Patriots QB Carrousel

     

    On August 31st, was when the Roster Cuts came out for the New England Patriots. 4th round sophomore Bailey Zappe had been cut from the roster which was a surprise to all of Zappe fever fandom following the 2022 season, where Bailey came in and won games for the New England Patriots. I was at the 2nd patriots Training camp practice outside of Gillette Stadium and watched the two Quarterbacks get reps between Mac Jones running with the 1s and Bailey Zappe running with the 2's. In his reps Bailey Zappe looked out of sorts going against the 2nd string defense, throwing incomplete passes and picks. Zappe came in last season on October 22nd against the Greenbay Packers and would play 4 games, going 2-2 winning games against the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions. Bailey Zappe through for 781 yards 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Zappe in the Matt Patricia Joe Judge offense thrived and was out performing the likes of Mac Jones stirring up quite the controversy in Foxboro regarding the two young quarterbacks. Going into pre season fans and coaches had their eyes focused keenly on the two QB's to see how they would perform and if their would be a competition for the starting job. This was mainly on the back of Bill Belichick who would refuse to put the narrative to bed that there was a competition between the two. That's the thing about Belichick is you will never know his intentions and part of the job is simply learning to accept that. 

    To see the young QB struggle was tough to watch especially going up head to head against Mac Jones during pre season training camp. As the two took reps against the Patriots defense Mac Jones simply looked to be in another class. While I was at camp Mac always connected with his first read with accurate passes on the money. When he felt pressure he would perform a little worse I distinctly remember him throwing a pick to Kyle Dugger, potentially the best defensive player on the team, not an insult to Matt Judon. Mac looked to have improved drastically from his prior season and a big part of it could also play into why we saw such a dramatic fall from Bailey Zappe. Bill O'Brien and the new offensive playbook. Mac Jones had Bill O'Brien as his offensive coordinator in Alabama, Bailey Zappe did not. 

    In the preseason matchups' Bailey Zappe through for 84 total yards and 1 touchdown. He was sacked 6 times, two of those included fumbles I remember. Not a great performance, never mind competing for the role of QB1 Bailey Zappe's spot at QB2 was in jeopardy due to the likes of the new kid on the block. The Young electric talent of Malik Cunningham, who in game scenario was showing to be quite the weapon for Belichick and O'Brien. The complex playbook of Bill O'Brien makes Patricia's look elementary Mac Jones thrives in this, Malik Cunningham was able to adapt on the fly and make incredible plays with pure innate talent. Bailey Zappe was the odd man out falling on his face with this new offense. Cunningham was a weapon for the Patriots during the preseason playing not just QB but getting reps at Wide receiver as well. The IQ was something to pay attention too worth how quick Cunningham was able to pick up both positions and work on them to an NFL level. Malik Cunningham was able to roll out of the pocket and throw a dime into the endzone along with show his own rushing ability with his legs. Despite his preseason heroics of dual threat QB Cunningham would also not make the 53. 

    Zappe was a 4th round pick, the Patriots were thankful they were able to clear him through waivers to sign him to their practice squad. Cunningham has potential written all over him, whether it be a Julien Edelman type or a secret dual threat weapon in the QB room, the Patriots were thankful to clear him through waivers and retain him for their practice squad. The problem was the Patriots only had 1 QB on the roster, Mac Jones. If he got hurt the Patriots had nobody. The big reason for Coach Belichick, nobody to push Mac Jones and pressure him to improve...enter Matt Corral. 

    The Carolina Panthers released Matt Corral concluding the pre season, officially running with their new starting QB Bryce Young whom they drafted number 1 overall trading up for the pick. Matt Corral was selected in the 3rd round by the Panthers and was an absolute stud during his collegiate career. The Ole Miss legend was a powerful dual threat QB who threw for 8287 total yards and rushed for 1338 yards in his entire collegiate career.  Matt Corral has been injured his entire NFL Career but the Patriots were willing to give him a shot based on his collegiate experience. The question is now, how does Mac Jones respond, the Patriots have 2 project QB's in the pipeline in Corral and Cunningham, there is a discount Mac Jones in Bailey Zappe. Does Mac Jones respond and take over this team and lead the offense to contend in not just the East but the entire AFC, or will the pressure get to him like last year. Time will only tell if there is one thing I know, is that Belichick knows what he is doing. Trust in Bill...