Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Repairing the Pats Offense; Quarterback Options in the 2024 NFL Draft

Starting point is 00:00:00 You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also, and hopefully, your first listen each and every day. Remember, Lockdown Patriots is not only a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network,

Starting point is 00:00:40 but it is also available on all platforms. So smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to, follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there showing some social media love to Locked On Patriots, Please follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at LinkedIn. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to and they help you do it faster.

Starting point is 00:01:16 Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL. That's LinkedIn.com slash LockedOn on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. And Pats fans, we are just a few days removed now from the big news we were all expecting in Foxborough. Bill Belichick is moving on to maybe greener pastures. We don't know yet. But Gerard Mayo is set to be introduced tomorrow at a press conference at Gillette Stadium as the 15th head coach in New England Patriots franchise history. Folks, there's a lot of moving parts, a lot of questions still to be answered.

Starting point is 00:01:53 And when we need the answers, we've got to go to the excellence of execution that's going to help us sort out what this means on the field for the New England Patriots. And my guest today, as you can see, needs no introduction. I'm going to give him one anyway because he deserves it. You know his amazing work from numerous platforms, so many of them, I can't name them all right now. But the work that this man is doing for SB Nation right now when it comes to NFL coverage, and he's about to be goaded when it comes to F1 racing coverage. We bless the rains today and welcome in Mark Schofield.

Starting point is 00:02:26 Mark, welcome back to the pod. Happy New Year. And thank you so much for returning to the microphone you helped make famous here on Lockdown Patriots. Mike, at some point we're going to have to trim down that introduction. I do appreciate it every time. It is so wonderful and so nice of you to say all those kind things, although I will say the F1 bit, I'm not so sure that's going to happen because if any of you who are listening to the show or watching it on YouTube are fans of F1 and perhaps fans of McLaren, and I actually have a couple of McLaren hats up there in the corner, you might have seen on Monday they dropped this sort of hype video McLaren did about how everybody counted them out at the start of last year. And everybody was saying they were going to be bad, but they stuck their nose to the grindstone, did the work that finished fourth.

Starting point is 00:03:10 And they had all these stories that they showed hot headlines of, and, you know, frames of, and there was at least one Mark Schofield story in there. So I've already annoyed one F1 team before the season has gotten underway. So maybe I should, you know,

Starting point is 00:03:24 pick some more fights with like Ferrari or something down the road. But it's great to be here. I'm excited to dive in. And oddly enough, as I am a Patriots fan, you can also see the Patriots memorabilia up there as well. I'm excited about the future of this team. I'll say that sort of at the outset.

Starting point is 00:03:40 I'm excited about what could be coming down the road. I'm excited about Gerard Mayer. We'll be talking about that as I'm sure we will. But I think these are exciting times. Was it awkward? Was it sad and upsetting to see Belichick say goodbye? Is it going to be awkward and unsettling to see him in an Atlanta Falcons hoodie or a Los Angeles Chargers hoodie with the cutoff sleeves? Yeah, it will be. But we knew this day would come. And, you know, down the stretch last fall, and we talked about this, you know, I kept thinking about Tom Brady Sr. and his, you know, it always ends and it always ends badly quote about Tom when he was still in New England about how that relationship was going to end.

Starting point is 00:04:21 I think this didn't end as bad as it could have you know i i think there was clearly a mutual respect between robert craft and bill belichick they tried to see if they could make it work they came to the decision that it couldn't and they said their goodbyes and parted ways and seems like no hard feelings i think as far as an ending could have gone this was as good as it could have been short short of Belichick winning the Super Bowl and retiring after that. Yeah, I think that's how everyone in Patriots Nation would have loved to have seen the Brady-Belichick craft, a triumvirate of triumph, really, here in New England go out. That would have been the ideal, without any question. Unfortunately, not always do you get to write your own ending. Mark, we knew that the time was going to come eventually,

Starting point is 00:05:05 that neither Tom Brady nor Bill Belichick was going to be a part of this franchise. And we're here. Belichick is out. Gerard Mayo is in, as I said, to open the show today. Introductory press conference on Wednesday. But Gerard is already hitting the ground running, and he's looking to make improvements to this team. You do not want to see the Patriots finish 4-13 once again and Gerrard seems determined to do everything he can to prevent that. Now

Starting point is 00:05:31 naturally change at the top is going to mean change everywhere but a lot of the names we're hearing from the GM search especially like Elliot Wolfe and Matt Groh even from the offensive coordinator position like Josh McDaniels or you know maybe a retention of Bill O'Brien it seems to be that the Patriots to recognize the talent that they have here on this staff in this building and they're not necessarily eager to jettison all of it so when you look at this offense right now especially Mark because that's where everyone's looking to improve that's where the Patriots need the most help. If the Pats did the smart thing and they hired you as their offensive coordinator, and I say that without hesitation

Starting point is 00:06:10 because I think that should happen, folks. Believe me, it would really, watch the product on the field. I kid you not, but if they did the smart thing, the just thing, the right thing, what's really the first order of business you'd suggest to Gerard Mayo about what needs to be done to put this offense on the straight and narrow? Well, the first thing I would do would be submit my resignation letter, because that would be the next smart thing to do. You know, because there are much more talented men and women out there who could serve as the offensive coordinator. I mean, look, we know the big one is the quarterback position.

Starting point is 00:06:46 I mean, the conversation, I think, look, we know the big one is the quarterback position. I mean, the conversation I think has to begin there. They need to figure out the quarterback position going forward. Now, there are certainly options in-house, which we can discuss. I'm more inclined to look outside the building right now. Now, whether that's draft, whether that's trade, whether that's free agency, you know, those are all options that can be on the table. I don't think anything's off the table at this point. But I think fixing the quarterback position is the first course of action. Now, speaking of the real world here about the offensive coordinator position, I do think that hire is critical.

Starting point is 00:07:20 And I understand, look, the names that have been floated out there are the familiar ones, retaining Bill O'Brien, which is certainly an option. But Josh McDaniel's back, which is also certainly an option. The name I sort of want to put out there is Zach Robinson, currently the passing game coordinator and QB coach in L.A. with the Rams under Sean McVay. And part of the reason for that is the offensive system overall. You know, that sort of, you know, we remember last season before last season with Matt Patricia, who, you know, just sank the Eagles as a defensive coordinator a year after sinking the

Starting point is 00:07:54 Patriots as an offensive coordinator, which is just a strange set of circumstances overall. But there are all the rumblings about, we want to be outside zone, wide zone, that McVay Shanahan type of offensive system. There's a coach that's been in it for five years that's lived it that's that's coached it now he's never called plays before and again having play calling experience i think is important we just saw the eagles sink their season and brian johnson is first time play caller like there's an art and a science to calling plays.

Starting point is 00:08:27 It's not just looking down a list and ordering something off a menu. You've got to have foresight and things like that to set things up, to understand what defenses are doing and how they're suddenly defending you and how to counteract things like that. So, I mean, there is a sort of a wariness there to hire somebody that hasn't called plays before. But Robinson's obviously a familiar face, spent some time in the organization. sort of a wariness there to hire somebody that hasn't caught plays before but you know roberts is obviously a familiar face spent some time in the organization you know he's learned the coaching part of it under sean mcveigh so there's that offensive philosophy and to mcveigh's credit

Starting point is 00:08:55 you know he sort of turned that offense around this was you know in the jared golf years in early stafford years outside zone wide zone it was all the stuff we were just talking about this year 42 of their running plays were gap power. He showed an evolution himself. And I think, you know, Robinson certainly learned part of that as well. And as strange as this may sound, one of the other hot head coaching names right now, Bobby Slonick, down in Houston, he spent time at PFF. So did Robinson.

Starting point is 00:09:21 And I know a lot of people might look at that and say, what does that mean? Well, it shows sort of a willingness and an openness to look at every bit of data available to you. A lot of people sort of there's people like me that are more the film people out there that watch film and stuff like that. We sometimes push back on the analytics, the PFF side of things. But I also firmly believe that you have to take a look at every little bit of data available to make the most informed decisions as possible is whether it's GM decisions, head coaching decisions, offensive coordinator decisions. And somebody with that background is going to look at data on whether to, you know, push to go forward on fourth down or data on play action versus

Starting point is 00:10:01 non-play action or data on, you know, more advanced quarterback metrics, such as CPOE and EPA and things like that to understand where his team is, where his roster is, where his players are, who's doing what well and make informed decisions as a result. And so retaining Bill O'Brien is certainly a good decision. If they want to go down the Josh McDaniels road, I would understand it. But if Gerard Mayo and company want to look outside the building for that OC hire, again, it should not be me. I would put Zach Robinson's name at the top of that list.

Starting point is 00:10:35 Yeah, very, very good point. And I know Zach's name was a name that was bandied about when the Patriots were looking for an OC last year before Bill O'Brien really kind of took the lead in terms of who the Patriots were considering for a while there until the end of January. It really was the worst kept secret in the NFL that Bill O'Brien was going to end up the offensive coordinator as the New England Patriots. But Zach's a name that definitely was interesting because don't forget folks, I know the knock on Bill Belichick, Mark, and you know this as well as anyone, was that Belichick was never going to upgrade the offense. He was stubborn. He was stuck in his ways. He wasn't going to do anything to further the Patriots into this modern NFL offense. Patriots did try to do this a couple of years ago, folks. That's something that I know a lot of people don't give credit to Bill for and trying to be forward-thinking, but you look at the drafting of Mac Jones. You look at the drafting of Tyquan Thornton, Cole Strange.

Starting point is 00:11:26 These were all done in mind with incorporating that Shanahan-type McVay-style offense. You've explained the tenets of this several times on Locked On Patriots and through your work with SB Nation. Running ball, especially to the outside, folks, that's really the big change from the Patriots using that downhill gap run-type offense. They run to the outside in the Shanahan-McVay type offense. Pocket passing quarterbacks, you want them to be accurate in the middle of the field.

Starting point is 00:11:51 Decent deep throwers because you have to dial up the ball to be able to hit a deep target. There's where your Taekwon Thornton comes in, a guy that can stretch the field, get down the field faster than anyone else. Skill position players and offensive alignment, especially that are athletic, agile. They can move laterally very quickly. That's why they brought Cole Strange in. Cole Strange right now is playing in an offense this year, 2023,

Starting point is 00:12:17 that he wasn't drafted to be a part of. So there's a lot of moving parts that need to be, I think, sewn up. And I think you said that perfectly. If the Patriots are looking to make moves and they're looking to go outside I think, sewn up. And I think you said that perfectly. If the Patriots are looking to make moves and they're looking to go outside the box, bringing in someone like Zach Robinson to kind of reincorporate this is going to be interesting, but you need the personnel alongside it as well. Yeah, I mean, I think that's exactly right.

Starting point is 00:12:37 Like they have to pair the talent that they have in the room with what they want this offense to look like. Now, I think somebody like Robinson, and that's why I sort of mentioned the evolution of McVay's offense, has an ability to look. If they come in and they decide, look, we want to incorporate more of that outside zone, wide zone boot action and that stuff, but we can't rest our entire offense on that as the Rams, again, that evolution to 42 percent cap power maybe they have the talent in the offensive line that can do both or maybe not you know but I think

Starting point is 00:13:12 that's going to be a critical piece of the process these next couple of months is deciding on an OC who that's going to be decided what this offense is going to look like and then deciding who the best options are at the various positions to run that offense and look we always see that discussion about quarterbacks and the brock purdy discourse has certainly kicked that up a notch this fall into winter of system quarterbacks and you know people sometimes game managers whatever phrase you want to use and they talk about you about some quarterbacks are just system quarterbacks. And I always say all quarterbacks are system quarterbacks. All quarterbacks have an offense that they're best suited to run. Now, some quarterbacks are able to run more than one system.

Starting point is 00:13:57 Some quarterbacks are less system quarterbacks than others. But, you know, perhaps the example of Patrick Mahomes, you might say he's not a system quarterback, but there are still offenses that he's more tailored to run than others. Like, I think if you take Patrick Mahomes and drop him into what the Ravens do with Lamar Jackson, he can do it. It's not going to be as explosive or dynamic as it is with the Ravens, but he can do it. And so I think there are quarterbacks that will be available options to them that might fit one system better than others, and that might ultimately guide what they decide to do, whether it's in free agency via trade or that third overall pick.

Starting point is 00:14:32 But they will have options. But it starts with figuring out what they want this offense to be, who's going to be calling the plays, and then addressing and finding the right personnel to run that offense. So glad that you mentioned the options, folks, because when we continue here on Locked On Patriots, we're going to get into those options. We haven't had a whole lot of draft talk here on Locked On Patriots just yet. It's been a whole lot of Bill Belichick, Gerard Mayo, what to do, what's going on. We're going to talk a little draft and we're going to

Starting point is 00:14:58 talk top level draft. By consensus, if the Patriots are to go for a quarterback, most people expect them to take one with that number three pick. who is the quarterback right now on the board that could transcend that system that Mark is talking about and run multiple looks for the New England Patriots or are we looking in the wrong direction might the Patriots be looking more toward the back end yeah I know you can take the Belichick off the team but you can't take team out of the Belichick folks there is a possibility of trade downs. And you know what? We're going to discuss anything and everything when this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues.

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Starting point is 00:17:00 That's fantastic. Thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriot to absorb the wisdom and counsel of my good friend, our guest today, my predecessor and mentor, and the GOAT of SB Nation. And I say that without hesitation, my good friend, Mark Schofield. Mark, in the previous segment, we talked a little bit about what Gerard Mayo might be facing in terms of trying to reboot or at least rekindle some of the offensive magic that this team once had. And to do that, you need competent people in place. Obviously, the OC is a big part of that.

Starting point is 00:17:32 We talked a little bit about that. The quarterback is probably the major component. Patriots obviously did not have solid enough quarterback play to pull them up from the doldrums where they were last season. The Patriots have the third overall pick. That's the highest selection New England has had since they took Drew Bledsoe with the number one pick in 1993. So when you look at what the Patriots are faced with,

Starting point is 00:17:57 they need a franchise quarterback, or they need someone that they can rely on, give the ball to each and every week, and know this guy is going to give them a chance to win. Caleb Williams, Drake May, Jaden Daniels, the consensus top three quarterbacks on the board. With the number three pick, the Patriots are guaranteed if they do nothing else but show up the day of the draft, they're guaranteed to pick one of those guys. In your estimation, is there a quarterback right now among the three or maybe that we're not seeing that can transcend the system you described in the previous segment

Starting point is 00:18:32 can go beyond what the patriots are trying to incorporate and run whatever type of reclamation project they're going to try to run in 2024 and beyond to bring this team back to glory? The short and pithy answer is I don't know. And that's part of the problem with the quarterback evaluation process. We get it wrong all the time. Like we get it wrong all the time. Like, you know, and I get it wrong. I've made so many mistakes over the years in the quarterback evaluation game. Teams get it wrong.

Starting point is 00:19:02 Like, you know, there have been some wins. Like CJ Stroud could be one last year i feel good about that one josh rosen could be one a couple years ago don't feel good about that one like you get it wrong now having said that i think all three of those quarterbacks caleb williams drake may jayden daniels can transcend their systems i mean look caleb williams is going to be a polarizing draft prospect. We know the conversations that are coming. Some of them have already begun.

Starting point is 00:19:32 But I think when you look at his body of work overall, even the last half of the season when people thought he was sort of regressed and things like that, he still put up very good numbers against good defenses. He can transcend the offense that he's been asked to run. Dynamic player. There have been comparisons to mahomes kyler murray and other sort of quarterbacks that sort of fit in the modern nfl trend of athleticism and creating outside the pocket or off structure i think caleb williams can do that at the next level and i think a lot of it is similar to the mahomes that i'm not making a

Starting point is 00:20:01 sort of comparison here i've never been good at comps. But similar to Mahomes, if you remember him coming out, and I was very high on Mahomes, it was just tell him not to throw into triple coverage all the time. But I think he's going to be okay in the NFL. And Andy Reid kind of, you know, unlocked that part with Patrick Mahomes. I think Drake may transcend an offense. I know that if you're looking at just those three quarterbacks,

Starting point is 00:20:24 Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams are the more explosive, dynamic athletes of the three, but May has some athleticism and creativity to him. I also think that if you get down to the floor versus ceiling argument, you might make the argument in that case for Drake May, because he might have the higher floor. But I bring that up and I know every Patriots fan that hears that is bringing their mind back to Mac Jones because that was the Mac Jones argument, floor versus ceiling. So that might leave people a bit uneasy if they turn in the card on the first night of the draft and it's Drake May.

Starting point is 00:20:58 They might have fears and flashbacks of Mac Jones. They might have fears and flashbacks of Mitchell Trubisky because UNC, but they're different players. Jaden Daniels is a fascinating study. And when you watch him, you see why teams would be excited about him because of the dual threat nature, the true dual threat nature, the explosive plays that he created both in the passing game and in the run game and there is certainly a scenario where he's the pick at three or a little bit later via a trade down some of the hesitations might be size frame you know is he going to have the longevity at the next level but i i think similar to players that he's been sort of compared to you know there have been some lamar jackson rumblings he does a good job of protecting himself and sliding dipping on a bounce and things like that

Starting point is 00:21:48 and so i think he can have a lengthy nfl career now you get beyond the top three and it depends how quick you know if it's a trade down to the middle of the first round maybe you're getting yourself into bo nicks michael pennix range. Nix is an interesting study because, you know, you see the completion percentage. You see, you know, the efficiency that he had. And he's more of your point guard type quarterback where he's just going to be like a distributor and things like that. And maybe that's what they want. Penix is a fascinating study because if he didn't have the multiple injuries and he wasn't an older prospect, he'd certainly be talked about at the top of the first round.

Starting point is 00:22:26 And he will face a lot of the same questions that C.J. Stroud faced last year, and he answered some of them against Texas. Can he play against pressure? His numbers against pressure this year going into that Texas game were not good at all. Now, he had a very good game against Texas. Then he follows it up with a very poor effort against a very good Michigan defense. Then how deep in the draft do you want to get? Because if you get more into that mid to late day to range,

Starting point is 00:22:52 I think two names to keep in mind, Michael Pratt from Tulane, who I think is again in that sort of point guard type of quarterback and JJ McCarthy from Michigan. And I will say that McCarthy is going to get first round buzz, especially if we get a scenario where Jim Harbaugh is hired by an NFL team that has a quarterback need. Like there's going to be that comparison. Harbaugh's already interviewed with the Chargers.

Starting point is 00:23:18 Obviously, if he takes the Chargers job, you're not getting, oh, they're going to draft JJ McCarthy in the first round because you get Justin Herbert there. But if you get Harbaugh and say washington you know if you get harbaugh and say atlanta like then the conversation changes a little bit i i don't i think there was a window to mccarthy being a first round quarterback but that sort of fell off in the second half of the year i think it's far more likely a day two pick, but that would be interesting. Pratt from Tulane is going to be interesting as well. There are options in the draft at various stages of the draft to address the quarterback position. Now, if you do it at three, I think it's a burn the boats type of situation.

Starting point is 00:23:56 If you draft somebody at three, that's the guy. That's who you're going forward with. If you do it round two, round three, then it's a draft pick plus leftover option or veteran free agent option in, you know, camp type of situation. And so there's obviously a lot of evaluation work left to be done, but those are sort of your options at various stages as they sit here right now, mid-January. Yeah. And I think that's excellent and I guarantee you folks I was not trying to trip mark up earlier when I said who is the guy that can transcend this system and he said I don't know I wasn't trying to make him feel uncomfortable he I don't know was exactly the response I expected and exactly the one I wanted because it is not an exact science and I

Starting point is 00:24:42 think fans media alike we all need to remember that going into this. Just because the shiny name is out there does not necessarily mean that the button needs to be pushed on one person and one person alone. It really does depend on a lot of factors. That room that the Patriots are going to put together to be able to craft this draft this season, really have to be very mindful of that so a lot of pressure on the New England Patriots right now to get this right yeah and you have to get it right because you missed on the first round quarterback a couple of years ago and you know there are different reasons for that and certainly the postmortems will be written if and when Matt Jones is elsewhere next year but when you miss on a quarterback and have to reset it,

Starting point is 00:25:28 it puts more pressure on the staff right now to get that right. Now, do they decide because of that experience with Matt Jones to get into the rookie market? Do they go free agent veteran? Do they go trade? Those are all sorts of things to consider. And you might have a justin fields trade you're already here in teams like atlanta and others could get a first

Starting point is 00:25:51 round pick for justin fields would you trade number three overall for justin fields right now as much as i like justin fields coming out no i don't think you go down that road but if it's a second round pick you know then you maybe say okay justin fields bailey zappy we'll figure it out in camp maybe they do that i don't know but the quarterback evaluation process is so hard the team is getting wrong all the time this team has gotten it wrong before now they obviously nailed it you know back in year 2000 you know with tom brady um but they they missed it with mac jones and to have two misses in 20, I mean, one miss in 25 years is a pretty good track record.

Starting point is 00:26:29 Look at Chicago, look at Washington, look at some other teams that have taken some swings at the quarterback position and are entering this draft now trying to figure out alongside the Patriots. Absolutely. So well said folks, you know, and I think in a lot of ways it's going to be very interesting to see what the Patriots do at the quarterback position. Probably their biggest offseason question mark. Arguably their biggest offseason need, our good friend Murph Mark, who would argue that it's offensive line first. We're going to continue to talk in those directions, folks. Mark's going to be back several times here before the draft, so we will talk all of the patriots needs and how the pets will go about filling it but we could not in good faith ask mark to come on today without wrapping up today's show with a little quarterback whispering and

Starting point is 00:27:15 that's right folks bailey zappy mac jones neither of them had a season they'll want to remember anytime soon but who is more salvageable at this point? Is there a scenario where either Bailey or Matt come back as the team's backup or dare I even say it as the team's starter? And we're going to talk about the Patriots quarterbacks and what lays ahead for the guys that are currently on this roster. When this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, the NFL regular season has wrapped up, but there is still time to

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Starting point is 00:29:54 On Patriots. Starting off your week in style with the excellence of execution of SB Nation, blessing the reins with my good friend Mark Schofield. As always, the total poster remains in front of me and my inspiration each and every day. I take the microphone here. Mark, you've already given us amazing information, amazing insight when it comes to what the

Starting point is 00:30:13 Patriots need to do to try to fix their offense. The steps they may take in the draft if quarterback is their choice. But we all know that you see things us mere mortals do not see when it comes to the quarterback position and this year you really didn't have to be a quarterback whisperer to know that things were going wrong with Mac Jones and that things didn't get that much better with Bailey Zappi I will give Bailey credit I think he played with more confidence more poise and I think he did a better job in the latter half of the season than Mac did in the first. But we're not talking about a job done by either that solidified their future here in New England.

Starting point is 00:31:03 Let's start with Mac Jones for a second, because one of the big knocks on Mac since he was drafted was that he has that quicksand thinking mentality, the way you articulated the last time you were here on Locked On Patriots. Something goes wrong and it goes, and it keeps going wrong, and one more thing goes wrong. And before you know it, you're in over your head. Mack's biggest problem has always been pressure coming from the second, third level of the defense, even some of the front level, when they really discovered how to get to him. He'll open the top of his drop in the wrong direction. It's causing him to lose sight of the field.

Starting point is 00:31:24 He's not seeing open guys, and it becomes an issue down the line for him completing and getting to where he needs to be. His bread-and-butter game is leading the receiver under the defense, making quick, accurate throws, maybe short-level throws to kind of get the offense in motion, and then let his pass catchers get yards after the catch. Didn't see that at all this year. Judging from his mechanics, judging from his body language, and judging from his overall demeanor, Mark, is there a chance that Matt Jones still has a future here in New England?

Starting point is 00:31:57 I will say I still think he has a future in the NFL, at least as a backup quarterback, but has his time in New England come to an end based on what we saw last year? Yeah, I think it has. And I'm with you. We talked about this recently. He still has an NFL future, and it could be as a starter somewhere. But I just think it would be best for all parties if the time in New England comes to a close

Starting point is 00:32:21 because we know an addition is going to be made at the quarterback position. Like I feel like that's a safe bet. What that looks like remains to be seen. And we just talked about some of the various options, but I just think it's at this point, it gets back to that word. You used a couple of minutes of confidence. Like,

Starting point is 00:32:39 I don't think he's going to be confident here in new England. If they decide, look, we're going to draft a quarterback in new england if they decide look we're going to draft a quarterback in the third round you know michael pennix jr and we're going to let him and matt jones compete for the starting job like i just don't think that's a conducive environment for him to do the things he needs to do and develop and fix the things that he needs to fix i think he probably needs a fresh start somewhere else. I still think he could be a starting quarterback in the NFL, but it's just the crisis of confidence he underwent last year and frankly, two years ago, I think it's just put him at a point where his best future lies

Starting point is 00:33:18 somewhere else. And I agree with you. I really do think that at this point, it's probably best for his psyche. It's probably best for his skill set and his development to continue his career elsewhere. So I do agree. And I think the Patriots will probably oblige that. That's one to keep an eye on this offseason, folks, where the Patriots, what the Patriots do with Mac Jones, who is still under contract, he's still a commodity, and teams will always pay for quarterback talent. So keep that in mind as we're heading into

Starting point is 00:33:45 this offseason but mark i'm going to switch the gears now and i'm going to ask you about bailey zappy um bailey obviously came in and played with a little more enthusiasm i think he played with a greater deal of willingness to test the ball downfield um i looked like his teammates were responding to him and they were starting to give him the type of support that he needed to try to make a go of it in the second half of the season. And when he got good protection,

Starting point is 00:34:14 you saw him play reasonably well. We saw good halves of football and even a couple of games that he strung together where the Patriots were able to get a win. But overall, still not fast enough through his reads. The accuracy is still a big issue, especially when it comes to the interceptions that he's thrown. Again, I think he was a little more explosive with the deep ball than Mack.

Starting point is 00:34:35 I think that's a little bit more in his repertoire than Mack Jones. But there were still some moments that led you to believe that this guy is not quite ready for prime time. If Mack Jones is gone, I'm assuming that Bailey Zappi is someone you want to retain as your top backup quarterback. But is there starter potential in this kid that we haven't seen yet, or are you pretty much seeing what you see is what you get with him? I think in sort of describing it this way, there is spot starter

Starting point is 00:35:03 slash backup slash low level starter potential with Bailey Zappi. And if that's something that, you know, sounds like a, you know, dismissive way of describing it, I don't think so at all. I mean, there are only 32 starting quarterbacks on the planet, like, and you need good backups. And look, this year has taught us like more than perhaps any other year in recent memory, like you need good backup options. And I think Bailey Zappi is the perfect answer particularly if they decide McDaniels O'Brien is the offensive coordinator there's continuity there that I think would be good for both Zappi would be good for this offense because let's face it if they go Zappi and you know rookie

Starting point is 00:35:42 at three or five or whenever they end up drafted and working the first round if they go Zappi and, you know, rookie at three or five or whenever they end up drafted a rookie in the first round, if they go that route, they might figure at some point they're not ready right away. They might not be ready week one. And then you have Zappi that can start week one, week two, and be that sort of bridge to the new quarterback in that situation. And so I think what we've seen from Zappi is if given time to prepare, he can string together some wins. He can string together some good performances. He's not somebody that's going to sort of transcend the system, transcend the offense.

Starting point is 00:36:13 But he's in a world where backup quarterback is starting to be taken more seriously because of the injuries, because of the length of the season and everything else. He's a very good backup option for this team that can spot start, can put together some wins, and everything else. He's a very good backup option for this team that can spot start, can put together some wins, and in a certain scenario, can be a low-level starter and could be a functioning starter if everything around him is perfect, if everything around him is ideal. And so you're absolutely right.

Starting point is 00:36:38 Given where I am and where I stand on Mac and the thought that, like, they'll be elsewhere, I'm fine with them keeping Zappi in any sort of scenario, whether it's rookie at three, rookie on day two, Zappi and Gardner Minshew, some sort of scenario like that where they go trade free agency. I think of the two, I'm more inclined to retain Zappi because if nothing else, he's shown that he can come off the bench, he can be a good backup quarterback.

Starting point is 00:37:04 I don't think Mack Jones is suited to be that good backup quarterback, given what we've talked about in New England. And given, like you said, there's going to be a team out there that's going to say, hey, here's a second-round pick, third-round pick, whatever. He's a former first-round pick. Maybe we can fix him. There's going to be that coach-em-up-itis that is going to allow them

Starting point is 00:37:23 to make a deal with Matt jones bottom line i agree with you i think bailey zappy is the better fit here for the backup spot start someone who you know that no matter what circumstances you give him the ball under he'll be willing to take it and he can perform reasonably well a lot of fixing needs to be done on the offense but i think our good friend here has given us a pretty good blueprint on how to fix that offense and what moves need to be made. And most importantly, the considerations that need to go into all of these decisions. Mark, what can I say? The Toto poster will never come down.

Starting point is 00:37:53 It always remains an homage here for you. It's always my honor to bless the reins with you each and every time you come on. So for the benefit of those of our listeners that are joining us for the first time or that are not everydayers with Locked On Patriots, please let everyone know where they can find you and absorb all of the great work that you're doing for SB Nation, my friend. Well, first off, Mike, it's always great to see that Toto poster. And I've got to say, I'm seeing Toto and Journey in concert in February. So I'm going to get a new Toto poster for you

Starting point is 00:38:20 so we can replace the one that's up there because it's been up there for a while. But I do appreciate you keeping it up there ask for where to find me at mark scofield on x at ma scofield 3916 i think it's me on threads all the work is at sb nation now um obviously nfl playoffs will get covered but you know you mentioned the formula one stuff at the outset we're getting close car unveiling start next month williams is doing in new york city so that's going to be fun um red bull last year and afatari launched their cars for the last season in new york city so we're seeing more teams come stateside for stuff like that which is pretty cool but you

Starting point is 00:38:54 can find all of it at uh sb nation sb nation.com at mark schofield on thread on twitter there's too many places now like we gotta simplify this but i. But I think M-A-S-C-O-P-E-L-3-9-1-6 on threads. But SBNation.com. Buddy, always a blast. Can't wait to do it again soon. Pleasure is all mine, my friend. And, you know, I've said this several times. You set such an impeccable table here at Locked On Patriots.

Starting point is 00:39:17 Every time I take the microphone here, I'm always trying to get this right in your honor. One of these days, folks, I might get there. But you know what? Even if I don't, I have no qualms about that. Following this man is no... As I always said, you've taken the show in far greater places than I ever did. It's just been so

Starting point is 00:39:34 awesome to see what you've done and how you've grown it, and I couldn't be prouder of you. Thank you. Thank you, my friend. And a big part of that, like I said, is the table that you set for me here on Locked On Patriots, and I'm eternally grateful for that. And I thank you for the table that you set for me here on Locked On Patriots. And I'm eternally grateful for that. And I thank you for being a great friend, not only to me personally, but also to the show and the network for coming back and lending your wisdom and counsel the way only you can.

Starting point is 00:39:55 Folks, follow Mark Schofield on Threads, on X, on whatever platform you can find him on. Definitely absorb all of the great work because you'll be much better sports fans and you'll be very, very well well informed honestly informed and i say that underlined because it is rare in our business today and this man always does it with integrity as well on behalf of my good friend mark scofield i'm mike debate reminding you all to stay safe to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world, then don't forget to smash that subscribe button. We talked about the logistics on the field today. Tomorrow, we're taking a little walk to the bank, and we're talking some Foxborough finance with our good friend Miguel, the Pat's Cat Benzon,

Starting point is 00:40:35 going to tell us how the Patriots are going to spend that $70 million burning a hole in Robert Kraft's pocket right now. But on behalf of Mark Schofield, I'm Mike DeBate, folks. Have a great day, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on lot on patriots

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Repairing the Pats Offense; Quarterback Options in the 2024 NFL Draft

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