Tag: Bailey Zappe

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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:

Bills’ Micah Hyde makes decision on Rasul Douglas: ‘We won the trade’

#Bills’ Micah Hyde makes decision on Rasul Douglas: ‘We won the trade’

The Bills defeated a chippy Patriots team 27-21 in Orchard Park on Sunday, extending their win streak to four straight contests.

Buffalo will head into next week’s regular-season finale against the Dolphins in Miami for the AFC Championship.

Sunday’s win could be the final AFC East meeting between defensive head coaches Sean McDermott and Bill Belichick, whose future with the Patriots organization is unclear.

And it was McDermott’s defense, for whom he is the primary play-caller, that shone, holding New England to only 294 total yards.

Buffalo caused four Patriots turnovers, including a pick-six by trade deadline acquisition CB Rasul Douglas.

Douglas tipped a pass by Patriots QB Bailey Zappe earlier in the game, which was then caught by teammate DT Ed Oliver for his first career interception, thanks to some single-handed acrobatics, before the cornerback reeled in two picks of his own.

All in the first half.

“That should have been another pick by me,” Douglas mused during his postgame media availability. “I should have had 3, honestly, cause I knew it was coming. I read it, but I was on the right side of the tight end and he kind of threw it to the left. So, I had to go around him and deflect it up and then I seen Ed diving for it, I was just happy that he caught it.”

Douglas has been a huge addition defensively in general, not to mention in the wake of another season-ending injury to CB Tre White.

“I don’t know what we gave up to get him… but we won the trade,” S Micah Hyde said about the Bills’ corner, per ABC 13 WHAM. 

Hyde’s comments were backed by their head coach, who noted the team’s resilience.

“They’ve been very resilient. And just the things that they’ve learned, I think, through the journey that have gotten us to here and then using them week to week to find a way to win games,” McDermott said to the press. “Today we knew wasn’t going to be easy and I thought that their resilient nature was on display in the second half.”

New England’s defense was still stingy despite their offense’s shortcomings, but it was Buffalo’s defensive group that won the day. The offense will look to bounce back and the team will aim to keep rolling into the win column next week in Miami.

[lawrence-related id=129557,129581,129578]

Bills’ Josh Allen on rocky Pats game: ‘One of the longest quarters I’ve ever been part of’

#Bills’ Josh Allen on rocky Pats game: ‘One of the longest quarters I’ve ever been part of’

The Bills beat the Patriots at home 27-21 on Sunday, as the team continues to win games, even when the win is an ugly one.

And it’s paid off.

The Bills’ overall offensive performance wasn’t the smoothest, however, as both OC Joe Brady and QB Josh Allen and his receiving targets, who struggled with completions and capitalizing on several Pats turnovers, expressed visible frustration at times.

Allen finished the day with two rushing TDs and 213 total yards of offense, though he struggled a bit in the passing game putting up only 45 total yards with an interception near the end of the first half.

“That was one of the longest quarters I’ve ever been a part of,” Allen said during his press conference. “Three possessions down there in the first quarter and we only scored one touchdown. That’s not good enough on our end. We got to be better prepared to go and get six and seven there. We lucked out. Our defense played a heck of a game and we got to just try to find a way to win.”

He quickly surpassed that first-half number on the first drive of the second half hitting  TE Dalton Kincaid for a 51-yard reception, a career-long for the Bills first-year tight end.

In the contest, Kincaid finished with 87 yards and set a new franchise record for receptions by a rookie with 62 catches on the season.

“We’re playing a pretty good team so just glad we came out with the win,” Kincaid said to the media.

“Each game’s been you know the most important game and now that this game passed you know next week’s the most important game for us, so looking forward to that.”

The Bills offense was a little bit of history repeating in some ways, as Kincaid led the way in receiving yards and Allen scored multiple TDs in their last meetup too.

What has been different about these past couple of matchups with New England has been the usage of WR1 Stefon Diggs, who was quiet these several games, even not taking any offensive snaps on Buffalo’s opening scoring drive at the start of the 2nd half.

Before this season, he had been the leading receiver in several matchups against New England, and while he had a TD in their last meeting and a shot at deep ball on Sunday night, his role has been different,

Diggs often commands double teams, and the coverage he and WR2 Gabe Davis require of opposing defenses creates openings for other targets like Kincaid, WR Khalil Shakir, and receiving RB James Cook.

In the quest for the Buffalo offense to become more multi-dimensional under new offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the captain has sacrificed to help his team win.

And win they have.

The Bills were at 6-6 and on the outside looking in at the playoffs, and have since rattled off four victories and a shot at their fourth straight AFC East crown in next week’s season finale against the Dolphins in Miami.

“I obviously would love to have a home game in the playoffs,” Allen added. “Would love to get in the playoffs, so that’s first and foremost. [We’re] just doing whatever we can do to give ourselves a chance of getting in.”

[lawrence-related id=129581,129578,129576]