Jim Murray: Bailey Zappe is your bridge quarterback moving forward
On Friday’s Felger & Mazz program, Jim Murray gave his instant reaction to the Patriots’ 21-18 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Which Pats quarterback would you choose to be a bridge guy: Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe?
FULL CONVERSATION
Jim Murray: Alright, look, at least the Patriots were interesting for the first time in over a month.
But I have a bunch of takeaways. My main one, though, is that I thought it was a tough night for the Mac Jones people, a.k.a. the Mac Jones defenders who talk about him as a potential borderline franchise quarterback.
How can those people say that Zappe is trash? Even during this terrible year for Mac Jones, people still want to like defend him and take shots at Bailey Zappe. Just take the “L” already.
Last night was it for Mac Jones. They both probably stink, but if I had to take one going forward to be a bridge guy for this team—simply a bridge guy—it’s Bailey Zappe.
He looked pretty good there for a while last night, at least in that first half. Last night, all of a sudden, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s knee healed. Hunter Henry looked good for the first time in a while. Zeke Elliott looked like he was ten years younger. There was just more there with the offense.
So, the black-and-white differential between the two quarterbacks that’s being sold, it’s trash. You just need one of these guys as a bridge quarterback going forward. You still need to draft someone. These guys are both average at best, but between the two of them, Zappe is the guy.
And that’s more of a statement on Mac Jones than Zappe. Anyone who ever thought about Jones as a top-ten quarterback or franchise quarterback, you need to have your head examined. And not to mention, Zappe was out there last night with less than what Mac Jones has had to work in the past. Douglas, Parker, and Bourne didn’t play last night at receiver.
I just asked Mazz before the show started, “Did Trent Brown even play?” He only played 34 snaps. I don’t even remember seeing him last night. So, in terms of the average bridge guy, that isn’t going to be Mac Jones. Bailey Zappe is that guy going forward.
SEGMENT AUDIO
Listen to Felger and Mazz from 2-6 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with hosts Mike Felger, Tony “Mazz” Massarotti, and Jim Murray “Big Jim”. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @FelgerAndMazz on Twitter to keep up with the show!
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