FOXBOROUGH - Bill Belichick hasn’t thrown cold water on the idea that there is a quarterback competition taking place right now in training camp, but the repetition breakdown indicates that, while there’s nothing on the front burner, perhaps Bailey Zappe is about to get a chance to cook.
Yes, there was a change worth noting today. Not dramatic, but a change nonetheless. After receiving nearly all the snaps with what you would consider first-teamers, Mac Jones spent three straight periods working with backup skill players. Yes, he still had the makeshift starting line in front of him and the first team “D” on the other side, but this was a curveball.
However, Jones seemed totally unperturbed by the sight of Kayshon Boutte, Tre Nixon and Demario Douglas as his top 3, even after Nixon stopped running a route mid-play, leading to an interception by Kyle Dugger. The ball has been leaving Mac’s hand quicker, more decisively and - generally - accurately. This may help explain why the 3rd year signal caller brushed off any notion of there being a competition between him and Zappe.
“Every year, you have to have the mindset that you’re competing, not only against yourself, but competing with the teams you’re about to play, which is really important for me,” he said. “Understanding that it’s the NFL, and every week you’re going against a great QB, so that’s my biggest concern.”
It’s not only that, explained Jones, but the idea that he needs to bring this offense together, establishing a level of comfort and trust that is necessary for a successful operation.
“It’s all about improving each day,” he added, “and when you go out there on Sunday, you want your guys to be confident in you, and that’s what I’m trying to instill in them right now.”
The offense scuffled through the first 6 days of camp, but there has been a noticeable uptick in the performance of the “starters” these last two days, led by Jones. The words that come to mind watching him in the last 48 hours are “unshackled,” “unencumbered” and “confident.” That has been noted repeatedly by defenders like Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jabril Peppers in recent days, and offensive teammates as well.
“That dude, man, he’s a spark,” JuJu Smith-Schuster said of Jones. “He’s a spark of our offense, it starts with him and we kind of all just feed off of it.…”
As for Zappe, the 2nd year signal caller certainly doesn’t lack confidence, but consistency has been an issue. In Thursday’s first team period, he overshot an open Kendrick Bourne in the left flat, then held the ball forever on the next play, unable or unwilling to dump it down to the tight end (I didn’t catch the number) between the linebackers.
On the following set of downs, Zappe got to run with Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker. He was once again guilty of holding the ball too long on one play, then getting sacked by Jahlani Tavai on another. Zappe also did his best to get Raleigh Webb de-cleated by Christian Gonzalez, throwing a soft swing pass that Gonzalez turned into a 5-yard loss.
Finally, Zappe had a tough red zone stretch, nearly getting intercepted by Shaun Wade on one throw, then failing to see backside safety Adrian Phillips on a skinny post, getting picked off by the veteran DB. It took me back to Zappe saying one of his primary goals this season was to eliminate big plays for the defense. On this day, not so much.
So what does it all mean? Right now, that Mac is QB1 but the door has been left slightly ajar. Let’s see if there are more opportunities for Zappe with the starters going forward, or if today was a challenge, one met by the incumbent Jones.