NFL
By Steve Atkinson
I’ve been saying for weeks and said it last night on the AFC Preview Show Bill Belichick has had power taken away from him little by little since 2020. Think about it he’s had terrible drafts then Kraft comes out and says they will be more collaborative. Belichick waits until the last minute to draft Cam Newton goes 7-9 while Brady wins the Super Bowl. Kraft is the one that Drafted Mac Jones has a good rookie season then Josh McDaniel’s goes to the Raiders.
Kraft let’s Belichick hand the keys to the offense to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge only for that to backfire and completely set back his quarterback. Kraft goes out and hires Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator with full cooperation from Bill Belichick. Waving Bailey Zappe today was strictly a Bill O’Brien and Robert Kraft move proving more so Belichick has lost control of that side of the ball.
Belichick Doesn’t Have Final Say Of The Offense
The way Belichick handled Jones and Zappe last season was flat out wrong. Belichick embarrassed both quarterbacks during that Bears game and the “Zappe Fever” talk pissed Jones and lots of people off probably including Kraft. Kraft even said O’Brien is here to get Mac Jones back on track. Not worry about the development of a fourth-round pick. Zappe getting waved today along with Cunningham is a O’Brien move saying the backups aren’t good enough to run his offense. They aren’t splitting atoms like last year with Patricia.
Zappe getting cut really came to light with O’Brien lit him up on the sideline during the last preseason game. Yes, the offensive line stunk but he needed to hold onto the ball better and just throw it away. If Belichick didn’t humiliate both quarterbacks last year and put it in people’s heads that there was a quarterback competition, then Zappe would probably still be on the team. But because Belichick did both of those things O’Brien probably didn’t want a distraction and Kraft agreed so the released Zappe.
As far as Cunningham goes, he really isn’t ready to backup Jones, and they are probably looking for a veteran to backup Jones in case he gets hurt. Not someone that would cause a distraction.
Belichick Didn’t Get His Way Wanting To Trade Kendrick Bourne
He got his way sort of getting rid of Jakobi Meyers and Damien Harris for talking shit about Patricia last year. However, when teams were calling about Kendrick Bourne the Patriots said they weren’t interested in trading Bourne. That is because even though he also was talking shit about Patricia he really is Mac’s go-to guy and fits well in the O’Brien offense. O’Brien and Kraft wouldn’t let Belichick trade Bourne. If it was really up to Belichick Patricia and Judge would still be in charge of the offense and they wouldn’t of drafted Jones in the first round in 2021.
Now we can talk about the Patriots going to Marshalls and TJ Maxx for their offensive line but if the quick passing game works with Bill O’Brien and the screens, then the weak offensive line may not make a difference.
It really was amazing how much of a baby Bill Belichick was this offseason claiming some fake quarterback competition all because the owner went out to get a real offensive coordinator. The social media team of the Patriots told you who the starter was more times than the head coach did.
Then you had the Felger and Mazz show in Boston claiming to be on team Brady when Bill kicked him out the door rightfully so but team Belichick because Mac called out the coaching last year. That’s very inconsistent what Belichick did in both cases was wrong letting Brady walk in 2019 and giving Mac Jones Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as his offensive coaches.
Support me and TEAM NBS by visiting our partners at Official New England Patriots Collectibles, Autographed Merchandise, Patriots Memorabilia | NFLShop.com
