jones and mego: bailey zappe joins the show following patriots 27-17 loss to chiefs
For a second week in a row, Bailey Zappe and the Patriots offense started a game on fire. The Patriots signal caller completed 17 of 19 pass attempts for 141 yards and a touchdown in the first half of their 27-17 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday, and had his team in striking distance heading into the final 30 minutes.
Those final 30 minutes, however, began with an interception on New England’s first possession, and the quarterback completed just 6 of his 12 second half attempts for 39 yards. The Patriots scored just seven points the rest of the way.
On Monday’s edition of WEEI’s Jones and Mego, Zappe explained why the offense has petered out down the stretch of their last two contests:
“You go back and look at the film, like we did today,” the quarterback explained. “And it’s always those certain things that happen. You know, a mistake here or there, like the interception. Instead of throwing it out of bounds, I try to force it. Had I thrown it out of bounds, who knows how that drive goes. They get seven points off of that, we lost by 10. You know how the game goes, who knows? So it's just little things like that, and that’s stuff that’s– it’s easily fixed because it’s just a mental error. For me, it’s just as easy as throwing the ball out of bounds and going onto 2nd and 10. So it’s just fixing those things and then moving on.”
Zappe was also asked about the Patriots’ conservative play calling on 4th downs during the second half on Sunday. In two instances, down 17 points, New England elected to punt on fourth-and-manageable as opposed to trying to get the first down.
“That’s Coach Belichick’s decision,” he responded. “He’s been coaching for however many years. He understands every situational thing that can happen in a game. So whatever he decides, I’m good with. If he wants us to stay out there and go for it on 4th and whatever, we’ll do that and we’ll try to execute it to the best of our ability. And if he wants to punt it, then you know that’s what he sees fit and that’s what’s best for the team. Whatever he decides, I’m 100% on his side and whatever he wants, we’ll do.”
Zappe also spoke about Bill O’Brien’s play calling, Bill Belichick job status in New England, and more on Monday’s edition of Jones and Mego. You can listen to the full interview here.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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