Former New England Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia isn’t a fan of the ongoing musical chairs at the quarterback position between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.
When asked to name a starter, coach Bill Belichick has typically gone into full-on robot mode to avoid giving a direct answer. The problem with this situation is the Patriots are sitting dead last in the AFC East division with a losing record and two quarterbacks that both seem to be pretty good.
Jones, who has been working his way back from a high ankle sprain, could use a vote of confidence at this point after getting booed off the field by Patriots fans on Monday night. Zappe-mania might be running wild, but Jones has the edge in experience and a deeper grasp of the offense.
Scarnecchia believes Jones should be the starter, if healthy. It makes sense given his track record from last season, along with the fact that the Bears poured a bucket of ice water on Zappe by forcing him into throwing two interceptions in the game.
Belichick should make a decision, one way or another, according to Scarnecchia.
“I would like to see them say, ‘Hey, this guy is starting.’ And whoever that may be, it is and we’re playing him. And this is how we’re going.'” Scarnecchia said, during an appearance on The Greg Hill Show. “I don’t think this is a tryout time. They’ve got a big game against the [New York] Jets on Sunday. They need to win that game.”
Jones is slated to start again on Sunday against the Jets, but no one knows how long he’ll actually remain the starter. Belichick went into last week’s game against the Bears with an invisible snap split, which was privy to only a few individuals.
This Patriots team as a whole would function much better if he picked a quarterback, publicly announced it and stuck with that player as the starter.
