What to Make of Bailey Zappe STRUGGLES in Patriots Preseason Finale vs Titans

CLNS Media Sports Network

Bailey Zappe had a tough outing in the Patriots' preseason finale against the Titans. With a 62.4 passer rating, he completed just eight of 15 passes, averaging 3.8 yards per attempt and no touchdowns. Additionally, he fumbled three times, losing one of them. CLNS Media's Taylor Kyles and John Zannis react to Zappe's performance.  FULL Postgame Show here: https://youtube.com/live/E13O1bJMRhA | Patriots Postgame Show w/ Taylor Kyles and John Zannis  FanFanduel Sportsbook is the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. Visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and start earning BONUS BETS with America’s #1 Sportsbook! Because right now, when you bet on a Super Bowl Winner, you can GET BONUS BETS EVERY TIME THEY WIN IN THE REGULAR SEASON!  21+ and present in MA. First online real money wager only. $10 Deposit req. Refund issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at fanduel.com/sportsbook. Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234.

Transcript

00:00 Bailey Zappi's evaluation is so tough because he didn't have a real offense around it, but

00:05 the three fumbles were just freaking ridiculous.

00:07 Well, look at it this way.

00:09 He didn't have a real offense around him, and it's hard to say without the benefit of

00:12 film if some of the sacks that he took, and he did take four sacks, were coverage or he's

00:19 holding it a bit too long.

00:21 But even on throws that he made, his timing was off.

00:23 And I understand your timing is going to be off when your nerves are jangled, when you

00:28 don't have a lot of protection, and when things aren't going your way.

00:31 But he was either ahead of guys, behind guys, just not recognizing.

00:37 He just wasn't crisp.

00:39 He didn't really have any sort of rhythm to anything that he did on this night.

00:43 And again, I mean, it shows in the final numbers.

00:48 But this was pretty ugly.

00:49 And again, it's what can you learn when you're not really playing with anything real?

00:56 Even with Mack, when he did play in the preseason, he's not playing with the full offensive

01:04 line in front of him.

01:05 And so it's actually difficult to really gauge what he's able to do.

01:09 So it's really hard to judge Zappi.

01:11 But it's also going to be hard for anybody to come away from this game wondering, did

01:16 Bailey Zappi cost himself the number two job tonight?

01:19 I don't know if that's the case, because I just don't think you've got any real contenders

01:22 for it behind him.

01:25 But it is interesting when you look at Zappi and where he was last year, where he was in

01:31 the summer, and entering camp with what people thought was at least a fair shot to make his

01:39 case.

01:40 Nobody thought he's really, really competing with Mack.

01:43 But if he came in and lit the world on fire, yeah, conversations could have been had, or

01:47 if Mack didn't have a good camp.

01:49 Bailey Zappi has not had a good summer overall.

01:51 No.

01:52 So.

01:53 Not just tonight.

01:54 It's not just tonight.

01:55 Yeah.

01:56 He hasn't had a good summer.

01:57 Yeah, I remember the first practice.

01:58 He was like, solid to begin training camp.

02:01 The first practice where he really started to struggle.

02:03 It was a couple of the sessions after they started with the pads.

02:07 We saw them bring out paddles.

02:09 And I remember that was the first practice.

02:10 I was like, Whoa, he's having a really hard time because you saw there were past that

02:14 we're getting batted down.

02:15 There were some that were just completely off the mark.

02:17 And you're like, all right, what's going on here?

02:19 Like he's having a really hard time.

02:21 And then since then, we really haven't seen him bounce back.

02:24 There really hasn't been anything in the preseason where he's been able to consistently put plays

02:27 together.

02:28 We saw last week, he had a lot of really good throws on slants.

02:31 But today, again, it's the evaluation is really tough because these are a lot of guys he's

02:35 not really going to be playing with or that are even going to be on the active roster.

02:39 The 53.

02:40 Like there was one to Malik Cunningham where Cunningham probably should have settled in

02:44 the zone, as I said, on the broadcast.

02:46 And he didn't, which, you know, if you're looking at it live, you might think, well,

02:49 Zappi was inaccurate.

02:50 But you know, there's a chemistry thing there.

02:52 But beyond that, yeah, like the holding on the ball for too long.

02:55 Obviously, all the fumbles today weren't good.

02:57 His accuracy has been kind of all over the place in general.

03:00 So you know, not a lot of earlier in camp, you saw him start to push the ball downfield

03:05 and he's being more aggressive.

03:06 And there was a lot of things to like.

03:08 But since then, you really haven't seen any consistent days from him where you're like,

03:12 all right, yeah, you know, if God forbid Matt goes down, Bailey's Abbot can step in like

03:16 he did last year and do well, which is it's not as clean cut as I think it would be.

03:22 As you know, we went into this training camp saying, is there maybe not we?

03:27 I didn't you know, I don't think most people did.

03:29 But some people were saying, is there a QB competition?

03:31 And it hasn't been close at any point in the offseason.

03:34 And you know, it's kind of discouraging because he is your top backup like Malik Cunningham

03:38 for all the talent he has.

03:40 He's not someone who I think is really going to push for.

03:42 OK, if we have to put a number two quarterback in, it's going to be this guy.

03:46 So you're hoping that maybe Bailey's Abbey finds a rhythm once the season starts or whatever.

03:50 But yeah, or you're hoping you never, ever have to see him play football again because

03:56 really, you don't ever want to see your backup quarterback in there.

04:00 But I think, you know, at the very least for anybody out there, whether you're a Mac guy

04:05 or not a Mac guy, I always think the argument wasn't whether or not Bailey's Abbey was better.

04:11 It was whether Mac was that much better.

04:14 And I think that's what people were questioning last year is like, well, Max, not setting

04:19 the world on fire anyway.

04:20 So are we certain he's the guy?

04:22 It was a referendum on Mac, not a pro Zappi sort of thing.

04:26 But I do think the reality kind of sets in that Bailey's Abbey is what he is and who

04:31 he is.

04:32 And I think career backup would be a success for him, you know, given the type of quarterback

04:38 he is and the type of, you know, arm talent he has and just overall, you know, what he's

04:44 able to do.

04:45 He's not great.

04:46 He holds the ball a long time.

04:47 He doesn't have a big arm.

04:49 He's not exceedingly athletic.

04:50 He just is.

04:52 So this will at least I don't mean to take out take it out on Bailey's Abbey, but I do

04:59 think for the people out there who aren't big Mac people, you at least can take solace

05:06 knowing that Patriots are entering the season with the best man for the job playing quarterback,

05:12 whether or not he's able to do it.

05:13 But I think you can kind of this summer, I think, does put to rest a little bit of the

05:17 whole zappy mania.

05:20 And I don't know, Kenny, you know, should we give this guy a shot and blah, blah, blah.

05:24 I don't I didn't think it was ever real to begin with.

05:26 But I certainly think you can.

05:29 I think those stories are are done with.

05:32 Yeah.

05:33 And I think we should be pretty optimistic about Mac in just the brief sample size we

05:37 saw against the Packers.

05:39 You saw the relationship with Bill O'Brien where he's catering more towards what Mac

05:42 does well.

05:43 Like, you know, I wrote about in the offseason.

05:45 I had a piece on RPOs and empty how those are things that are going to bring the best

05:49 out of Mac, because as he said himself, he wants to be, you know, more of a distributor.

05:53 He wants to be somebody who gives his playmakers opportunities to do what they do best.

05:56 And we've seen Bill O'Brien be able to do that and cater to the things that he excelled

06:00 in in college.

06:01 And I think Mac can be that point guard who really does just put the ball where he needs

06:04 to.

06:05 And then you get guys like Kendrick Bourne who looks like he's about to have a career

06:07 year.

06:08 Devontae Parker, obviously not a high target guy, but a big play threat.

06:12 And Hunter Henry down the middle.

06:13 You know, I think he has enough complimentary weapons.

06:15 We'll see what happens with the offensive line.

06:17 Obviously, Riley Reef had an injury today.

06:19 We're going to have to see what happens there.

06:20 Don't know when Mike and Winnie Winkle Strange are necessarily going to come back.

06:23 But if the trenches hold up, I think we are going to see a surprisingly good year for

06:26 Mac.

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06:41 Thanks for watching.

06:42 We'll see you next time.

06:43 [MUSIC]

06:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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