Tag: Mac Jones

Devin McCourty admits Patriots more at fault for Mac Jones’ struggles

Devin McCourty put the onus on the Patriots for Mac Jones’ shaky development.

Devin McCourty has a deep love and appreciation for the New England Patriots organization, but he’s also fair in his critique of the team, particularly on the unfolding situation involving quarterback Mac Jones.

The former legendary Patriots safety was asked who was more at fault for Jones’ struggles under center. While some have been quick to put the blame on the player, McCourty took a different route and put the onus back on the organization.

“I mean, to me it’s a no brainer,” said McCourty, when appearing on “The Greg Hill Show,” via WEEI’s Mike Kadlick. “Everybody in the organization’s raved about the guy’s work ethic. How he’s there early, he’s there late. So, to me, it’s hard to just say, like, it’s his fault… I don’t think, no matter how you feel about him, I don’t think you’d walk away from the situation and say, ‘Hey, you know, this situation that they built around him was really good, and he just didn’t get the job done.’ Like, to me, there’s no way, if you’re gonna be factual, you gotta look, there’s just no way.

“But I think. overall, if you say, ‘Hey, which side do you see more at fault?’ To me it’s no doubt the organization, what’s been put around him, for these straight three years.”

McCourty pointed to great examples of the Patriots failing Jones, including the fact that Jones has had three different offensive coordinators in the last three years, letting Jakobi Meyers walk in free agency and severely limiting Kendrick Bourne’s snaps last season.

The Patriots failed to develop Jones into the quarterback they needed him to be. There have also been issues on the offensive line, which has led to both Jones and backup Bailey Zappe being sack lunches this season.

Zappe was sacked five times in the 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Not even Patrick Mahomes could succeed with the ongoing issues in New England right now.

Jones never stood a chance.

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4-Down Territory: Best/Worst NFL teams, next coach fired, Worst of the Week

The NFL’s best and worst teams, the next head coach fired, and the Worst of the Week for Week 13. It’s time for “4-Down Territory!”

With 13 weeks of actual football in the books for the 2023 NFL season, and the Thanksgiving slate behind us, it’s time for Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, and Kyle Madson of Niners Wire, to come to the table with their own unique brand of analysis in “4-Down Territory.”

This week, the guys have some serious questions to answer:

  1. Which team is the NFL’s best right now?
  2. And which team is the NFL’s worst?
  3. Which head coach will be the next one fired?
  4. What was the Worst of the Week?

You can watch this week’s “4-Down Territory” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “4-Down Territory” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

5 big takeaways from Patriots’ demoralizing 6-0 loss vs Chargers

Here are 5 big takeaways from the Patriots’ 6-0 loss to the Chargers on Sunday.

On an ugly, rainy Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, the New England Patriots took on the Los Angeles Chargers in a football game that may have set the offense back by about 50 years.

The Chargers could only muster up six points against a tough Patriots defense, but New England’s Division II-level offense – led by quarterback Bailey Zappe – couldn’t come up with a single point of their own.

The 6-0 loss was just another feather in the cap of what has been a brutally awful season for New England, a season many fans are sure to remember for a very long time, but not for the right reasons.

Here are five big takeaways from the game.

The Morning After…new quarterback, same problems for Patriots

Even with Bailey Zappe under center, the Patriots were shut out at home by the worst passing defense in the NFL.

The New England Patriots had everything in play for a potential turnaround game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Mac Jones, who had handicapped the team with numerous turnovers, was watching from the sidelines, while Bailey Zappe finally got his chance to start and play for an entire game. The Patriots were facing a Chargers team with no Joey Bosa and the worst passing defense in the NFL.

There was no pressure or high expectations with the team sitting at 2-9 and pegged as underdogs in their home building. And the defense was playing lights out, as it has for most of the season, by limiting the previous two opponents to only 10 points.

Heaven itself opened and delivered a rainy, messy football game to help limit quarterback Justin Herbert and the Chargers’ potent offensive attack to give the Patriots a chance to compete on even ground.

None of it was enough for the Patriots, who crashed and burned with Bailey Zappe at the wheel for their second shutout loss at Gillette Stadium this season.

Here are some leftover notes from Sunday’s game:

Patriots inactives: Mac Jones IN, Deatrich Wise OUT vs Chargers

Mac Jones isn’t expected to start against the Chargers, but he will be active for the game.

A major shake-up at the quarterback position has dominated headlines for the New England Patriots throughout the week, and that continues to be the case on game day against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Even though Bailey Zappe is expected to start on Sunday, the Patriots are keeping Mac Jones active at quarterback. Rookie Malik Cunningham was also elevated from the practice squad on Saturday.

The Patriots are thin at receiver, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Cunningham work in more at that role, while also seeing a couple of package plays at quarterback. Whether Jones gets on the field or not remains to be seen.

The big absences for the Patriots will be wide receiver Demario Douglas and defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. Douglas was the team’s best receiving weapon, and Wise’s absence is a hit to the defense’s pass rush.

Here’s the full list of inactives for Sunday’s game:

A loss on Sunday would officially eliminate the Patriots from the playoffs with five games still left on their regular season schedule.

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Patriots elevate fan-favorite QB Malik Cunningham to main roster

Patriots QB Malik Cunningham gets elevated to the main roster and could see reps on Sunday.

Mac Jones’ demotion was likely confirmed on Saturday with the New England Patriots officially elevating backup quarterback Malik Cunningham to the main roster.

Cunningham was reportedly getting reps at quarterback at practice this week behind Bailey Zappe, while Jones ran the scout team. So there are expectations that the rookie signal-caller will see some work in Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

However, there no certainties of how extensive his offensive involvement will be.

The Patriots could look to get him in on a few package plays, and perhaps those opportunities could evolve from there depending on how the game plays out against the Chargers.

Cunningham’s ability to scramble and make plays on the move made him a fan-favorite in the preseason. Veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster called him “dangerous” with the ball in his hands.

This might finally be the chance Cunningham has been waiting for to show the NFL world just how dangerous he can be.

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Patriots reportedly pick starting QB for Sunday’s game vs Chargers

The Patriots have reportedly made their decision on a starting QB.

Move over, Mac Jones. There’s a new starting quarterback for the New England Patriots.

On Friday, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reported the Patriots are starting second-year quarterback Bailey Zappe for the first time this season in Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Backup Malik Cunningham is expected to be elevated from the practice squad and work into the mix as well in package plays. Meanwhile, Jones isn’t expected to take snaps at all, unless an injury forces him onto the field.

It’s a major shake-up for the Patriots, but it’s also one that was believed to be coming after Jones was benched in back-to-back games.

It has been a rough season for the former Alabama standout, who hasn’t played with anywhere near the same level of confidence he showed in his rookie season.

Keep in mind, Zappe starting this week doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be the starter moving forward. Granted, he’ll have an opportunity to earn more future starts if he plays well. But the starting quarterback situation in New England could turn into a weekly decision by coach Bill Belichick moving forward.

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Former Patriots assistant questions Mac Jones’ likeability in locker room

Is there a disconnect between Mac Jones and his teammates? One former Patriots assistant believes so.

Former New England Patriots assistant Michael Lombardi believes Mac Jones isn’t well-liked in the locker room, which has only added to the problems he’s having right now on the football field.

He pointed to examples such as Jones’ teammates having “no sense of energy,” when talking about him. Lombardi also believes that the quarterback “blames everybody through his body language, through his mechanics.”

“Nobody wants to hang out with Mac Jones,” Lombardi said on his “GM Shuffle” podcast, as transcribed by Boston.com. “Nobody wants to hang out with him. You can see it on these teams. So when you see a bad quarterback like (Tommy) DeVito — they’ll hang out with him. They’ll go over to his house and have chicken parm. Like, they like him. He’s no good — they like him, though. And I think that’s where we lose sight of it a little bit when we’re evaluating these quarterbacks. Because what is the likability of the player?”

Jones has had a difficult season overall. He has thrown for 2,120 yards, 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. There’s a chance he won’t even start in this week’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Yet, despite all of the noise surrounding Jones, his teammates continue to back him in front of the media.

New England could have a chance to revamp the quarterback position in the 2024 NFL draft. Currently, they hold the third overall selection for next April’s event.

At this point, a change of scenery for both Jones and the Patriots organization may do some good.

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Bill Belichick might have answered QB controversy with this comment

Did this Bailey Zappe comment from Bill Belichick answer the Patriots’ QB questions?

Everyone is still scratching their heads wondering what the New England Patriots plan on doing at the quarterback position this week. As expected, coach Bill Belichick was non-committal when speaking with the media on Friday, but he did provide another major clue.

Bailey Zappe has reportedly taken the top reps at practice, and things are leaning in the direction of him starting over Mac Jones, who worked with the scout team on Wednesday.

Jones has looked shaky over the last couple of games with some of the worst throws you’ll see at the quarterback position. Considering he was a Pro Bowler in 2021, it has been one of the most shocking drop-offs by a young player in recent history.

Belichick noted Zappe’s mentality and consistency as positives when discussing him as a player.

“He’s pretty consistent. … He’s pretty even-keeled. Not a lot of roller coaster with him,” said Belichick.

Meanwhile, it has been the roller coaster ride from hell with Jones under center. No, it isn’t all of Jones’ fault, and Belichick deserves the brunt of the blame for failing to develop his young signal-caller and surrounding him with the necessary playmakers to succeed.

But the compliments aimed at Zappe are in direct contrast to many of the negatives out there on Jones. Zappe might not be the better quarterback on paper, but he also isn’t Jones.

The Patriots could start from there, and see if it makes them any better.

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Was Bill Belichick all-in on Mac Jones from the start?

Was Mac Jones truly Bill Belichick’s first choice on the draft board, or was he pushed into making that decision?

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has obviously struggled this season, and questions are beginning to arise as to whether he was the proper selection for New England in the 2021 NFL draft.

Jones was the 15th overall pick in a draft that was heavy with quarterback talent. Quarterbacks taken that year included Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance with the first three selections. Jones was selected 15th overall and was thought to be a franchise cornerstone.

He has struggled throughout the course of his NFL career, but things have nosedived considerably in 2023. He has tallied 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this year, and he is coming off a two-interception performance against the New York Giants on Sunday.

Belichick was asked if he was pushed by owner Robert Kraft to draft Jones on “The Greg Hill Show,” and he claimed the organization thought it was the right thing to do. When asked to clarify later with the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan, he doubled down on it being a collective decision.

“Collectively, yeah. We were all for that,” said Belichick. 

Jones has undoubtedly regressed from what was a solid rookie campaign in 2021. Now, the Patriots may have tough decisions to make, as they currently sit with a 2-9 record and the third overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft.

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