Albert Breer of TheMMQB joins Zolak & Bertrand for his weekly appearance, and much of the talk was of course centered around the Patriots quarterback situation. Bert had plenty of thoughts about where things stand between the Patriots, Bill Belichick and Mac Jones, including some of the long- term repercussions of the drama down in Foxboro!
It sure looked Mac Jones was benched on Monday
Patriot coaches Joe Judge and Matt Patricia confer as they talk with QN Bailey Zappe as QB Mac Jones studies his play list on his wrist after Jones was replaced by Zappe during the 2nd quarter.
15 Pats Bears 102422 Bb“What happened on Monday night, I understand there was a plan to play both guys, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, maybe it’s a duck. Can this. This looked like a benching. If you did not know anything else and you watched that game, you say, no question.”
Mac won't take a discount with the Patriots come contract time
Oct 24, 2022; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) throws during warm ups before a game against the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
“The big picture is damaging to the relationship. If I’m Mac Jones, I’m never taking a discount from this team. Never after that. ‘You’re treating it like a business. So am I.'”
It appears Mac trying to prove a point with his play
Patriots QB Mac Jones is pressured by Dominique Robinson (91) and is eventually sacked. Patriots left tackle Trent Brown (77) was called for holding on the play in the first quarter.
05 Pats Bears 102422 Bb“I think there’s a piece with Mac where you see him sending messages with the way he plays sometimes. And I think we’ve seen little glimpses of it, like remember when Kendrick Bourne wasn’t playing? Like was playing like five snaps a game. And almost right away, whenever Kendrick Bourne would come in the game, Mac would go to him. Then there were times when he was struggling. You would see him throw it downfield. I look at him like it’s almost like you see the frustration on his face, like the pick to Fitzpatrick against Pittsburgh. To me, that was like, there’s a nothing here. Screw it. I’m going to go deep. Like a frustration throw. Well, he got hit on that, too. And then I think on Monday night, he was sending a message with running like, “hey, I’m okay now.”.
“I think Mac really wanted to be in there. And I think that to some degree, part of the reason why he took the ball and ran twice in the limited action he got was he wanted to show the coaches that he could move. Now, there are other pieces of evidence out there that clearly said at least the Bears that he’s still hurt. But I think Mac was trying to prove he’s okay by running the ball.”