The New England Patriots have to be very careful with how threy utlise quarterback Bailey Zappe this weekend, as it could cost them in the long run, Bart Scott has claimed. Mac Jones took on what is arguably the most poisoned of poisoned chalices in all of football in 2021, as he was tasked in taking over from Tom Brady as the quarterback of the New England Patriots.
When you have to step into the footsteps of someone who was the face of the NFL and helped the franchise go from zero Super Bowls to the joint-most with six, and win 3 league MVPs along the way, it was going to take a lot to fill those shoes.
Now he did have the slightly added benefit of having Cam Newton take over the role for a year between Brady’s departure and his arrival so he didn’t immediately have to step into Brady’s shadow and there was some time to allow things to die down somewhat, but after everything that Brady did, that shadow is going to be there for a long time.
But there can be no doubt that he has taken the job with both hands and made a big impression early on in his tenure, with his first season yielding 3,801 yards, completing 67.6% of his passes and throwing for 22 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.