in as a bridge, while developing the next QB.

Based on his 4 starts this year. Zappe is on pace for 25 TD and 8 INT over 17 games.

Just saying.

 

[Real fan 02]

Based on his 4 starts this year. Zappe is on pace for 25 TD and 8 INT over 17 games.

Just saying.

I tend to agree. I'd still want a veteran in here. By all means Is this QB situation clearly defined yet I like what Zapp has done.. however still need a vet in here.. someone with pedigree, who has won, who's been through different situations and some foot ball adversity.

 

[Jim Beankie]

Too bad* Ryland missed that game tying 35yd FG after Zap drove them down at the end of the 4th. Zap did have a near INT, but all the greats do as well.

*In retrospect probably good with draft pick stuff