Bill Belichick has turned New England Patriots' QB controversy into a conundrum | Opinion
For as much talk and hype as there was surrounding Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe since the rookie fourth-round pick took over for incumbent starter Mac Jones, New Englanders woke up Tuesday morning to find their Zappe Fevers had broken.
Once concerned with which young signal-caller deserved to play under center moving forward, their question now — after a disheartening 33-14 home loss to the Chicago Bears — is whether the Patriots have any worthy quarterback. .
After remaining guarded about his starting quarterback, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick elected Jones, who missed the previous three games due to a high ankle sprain, on a misty Monday night in Foxborough. The 2021 first-round pick completed three of his first six passes and ended his third and final series with an interception as Gillette Stadium bellowed chants for Zappe.
WHO IS PATRIOTS' QB?: Bill Belichick mum on starting QB after loss to Bears
NFL POWER RANKINGS: How low do Tom Brady's Buccaneers and Aaron Rodgers' Packers go?
Down 10-0 in the second quarter, Zappe entered to raucous cheers and promptly led the Patriots to consecutive scoring drives to take the lead. But the magic didn’t last long.
Zappe threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble as the Bears rallied for an improbable win. And outside of Zappe’s first two possessions, neither Patriots quarterback showed much promise against a Bears team that likely won’t sniff playoff contention.
The Patriots now find themselves occupying last place in the AFC East with a 3-4 record ahead of a pivotal Week 8 matchup against the New York Jets (5-2).
And we have no idea who’ll be playing quarterback.
"We'll do what we feel is best for the football team," Belichick said Tuesday.
Belichick said the plan all along was to play both Jones and Zappe, a strategy executed in part due to the “factor” of Jones’ recovery from injury. But on the heels of an embarrassing loss on a national stage, the Patriots find themselves with two quarterbacks trending down and no clear path forward.
Here’s what we know: Belichick said it was the plan to play both quarterbacks in the game, but not necessarily for Jones to come out after just three series. He also said Jones wasn’t removed for injury or performance reasons and didn’t re-enter the game in the second half because the score got out of hand.
So then why was Jones removed after just six pass attempts? And why would Belichick start Jones, who was limited in practices prior to the game, in wet conditions if he was less than 100% healthy, when Zappe was coming off two straight wins as a starter?
When asked Tuesday whether Jones was healthy enough to play the entire game Monday if needed, the coach declined to answer because it was “hypothetical.”
Coincidentally, it was the same answer Belichick gave to a follow-up question asking whether it was fair to say a healthy Jones could be considered the Patriots’ starting quarterback moving forward.
“That’s a hypothetical question,” Belichick said. “Let’s see where that is and what that is.”
While it’s no surprise to see Belichick playing coy, his refusal to commit to a starting quarterback is notable. He had no problem naming Cam Newton the team’s starting quarterback after Jarrett Stidham replaced Newton in a 2020 game against the Rams. Belichick’s temporizing is enough evidence to suggest neither Jones nor Zappe has a claim to the job.
During his weekly radio appearance on WEEI, Belichick insisted there was “no lack of communication” and that he informed the quarterbacks and team leaders of the plan. But asked when he learned of the two-quarterback plan Monday, Zappe said “about the same time as you guys.”
It also seemed as though multiple key offensive players were not informed the team planned to change quarterbacks midgame. According to Mark Daniels of MassLive.com, both running back Rhamondre Stevenson and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers were not aware both Jones and Zappe would be playing.
Given his health status, short leash and playing conditions, it certainly feels as though Jones was set up to fail in this game. Jones has lost seven of his last nine starts, with six of those losses coming by double-digits.
Likewise, the script unfolded for Zappe to play the hero on "Monday Night Football." But Zappe, who finished with 185 yards passing, three turnovers and one score, couldn’t save the day after Jones’ ill-fated start — and now the Patriots find themselves in a far more treacherous situation than before.
It’s Belichick who has turned the Patriots' quarterback controversy into a conundrum of his own design — one that clearly didn’t pan out the way he planned.