FOXBOROUGH – Mac Jones. Bailey Zappe. Will Grier.
Toss those three names in a hat. Close your eyes, pick out one of the folded scraps of paper and read the name.
Right now, that might be the best way to identify the Patriots starter against the New York Giants.
At least, that was the impression Bill Belichick left as the players headed off to enjoy a little down time during the bye week following Wednesday’s practice.
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For some reason, the Patriots coach wanted a layer of mystery surrounding the identity of his starting quarterback before the players return to work on Monday.
Did the players already know? Maybe. But they weren’t sharing during open locker room time. Or they honestly didn’t know.
Adding to the suspense, more than a few players claimed it didn’t matter if they knew or not who was going to lead the offense going forward.
Special teams captain Matthew Slater said it made no difference to him knowing who the starter was, or who would eventually be revealed when they returned. Offensive captain David Andrews and fellow lineman Cole Strange said they had enough to worry about making sure to do their own jobs and fix the problems on the offensive line, then concern themselves whether there was a quarterback change or not.
You might say, the locker room was loaded with Belichickian-type answers.
Out on the practice field, meanwhile, Jones took the starter’s reps with the first team, which might lead some to believe Belichick is sticking with him, even after the third-year starter was pulled for his third game of the season in the loss to the Colts in Germany. Zappe and Grier were also involved and took snaps but Jones was clearly the No. 1.
All of that could mean something, or absolutely nothing. Belichick likes to play games with the media. Ultimately, what matters is who is under center taking a majority of the snaps during the first practice next week when the game plan for the Giants is installed.
So right now, going with eeny, meeny, miny, moe provides as good a chance as any, of identifying the guy.
Me?
While no one seems to know right now if Belichick is staying with Mac, going with Zappe, or trying something new with Grier, I’d lean toward finding out what’s behind Curtain No. 3.
Jones and Zappe are known commodities. What they bring to the table has been on display plenty. And in the case of Jones, it’s been on display to the tune of being a quarterback who is a killer mistake waiting to happen.
Grier is the unknown in that trio.
He might not prove to be any better than any of the above. But how about giving it a shot, and finding out what he can do in an actual game?
At 2-8, any thought of making the playoffs is done. So it’s imperative for the Patriots to find out what’s on the roster, and which players should be kept.
That logic also puts quarterback-turned receiver Malik Cunningham into the mix. Why not see if he has any chance of succeeding, given how well he fits the profile of today’s QB? Why not put in a quarterback who has the best chance of surviving behind that offensive line, even if they’re hoping to make him a receiver?
Seriously, what’s to lose if you go with any of the others, be it Zappe, Grier or Cunningham?
Belichick, however, seems to have other ideas. During the week, he was asked if it was time to give some of the players who haven’t been a regular part of the mix a look.
“I play players that deserve to play, let’s put it that way. If they deserve to play, then I’ll play them,” Belichick answered during a video call Tuesday. “I’m not going to play somebody that I don’t think deserves to play or will hurt the team or isn’t ready to play. That’s up to them.
“If they show that they’re ready and deserve to play, then we’ll play all the active players, which we do most every week. We play just about everybody who’s active. They have a role in the game, with an exception here and there,” he went on. “But, for the most part, if they’re active, then we play them. It’s up to them to earn that, and if they do, then that’s what they can look forward to. If they don’t, then somebody else will have earned it instead of them and they’ll be out there.”
By the sound of it, Belichick seemed pleased with the job Grier has done manning the scout team. He just wasn’t willing to make any kind of announcement about a switch.
“Will’s certainly improving every week in terms of understanding and working with his teammates and running the scout team and executing the plays that he has the opportunity to,” said Belichick. “There’s just not a lot of opportunities for the third position, which is where he’s been, but he’s taken advantage of the ones that he’s had.”
At this point, it seems obvious the Patriots have to at least give Jones a break, and give someone else a chance in the starters role, even if they’re not better than Mac. But with Belichick involved, who knows?
He tends to zig, when the expectation is for him to zag.
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