Despite a 1-3 start and a rocky performance from the offense, the New England Patriots are sticking with quarterback Jacoby Brissett as their starter. At least for now.
The Patriots drafted Drake Maye with the No. 3 overall pick, but unlike his rookie counterparts, the former North Carolina signal-caller has spent his first season on the sidelines, rather than on the field. Some people believe getting the future of the franchise some reps is crucial, but the decision-makers of the team disagree.
After a 30-19 loss to the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers, in a game the Patriots never really seemed to have a chance in, head coach Jerod Mayo fielded some expected questions about his quarterback situation.
With another game where Brissett often looked lost, made questionable decisions and threw a pick-six, many New Englanders are calling for the rookie to get a chance, but Mayo said that’s not the plan right now.
Someone who knows a little bit about making coaching decisions for the Patriots (specifically quarterback changes) weighed in on the situation over in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was frank when asked what he thinks about Mayo’s plan to continue to sit the No. 3 overall pick and instead go with the veteran. Belichick, who coached Brissett during his first stint with the team, said he doesn’t have any idea what his successor’s plan is.
“I’ll be honest with you, I have no idea what the plan is so I don’t know, I can’t comment on that,” the future Hall of Famer said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “If Mayo says he’s got a plan then I guess he’s got one and we’ll have to wait to see what it is … we’ll see, we’ll see what the plan is. I have no idea what it is.”
Belichick may mean that as he is no longer in the building, he doesn’t know the specificities of how they want to develop Maye, but it’s not farfetched to perceive some bitterness in his statement and tone. His ‘I don’t know” seemed like Belichick saying that whatever plan the Patriots have isn’t working.
He expanded, discussing some specific areas the team needs to work on, from the pass rush to getting points on the board.
“I don’t know (what the plan is), but I’d say there’s a number of issues there,” Belichick said. “One is (they) can’t move the ball and can’t score.”
Belichick’s final season with the Patriots was plagued with quarterback issues, flip flopping between two options in Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, ironically, without any clear plan all season. Belichick didn’t give much away about his quarterback situation last year, as drama unfolded behind the scenes with reports of communication issues. Jones ended up benched with Zappe serving as the starter. We could see two starting quarterbacks for the Patriots this year as well — just in a different scenario.
