Bill Belichick stiff-arms question about hypothetical QB controversy in New England
BOSTON -- Bailey Zappe earned his first career win in his first career start on Sunday, helping the Patriots to a 29-0 victory over the Detroit Lions at Gillette Stadium. The rookie QB looked good, playing mostly mistake-free football and giving his team a chance to win.
The defense had a lot more to do with the victory than Zappe's play at quarterback, though his performance has some wondering if there will be a bit of a quarterback controversy when starter Mac Jones is healthy enough to play. But Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn't want to discuss any imaginary issues when he joined WEEI's The Greg Hill Show on Monday.
"Yeah, I'm not going to get into a lot of hypotheticals on all the different things that might or might not happen and all that," Belichick said Monday morning. "That's just, to me, a waste of time. I'm not going to sit around here and dream up scenarios and all that. We'll take things as they come and go from there."
Jones was sidelined for the second straight game on Sunday with a high ankle sprain that he suffered in Week 3. He was limited at practice throughout last week, and was listed as doubtful on Friday's injury report. Given that he was ruled out on Friday of Week 4, Jones is clearly making some progress toward a return.
And when Jones is healthy enough to return, Christian Fauria said the answer at quarterback is an easy one for Belichick and the Patriots.
"He starts. Right away. He starts right away," Fauria said on Sunday night's Sports Final on WBZ-TV. "I know everyone is excited [about Bailey Zappe]. But if you peel the layers down and get deep into the weeds, the [Patriots' offense wasn't] able to score in the red zone, they were 3-for-9 on third down. He just did exactly what he needed to do. He didn't win them the game. He did what he was supposed to do: Don't do anything stupid and don't cough it up."
Jones had his share of issues with turnovers and poor decision-making, but his job is not in jeopardy because Zappe is playing well. ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss said Sunday that watching Zappe play in a stripped-down offense could give Mac an important lesson for the rest of his season.
"That is a great reminder to Mac as he sits back and watches: It doesn't have to all fall on you. Sometimes protect the ball and play smart, and that can be enough," Reiss said on Sports Final. "They scaled it back for Bailey and made it easy for him. With Mac they don't need to do that because they can do so much more. The lesson to me, for Mac, is come back and don't turn the ball over and maybe they can take off."
Jones may be a little more eager to return with a rookie playing so well in his place, though the Patriots likely don't want their franchise QB rushing back. It should be an interesting week as the Patriots gear up for a road matchup with the Cleveland Browns.
