Those who came looking for explanations, decisions and answers left wanting for more.
Those who came looking for quotes, laughs and headscratchers left more than satisfied.
In what has become must-watch theater this season, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was his usually uninformative self during his weekly press conference, providing next to no insight on the QB situation in Foxboro. Belichick’s answer to all questions regarding who the starter is or will be Sunday vs. the Jets was, “We’ll see how it goes today.” So obviously the first day of practice must be huge for the staff, team and particularly QBs Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe!
Or Belichick is just doing Belichick things. Again.
A few weeks back, following Mac Jones’ injury, Belichick refused to rule Jones out for even the first game following Mac’s high ankle sprain, saying that the team was taking things, “Day by day.” Now it’s “We’ll see how it goes”, which could be the new “Day by day.”, which was the new “We’re on to Cincinnati.” So many pressers, so many catchphrases!
The truth is the coach, who’s made a reputation of playing with the media and divulging as little information as possible, won’t likely be revealing his plans anytime soon. Last week an announcement as to who was starting against the Bears Monday night came just a few hours before kickoff. Players like Bailey Zappe only knew of the decision when everyone else heard. And as far as the idea of replacing Mac Jones with Bailey Zappe mid-game? Some players, like guard Mike Onwenu, said they had no idea that was a possibility. Seems it’s more than the media Belichick is keeping on their toes this season. Seems secrets may be one of the secrets to the Patriots success! Fascinating indeed.
Belichick has been at his cagiest and most secretive, sometimes obtuse, this season, one of the odder and more interesting in memory thus far. He referred to someone asking if Jones could have played the whole game Monday, since Jones said he felt well enough to, as a “hypothetical question”, an odd response to say the least. Though he did say, “We’ll deal with it, yeah,” when asked if he feels the need to address the starting quarterback situation. So we got that to look forward to, which is nice. Otherwise another Wednesday, another whole lot of nothing, with fans and media alike laughing and scratching and shaking their heads over who’s the starter and why this played out so bizarrely Monday night in defeat, and what’s going on with the QB position. No big deal, not like it’s one of the biggest stories in sports or anything.
As to what can we expect the next time coach Belichick takes to the podium and gets behind the mic?
Guess we’ll have to see how it goes that day.
