Through 21 games, the Patriots' record with Mac Jones as their starting quarterback is 11-10. They were 9-4 in his first 13 starts. They’ve been 2-6 since.
Before Jones took over, the Patriots were 7-9 with Cam Newton. Stretching back further, they were 2-4 in Tom Brady’s last six games.
So 11-10 with Mac in '21-'22. And 9-13 with the tail end of Tom/Cam in '19-'20. That’s 20-23 over the last 43. MATH!
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This little reset is to just point out that I am covering and you are rooting for an average NFL team. Forget about the banners and the legend on the sidelines. Current status: Meh. Run-of-the-mill. Also-ran.
Which meeeeaaaannnnnsss … they should be looking to get better. Everywhere. In every way possible.
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Can Mac Jones help them get better? Yes. Are they better than they were when he took over? Yes. Has he done enough in 21 games to fuel a sense of optimism that he can help the Patriots maybe compete for another banner? (Small pause) Yeah. I guess.
Has he done enough to have earned an "appointment" as the team’s starting quarterback? An elite, not-to-be-questioned, don’t-talk-about-upgrades-level quarterback? Absolutely not.
Is Bailey Zappe a good enough player to challenge him? That’s a developing story.
Three weeks ago, I didn’t envision Zappe being good enough to challenge Brian Hoyer to be backup. The Patriots didn’t either, as evidenced by Hoyer starting in Green Bay. But a missed block by Isaiah Wynn, 11 quarters and 30 offensive possessions later, Hoyer is in Zappe’s rearview. And Bailey’s closing in on Mac Jones’ bumper.
Perry's Report Card: The Bailey Zappe train keeps rolling Sunday in Cleveland
But no matter how well Zappe has played on those 30 drives (six field goals, eight touchdowns, 12 punts, one pick, two fumbles, one missed field goal), you -- as a card-carrying Patriots fan who’d like to enjoy another duck boat parade on a February day before you croak -- should be LOOKING FORWARD to Jones’ return next Monday night at Gillette against the Bears.
Not just because he’s a better player than Zappe (for a refresher on that, watch this) but because you can’t wait to see Mac’s rebuttal.
If Jones is who we think he is, his next 30 drives -- bum ankle or no -- will make it clear why he is the Patriots’ quarterback of the immediate future.
He will make better decisions and be more accurate than Justin Fields when the Patriots play the Bears, never mind that Fields was taken four picks before Mac in the 2021 draft. He will show more poise and run his offense more smoothly than Zach Wilson when the Patriots play the Jets, regardless of the fact Wilson went 13 picks before Mac. And Mac won’t play with the same looseness bordering on recklessness against the Colts as he did in the first three games of the year when there was no perceived threat to his status as starting quarterback.
He’ll be better than Zappe. And he’ll be better than September Mac. He'll show the resilience we went on and on about last summer when he beat out Cam Newton. He’ll resurrect the level of play he tapped into last year when he had me pecking out this "Mac Jones Is Real and He’s Spectacular" column on November 14.
If Mac Jones is who we think he is, he’ll be happy as hell that there’s even a conversation about a quarterback competition. Because he likes to compete. He won’t sniff about having to "compete for MY job" as Drew Bledsoe notably did 21 years ago when Tom Brady truly was outplaying Bledsoe.
If Mac Jones is who we think he is, he’ll get the existential threat Zappe poses because he gets this is New England and his head coach is Bill Belichick. If Tom Brady -- after five Super Bowl wins -- was freaked out about Jimmy Garoppolo, Mac understands he damn well better be edgy about Bailey.
If Mac Jones is who we think he is, he’ll feel no entitlement. He’ll understand his underdog story -- even if it ended in a national championship at Alabama -- is a lot like Zappe’s. And he will respond accordingly.
Of course Mac Jones is better than Bailey Zappe. And -- as a reasonable Patriots fan whose opinions don’t spin like a weathervane in a light wind from week-to-week -- you look forward to Mac Jones showing why all this Zappe Fever crap is just that.
So you trust what you’ve seen and know. But you would -- for the hell of it, no disrespect -- just like to verify. So ummm ... can you show us, Mac? You are who we think you are, right?