Mac Jones is the Starter [Update - Mac is starting vs the Jete, says BB]

[RobertWeathers]

Fair enough - I guess where I deviate is, investing in a win now could come at the cost of wins down the road AND into next season if it throws stuff with the team in flux. I think the other players will invariably have more patience for Mac. I'm willing to accept the cost upfront to position ourselves for the better of the future.

My apologies for misinterpreting your post.

I realize I am taking a very black/white position but I truly believe winning, losing and performance adds clarity both the short and long term assessment of the QB position.

Playing both, judging performance and how they handle adversity clarifies if Mac or Zappe have the mettle to be an NFL QB long -term. IMO all efforts to gain that clarity need to be determined ASAP.

Mac will be getting his reps. If he succeeds, great.

If he fails, Zappe comes in.

If both Mac and Zappe are not the QBs who will lead the team to being a perennial contender then best know that now then in late 2023.

Sorry but i'm not touchy-feely about this. Professional athletes need to compete and perform. If they can't then they need to find another line of work.

 

[NE_Zealot]

I think the NFL has flip-flopped. It used to be (in the mid 2000's) that you didn't want the big dumb QB. You wanted a smart guy who can run a west coast type offense and move the chains.

But in todays NFL we have changed - Now the smartest thing to do is to get the biggest, most athletic, hard working, strong-armed QB (even with all their issues) you can draft.

Then mold them into the player you want.

Because you can teach patience. You can teach how to read a defense. You can allow wisdom to come to them as they age.

But you can NOT teach arm strength. Or competitiveness. Or pocket awareness. Those things you either have, or you don't.

Personally, I thin Mac's #1 problem is arm strength. Maybe i'm wrong on that, but that's just my personal opinion from watching him play. And im NOT talking about deep balls. I see the lack of arm strength on intermediate throws. He thinks he can fit a ball into a tight window, but he can't. It's almost like he imitates what the strong arm QB's do but he doesnt realize he doesnt have that "oomph" to fit it in.

Take the INT in the pre-season for example. I know he didn't see the LB, but there are QB's with rocket arms that can laser this ball to the WR so fast that the LB isn't going to have a chance on it. Mac doesn't possess that rocket, so he needs to be a bit more careful in his throwing lanes.



This play (below) by Mahomes is similar.

Mahomes has to leave the pocket and throw on the run back toward the middle of the field.

But with his laser arm, he is able to fit the ball in to a very tight space with a receiver being draped by a CB.

Edit: Its the 2nd tweet video. Not the first.



All that to say, Mac can still be good. He just cant be mimicking big-armed QB's. He needs to be smart and methodical.

He needs to take the check downs when they're there, move the chains even with short throws, be crisp on his screen passes and slants, and let it rip when his guy has a step on the defender (at least a full step).

Same thing on this play (below). He tries to rifle it into the WR off his back foot. He just doesnt have the arm for that. He should have thrown it to his RB that was wide open in the flat and would have gotten at least 5 yards.

Exactly, you can’t teach someone how to be 6’4” and 230 lbs. That Levis kid from Kentucky screams potential Josh Allen clone

 

[catent]

I realize I am taking a very black/white position but I truly believe winning, losing and performance adds clarity both the short and long term assessment of the QB position.

Playing both, judging performance and how they handle adversity clarifies if Mac or Zappe have the mettle to be an NFL QB long -term. IMO all efforts to gain that clarity need to be determined ASAP.

Mac will be getting his reps. If he succeeds, great.

If he fails, Zappe comes in.

If both Mac and Zappe are not the QBs who will lead the team to being a perennial contender then best know that now then in late 2023.

Sorry but i'm not touchy-feely about this. Professional athletes need to compete and perform. If they can't then they need to find another line of work.

This. And Zappe has competed and performed consistently better than Jones all season, under tougher circumstances.

I worry about the message this sends to a team trying to find a way to consistently win games and contend again.

Unless BB truly believes Jones gives them the best chance to win right now (in which case he’s wrong and their game day performances indicate as much), then this is clearly a longer-term play where the immediate priority is not playing the guy who gives you the best opportunity to win right now, but instead evaluating players and seeing if Jones can resolve his problems and maximize his potential.

That’s pretty antithetical to who BB is, and again, I worry about the message that sends.

 

[Love The Drake]

This. And Zappe has competed and performed consistently better than Jones all season, under tougher circumstances.

I worry about the message this sends to a team trying to find a way to consistently win games and contend again.

Unless BB truly believes Jones gives them the best chance to win right now (in which he’s wrong and their game day performances indicate as much), then this is clearly a longer-term play where the immediate priority is not playing the guy who gives you the best opportunity to win right now, but instead evaluating players and seeing if Jones can resolve his problems and maximize his potential.

That’s pretty antithetical to who BB is, and again, I worry about the message that sends.

Agree 100 percent with that.

 

[Biffins]

That is a declarative statement.

Mac Jones is the starter. Bailey Zappe is the back up.

There is no controversy as far as the team is concerned.

Change my mind, if you disagree.

I agree. Mac Jones will definitely be the starter................. for first 3 series.

 

[Love The Drake]

We will see.
ESPN is always correct with their reporting.
Don’t get me wrong nobody wants to see Mac Jones’s wake up with Drew Bledsoes arm in the morning more than me.

 

[StrawHatPatriot]

I think Tom House jumped the shark.

Or maybe Mac isn't that great

 

[PatsfanTN]

I’ll say it again, the coaching here is a total circus.
-who’s the defensive coordinator? Nah, we don’t need one, we’re that good.
- who’s the offensive coordinator? Nah, we don’t need one, we’re that good.

step back and just take a look at this circus. Mac Jones has the skills, showed it last year. What’s changed? the coaching or lack of.
in Fact, it’s downright negligent. If you think it’s a Mac Jones problem, you haven’t been watching the last few years.

Ringling Brothers would be proud.

 

[PatsfanTN]

Or maybe Mac isn't that great

Or maybe the coaching isn’t that great.

 

[RobertWeathers]

This. And Zappe has competed and performed consistently better than Jones all season, under tougher circumstances.

I worry about the message this sends to a team trying to find a way to consistently win games and contend again.

Unless BB truly believes Jones gives them the best chance to win right now (in which case he’s wrong and their game day performances indicate as much), then this is clearly a longer-term play where the immediate priority is not playing the guy who gives you the best opportunity to win right now, but instead evaluating players and seeing if Jones can resolve his problems and maximize his potential.

That’s pretty antithetical to who BB is, and again, I worry about the message that sends.

They don't have consistency now. What else is there to lose by having an open competition and let the best man win who has earned it?

My belief is at the end of the day, BB is treating the QB position like any other one on the roster. I think the other 50+ players appreciate the fact there are no sacred cows.

 

[jimnance]

Bill Belichick is the GOAT. That is as indisputable as the fact Tom Brady is also the GOAT.
There's been no bigger supporter of the Coach than me. Back in 2003 I was one of the very few that was 100% behind him when he released Milloy. I argued it here(different screen name then) and on the ESPN board and there was only like 1 or 2 others that agreed with me. Of course we were proved correct. I even supported him with the Malcolm Butler
thing.( that was more just giving him the benefit of the doubt).
As for Brady, it just seemed like a mutual thing though I blame Bill slightly more for allowing things to reach that point.
But I've always had gratitude,respect and admiration for him. Still do.
But Bill, to paraphrase Hank Stram,
"What the hell is going on out there?"

 

[Dingleberry]

We will see.
ESPN is always correct with their reporting.
Don’t get me wrong nobody wants to see Mac Jones’s wake up with Drew Bledsoes arm in the morning more than me.

He already has Drew's pocket presence, so there is hope!

 

[Pape]

I agree. Mac Jones will definitely be the starter................. for first 3 series.

tell that to @Dingleberry, maybe he can add it to the casino as a prop bet

 

[Dingleberry]

tell that to @Dingleberry, maybe he can add it to the casino as a prop bet

No way Bill pulls him that quickly again.

(+2000) that Mac gets pulled before the half. And I hope that is the case. If he is going to be the starter, let him go the distance.

 

[PatsWSB47]

Bill Belichick is the GOAT. That is as indisputable as the fact Tom Brady is also the GOAT.
There's been no bigger supporter of the Coach than me. Back in 2003 I was one of the very few that was 100% behind him when he released Milloy. I argued it here(different screen name then) and on the ESPN board and there was only like 1 or 2 others that agreed with me. Of course we were proved correct. I even supported him with the Malcolm Butler
thing.( that was more just giving him the benefit of the doubt).
As for Brady, it just seemed like a mutual thing though I blame Bill slightly more for allowing things to reach that point.
But I've always had gratitude,respect and admiration for him. Still do.
But Bill, to paraphrase Hank Stram,
"What the hell is going on out there?"

That was Vince Lombardi that asked that...maybe you're trying to make a joke.

 

[Tunescribe]

I’ll say it again, the coaching here is a total circus.
-who’s the defensive coordinator? Nah, we don’t need one, we’re that good.
- who’s the offensive coordinator? Nah, we don’t need one, we’re that good.

step back and just take a look at this circus. Mac Jones has the skills, showed it last year. What’s changed? the coaching or lack of.
in Fact, it’s downright negligent. If you think it’s a Mac Jones problem, you haven’t been watching the last few years.

Ringling Brothers would be proud.

Or maybe the coaching isn’t that great.

Thank you. People want to suggest Mac Jones has "regressed" as argument for moving on to Zappe but the REAL regression is in how he's been handled. As admirably as he has performed in Mac's absence I doubt Bailey would be in an alleged QB controversy with Josh McDaniels still running the offense. And my suspicion is notorious quarterback killer Joe Judge has had a hand in mucking things up.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

the mediots are all over the New England "qb controversy" ... have seen written here "when you have 2 qbs, you have none"... all that stuff references a controversy... which does not exist.

We, the fans, the media, the general public, may not know - but Belichick does, and his opinion is the only one that matters in this instance.

Drink the Kool aid

 

[Zuma]

Thank you. People want to suggest Mac Jones has "regressed" as argument for moving on to Zappe but the REAL regression is in how he's been handled. As admirably as he has performed in Mac's absence I doubt Bailey would be in an alleged QB controversy with Josh McDaniels still running the offense. And my suspicion is notorious quarterback killer Joe Judge has had a hand in mucking things up.

Did Judge muck up the 2 wins rookie Zappe had?

 

[Dingleberry]

Did Judge muck up the 2 wins rookie Zappe had?

Zappe is so good he overcame the coaching.

 

[Vindicate]

I realize I am taking a very black/white position but I truly believe winning, losing and performance adds clarity both the short and long term assessment of the QB position.

Playing both, judging performance and how they handle adversity clarifies if Mac or Zappe have the mettle to be an NFL QB long -term. IMO all efforts to gain that clarity need to be determined ASAP.

Mac will be getting his reps. If he succeeds, great.

If he fails, Zappe comes in.

If both Mac and Zappe are not the QBs who will lead the team to being a perennial contender then best know that now then in late 2023.

Sorry but i'm not touchy-feely about this. Professional athletes need to compete and perform. If they can't then they need to find another line of work.

Heard, I think I agree with you more than I thought. I might be a little more touchy feely, but that's based on how we're no longer a heavyweight contender - we have folks doing their jobs and a lot of them sucking. Kinda like, if your pay is lower than other competitors, you better have a good """work culture""" and benefits or some ****.

Either way, I appreciate your input.