By Steve Atkinson
The “Packer Way” in New England is here. The Patriots are three year’s behind of where they should be when it comes to rebuilding. After the 2020 NFL season they spent out the nose on talent in free agency only hitting on Matthew Judon, Hunter Henry, and Kendrick Bourne. Robert Kraft made sure that a quarterback was selected in Mac Jones and he beat out Cam Newton for the starting job. The Patriots went 10-7 then Josh McDaniels went to the Raiders and it all went downhill from there. The 2022 Patriots was a disaster putting Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to run the offense was a fireable offense. The way Belichick handled the quarterback position in 2022 was horrendous this is a quote from a source the Phil Perry got from NBC Sports Boston
“I saw that trainwreck coming from a mile away,” said one Patriots assistant coach.
Mac Jones gets Bill O’Brien in 2023 but Belichick decides to get rid of Jakobi Meyers, give DeVante Parker an extension because he was a Matt Patricia signing, and sign washed up JuJu Smith -Schuster. Also, he had zero offensive line and a person who could careless in Trent Brown. Meanwhile, you have Patriot fans thinking that every quarterback should be Tom Brady and the Bailey Zappe who’s arrogant should start. He was no better . Bailey Zappe sucks and isn’t a starter in the league.
Bill Belichick lost his job because he failed and ruined Mac Jones. Now, with Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo the Patriot way which left after Brady went to Tampa is now the Packer Way. It’s being conservative in free agency, resigning you home grown players, and developing through the NFL Draft.
Mac Jones had a say as to where he wanted to go for a fresh start. Jacksonville where he’s from is probably perfect. He’s got Doug Marone an offensive minded coach and backing up Trevor Lawrence. He currently has better wide receivers than he did his last two years in New England. If Trevor gets hurt then Mac will go in and hopefully do well. Put the last three years behind him and stick it to the spoiled Patriot fans and Belichick he’s a legit quarterback in the league.
The Packer Way Is Here Now
As far as the Patriots they are doing exactly what they said they would do. They’ve resigned Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne, Michael Onwenu, and Josh Uche. The Patriots are in on Calvin Ridley but he would rather stay with the Jaguars it looks like who just got Mac Jones. The Patriots singed the perfect bridge quarterback in Jacoby Brisset who knows offensive coordinator’s Alex Van Pelt’s offense from Cleveland.
What that also means is that arrogant of a backup in Bailey Zappe will probably be gone by Wednesday at four. I don’t care that he’s in workout videos on Instagram with Kendrick Bourne. Zappe is NOT someone you want when you’re drafting a quarterback at three. Zappe thinks he’s the best thing since Tom Brady and he’s not even close. Brissett will know his time is up when either Maye or McCarthy are ready to take over have it be in the middle of next season or the year after. I’m telling you though Zappe won’t be here. The way he’s acting they should just release him don’t try and get anything for him.
I love the Patriots approach and they should’ve done this three years ago before they drafted Mac Jones in 2021. If they had fired Bill Belichick before the 2021 season they wouldn’t be in the position they are in now. More scouts would have a voice, Jerod Mayo would take over and we could be talking about the Patriots picking up Mac’s fifth year option. But that didn’t happen because Belichick messed up the quarterback and here we are. Now it’s the Packer Way and I’m all for it while rooting that the Jaguars and Mac Jones do well to stick it to the spoiled Patriot fans and Belichick.
The “Packer Way” went from Brett Farve, to Aaron Rodgers, to Jordan Love. The so-called Patriot Way went from Brady, to Cam Newton, to Mac Jones. The Packer Way sat a rookie for a year or two which is what Wolf is going to do with the Patriots. Face it Patriots fans we are the new Packers with a mix of the Cleveland Browns with Alex Van Pelt. At least the Packers can develop quarterbacks unlike the Patriots since 2019.