NEW ARTICLE: After Getting ‘Kneecapped’, Mac Jones Likely Won’t Forget Monday Night Anytime Soon

[PatsFans.com Article]

After Getting ‘Kneecapped’, Mac Jones Likely Won’t Forget Monday Night Anytime Soon
Ian Logue
Any New England Patriots fan who watched Monday night's game will likely have a tough time getting the scene that played out before them out of their memories.

The post After Getting ‘Kneecapped’, Mac Jones Likely Won’t Forget Monday Night Anytime Soon appeared first on PatsFans.com.

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[catent]

With all the talk of this being "Jones' team", him being "the guy", so forth, you'd think he was an established NFL veteran with cache ... but he's not. He's an inexperienced second-year player with a lot to work on. He has one additional season of experience compared to Zappe.

I get Monday night was a cluster, and putting myself in Jones' shoes, that must've been an emotionally difficult situation. But I really don't understand the consternation over how he's being handled, as if he has earned exceptional treatment from the team, or has earned the starting job by default.

 

[Brotherblues]

Damn @Ian that was pretty well written. Impressed.

 

[holyredeemer]

Great write up. I’m at the point where you gotta just throw up your hands and give the ol’ cliche “You are what your record says you are.” I cannot say what BB’s intentions were for this season, so it’s hard to really sit back and comment on any of it without feeling like an ass every time I do. I’ll give it a shot though. I have some things I need to get off of my chest and my therapist is on vacation.

Was this a season where Bill thought he had the pieces to compete and go the distance? If it was, he failed miserably with his handling of the personnel, the lack of any established offensive minds, switching up an offense that has served you well for over 20 years, messing with your run game and blocking scheme. The way he has handled this entire QB situation. The way he has handled the Wynn, and Bourne situations. Just somehow completely losing these guys mentally. Not finding any way to consistently get your expensive TE’s involved in the passing game. Failure to improve on the LB corps. Just awful. It’s been the type of buffoonery that we make fun of other teams for.

Or, was it a building block season for the team? The beginning of a whole new offense, and knowing it was going to take a few years to get the personnel to execute it properly. If that’s the case, I gotta say this season to date has been a success. Most of the rookie class has found a way to contribute and has flashed one way or another. You have continued to develop a playmaker at RB to replace Harris when you let him walk. You’ve proven you have a few receivers you can probably build with in Myers, Parker and Thornton. The Jones bros all seem to be worthy of investment and with just an added piece or two, you’ve got a solid defensive backfield. Jennings seems to really be coming into his own as well, which has been a nice surprise.

So, there’s definitely positives to this year. Depending on how you want to look at it I guess. The team is projected to have 10 draft picks, barring any trades at the deadline and they’re projected to be in the top 3-5 in available salary cap space to make some moves. Then again, it feels like you’re back to square one with no true heir at the QB position, and what he decides to do there is anyone’s guess.

 

[archstanton543]

"One fell swoop"

 

[zydecochris]

After Getting ‘Kneecapped’, Mac Jones Likely Won’t Forget Monday Night Anytime Soon
Ian Logue
Any New England Patriots fan who watched Monday night's game will likely have a tough time getting the scene that played out before them out of their memories.

The post After Getting ‘Kneecapped’, Mac Jones Likely Won’t Forget Monday Night Anytime Soon appeared first on PatsFans.com.

Continue reading...

(If you enjoyed this entry - hit the Thumbs Up/If not, hit the Thumbs down in this thread)

Nicely written.

 

[Zuma]

"On a night when fog hung over the stadium, and it was cold and wet, he put Jones out on the field with a bad ankle against a Bears team that was amped up and ready to go."

"Giving up on him after three games in a season with significant changes both in the offense and coaching staff just isn’t fair."

If Jones was "on the field with a bad ankle against the Bears"...why was it unfair to switch to Zappe?

 

[Lavictoire]

I think on a deeper psychological level us fans are still suffering from Brady withdrawal syndrome. The fans have endured middle of the pack football long enough. We crave the weekly high of winning and are becoming desperate which explains the primal roaring thumbs down rejection of Mac at the Gillette Colloseum as we believe the second coming of Brady is already here on the sidelines so stop toying with us, we want Zappe and our dynasty back now!

 

[Ian]

"On a night when fog hung over the stadium, and it was cold and wet, he put Jones out on the field with a bad ankle against a Bears team that was amped up and ready to go."

"Giving up on him after three games in a season with significant changes both in the offense and coaching staff just isn’t fair."

If Jones was "on the field with a bad ankle against the Bears"...why was it unfair to switch to Zappe?

As I wrote, Jones shouldn't have started to begin with.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Massive self inflicted mortal wound by BB

 

[Zuma]

As I wrote, Jones shouldn't have started to begin with.

Ok. I said as much before the game. Sounds good

 

[n6249c]

As I wrote, Jones shouldn't have started to begin with.

If Jones said he was ready and Belichick didn’t play him it would still be a ****storm, just a different ****storm than this one.

 

[n6249c]

If there were any kneecapping to be done it seems Jones would be doing it to the opponent du jour.

Last year it was twisting Brian Burns’ ankle.

This week it was spiking Jaquan Brisker in the nuts.

Former Patriot Calls Out Mac Jones For 'Dirty' Play Against Bears

 

[Ian]

If Jones said he was ready and Belichick didn’t play him it would still be a ****storm, just a different ****storm than this one.

My issue is he went into this game with doubts about his health - which he admitted in a press conference - so it didn't make any sense to start him. If you don't feel the guy is 100% or close enough to play the whole game, then he should have just stuck with Zappe.

 

[Ian]

If there were any kneecapping to be done it seems Jones would be doing it to the opponent du jour.

Last year it was twisting Brian Burns’ ankle.

This week it was spiking Jaquan Brisker in the nuts.

Former Patriot Calls Out Mac Jones For 'Dirty' Play Against Bears

LOL, I get where you're going - but that's a story for another thread

 

[Hyped]

IMO, the crowd chanting Zappe don't represent the majority of Patriots fans. Hell, I'd say that this forum is like 90%/10% Mac/Zappe.

Still surprised that BB made the switch after 3 series though....that was a bad interception even if it hit a TV wire...that was an easy "throw away" and another punt OOB would have pinned the Bears on their 10-15 yard line with us down 10-0 and still about 11 mins left in the 2nd.

 

[Thelonious]

I really don't get the focus on Mac Jones' emotional state, and on whether he is a victim of the Belichick patriarchy with a legit grievance against "the man." Was he ill-treated? Probably, but I am more interested in whether he has what it takes to overcome his hurt feelings, play better, stop throwing interceptions, and so forth. Until he earns, or re-earns, his status as starter, I'd play Zappe, who has by any empirical measure beat him out THIS YEAR. Do I expect Mac to win the competition in the end? Yes, I do. But I don't think this is made more likely by all this weepy nonsense about his emotional state.

 

[n6249c]

LOL, I get where you're going - but that's a story for another thread

I thought this thread needed some balance. TBH I was very disappointed by your hit piece on BB that’s the topic of this thread. It struck me as pandering to a viewpoint that would generate controversy. Until I read it I’d thought you‘re above the “hot take” school of clickbait journalism. Now I’m not so sure. I know you’ve got a more enthusiastic liking for Mac than I do, so maybe you let that color your view on the coaching and everything else.

I loved what I saw from Mac last year. I was excited to see him build on that coming into this year, hoping to see a sophomore jump. Instead he started out in a sophomore slump. None of the games before he got hurt looked good. There was talk about how he regressed, and lots of excuses and accusations about poor coaching, no OC, bad play calls. Then he got hurt, and Hoyer went down, and Zappe stepped up.

There was a QB controversy starting to build. BB was getting pressed on it. Mac said he was ready to play. Belichick believed him, and took decisive action to nip the controversy by starting Mac.

Mac crapped the bed. He did nothing in three series. Zappe came in and scored on the first two series he played.

The excuse is Mac wasn’t ready. He said he was, and who would know better than he how his ankle was feeling? He ran at every chance, not what a guy with a bad ankle would do. He looked okay running, not what a guy with a bad ankle would do. And he made the same mistakes leading to INTs that he made before he had a bad ankle.

what I saw in the first three series Monday was same as what I saw first three games this year: Mac not playing as well as I hoped and expected. I’m not making excuses. Excuses don’t go in the record book. Results do.

Making excuses for Mac’s results is looking through a distorting subjective lens. It doesn’t help, just muddies the water and makes things worse.

 

[Thelonious]

IMO, the crowd chanting Zappe don't represent the majority of Patriots fans. Hell, I'd say that this forum is like 90%/10% Mac/Zappe.

Still surprised that BB made the switch after 3 series though....that was a bad interception even if it hit a TV wire...that was an easy "throw away" and another punt OOB would have pinned the Bears on their 10-15 yard line with us down 10-0 and still about 11 mins left in the 2nd.

Sorry, but I pretty much always reject as nonsense any argument based on "everybody says so." And the 90/10 assessment is just pie-eyed delusion.

 

[Ian]

I thought this thread needed some balance. TBH I was very disappointed by your hit piece on BB that’s the topic of this thread. It struck me as pandering to a viewpoint that would generate controversy. Until I read it I’d thought you‘re above the “hot take” school of clickbait journalism. Now I’m not so sure. I know you’ve got a more enthusiastic liking for Mac than I do, so maybe you let that color your view on the coaching and everything else.

It's not a hot take - it's based on what I saw unfold Monday night, which is the one of the ugliest scenes I've ever seen in the 20+ years I've been watching/writing about the team. That's not a take or an attempt to stir up controversy, that's my honest opinion. I don't remember ever seeing anything like that unfold - ever. It'll go down as a sequence of events I'll certainly never forget and, hindsight being 20/20, I think Bill probably would have also handled it differently.

Curran also agreed with that premise, which I included in the piece.

Lastly, it wasn't a hit piece on Bill. This was more an indictment on the fans than Bill, albeit how he handled it did lead to what we saw go down. And I'm pretty sure most people on here know I'm anything but a Bill-basher. I've always erred on the side of "wait and see" with Bill and this football team, which typically frustrates the people who are usually riled up after the team starts out slow every season.

So I think my history there is pretty well established. However, I do feel it was one of the few mistakes I've ever seen him make. And I try not to write about something unless I feel like I can be balanced and fair about it.

As far as Mac goes, it is what it is and whoever is the starting QB is obviously someone I'll support. But no player, regardless of how you feel about it, should have had to endure or be treated the way he was Monday night. And if Belichick had any doubts about his health at all, he could have avoided that entire scenario and just started Zappe. He's the first guy to downplay the QB situation as it is, so I don't see what the issue would have been in keeping him in there for another week.