New England Patriots links 11/28/23 - A tale of having no starting-caliber quarterback

Still a lot of quarterback talk this week. The links contain quite a few opinions on how the Patriots can’t possibly start Mac Jones this week, how bad/broken he is, who broke him, etc... There was also a question about last week’s suggested quarterback competition - that Mac Jones supposedly won by starting vs. the Giants - wasn’t really a competition at all. The idea put out there that both QBs prepared per usual, weren’t told of any competition, or that Mac was ill-prepared because of reduced snaps.

It seems the points being made in those columns are missing the big point, that the Patriots have no starting quarterback at all. The competition last week, the suggestion that all quarterbacks would have a chance at starting may have been what has been taking place all along. Mac Jones is the best option the Patriots have. If Bailey Zappe had the goods or stood out in any way, he would have been handed the job weeks ago. If Malik Cunningham looked capable, he would be the No. 1. Will Grier was released, so we can assume he couldn’t do it either.

So this is it. Mac Jones = Bailey Zappe. The Patriots have two backups, no starter. Doesn’t matter which one is out there at 1:00 next Sunday to face the Chargers . That’s the fact of the matter. I feel bad for the defense.

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