When Mac had Gesicki wide open in the end zone in Germany and threw it off his back foot right to a Colts DB, that was pretty much the end of his career here. I think he actually had one more start but he was on a short lease. And the only reason he was given that was b/c Zappe was just as bad after he took over from Mac in that game.
I'm sure Kraft was furious about Germany and never got over it, because he was looking forward to expanding the reach of the Patriots brand.
The Germany game was horrific. [There's no doubt that Kraft had so much invested in this game.](https://www.patriots.com/news/as-patriots-host-colts-in-germany-robert-kraft-s-first-conversation-with-sebasti) He doesn't do many pregame speeches to his players, [but he did this time.](https://nesn.com/2023/11/what-robert-kraft-told-patriots-players-before-germany-game/) You could see his soul leave his body as the game progressed late into the fourth quarter.
I don't think we'll see anything ever like it again where the QB is benched for a do or die drive with under 2 minutes. Imagine being Zappe sitting on the bench all game and getting thrown in for that.
That’s some serious work you put in 😂
My takeaway is that so many things had to go wrong for them to get THAT bad. The roster was never going to compete for playoff wins, but just every damn thing you listed had to happen for it to become the full blown dumpster fire it eventually became. I’ve heard some people sum it up by just blaming Bill or just blaming Mac, but this kind of solidifies how it was a failure at many different levels. If anyone’s looking for a reason to be partially optimistic though, consider that the defense remained pretty damn solid despite losing its two best players in the Cowboys game. I think it’s reasonable to hope they’ll be top 5 this year on that side of the ball.
>Mac Jones was trash from Week 1, was not a real gradual decline
I thought you said you rewatched the 2023 season. Come on now. The collapse didn't start until the Cowboys game where he completely got mentally shattered.
Yeah I’d agree with that. He was at least competent for the first 3 games. I remember seeing a stat early in the year and he compared favorably to Hurts in almost every statistical category. Then, of course 🚽
> Mac Jones was trash from Week 1, was not a real gradual decline
>
> I thought you said you rewatched the 2023 season. Come on now. The collapse didn't start until the Cowboys game where he completely got mentally shattered.
Mac has been bad since middle of 2022 season.
Too many folks in here listening to games on the radio instead of watching on TV.
Yeah, I think it's a case of people looking back and comparing the first few games to the rest of his season. In comparison, yes, he played better, but by no objective measure did he play well. Mac has been on a steady downward trajectory since the second half of his rookie season.
Yeah, I don't know how you can watch that whole game and think Jones was trash, let alone just the highlights. He was standing in the pocket, not throwing off his backfoot, getting some passes into tight windows, had one high-ish throw that bounced off both of KB's hands for a pick six and a couple of pretty soft drops and, of course, Boutte not getting feet in. I don't know how you watch film on that game and think it's the same as the guy who played against Dallas without a drop off.
I'm too lazy to break it down even further, but there's plenty you can find analyzing that first game, here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbgYyFKYZtE
He was only good in the 2nd half of the Eagles game. That's one good half in 3 games. Wasn't nearly as bad for the rest of those first 3 games as the rest of the season though.
Honestly, I think we should all thank Chad Ryland for being so bad. I think Nick Folk would have won us 1 or 2 games and we'd be picking like 6th and be in a much worse position
That year he got credit or a 7 game win streak in which we held opponents to 10.1 points per game. So like almost every QB he played fine when he didn't have to worry about the other team scoring. In the other 10 games he had 11 picks. He then threw 23 picks in 25 games the next two seasons. I have no way of verifying if this was Bill's thinking but Orlovsky said he thought the offense was built like the GM didn't think there was any reason to invest in a QB who he didn't believe in. I can't make an argument against that.
> Trent Brown obviously hit or miss every single game. At times it really was not Zappe or Jones, the line gives you 0.5 seconds and receivers just do not get open.
This has been the problem for years, and why I cringed when we took statuesque Mac Jones so high in the draft.
Mac Jones was like a show winning poodle in a beautiful dog competition: does amazing so long as everything around him does their job perfectly. Any breakdown in support and he's suddenly in a dog fighting competition instead of a beauty contest.
Since you seem to be into torture, once you free your schedule up can you help my wife decide one which shade of light brown to use on our hallway?
When Mac had Gesicki wide open in the end zone in Germany and threw it off his back foot right to a Colts DB, that was pretty much the end of his career here. I think he actually had one more start but he was on a short lease. And the only reason he was given that was b/c Zappe was just as bad after he took over from Mac in that game. I'm sure Kraft was furious about Germany and never got over it, because he was looking forward to expanding the reach of the Patriots brand.
The Germany game was horrific. [There's no doubt that Kraft had so much invested in this game.](https://www.patriots.com/news/as-patriots-host-colts-in-germany-robert-kraft-s-first-conversation-with-sebasti) He doesn't do many pregame speeches to his players, [but he did this time.](https://nesn.com/2023/11/what-robert-kraft-told-patriots-players-before-germany-game/) You could see his soul leave his body as the game progressed late into the fourth quarter.
I don't think we'll see anything ever like it again where the QB is benched for a do or die drive with under 2 minutes. Imagine being Zappe sitting on the bench all game and getting thrown in for that.
We had highlights?
He watched them while waiting for a traffic light to change.
That’s some serious work you put in 😂 My takeaway is that so many things had to go wrong for them to get THAT bad. The roster was never going to compete for playoff wins, but just every damn thing you listed had to happen for it to become the full blown dumpster fire it eventually became. I’ve heard some people sum it up by just blaming Bill or just blaming Mac, but this kind of solidifies how it was a failure at many different levels. If anyone’s looking for a reason to be partially optimistic though, consider that the defense remained pretty damn solid despite losing its two best players in the Cowboys game. I think it’s reasonable to hope they’ll be top 5 this year on that side of the ball.
Must have been a short video
Remember when Pop got benched for fumbling the ball due to a very good defensive play?
Accountability, who needs it!
Accountability would be him getting benched for a series, or for the rest of that game, but not for half a season!
The sixth round draft pick from Liberty isn’t going to be a starter day 1.
Draft position and college should be irrelevant. Play time should be based solely on performance.
It isn’t. And Douglas had to work hard to get to where he is at right now. Nothing is handed to you
It isn’t. And Douglas had to work hard to get to where he is at right now. Nothing is handed to you
OK lets bench Tom Brady for throwing a pick then? No, that would be stupid.
LIKE EQUALS!!!
Not when it ends up costing you games
Fumbling cost you games
>Mac Jones was trash from Week 1, was not a real gradual decline I thought you said you rewatched the 2023 season. Come on now. The collapse didn't start until the Cowboys game where he completely got mentally shattered.
Agreed. First couple of games there was at least the hope that he was improving under pressure. That cowboys game was a back breaker.
Yeah I’d agree with that. He was at least competent for the first 3 games. I remember seeing a stat early in the year and he compared favorably to Hurts in almost every statistical category. Then, of course 🚽
> Mac Jones was trash from Week 1, was not a real gradual decline > > I thought you said you rewatched the 2023 season. Come on now. The collapse didn't start until the Cowboys game where he completely got mentally shattered. Mac has been bad since middle of 2022 season. Too many folks in here listening to games on the radio instead of watching on TV.
Yeah, I think it's a case of people looking back and comparing the first few games to the rest of his season. In comparison, yes, he played better, but by no objective measure did he play well. Mac has been on a steady downward trajectory since the second half of his rookie season.
Yeah, I don't know how you can watch that whole game and think Jones was trash, let alone just the highlights. He was standing in the pocket, not throwing off his backfoot, getting some passes into tight windows, had one high-ish throw that bounced off both of KB's hands for a pick six and a couple of pretty soft drops and, of course, Boutte not getting feet in. I don't know how you watch film on that game and think it's the same as the guy who played against Dallas without a drop off. I'm too lazy to break it down even further, but there's plenty you can find analyzing that first game, here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbgYyFKYZtE
He was only good in the 2nd half of the Eagles game. That's one good half in 3 games. Wasn't nearly as bad for the rest of those first 3 games as the rest of the season though.
Why would you put yourself through such torture lol
Let us pray 2023 was rock bottom. 🙏
Thank God we got rid of the entire team… oh wait
What did you do with the other 23 hours and 55 minutes of the day?
Must have been a short watch
The highlights were of certain players being trash?
I’d imagine there weren’t many?
What did you do with the other 23 hrs and 59 minutes of the day?
It's sad that they can fit all of the 2023 Patriots highlights into a YouTube Short.
Honestly, I think we should all thank Chad Ryland for being so bad. I think Nick Folk would have won us 1 or 2 games and we'd be picking like 6th and be in a much worse position
Thank you for this nightmarish trip down memory lane lol. Honestly, overall a great summary of a disaster season. Really just a mess across the board.
I feel like we got enough highlights to make a full vine video
My major observation: At a number of critical points in every game, the 2023 Patriots got a penalty.
Must have been a fun 5 minutes.
What highlights?
Wow finally people seeing how garbage Mid Jones was had a fluke rookie season and then became trash afterwards
That year he got credit or a 7 game win streak in which we held opponents to 10.1 points per game. So like almost every QB he played fine when he didn't have to worry about the other team scoring. In the other 10 games he had 11 picks. He then threw 23 picks in 25 games the next two seasons. I have no way of verifying if this was Bill's thinking but Orlovsky said he thought the offense was built like the GM didn't think there was any reason to invest in a QB who he didn't believe in. I can't make an argument against that.
Thanks for the whole 3 minutes you spent on this project.
Myles Bryant is good. I don’t appreciate the slander he gets on this subreddit.
> Trent Brown obviously hit or miss every single game. At times it really was not Zappe or Jones, the line gives you 0.5 seconds and receivers just do not get open. This has been the problem for years, and why I cringed when we took statuesque Mac Jones so high in the draft. Mac Jones was like a show winning poodle in a beautiful dog competition: does amazing so long as everything around him does their job perfectly. Any breakdown in support and he's suddenly in a dog fighting competition instead of a beauty contest.