Tag: Bailey Zappe

Patriots QB stats from Wednesday’s OTAs practice

The Patriots quarterbacks had a strong day on Wednesday

The New England Patriots quarterbacks were under the microscope for Wednesday’s OTAs practice with only three being present. Rookie sixth-round draft pick Joe Milton III was absent for the practice, but that clearly didn’t stop others from shining.

Jacoby Brissett went 6-of-7 in 11-on-11 drills and 7-of-8 in 7-on-7 drills, while Bailey Zappe went 4-of-6 in 11-on-11 drills and 4-of-7, including an interception, in 7-on-7s.

Rookie Drake Maye showed efficiency as well. He went 4-of-6 in 11-on-11s, while going 12-of-14 in 7-on-7s, per the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.

The quarterbacks had a strong day, despite the Zappe interception. It will be interesting to see what comes of the room with the team likely to make a cut at some point. Coach Jerod Mayo has already hinted at a plan to trim down the quarterback room heading into training camp.

Days like Wednesday serve as a building block for a Patriots offense that needs to find its groove once again. So far, it looks like the quarterback room is stronger than it was last year.

Jerod Mayo hints at trimming down Patriots’ QB room

The Patriots could be looking to trim down their quarterback room heading into training camp

The New England Patriots have a plan in place for how they will trim down the quarterback room, as spring practices get underway.

Currently, the Patriots have four quarterbacks on their roster with Jacoby Brissett, Bailey Zappe, Drake Maye and Joe Milton III. Maye and Milton are the newest additions to the room.

Zappe has been with the team since 2022, and Brissett is on his second stint with the Patriots. All four will be under the microscope with the Patriots looking to find stability at the quarterback position in the post-Tom Brady era.

It sounds as though fall camp will be the time where the quarterback room gets trimmed down, as Mayo told reporters on Monday afternoon.

“Once we get to training camp, that’s real football,” Mayo said, via NESN.com’s Sean T. McGuire. “So, out here in the spring we’ll rock with four. But as soon as we get to training camp now we’ll look to start paring down the roster.”

It will be interesting to see who is the odd man out in the room. The quarterback room itself could be something worth monitoring throughout the course of the next couple of months.

Patriots QB Bailey Zappe liked social media post of Mac Jones being traded

Bailey Zappe liked a social media post on Mac Jones trade news

Everyone is reacting to the news that the New England Patriots are shipping quarterback Mac Jones off in a trade to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that includes Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe, who liked a news piece on the trade on Sunday.

Now, it’s always possible that Zappe liked the post simply because he was happy for Jones’ new venture with a different team. Things obviously didn’t work out in New England.

Jones went from being a Pro Bowl quarterback in his rookie season to being No. 3 on the depth chart behind Zappe and Nathan Rourke in the 2023 regular season finale against the New York Jets.

Of course, there’s the other side of the coin, too.

The relationship between Jones and Zappe was reportedly rocky behind the scenes. NFL insider Albert Breer even went as far as saying things got so toxic between the two at one point that Zappe watched film in the wide receivers room.

Over the last two seasons, it has been a revolving door of both players starting and being benched. That finally ends with Jones heading to Jacksonville.

But what happens to Zappe?

That’s probably one of the biggest unanswered questions. Does he stick around as a backup to a rookie or some other veteran quarterback? Could he potentially be on the trade block at some point as well? Or, would the Patriots actually consider rolling him out as the starter again, while they work hard to improve other positions on the offense?

There are plenty of questions still lingering, but the good news is we won’t have to wait too much longer for answers.

Latest report paints grim picture of Patriots’ QB room

Who knew things would get this bad in the Patriots’ QB room?

Things never felt right between New England Patriots quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.

The two never clicked in the way that we’ve seen in the past with Tom Brady and players like Brian Hoyer and Matt Cassel. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer recently reported the Patriots quarterbacks room as being toxic over the last two seasons.

But it wasn’t just a situation of teammates side-eyeing one another while working together. Things reportedly got so bad that Zappe watched tape in the receivers room instead of the quarterbacks room.

Breer wrote:

And the quarterback room he was in the last two years got toxic, to the point where Bailey Zappe, as a rookie, sometimes watched tape in the receiver room.

Jones isn’t expected to be back with the team next season, and at this point, it would also seem like a long-shot that the Patriots would move forward with Zappe as the starter.

The Patriots might be better off hitting the reboot button and using their No. 3 overall pick to draft a rookie quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft at this point. They could also bring in a veteran option to potentially compete with Zappe for the No. 2 spot.

Turning the page means letting go of the remnants of the past that failed to make the team successful.

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The Morning After…End of an era, or not?

Will the inevitable rebuild in New England include Bill Belichick as head coach?

While New York Jets players did snow angels after beating the New England Patriots 17-3 in Sunday’s regular season finale, Bill Belichick walked off the field for perhaps the last time as Patriots head coach.

It was a sobering moment that brought a rush of emotions for longtime fans of the team. Belichick was the man responsible for building the greatest dynasty in NFL history.

Even for those ready to say Tom Brady deserves the brunt of the credit for the winning, there is no Brady in New England if Belichick didn’t take him at No. 199 in the 2000 NFL draft. Belichick is the architect, and he deserves the utmost respect for his contributions.

But there’s also the reality that the team needs a new direction after a second straight losing season. They finished 2023 with a 4-13 record and last place in the AFC East. Change is desperately needed.

Is it the sort of change that needs to happen without Belichick, or will the team go a different route, while also staying connected with the greatest coach in NFL history?

Here are some leftover notes from Sunday’s game:

5 big takeaways from Patriots’ season-ending 17-3 loss to Jets

Here are 5 big takeaways from what may have been Bill Belichick’s final game with the Patriots

In what very well may have been Bill Belichick’s final game leading the team, the New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets in Foxborough on Sunday for the first time in 15 matchups between the two teams.

Snowy and windy conditions throughout led to the kind of old-school football that Belichick would likely revel in. The quarterbacks of both teams combined for just over 150 passing yards while New York fed running back Breece Hall over 30 carries to dominate the ground game.

Moreover, field goals made up the only scoring in the contest until a late-game Jets touchdown put New York two scores ahead of New England with just a few minutes remaining in the contest.

Here are five big takeaways from the 17-3 loss.

Bill Belichick gave props to Bailey Zappe in press conference

Bill Belichick has been pleased with the effort of Bailey Zappe

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick made sure to give props to quarterback Bailey Zappe ahead of Sunday’s season finale against the New York Jets.

Zappe has gone 2-3 over a stretch of five starts for the Patriots this season. The Western Kentucky product has recorded 1,184 passing yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions.

He has had a roller coaster of a season, starting with failing to make the initial 53-man roster and being waived on August 29. He was signed to the active roster on September 9.

Belichick has been pleased with how the quarterback has handled himself and navigated through the challenges of life in the NFL.

“In August or September, whenever it was, during the final cuts, I talked to Bailey and I thought he had a great attitude and outlook on the situation,” Belichick said in a video conference, via NESN’s Zack Cox. “‘What do I need to do better? How can I do it? How can I improve?’ And he’s worked very hard to address those, and it’s shown up in his play and his performance, not just recently but going all the way back to day by day through September, October, all those days.

“You just take it one day at a time, and I think he really tried to embrace that. It’s a big credit to him — his mental toughness, his resiliency and his attitude toward competing.”

The quarterback struggled in last Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, throwing three interceptions.

He will look to right the ship and send the Patriots off on a high note as he takes on the Jets in Week 18. This could be an opportunity for him to make a good impression as a viable candidate to be the starter in 2024.

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Report: Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe ‘hardly talk’ to each other

Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe’s relationship might not be as strong as originally believed

New England Patriots quarterbacks Bailey Zappe and Mac Jones might have been cordial with one another, but that relationship reportedly isn’t nearly as close as some might think.

A detailed report from Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald indicated that Jones and Zappe did not have a strong relationship.

Zappe has taken over for Jones as the starting quarterback in the final stretch of the season. He has gone 2-3 during that run, as the Patriots look to close out the season with a win on Sunday against the New York Jets.

Things came to a head after the team was shut out 34-0 by the New Orleans Saints back in October. At that point in time, Jones was benched in-game for the second week in a row, the locker room started to lose confidence and the team turned to Zappe, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Dakota Randall.

The Herald wrote:

The locker room’s confidence in Jones waned significantly after a 34-0 home loss to New Orleans on Oct. 8, the worst home shutout in team history. Around that time, the staff began deliberating a quarterback change, but Zappe, whom Belichick had cut six weeks earlier, undercut his own candidacy by going 7-of-18 for 69 yards in mop-up duty over two games…

Jones and Zappe, whom teammates say are cordial to one another, hardly talk. Instead of rallying to support the starter each week, they are often siloed in their own preparation. Several members of the organization believe they would have benefitted from a veteran backup with experience in more cooperative rooms who could tie the room together.

If anything, this excerpt highlighted one of the bigger problems on offense. The entire unit was up and down throughout the course of the season. This was largely due to a rotating quarterback room and inconsistent play, among other reasons.

Drafting a quarterback could be a point of emphasis for the organization, as they look to get back to their winning ways.

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Bailey Zappe ready to compete, if Patriots draft a QB

Bailey Zappe welcomes competition, if the Patriots draft a quarterback

If the New England Patriots decide to take a quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft, Bailey Zappe will be ready to compete.

The Patriots currently hold the third overall selection in this year’s draft. That could mean they get the chance to select the likes of either Caleb Williams or Drake Maye.

Zappe has been trying his best to keep the organization competitive for the final stretch of the 2023 season. He has gone 2-3 in his run as a starter, and he is coming off a loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in a game where he threw three interceptions.

The Western Kentucky product has passed for 1,184 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season.

“If that’s what they decide to do, that’s what they decide to do,” Zappe said, when appearing on WEEI’s “Jones and Mego”. “I’m looking forward to competing against whoever comes in here for that job. I’m going to do the same thing I did last offseason: Get ready to be the guy. If my name is called, I’m going to do the best thing I can to help the team win. Hopefully, it is, and hopefully, we get after it next year.”

This is certainly a positive attitude to have heading into an offseason of uncertainty at the quarterback position. It doesn’t matter if it’s a rookie first-round draft pick or Mac Jones for another season. Zappe must be ready to compete in 2024.

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NFL quarterbacks by Total QBR: Where Patriots’ Bailey Zappe ranked in Week 17

Ranking every NFL quarterback by Total QBR in Week 17

New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe took a significant step back in the Total QBR department in Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The second-year signal caller ranked 26th out of the other Week 17 quarterbacks after a run-in with a ferocious Bills defense on the road. He threw for 209 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions.

All of the turnovers came in the first half, and Zappe was able to make plays down the stretch to keep the Patriots in the game. So his performance wasn’t nearly as bad as it looks on paper.

If anything, Zappe showed a willingness to step up in the pocket and make plays, even when nothing seemed to be going right around him initially. The Patriots also fielded a banged-up offensive line that struggled to hold up against the Bills’ pass rush.

Per ESPN.com, Total QBR “incorporates all of a quarterback’s contributions to winning, including how he impacts the game on passes, rushes, turnovers and penalties.”

Here is where every NFL quarterback, including Zappe, ranked in Week 17: