Patriots Player Departure The dream is dead: Patriots releasing Rourke

[UGAPatsfan]

Maybe it's me, but Milton feels like a repeat of Malik Cunningham last year. I would have rather kept Rourke through camp and seen if he had enough to be a solid 2/3.

Don’t agree just because of size. Milton is a big dude with a legit arm. Cunningham is small and just an avg arm. Really should be a WR if he can pull it off.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

Roarke is more of an unknown with untapped potential in the NFL. He would not have had the chance to prove himself if he stayed with the Pats. Zappe, on the other hand, was so bad in training camp last year that no teams wanted him on waivers and did nothing in the games he played to change perceptions. He is still here to ensure that there are enough arms to efficiently run training camp, act as an insurance policy for Brissett and provide continuity year over year as the only QB that knows the other players on the roster. He is not here as a serious candidate to help win games as a starter. If he does start any games the teams objective is to survive, not win those contests. Ironically similar to Brissett starting with torn thumb ligaments back in the day.

 

[rkarp1]

some posters need to understand facts
Zappe played a huge role in getting Drake Maye here.
Thanks Zippy!

 

[Wozzy]

I was referring to @Patjew’s comment about the last time having four QBs worked out.

Yeah, I got it... like I said, Brady was very good in college, Rourke wasn't.

Rourke wasn’t/isn’t overrated in Canada - the numbers show otherwise (completed over 70% of his throws, threw a bunch of TDs and few interceptions.,etc) I also got into all of how he did it in the article I wrote, but I won’t rehash it. But he’s not suddenly a terrible player just because he didn’t fit here.

The team chose to go in another direction, which is fine. And as I’ve said, it’s not a hill I was prepared to die on. It was a thought based on the premise of them trading back, which was started by Curran. Which is why I dug into him a little more this off-season since, at the time, it was him, Brissett, Mac, and Zappe on the roster.

Since then, they ended up trading Mac and drafting Maye and Milton. As soon as that happened, it was simply over. It is what it is. And I’m looking forward to seeing what Maye does and whatever role Milton might end up with.

Rourke threw a lot of interceptions in Canada... if Mac could stop throwing interceptions he'd be Kirk Cousins, if Jameis Winston could stop throwing interceptions he'd be Warren Moon... neither guy can so they're bench players at best.

Rourke wasn't that good in Canada, asking him to improve upon that in the NFL is dreamland. He completed 59% of his passes in college, that's who he is.

 

[Wozzy]

some posters need to understand facts
Zappe played a huge role in getting Drake Maye here.
Thanks Zippy!

But you tell us Mac was ruined by BB, this after months of you telling us Mac was good despite melting down and getting benched four times... why doesn't that apply to Zappe, why wasn't he ruined by external forces?

 

[Ian]

Rourke wasn't that good in Canada,

@Wozzy, I love you - but the guy completed nearly 80% of his throws and was unreal there in 2022. They’re clamoring for him to give up this NFL attempt and go back there. I get your other thoughts, but you’re trying to say he’s terrible and was terrible in Canada and the latter couldn’t be further from the truth.

 

[Grogan14]

Please explain why Zappe is still on the team? They should have kept Nathan instead of Zappe. More upside.

 

[Ian]

Please explain why Zappe is still on the team? They should have kept Nathan instead of Zappe. More upside.

Milton is likely sticking on the roster, and Zappe is more likely to be the most claimable back off waivers. My feeling is they had no room for both Rourke and Milton on the roster, so it made sense to just let him go somewhere else - and have someone else possibly claim his contract - and focus on this group ahead of camp.

Zappe is a serviceable backup on a low contract, so it does make sense to keep him here depth-wise. Especially after seeing what San Francisco went through if - gasp - either Brissett or Maye got hurt.

 

[Wozzy]

@Wozzy, I love you - but the guy completed nearly 80% of his throws and was unreal there in 2022. They’re clamoring for him to give up this NFL attempt and go back there. I get your other thoughts, but you’re trying to say he’s terrible and was terrible in Canada and the latter couldn’t be further from the truth.

I never said terrible, I said he threw too many interceptions in Canada and he wasn’t an accurate passer in college in America where he completed less than 60% of his passes for his career. In short, I never understood the Rourke hype, I don’t see it.

Zappe is the NCAA’s all-time single season leader in passing yards and passing TD’s… even he probably won’t make this roster. The NFL is hard.

 

[sb1]

I never said terrible, I said he threw too many interceptions in Canada and he wasn’t an accurate passer in college in America where he completed less than 60% of his passes for his career. In short, I never understood the Rourke hype, I don’t see it.

Zappe is the NCAA’s all-time single season leader in passing yards and passing TD’s… even he probably won’t make this roster. The NFL is hard.

He probably won’t make the roster because he doesn’t belong in the league.

 

[sb1]

But you tell us Mac was ruined by BB, this after months of you telling us Mac was good despite melting down and getting benched four times... why doesn't that apply to Zappe, why wasn't he ruined by external forces?

What BB did to Jones is a big reason why both are no longer here.

 

[Wozzy]

He probably won’t make the roster because he doesn’t belong in the league.

What BB did to Mac hurt him, but Zappe was immune to whatever BB did?

When you're a biased agenda driven poster, nothing you say makes sense or follows any logic.

Mac had 42 starts, Zappe had 8… Zappe is worth another look by the Pats or someone else.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

Just on the eyeballs test alone Milton already knocked Zappe off the roster.

You only watched the highlights, right?

Milton is not competing with Zappe. He's a lock for the roster, or Wolf and Mayo did something inexplicable in the draft. Everyone knows Milton will need lots of time, and not just preseason. He's on the roster. I suppose if he's awful in camp and the preseason, the Pats could try to shift him to the PS, but I doubt it.

 

[Ian]

I never said terrible, I said he threw too many interceptions in Canada

Again, I have no idea where you're getting this "too many interceptions in Canada" notion:



He played two seasons up there, and didn't see much real time until his second season. He threw 25 TD's and only 10 INTs and completed 78% of his passes - a CFL record - while also rushing for 304 yards and 7 touchdowns. And he did all that while missing a month with a foot injury.

And - no idea if you read the thing I wrote - but Rourke started working with Rob Williams, who is the same guy working with Will Levis, to improve his accuracy coming out of college.

---
The two have spent this week working together, and Rourke is expected to continue that work through next week. They’ve built a solid relationship, with Williams working with Rourke since his college days as he worked on improving his accuracy.

That work paid off, as Rourke improved during his time at Ohio and then got better when he reached the CFL, finishing with a record-setting 78.7% completion rate in 2022.

Williams, who has also worked with other notable young players, including Tennessee’s Will Levis, said in an interview with PatsFans.com that Rourke is coming off a strong first season and he’s grown quite a bit since he started training.

“He’s a good athlete,” said Williams of Rourke. “He’s a natural mover, which is why I think a lot of his numbers at Ohio were on the athleticism side of things, as a dual threat. But his passing completion percentage and everything just weren’t where they needed to be, and that was really the area that he and I, right from the start, we started focusing on. Just optimizing the efficiency of throwing. For him, he’ll be the first to admit he wasn’t a very efficient thrower.”

If Patriots Trade Back, Nathan Rourke Could Be a Dark Horse at QB in 2024 | PatsFans.com

The decision to claim former CFL quarterback Nathan Rourke off of waivers back in December could be one of the final moves by Bill Belichick that could pay dividends.

www.patsfans.com

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So again - the Canada "too many interceptions" thing isn't accurate.

 

[Wozzy]

Again, I have no idea where you're getting this "too many interceptions" notion:



He played two seasons up there, and threw 25 TD's and only 10 INTs and completed 78% of his passes - a CFL record - while also rushing for 304 yards and 7 touchdowns. And he did all that while missing a month with a foot injury.

And - no idea if you read the thing I wrote - but Rourke started working with Rob Williams, who is the same guy working with Will Levis, to improve his accuracy coming out of college.

---
The two have spent this week working together, and Rourke is expected to continue that work through next week. They’ve built a solid relationship, with Williams working with Rourke since his college days as he worked on improving his accuracy.

That work paid off, as Rourke improved during his time at Ohio and then got better when he reached the CFL, finishing with a record-setting 78.7% completion rate in 2022.

Williams, who has also worked with other notable young players, including Tennessee’s Will Levis, said in an interview with PatsFans.com that Rourke is coming off a strong first season and he’s grown quite a bit since he started training.

“He’s a good athlete,” said Williams of Rourke. “He’s a natural mover, which is why I think a lot of his numbers at Ohio were on the athleticism side of things, as a dual threat. But his passing completion percentage and everything just weren’t where they needed to be, and that was really the area that he and I, right from the start, we started focusing on. Just optimizing the efficiency of throwing. For him, he’ll be the first to admit he wasn’t a very efficient thrower.”

If Patriots Trade Back, Nathan Rourke Could Be a Dark Horse at QB in 2024 | PatsFans.com

The decision to claim former CFL quarterback Nathan Rourke off of waivers back in December could be one of the final moves by Bill Belichick that could pay dividends.

www.patsfans.com

--
So again - the Canada "too many interceptions" thing isn't accurate.

He only threw 324 passes, double digit interceptions wasn't good... two would have been impressive. Warren Moon was the greatest passer Canada had ever seen, he was ready for the NFL and never should have made it to Canada in the first place. Rourke was "decent" for Canada... that's not impressive. and it also doesn't negate his college stats that weren't very good.

A QB prospect should dominate Canada like Doug Flutie, otherwise he's not going to amount to much in the NFL... that's why he's in Canada in the first place. PJ Walker dominated the XFL, he is a good backup in the NFL. Rourke was only decent in Canada... that's a big nothing burger in the NFL.

 

[sb1]

What BB did to Mac hurt him, but Zappe was immune to whatever BB did?

When you're a biased agenda driven poster, nothing you say makes sense or follows any logic.

Mac had 42 starts, Zappe had 8… Zappe is worth another look by the Pats or someone else.

What BB did to Mac was enough to get him fired. And rightfully so.

Highly unlikely Zappe gets any look from any team. He drew zero interest last summer when 31 other teams could have had him for free. And he certainly didn't improve his stock in 2023. He is who he is... a UDFA level talent who should have never been drafted as high as he was. But that's par for the course for the former regime and thankfully that's no longer a problem.

 

[Ian]

He only threw 324 passes, double digit interceptions wasn't good... two would have been impressive. Warren Moon was the greatest passer Canada had ever seen, he was ready for the NFL and never should have made it to Canada in the first place. Rourke was "decent" for Canada... that's not impressive. and it also doesn't negate his college stats that weren't very good.

A QB prospect should dominate Canada like Doug Flutie, otherwise he's not going to amount to much in the NFL... that's why he's in Canada in the first place. PJ Walker dominated the XFL, he is a good backup in the NFL. Rourke was only decent in Canada... that's a big nothing burger in the NFL.

You're killing me.

Here are Moon's CFL Stats:

Here are Flutie's stats:


Both guys threw fewer than 10 interceptions just twice. And Rourke threw for over 3,000 yards and that was despite the fact he missed a month.

Again, I get it, you're not a fan, and that's fine. But saying "he wasn't good in Canada" and "threw too many interceptions" in Canada - especially the second part - just isn't the case. Especially when he threw fewer in his first full season than any of the two QBs you mentioned.

He hasn't had a real shot in the NFL yet. Time will tell if that changes, but I would have to say he landed in the right place given the Giants' current QB situation.

 

[sb1]

He only threw 324 passes, double digit interceptions wasn't good... two would have been impressive. Warren Moon was the greatest passer Canada had ever seen, he was ready for the NFL and never should have made it to Canada in the first place. Rourke was "decent" for Canada... that's not impressive. and it also doesn't negate his college stats that weren't very good.

A QB prospect should dominate Canada like Doug Flutie, otherwise he's not going to amount to much in the NFL... that's why he's in Canada in the first place. PJ Walker dominated the XFL, he is a good backup in the NFL. Rourke was only decent in Canada... that's a big nothing burger in the NFL.

Rourke was an MVP candidate in Canada, and led the league in a bunch of stats including QB rating. I'd rank that quite a bit higher than "decent".

He's a legit prospect. His CFL numbers are quite similar to Jeff Garcia (including ints) and Garcia made it in the NFL.

 

[Ian]

Rourke was an MVP candidate in Canada, and led the league in a bunch of stats including QB rating. I'd rank that quite a bit higher than "decent".

He's a legit prospect. His CFL numbers are quite similar to Jeff Garcia (including ints) and Garcia made it in the NFL.

He won "Most Outstanding Canadian" in 2022, which is basically their equivalent to that.

 

[Ian]

Also, @Wozzy Rourke ranked sixth in passing yards that season despite playing in 7 fewer games, and 2nd in TD passes:

https://www.footballdb.com/statistics/cfl/player-stats/passing/2022/regular-season?sort=passyds

He also led the league in QB rating - by a significant margin.