Esiason knows all the accolades that Cam Newton has accomplished but thinks there's a reason why Bill Belichick hasn't called the quarterback competition. Boomer says the Patriots "will find a way to use him (Cam)" but he doesn't believe he will be the week one starter for the Patriots.
Esiason says that personal ability can only take Newton so far but it's the mental side that Newton will not have in time to start. That there's nuances that Cam doesn't know that will take time. Which is something Cam Eluded to on Wednesday.
Esiason said, "The one thing we know about Josh McDaniels up there in New England, this offense is about precision, and timing and understanding where everybody is on the field. I don’t care if you are a nine-year quarterback or a 10-year quarterback, it’s impossible to learn all of that and yet you are in the midst of a pandemic so you have no preseason games, very little practice time and you’re going to ask this guy to go out there and be your starting quarterback in Week 1? I just don’t see it.
Just because a guy can run faster or throw the ball farther doesn’t mean he knows where he needs to be and where he needs to get it to. Just because he’s a better athlete. There is a whole mental side of this for every quarterback to learn. I’m not just talking about Cam. I told you my first year I had no idea what I was doing. Fortunately enough for me the first seven years in Cincinnati where I did play well I had the same offense every year. I had the ability to speak it, talk it, learn it and really understand what my coaches wanted. He’s learning now Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels.”
Boomer believes the Patriots will script ways to use Newton in the red zone and other areas. However, he believes Stidham will still be the starter week one. Esiason does not say that Stidham will hang on to the job, just that he will have it week one.
Liam McKeone of the big lead wrote, "As a former quarterback, Boomer's argument here makes a lot of sense. Individual ability can cover up a lot of flaws, but if Newton doesn't know the offense like the back of his hand by the time the season starts, New England might be more inclined to go with the guy who does and use Newton in Taysom Hill-type packages. As he notes, Newton doesn't have a lot of time to get acclimated with the pandemic limiting all preseason activities and Josh McDaniels is not really known for having an easy offense to pick up quickly."
Liam goes on to say that Cam Newton is getting more reps over the past several practices and infers that it must mean Newton is the starter.
While Cam has been getting more snaps, what Laim ignores is that Stidham has been limited due to injury. But let's continue.
Liam says that Stidham has been even with Newton and asks why would Belichick choose a 4th round quarterback over a first round quarterback.
The same question can be asked about why Bill would choose a first rounder over a fourth rounder if they're even.
Liam also talks about turnovers. Newton has reportedly had several dropped interceptions but Stidham has actually had them during the three day period before the team discovered his injury. The injury the team credited his interceptions to due to not being able to use proper throwing mechanics.
Liam says that Belichick isn't going to give a more accurate quarterback the job if he turns it over. That may be true but Bill is paying attention to dropped interceptions as well. Just because a defender fails to catch it, doesn't mean nothing at this point. In camp a dropped interception is still an interception.
Liam is clearly stuck in 2015, saying "Now, these are training camp stats. We can't read into them too much. Nobody knows what it'll look like on the field. But familiarity with the playbook will only get one so far. I don't doubt Boomer's assertion that it's extremely difficult to learn the playbook, but the Patriots do exactly what they need to in order to maximize their chances of winning that day. Whatever that might be, they do it. There's no universe in which Stidham gives them a better chance to do that than Newton, even if he has a firmer grasp on the playbook."
Against Miami in week one, Stidham may give the Patriots the best chance. Week two and week four maybe not; as Stidham is not ready for the Seahawks and Chiefs at this moment but completing less than 50 percent today, Newton isn't ready for week one yet.
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