Patriots Officially Have QB Controversy, Per Analyst

Bailey Zappe put Mac Jones in a rater uncomfortable position. Bill Belichick had to pick his next franchise quarterback following Tom Brady’s departure from New England. Cam Newton stepped in as a replacement, but Belichick made him compete with then-rookie Jones. The Alabama prospect got the job and did a good job in his first season with the team. Jones suffered an injury and will miss some time. Belichick had to replace him with a rookie and guess what… The Patriots are now dealing with a QB controversy.

That’s what analysts say.

“Remember, we last saw Jones throw for 321 scoreless yards and three interceptions in a loss to the Ravens,” wrote Maurice Moton from Bleacher Report. “Of course, Zappe has help from a strong defense that’s forced eight turnovers over the past three games, but he’s thrown for 596 yards, four touchdowns, and just one interception in that span. Jones has thrown for 786 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions in his three contests.

“You’re going to hear pundits compare this quarterback situation to the turn of events with Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady in 2001,” Moton added. “However, unlike Bledsoe, Jones isn’t an established veteran, which creates a probable pathway for Zappe to start for the foreseeable future.”

Bill Belichick adds fuel to the QB controversy

Zappe threw for 596 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception so far. In the win over the Cleveland Browns, he threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns.

Jones recovers nicely, but he is not 100% healthy. Belichick didn’t use him in the game against the Browns and he won’t rush the quarterback into game action.

Zappe made things a little difficult for Jones. Belichick likes his potential and everything he did in the win over Cleveland. Zappe’s grandfather believes that the Patriots should keep him at center throughout the entire season. That’s a nice advice for coach B, right?

“Yeah, I mean again, he learns everyday, whether it’s practice, or meetings, or game experiences,” Belichick said. “He has pretty good instincts, but there is a lot for him to learn. There are things today that he learned from and he was able to take advantage of and make a couple plays. He had the opportunity. Again, it’s all performance. It’s not turning the ball over or a strip sack. It’s a good thing. We just had trouble obviously with (Browns DE) Myles Garrett. We tried to double him as much as we could and he still got us.”