With reports the Patriots aren't likely to extend Newton until the offseason and recent comments, are they sending him a message?

When Cam Newton signed with the Patriots on an incentive heavy veteran minimum contract, people immediately started talking about giving Cam Newton a contract extension.

After Newton's first game where he completed 78.95% of his passes for 155 yards and rushed for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns people started talking about giving Cam a 3 year $80M-$100M contract.  After Newton nearly threw for 400 yards versus Seattle, that talk continued to heat up.

When Newton was asked about it on WEEI radio he said, "I understand what you’re trying to do and I understand what you’re trying to say, but you must understand that is literally the last of my worries....” Later in the interview Newton said, “I do love and admire the culture of the Patriots. it’s been a place for me that’s therapeutic..." 

While Cam had a couple of other nice things to say about the Patriots, it almost sounded like a but was coming. Newton did say however, that "it was about respect".

While Newton completed 60.71% of his passes for barely over 160 yards with a touchdown and an Interception. He also only averaged 3 yards on 9 carries and the Patriots struggled on third down. This was his worst game of the season so far.

Newton has had a history of inconsistency, which to me is a bigger worry than his injuries. Still most agree Newton has about five more years as a franchise quarterback. I had previously stated that I would wait until after the Arizona game and then maybe consider offering Newton a contract through the 2022 season.

Ian Rapoport Tweeted this after the Seattle game. "My understanding talking to several people involved in the situation is that adjusting his contract mid-season is unlikely. From the Patriots standpoint, they are taking a more wait-and-see approach. It's only two games, plus Newton has battled injuries in the past. They want to be careful for that."

Recent statements by the coaching staff might give the Patriots a little bit of negotiation power with Cam when the time comes.

Quarterback coach Jedd Fisch said this about Cam's backup, "he’s (Stidham) done a tremendous job there in terms of his work ethic, watching film, spending extra time in the meeting room, spending extra time on the practice field, staying later on the field, making sure pregame warmup he’s always available before, you know, before kickoff, so to speak..."

"So it’s been a real cool thing to watch, and I’m really impressed with how motivated he has continued to be to get better and be, continue to be a participant on the offense.”

Josh McDaniels said of Stidham, He  "Competed his butt off this whole year trying to learn and improve as a football player. Really continues to work really hard and prepare just as he would if he was starting, which is what he did last year as a rookie. He’s an unselfish guy. He will do anything to help the team. Practices well, practices hard, prepares every week to be ready to go. I have a lot of confidence in Jarrett and I see a lot of growth in him each week that he’s here.”

(Before Stidham got injured he was named the costarter and before anyone talks about all the Interceptions he threw, remember it was before the team learned he was injured, also remember Newton was overthrowing receivers in practice, had several dropped INTs and threw for 46% one day in camp; the worst of all three quarterbacks. But back to what I was saying.)

So what does this praise for Stidham mean? Well the Patriots could be marketing him for a future trade but the Patriots could also be telling Newton " look we have a potential starter, so we're not gonna over pay." Either way, the Patriots are making a statement. Question is, to who?

I can see the Patriots offering Newton two additional years for $50 million in the offseason. A way of securing the future by not getting trapped in a huge long term contract while also keeping Cam happy. This would allow them to evaluate the position and the talent on the roster going forward. If they like what they see in Newton, extend him again after the 2022 season. If not, maybe they resign his backup.

The Patriots need to be able to move the ball more efficiently

The Patriots Struggled on third down versus the Raiders, going 3-11. They also scored a touchdown 3-6 times in the red zone. The Patriots are 45% on third downs and score a touchdown 56% of the time in the red zone.

Let's get the excuse out of the way. Obviously you want your team to perform better on first and second down. Hell, teams don't even want to get to third down in an ideal world. Life isn't ideal and the Patriots have to show up on third down.

Third down conversion is about making one clutch play, it's a team effort from the coordinator to the players. The team isn't executing, it's not clutch. This has to improve. The Raiders should've been a cake walk coming off of a short week and having to travel across country. Was Seattle the Patriots superbowl?

The red zone is simply just being able to move the ball 20 yards. For some reason teams can move the ball up and down the field. Their backs can run 3-6 yards a carry. Teams average 5-10 yards per passing attempt, yet bye the goal line they cannot get in because it's shorter field? I don't buy that and never have. 

It's great being able to kick field goals. Folk was 3-3 on the day and is 4-6 on the season. He's 9-10 on XPs. It doesn't matter how many kicks Folk makes. The Patriots have to go up against some of the highest scoring offenses in the league. The Patriots defense has it's issues. The Seahawks put up 35 points on the Patriots and although the Patriots scored 30, it wasn't that close of a game. Teams cannot trade field goals versus touchdowns. The Patriots definitely can't. 

The Patriots must be able to convert on third down and they must be able to move the ball in the red zone. If the Patriots went 50% against Seattle in the red zone, It would be excusable. If they went under 30% on third downs versus Seattle, it would've been understandable. 

What the Patriots did against the Raiders further proves, the game against Seattle wasn't as close as the score. The Patriots have potential but they must fix some things.

Do I watch Sports?

As a kid before I started liking any sports, I was exposed to the Yankees, Rochester Amerks, 49ers, Dolphins, Rams, Bears, Giants, and the Cowboys, along with the WWF superstars. 

In 1987, I moved to North Lawrence, NY. It was there I saw a news piece on injured short stop Tony Fernandez. I liked the uniform and the highlights shown impressed me enough for him to become my favorite player.

Between 1990-1991 everyone was jumping on the Bills' bandwagon, I went a different route. Thanks to a Nintendo video game. I became a fan of Patriots. I remembered bits and pieces of their superbowl against Chicago. The Patriots were the laughingstock but I liked their logo and colors. There were 5 players I liked Steve Grogan, John Stephens, Hart Lee Dykes, Andre Tippett, and Ronnie Lippett.

In 1992 I learned that Hawaii had a college football team and what jet leg was and how it affected people. That impressed me and I became a fan.

It was also about the same time I saw Richard Petty's superbird. That was a cool looking car. I couldn't stand to watch more than a half hour of Nascar but liked No 2 Rusty Wallace, No 3 Dale Earnhardt and eventually No 24, Jeff Gordon. I watched the race Dale died in. 

Sometime between 1994 & 1995 I became a fan of the Utah Jazz thanks to either Jeff Hornacek or John Stockton. Those two were my favorite players. 

I started playing madden around this time and have played madden during most of my free time since then. The last madden game I bought was 2016.

I became a Rochester redwings fan in 1997. But they lost every game I went too.

It was around the millennium that I became a fan of the lightning. Hockey in June in Florida had to give them an advantage. Least that was my thoughts because the Ice had to be melting right?

As for NFL Europe and the XFL, I tried to watch them in the early 2000. I was gonna be a Demons fan but kept them on as back ground noise because it was college football.

By the end of 2002, I knew I would not attend anymore live sporting events. I hated going to the Race Tracks, Redwings, Amerks, and Wrestling live shows. 

I stopped watching television in 2004 and would only watch my teams play and Monday Night Raw. I watched both Flair & Shawn Michael's retire and was bored of wrestling by 2010. The matches because predictable. I also have one from Nascar race since Jeff Gordon retired.

I have tried to watch my teams play but the only one that gets any time on regular television is the Patriots when the bills aren't playing.

I got asked to choose an XFL team. I really loved the vipers uniform but I had Hawaii ties to Houston and liked their roster better. It was watching Rainbow Warriors football. But like I expected the league folded. 

In 2018 I found the Stadium app which allowed me to watch Rainbow Warriors football games and also ESPN Honolulu to listen to them. Besides the Patriots oh, that is the only football I watch. Unless a friend of mine's team is in the Super Bowl, I don't watch the Super Bowl if the Patriots are in it.

Someone asked do I watch sports, the answer is barely. I watch as much of my teams as possible, and be checking the stats and standings. However, it's not the same as watching the game.

I try to read up in free agents and draft prospects for football but the other sports, I really don't know much about. It had been so long since I saw my basketball team play, that I didn't even even know they changed their jerseys, this year and thought they were the lakers.

Any how I hope this answers the question for those who ask if I watch sports.

Too Early To Trade For A Power Back

"The Patriots need to trade for a power back." Sony Michel is not playing like a first rounder. However after the seattle game, Burkhead is not playing like a running back, the guy was a joke but that's besides the point. This narrative that the Patriots already need to trade for a running back is premature. Damien Harris is available to return come week 4. Plus the run game should see a bounce back versus the Raiders.

Keep this in mind. There are 10 first rounder with equal or more attempts than Michel, 4 of them have just as bad of an average with more yards. 1 has a worse average but went out for the year. It's easier to have a better average when you have less carries for the first round running backs not listed. The guys with more carries have the opportunity for more longer runs.

1) Jacobs 52 Att 3.5 avg 181 yards
2) Zek 44 att 3.6 avg 185 yards
3) McCaffrey 41 att 4.2 avg 156 yards
4) Gurley 35 ATT 3.3 avg 117 yards
5) Edward-Helaire 35 ATT 5.0 avg 176 yards
6) Gordon II 34 ATT 4.4 avg 148 yards
7) AP 21 ATT 6.4 avg 134 yards
8) Ingram 19 ATT 4.4 avg 84 yards
9) Barkley* 19 ATT 1.8 avg 34 yards
10) Fournette 17 ATT 6.4 avg 108 yards

Michel and Fournette are tied for 41st in attempts (17)

Michel and Gurley are tied for 43rd in average (3.3)

Michel is ranked 44th in yards (56)

The Patriots need to increase Michel's carries and see what Harry has before trading for power back.  Michel should've had back to back 1000 yard seasons but there were things that prevented that, penalties, Injuries, not being able to run to the left side of the line.

I am not saying he does not need to improve but I am saying feed him versus the Raiders. The Raiders are giving up 4.9 YPC, Michel should exploit that as a first rounder.

Oh and don't forget about H-back Dalton Keene's ability to be a power back.

Extend Newton?

There's been a lot of talk about Cam Newton getting a better contract. While I still say wait until after the Arizona game, I would have the Patriots extend him until the 2022 season and give him 60 million, $33 Mil in 2021 and $27 Mil in 2022. Again, I would wait a few more games.

I also stand firm on I dont believe any 1 player in the salary cap era should be making over 15% of the salary cap. So there shouldn't be any 1 player making over $30 million. I am aware of my offer. In this case it is to help make sure the team can afford him. By front loading his contract while the team has a lot of extra money to spend in 2021.

There are people saying to pay Newton $40M to $50M a season. I know a quarterback is one of the most important positions as the Patriots are finding out, so is a good kicker. Paying a quarterback 20% - 25% of the yearly salary cap  is a lot of money to lock up in one player.  Plus Cam said it's not about the money. If Newton wants to win, he won't price gouge the Patriots on a contract, while still getting paid.

Here's a reminder of what Newton said on the Greg Hill Show. 

"That is literally the last of my worries. If we had to put an analogy in it, that is probably under so much work at my desk that I’m not too much really focused on. 

Surprisingly but true and factual enough, if I do what I am supposed to do, as I am expecting to, that will not be a topic of discussion here moving forward. Like I said, you’re talking to a person who — money at this particular point in my career is not important, right?

Let’s be honest, I’ve made money. But for everything I play this game for, I haven’t received yet. And that’s why I’m playing. It’s not about money, it’s about respect. And especially going back to the negotiating table when this opportunity presented itself, I didn’t want to keep going back-and-forth, this and that.

I said, ‘Listen, let’s get the deal done. Let’s do it.’ For all that it’s worth, it’s going to play dividends moving forward. I do believe this: a wise man once said, and that wise man is my father, ‘All blessings do not come in financial means.’ Just because you have money and do that, blessings come in many different forms than that. For me, if I do what I am supposed to do, everything else will take care of itself."

Remember, Newton's contract allows for him to be franchise tagged, so if the Patriots and Cam cannot reach a deal, they can tag him. Also, the tag allows the Patriots to trade him to a team and get better compensation if Newton wants more than Bill wants to play.

Ryan Izzo has taken hold of the Tight End one spot but can he hold on?

Ryan Izzo after two games has played 133 snaps or 97.79% of the offensive playcalling. It was expected that Izzo would probably start but Asiasi is barely seeing the field and Keene has been injured. After week one PFF graded Izzo 71.4 on his blocking, and he continued to look solid after week two.

In the passing game Izzo is looking like the fourth to fifth option. He has been targeted four times catching three passes for 44 yards. Newton has been locked in on Edelman, Harry, and Byrd, targeting them 45 times. Izzo is fifth in targets (4) behind Burkhead (6). Izzo is being primarily used as a blocker at the moment, an area he struggled in during 2019.

Bill Belichick spoke about Izzo after the miami game, "Ryan's gotten a lot of snaps. He's gotten more of an opportunity to work on his craft and improve. He's been able to stay out there and get better in practice, and then that's showed up in the game – and the opportunity to work with Cam [Newton] in the passing game and make some route adjustments or make some good decisions to help the rest of the route based on knowing more of what to do and having more experience doing it has led to a higher, more consistent level of performance on his end.

Ryan's always worked hard. I mean, he doesn't say much, he's a quiet kid, but he always comes to work ready to work with a good attitude and good level of toughness and competitiveness. Fortunately, he's been able to stay healthy this year and by being on the field, he's gotten better."

Izzo showed flashes last season that he could develop into a legitimate tight end but then suffered a concussion during the week six match up and was redshirted after he came off concussion protocol. As long as Izzo continues to show up and put in the work, he has the ability to fend off Asiasi as the number one tight end.

Harry Says It Was Him and Not Brady In 2019

Tom Brady admitted to not wanting to work teammates. Brady admitted that he wanted to work with veterans. He even went as far as to say it wasn't his responsibility to mentor younger players. So Tom got all the blame for Harry's 2019 season.

Former 2019 first round draft pick, says hold up. It wasn't Brady, it was me. 

Here's exactly what Harry said on Tuesday, “When it comes to wanting me to succeed in that regard, I think Tom wanted me to succeed just as much (as Newton). It’s just hard trying to compare it. I just think as a rookie, it was just hard for me to grasp the offense missing half of the season and getting thrown in there like that. So like I said, it really is hard to compare. But it is helpful to have Cam guiding me along. 

It’s good to have trust from my quarterback,” Harry said when asked about getting four targets and three receptions in the Patriots’ final drive Sunday. “It means a lot. To me, it means he trusts me in a critical situation. … I take pride in that.”

There is huge pressure on Harry to perform this season and with exception to touchdowns, he already has. Harry has 13 catches for 111 yards. In 2019, he had 12 catches for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. Harry is almost certain to get those touchdowns as he is on pace for 112 catches for 896 yards. Not bad for a second year. 

J'Mac says Patriots have room for improvement after Seattle loss.

The Patriots will be taking in the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. David Carr is off to a great start after two weeks and the Patriots will have to clear their heads after the loss to the Seahawks.

Jason McCourty was asked about the secondary and here's what he said.

“Oh, without a doubt. Russell Wilson and their offense is a really good outfit, really good players, and he obviously is a tremendous player. I think for us as a secondary, obviously (it was) not a good performance. I know for myself personally, I’ll speak, to be part of two of those is just a terrible feeling and obviously not good enough. So after watching the film, those are the things that could be corrected. I think for me, I know I have to go out there and I have to play better, and I know for us as a whole as a secondary, we feel like we need to go out there and we need to play better. We’ve played better in the past. We have to pick it up, and we have to do a better job when Sunday comes.”

The Patriots were underdogs going into Sunday, even with Newton under center and the score wasn't as close as the 35-30 final.

The Patriots caught a lucky break on a tipped pass for a pick aix. Then Seattle dropped what would've been almost a gimmie pick six later in the game, and then on third and one, Carroll has Wilson go deep in the fourth? 

The Patriots defense slowed down Seattle's offense just enough, that with a few lucky plays and a good passing performance by the Patriots playmaker; the Patriots were able to nearly win that one. 

The Patriots have a motto, "On To <___insert team___>", the team just needs to focus on the Raiders and continue to play at the level they're capable of. 

The War Drums are starting to beat in Hawaii but will the Warriors invade the Mountain West

When the college football season was cancelled, many people were worried about the student athletes. Athletes told schools that if they weren't playing, that they weren't going to social distance and thus would be in more danger. The NCAA didn't listen. Coaches also said they wanted to coach but the NCAA ignored them also.

Defensive back Eugene Ford said this, “It was a shock because we did want to play, we were training hard, getting used to this new system, and we trusted the process. We were ready to showcase what we got.

All fall athletics programs had scheduled workouts for each team up until the postponement of the conferences, and each team handled said workouts differently. The football team hired a new head coach, Todd Graham, in the spring and up until August never met with the team in person - let alone during a quarantine in one of the most restricted states in the US. 

We had to follow the protocols, it was all new to us. The reaction was to follow the plan and to do the safest things possible. We knew how important it was for us to play...the players we have around have families and we didn’t want to put anyone in harm's way.” 

The NCAA and many around the world were worried about the players health. While ignoring the mental side effects of being given an extra year of eligibility only to have to then compete with the incoming freshman class of 2021. Thus making it harder for the select few who have their lives changed by the NFL. For many football is their degree and they will be join the working class making minimum wage.

Several conferences have started or played games this fall. The Mountain West is hoping to have a season by October 24th. Few details are being revealed but some states like California have banned sports.

Craig Thomas, the commissioner of the Mountain West said, "“Multiple subgroups within the Conference are working daily on solutions to the existing challenges in order to facilitate a return to play for Mountain West football, and other Conference sport programs, at the earliest possible opportunity. This includes finalizing a plan for frequent, rapid response testing and continuing to monitor the status of public health directives in our MW states and communities.”

Skylar Williams, a member of the Hawaii Women's Volleyball team said the following about the fall athletes.

“We decided to return on our regular report date as if we were having a season. Everything on campus was completely different, with the social distancing, the masks, the assessments and temperature checks, and the cleaning of the weight room… it was just different but returning to campus felt really good.”

NCAA divisions are looking to duplicate what the NFL is doing. The NFL has a program that appears to be working.

Thompson continued, "Since the start of the pandemic, our membership and staff have been working diligently to prepare for a fall sports season. We were hopeful we could carefully and responsibly conduct competition as originally scheduled with essential protocols in place. However, numerous external factors and unknowns outside our control made this difficult decision necessary. I fully understand the impact of this outcome on our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and staff who work so hard daily to play the sports we all love, and I share in their disappointment. We will continue to navigate this pandemic together, overcome the obstacles, and return to intercollegiate athletics at the earliest opportunity.”

The fall season was supposed to kick off in august but so the NCAA should've been talking about plans on how to make things safe during the spring. Those plans could be implemented now, however it appears that the Mountain West Conference was doing none of that. There will be no sports if they cannot keep people safe.

Tanner Haworth of Ka Leo News said, Unfortunately, these athletes are now unable to practice for a season until their respective conferences can come to a decision to restart. And during a time of irregularity due to the coronavirus pandemic, people are craving for something like these sports to take their minds off of it."

Teams with good coaching, would've told players to stay in game shape. Even though they cannot workout together as a team. This is exciting news for college football fans, especially fans of the Rainbow Warriors. The Warriors might actually have some offensive linemen destined for the NFL.

Here's what CBS's Dennis Dodd had to say.

"The Mountain West is aiming to play an eight-game, conference-only schedule starting Oct. 24 with a league championship game on Dec. 19, a structure that mimics what the Big Ten approved for its return to play last week.

Any Rainbow Warriors football is better than none. This is huge for the student athletes as it allows them a chance to further their careers after college and it allows fans a stress relief. Plus it helps the college make money. It's a win-win all the way around if they do end up playing.

The Patriots 35-30 loss wasn't as close as the score suggests but the kicking game failed the Patriots

The Patriots took on the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday night. Seattle didn't have the fans, so they lost home field advantage. Vegas gave the game +/- 4. I predicted a 13 point game.

In the first quarter Russell Wilson had a pass tipped for a for a pick 6. But Russell Wilson would find a way to get the ball in the endzone to make up for it before the quarter ended. The first half would end 14-14. Seattle beat themselves with mistakes. Costing themselves scoring opportunities.

Seattle would go up by 11 to end the third with two touchdown passes from Wilson but the Patriots would make a come back. With 4:32 left on the clock, the Patriots were down by 12 in the fourth. 

On the Patriots fifth drive of the second half, the Patriots would move the ball for a touchdown on seven plays. Leaving 2 minutes and 16 seconds left on the game clock.

Pete Carroll went conservative on first and second down, then threw a deep pass on third and 1. They were only able to drain only 27 seconds off the clock. Leaving Cam Newton and the Patriots 1:42 to move the ball 81 yards. 

Cam Newton led a good drive and the Patriots would catch a break with an illegal contact by Seattle with 41 seconds left. The patriots would run 8 plays to get the ball down to the 1 yard line with 3 seconds left. 

The Patriots had scored twice on a fullback lead, quarterback power run. For the game, I was able to predict 68.57% of the plays on whether they would be run or pass. I figured Seattle had to just not of been able to stop the Patriots as their offense was so predictable and that McDaniels would mix things up.

So for the final play I wrote on the Vicarious Patriots Facebook page that the Patriots would have to be throwing it because Seattle was going to send everyone at the middle of that Patriots line. 

Seattle did exactly what I expected and McDaniels did exactly what the entire world including Ken Norton expected. He ran that quarterback power run and stuffed Newton. The previous drive they caught Seattle off guard, hitting Johnson in the endzone and that play would've worked again.

For the day, Seattle had 9 penalties for 68 yards and went 3 of 7 on third down. The score was much closer than the game. Seattle kept the Patriots in this one, even with losing their two safties.

Newton was down for most of the second half but played well for the most part. Newton had 1 interception for the game and Seattle dropped what should've been a pick six, so Newton had his share of breaks.

Newton still had a good game, going 30 of 44 for 397 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The Patriots are teaching Newton to dink and dunk. Newton completed 68% of his passes.  In the ground, Newton rushes 11 times for 47 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Sony Michel for the day rushed for 2.7 yards per carry on 7 carries, while the other backs couldn't even gain half a yard. Rex Burkhead averaged .3 yards per carry on 6 attempts. Newton had no help from his backs.

Edelman continues to be Newton's security blanket, catching 8 passes for 179 yards. While Byrd and Harry have clearly emerged as Newton's favorite targets combining for 14 receptions for 72 yards each. The Patriots looked to have a couple of other guys open on occasion but Newton was locked into those three all game. 

The Patriots defense would have their take away and 2 sacks but gave up 429 yards and allowed the Seahawks to maintain the ball for 31 minutes. 

Russell Wilson put up 288 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air, while completing 75% of his passes against what is supposed to be the best secondary in the league. Seattle also managed to put up 154 yards on the ground.

At the end of the day, the Patriots were a Nick Folk field goal away from winning the game. Folk went 1 of 2, missing a 51 yard field goal wide left. Had Folk connected the Patriots would've only needed a field goal to end the game, instead of a touchdown.

The Patriots should have an easy contest week three as they face the Raiders at home. For now the Patriots have some work to do.

Fans are looking for Validation for their faith in Cam.

The Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 21-11 during their week one matchup. Cam Newton went 15 of 19 for 155 yards. He threw 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and walked away with a 100.7 rating. Newton also ran the ball 15 times for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Since the game ended, all everyone is talking about is how people need to be impressed. That Newton looked amazing and that the Patriots are gonna improve. They are talking about Cam Newton like people need to crown him the GOAT.

First off, the Patriots play the toughest schedule in the NFL but get the benefit of playing the Jets and Dolphins. Which Miami was ranked in the bottom third of NFL teams and the Jets are along with them. 

So with exception to those 4 games, One cannot be so quick to think the Patriots will be that dominant week in and out. The Patriots were a Ryan Fitzpatrick interception away from giving up 18 points. Call the Patriots play calling conservative, call it vanilla but the Dolphins cannot stop the option and the Patriots should've put up near 50, instead they barely came close to 31.

On top of that, One cannot expect Cam to run the ball 15 times a game. Newton only threw the ball 19 times for a starting quarterback. Sitting on my couch week one, I was calling out this is gonna be a run, this is gonna be a pass before the snap. They played Miami but a team with a better coordinator and more talent roster would pick that up. 

Teams are gonna want Newton to be forced to stay in the pocket, while providing a little pressure because Newton is inconsistent. We saw that in camp with Newton competing near 70% and as low as 46%. Look at 2017 and 2018. Prime examples. Teams and analysts know Newton's game, his strength is his legs. Take that away and you beat him.

If Newton did so well, the eye test alone should be enough to convince the fan base that yes, Cam Newton is going to continue the Patriots dominance and the dynasty will continue. That Cam is worth the extension. 

Instead we still have Newton fans trying to sell him to the fan base. We have them trying to will him to be the elite 2015 player and project that on to fans that didn't and don't see it yet but why? If he's that good, if we didn't see it week one, we'll surely see it week two or three; right?

At the end of the day, Cam Newton is the Patriots quarterback until he is not. We will cheer for our team to win. If Newton plays like an elite quarterback, we will acknowledge that. If he plays like a playmaker like Taysom Hill, we will also acknowledge that. If he plays like Nathan Peterman, we'll acknowledge that as well.

However, we will question your faith in Newton as long as it seems like you need validation that Newton is elite. We don't need to be told that Newton played well, we watched the game. However, if we don't see what you see, Newton should eventually show it. However, when you come across as worried that you saw more than what is because others didn't see it, shows you have questions about your faith in Newton play.

Is it Strategic or is Stidham in Belichick's Doghouse?

I have talked about Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer. How Hoyer is a coach and basically being used to mentor Newton for now, while he's healthy. However, some believe that Hoyer beat out Stidham, while many of us believe that Stidham is in Belichick's dog house.

It was reported that Stidham's injury happened on a monday night after training and that the Patriots didn't learn of it until three days later. Stidham had played really bad for those three days and the team was able to accredit his play to the injury.

The team was frustrated by Stidham because he didn't tell the team immediately and the injury was an over use injury. As Jerry Trotta said, "which makes you speculate if it happened during a non-football related activity. "

It was clear that Belichick had wanted another year to develop Stidham, prior to Brady leaving. Yet at one point during the competition before Stidham got injured, he was showing himself to be a far more accurate quarterback than Newton and was even named a co-starter. So one must ask if he's in Bill's dog house?

Hoyer did not appear to beat out Stidham for the backup job, so if Stidham not being active isn't just a roster move. One must think that.

Even Henry McKenna had something to say about Stidham not being named the backup week one, "That’s a long fall for a player who seemed to be in the mix for the starting job..."

Quarterback coach Jeds Fisch praised Stidham and said on Thursday, “Jarrett’s (did) a really nice job in camp, all three of those guys did, and they’re all competing every day in practice. Jarrett and Brian are taking a lot of reps and competing with one another. Just the way the numbers games work in the NFL is that it’s difficult to dress more than two QBs for any given game, but they’ll continue to compete with one another and continue to try to make each other better and make Cam better. As I said earlier in camp, rising tides lifts all ships.”

Is Stidham in Bill's doghouse? Did he lose the Starting Job to Cam Newton and the backup job due to Injury?

Fisch says, "“I don’t know if I would say that was an impact. I think it was a matter of just they’ve continued to really compete with one another and at that moment in time last week, the decision was made that Brian was going to be the No. 2.”

If Stidham lost the job due to injury, If he's in the doghouse, Fisch is not going to say. That's not how the Patriots work. What we know is Stidham didn't appear to lose the job to Hoyer due to play and if one believes the reports that came out of camp, his injury and lack of reporting it, are what gave Newton the starting job. So it makes sense to believe he has found himself into Belichick's doghouse. Then again, Bill could just be keeping him on the active while he has Hoyer help coach up Newton. 

Keys to victory.

The Patriots travel to Seattle Sunday to take on the Seahawks. Vegas has given the game a 4 point over under, if I understand the gambling terminology. I have the game going 37-24 Seattle. But here are my keys to victory.

For the Patriots, On offense, they must be able to move Cam around and the run game must be working. They must not be as predictable or as conservative with play calling. On Defense, contain Wilson and hope your secondary plays well enough that Seattle is forced to run. Thus keeping the game lower scoring. Wilson is dangerous at hitting chunk plays, the Patriots cannot allow that. Make Seattle's run game show up.

For Seattle, On offense, again move Wilson around and move the ball through the air, allowing the run game to sneak up on the defense. Dorsett as a number 3 or 4 should be hard to cover. On defense. Contain Newton and shut the run game down. Force Newton to run the offense we have seen in New England the past twenty years. Newton is not an accurate passer and relays on his legs to open up the pass. Newton doesn't have the ability to sit in the pocket all day, so play tight coverage and let Newton make his mistakes.

The Patriots will need to bring balance to the offense to keep the mystery.

The Patriots had Cam Newton mainly throwing during their camp in August. Newton ranged between 40 and 70 percent completion percentage, throwing 46% one of the last days of practices. The one thing the Patriots didn't know was how well can he still run and if he could take a hit.

On Sunday the Miami dolphins rolled into town. It was the first time Cam Newton had taken a meaningful NFL snap in almost a year. 

The Miami Dolphins were ranked 26th on the NFL power rankings, 11 spots worse than the Patriots, so the Patriots offense should've been able to wipe the floor with them. The defense would even give the Patriots three extra possessions.

Cam Newton would only throw the ball 19 times. While he didn't have as good of a day through the air as Gardner Minshew who threw just one more pass, Newton still completed 78.9% of his passes with a 100.7 rating.

Newton would get sacked twice, blitzed nine times. Pressured six times, hurried three times and hit once. He would scramble once for 12 yards.

Newton would carry the ball 14 more times for 63 more yards. Picking up 2 touchdowns. Newton wouldn't break any tackles but he would pick up 18 yards after contact.

While Newton was a little slow when deciding to pull the ball back on options and while the offense was still predictable and didn't put up the points they should've; the Patriots got to learn about Cam.

The Patriots will be taking on seattle Sunday. They had their preseason, and now know Newton can take hits. Now the Patriots have the job of balancing out the play calling to keep defenses off guard. 

Newton will not be able to run the ball consistently 15 times a game. The Patriots are going to need to balance things out. Expect more of a 50/50 split versus seattle. Question is will Cam continue to pass at the level he did week one or will he revert back to 2017?

The good thing and the bad thing is the Patriots have Jarrett Stidham waiting in the wings if Newton goes down. Another capable mobile quarterback who is inexperienced on the NFL level. As a worst case scenario, that's not too bad, as all players start out inexperienced. 

Izzo performed good even though he wasn't targeted.

Third year tight end and former 2018 fifth round pick Ryan Izzo played in almost every snap, if not every snap during the week one matchup versus Miami.

Their was concern about Izzo's blocking. With the Patriots running for 200 plus yards, it's safe to say Izzo had a decent day blocking. 

Ryan Izzo was targeted twice and Asiasi wasn't targeted at all. The Patriots only threw the ball 19 times, which suggests the Patriots weren't throwing to the tight ends by design. Still Izzo had one catch for 25 yards, as he holds on to the tight end one spot. 

The Patriots tight ends are expected to be used more as the season advances but there is no guarantee that, that will happen. The Patriots under performed Sunday against the Miami Dolphins and will have to put up a better effort against the Seahawks, if they want to keep it competitive.

The Patriots offense, reason to be excited or cause to be concerned?

On Sunday the Patriots took on the Miami Dolphins at home. The Dolphins are still in rebuilding mode and were expected to finish third in the division. NFL.com ranked the Dolphins heading into week 1 at 26th, Most other site rankings had them between 24th and 32nd. NFL.com ranked the Patriots 15th and ESPN 9th.

The Patriots finished 18th in rushing in 2019 but now have an improved Offensive line, plus an "elite" running quarterback. The Dolphins finished 27 last season against the run, and tried to improve by adding Kyle Van Noy. So this was a game the Patriots should've won, clearly and decisively.

N'Keal Harry and Nick Folk kept 10 points off the board. Fitzpatrick kept points off the board for Miami, so that evens out. 

In a game the Patriots should've won, Cam Newton threw the ball 19 times. He completed 15 passes for 155 yards but zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. Newton also ran the ball 15 times and had 75 of the Patriots 217 yards rushing. He also had two rushing touchdowns.

The Patriots offensive as of 945pm on Monday September 14th, is ranked 19th of 32 teams in total yards and 18th in points scored. Yes, I am aware that the Patriots left 10 points on the field but that's just it, they left 10 points on the field. 

If not for poor play by Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins put up more yards and more points against the Patriots. McDaniels was too conservative, and as a fan I could call when it was going to be a run versus Miami. If I can do it, defensive coordinators can do it. 

65% of the Patriots runs were by design. But when the Patriots were running, it was obvious. On the first drive of the second half, the passing plays were also obvious. McDaniels did little to disguise his offense against Miami. That might work against bottom 32 teams but against top 10 teams, defensive coordinators are going to eat McDaniels alive if he makes his play calling that obvious, especially if he stays conservative also.

I want to give my readers something to think about.

If one looks at the 32 ranked Jacksonville Jaguars, on offense, they called 1/3 less plays and only had 106 fewer yards than the Patriots. They also had fewer takeaways on defense than the Patriots in week one by 1, while playing the number 11 ranked colts. 

Minshew went 19 of 20 for 173 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 5 times for 19 yards. If he rushed another 10 times, he was in pace for 57 yards total. If the Jaguars had ran the same number of plays against the colts as the Patriots ran against Miami, they were on pace to put up 360 yards for the day. I.E. if they had that 1 extra take away to tie the Patriots.

As expected the the number 11 Colts put up almost twice as many yards as the number 26 dolphins. Jacksonville barely walked away with the victory beating a much superior team according to professional rankings.

Josh McDaniels, N'Keal Harry kept this game closer than it should've been but Fitzmagic may have prevented the Dolphins from getting the upset. 

What this means is although the Patriots got the W, they played far below their power rankings. In 2019 The Patriots had the 15th best offense, the Jags had the 20th and are now considered one of the worst teams, if not the worst team in football. The Patriots offense looks worse than the Jags when considering the ranks of both offenses and the ranks of their week one opponents. 

It's too soon to crown the Patriots the division winners. It's too soon to say that Cam Newton has returned to MVP from. Especially with how predictable and stagnant their offense looked. This offense has the pieces to be explosive but does it have the play calling to be explosive or is Josh McDaniels as conservative a coordinator as Tyrod Taylor is a quarterback. 

As a life long fan, there haven't been many times that I have said I was bored watching a Patriots game. I said it during superbowl 53. I said it a few times in 2019, including week 2. Now, I find myself saying it again for the 2020 season opener.

Right now, the team is looking like it could be a 9-7 team. Now that the preseason game is over, the Patriots have a chance to prove how good they are, when they take on the number 9 ranked Seahawks in week 2. 

Seattle isn't going to let any mistakes by the Patriots get bye. I had the Patriots scheduled for a loss, with this being a coin flip game for Cam. Now, after week one's offensive performance, I'll be surprised if the Patriots don't get shutdown and blown out.

Extend Cam Newton

I've talked about this already. I don't remember if it was on the Facebook or Twitter page but I gave my thoughts on Cam Newton getting and extension.

Now before I tell you what Patswire said, Brandon Marshall agreed with me that Cam has about 5 years left to be a franchise quarterback.

Henry McKenna wrote, "When he signed with the Patriots on a one-year, prove-it deal, it seemed like Newton was destined to leave New England in free agency in 2021. But few teams have as much spending money as the Patriots next year. If the salary cap decreases for the first time in a decade, it will put teams in a bind. Free agency will be a tough market, and Newton may not have many (or any) suitors. I think he and Belichick will have enough success to want to continue to work together, and they may just make it to a Super Bowl in 2021."

The first question is if Newton plays well enough for an extension, what is his asking price. Tom Brady gave the hometown discount. This signing was a desperation move for Newton and with feeling disrespected by 32 teams until Belichick called, one must ask how insulted he felt signing his current contract.

Sure Newton is all smiles but those defending Cam, are the same ones who said Brady wasn't leaving after 2019. Newton made a couple of statements, Brady left a couple of bread crumbs early. 

If the NFL doesn't cut the salary cap, the Patriots will have around $190 million. I have read reports that the NFL is looking to cut that about 35%. The Patriots have like 27 free agents next year unless opt outs changes that. 11 of those are key players. 

The Patriots were supposed to have aboutb100 million in free cap but that 35% equals around 70 million dollars. The Patriots still could carry money over but if the Patriots only have 30 to 50 million to spend give or take. They cannot dish out giant contracts, McKenna seems to know this. 

Now I am not a Cam Newton homer and I need him to prove himself. On paper the Patriots look better at tight end and on the offensive line. That should improve other aspects. Meaning the 2020 offense should be higher scoring and more dominant as a whole with Cam.

If Cam stays healthy,  it comes down to will he play like 2017 or 2018 Cam Newton. That's the thing with Newton, he's inconsistent. He's been that way his entire career. 

Before you say but his team, I am gonna stop you. Carolina's stats were close through out the 8 years. When Newton was having a down year he dragged his team down. His pass catchers catch percentages always stayed higher than his competition. percentages. 

Evan Lazar said Newton is not a passer, he's not gonna beat you with accuracy. He's gonna beat you by running and using his arm strength. 

Basically Cam expects his receivers to run passed defenders and catch over the shoulder passes or catch deep jump balls. Carolina wasn't built that way and neither is New England.

I have read a lot from camp. Newton was throwing to hard and over throwing the ball. He wasn't as accurate as the 2018 season. He wasn't inconsistent and missing throws he should. He was saved by drops from the defense. 

So If 2018 Cam shows up, the Patriots should only extend him until after the 2022 season. That's when Stidham's contract runs out. At that point let him go and extend Stidham or Let Stidham go, extend  Newton to a three year deal and draft a quarterback.

Regardless of what the Patriots do, they should wait until December to talk extension at the earliest. Make sure Newton can stay healthy and play up to level. Belichick has always been savvy. He's got this. In Bill we trust.

The Patriots 2019 Tight End Unit and The Present.

When Rob Gronkowski retired late, the Patriots tried to get help but things just didn't work out. The Patriots already had Ryan Izzo on the team, who was drafted by the Patriots in the fifth round.

The Patriots waited for Gronkowski to make a decision and were interested in several big names. However, Gronkowski waited until the Patriots were on the books for his contract before hanging up his cleats.

On March 15th, of 2019, the Patriots signed Matt Lacosse, a blocking tight end who was underused as a pass catcher. Standing 6'5" Lacosse was thought to be a redzone and 50/50 ball threat.

On April 10th of 2019, the Patriots signed Veteran Austin Seferian-Jenkins. A veteran tight end who was a 6'6" receiving tight end. And on May 9th, the Patriots signed veteran tight end and former New England Patriot Ben Watson. Watson was an all around tight end.

So what happened?

First off, ASJ was released due to personal reasons. That took away a huge receiving target. While I am not saying he would've been Aaron Hernandez, Jenkins would've been a massive success from that position.

Then Ben Watson got suspended for taking testosterone, and would have to miss the first 5 games of the season. Watson would get cut and later resigned. However Watson looked like an out of shape, washed up player at the end of his career.

Matt Lacosse was supposed to be the new Gronkowski but failed to connect with Tom Brady. Partly due to his ability and partly due to Brady.

Ryan Izzo struggled as a blocker but started to emerge as a pass catcher weeks 5 and 6 before leaving week six with a concussion. Izzo would go through concussion protocol but would be red shirted the last 6 games due to effects of the concussion.

People got excited when the Patriots signed Seferian-Jenkins. They got nostalgic when the team signed Watson. Why? Because Belichick addressed the position. He rebuilt it. Circumstances just led to it not working.

This offseason Belichick continued to try to address the position. Is the team better than they were last season? On paper yes but both rookie tight ends were underused, so like with Matt Lacosse and Ben Watson, the Patriots don't truly know what they're getting from Asiasi and Keene. The only tight end they do know about is Izzo, who would've matched the Patriots tight end production by him self last season, had he of not gotten injured.

Four Key Games For The Patriots In 2020

When Jarrett Stidham was looking like the starter, there were three key games I thought the Patriots needed to win to be in competition for the AFC and one game I thought they needed to guarentee the division. With Stidham, I had them losing all four and still finishing 10-6.

The one game I felt Stidham could get lucky on, which is why I gave him a ceiling of eleven wins, was November 15th, versus Baltimore. What made this game a coin flip was Belichick's defensive genius versus Harbaugh's stubbornness. If John didn't evolve his offense and Bill figured out the 2019 Blueprint, the Patriots could win.

The other games are week two versus Seattle, week four versus Kansas City, and week eleven versus Houston. The Patriots have players learning and adjusting to new roles and even the NFL. The Players have new people taking on leadership roles, Cajuste is now in the IR and Eluemumor is the projected starting right tackle.

Now all four of those games are a coin flip. They became a coin flip when Newton was signed. I have read the reports, the articles. Many people expect to see 2018 Cam Newton, from everything I've read, I'm expecting 2017 Cam Newton. Newton is inconsistent as f***. One game he can be Supercam and the next week he can be a turnover prone version of Tim Tebow.

Everyone knows the Patriots first month of the season is a continuation of the preseason. The Patriots didn't have four preseason games. They didn't get to practice against opposing teams during the preseason. So they're further behind. I am expecting all the way up to the 49ers game to be a preseason game for the Patriots. 

It's why I have them starting 3-3. It's why I expect the Patriots to be 4-6, and why I am projecting them to go on a six game run to close the season at 10-6.

Patriots injury report for Wednesday September 9th, 2020

The Patriots released their injury report. Edelman and Olszewski were both listed with leg injuries. Edelman was limited with a knee injury. Olszewski with a foot injury.

The Patriots have Byrd, Meyers, and Harry still on the roster so this will be something to keep an eye on as sunday grows closer. The currently Patriots have seven other pass catchers on the roster, plus Slater. 

Edge rusher Chase Wynovich is also dealing with a shoulder injury but the Patriots are a little more versatile on defense and should have no issues if he isn't a go. 

Patriots Yodny Cajuste and Cassh Maluia both did not practice as they are dealing with knee injuries. Do not be surprised if one or both ends up on the injured reserve before the team has to submit their game day rosters. The Patriots still need to call up a kicker from the practice squad unless Belichick is going to get creative.

Where will the Patriots stand?

I predicted the Patriots to go 10-6 this season. My projection didn't change with Newton, I just raised the regular season ceiling from 11 wins to 14 wins, while my floor stays at 7 wins. Many people I know are projecting them to win 11 or 12 games. 

Homers, however have an issue with anyone who is projecting less than 10 wins. Even nine wins is unacceptable for majority of homers. 

There are those in the media who have projected the Patriots with Cam Newton to finish with only 5 wins. It's possible, doubtful but possible.

Darren Hartwell to the time to list some of the predictions going around the sports world for the Patriots 2020 season.

"Tom E. Curran, NBC Sports Boston: 8-8 record, miss playoffs

Peter King, NBC Sports: Miss playoffs

ESPN.com: 5-11 record, miss playoffs

Cynthia Frelund, NFL.com: 8.3 wins, projected AFC Wild Card team

John Breech, CBS Sports: 10-6 record, win AFC East, lose to Ravens in AFC Wild Card Round

Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated: 10-6 record, win AFC East

Albert Breer, Sports Illustrated: Make playoffs as Wild Card team, lose to Texans in AFC Wild Card Round

Maurice Moton, Bleacher Report: 8-8 record

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: 9-7 record, make playoffs as Wild Card team, lose to Bills in AFC Wild Card Round."

Add to that WEEI's staff Andy Hart who has them going 5-11, while Ryan Hannable has them an 11-5 team.

With exception to the people over at ESPN and Andy Hart, most think the Patriots are at least a .500 team but furthermore still a playoff team. 

I completely agree but can see things going either way. Here's my most unpopular opinion. With game manager Brian Hoyer at quarterback for all 16 games and playoffs, the Patriots have as much a chance at success as the Ravens did with Trent Dilfer in 2000. Oh, by the way; they won a superbowl dispite Dilfer and Hoyer is a better quarterback.

Patriots Homer gets triggered by An NFL Realist

Jerry Trotta of Musket Fire wrote an article titled, "Patriots: Boomer Esiason has terrible take on Cam Newton-led Pats". Where Trotta explains that he has issues with what the former Bengals quarterback said. 

To start Trotta is convinced that Boomer must have something against Newton for not knighting him the heir to the franchise and dynasty.

Boomer picked Stidham as the starter and recently explained why he didn't think Cam would have success as the starter. Newton has since been named the starter and captain. He has also received an unusual amount of praise from Belichick, with several writers and analysts having their own speculations as to why.

Here's a quote from Trotta, "The former MVP has since been named the starting gunslinger and a team captain. However, that didn’t stop Esiason from not only proclaiming that he still doesn’t love Newton’s fit with the Patriots, but that the reigning AFC East champs are also a team in the midst of a ‘major’ rebuild, which we’re not hearing from anyone else."

Trotta goes on later in the article saying that by refusing to trade the defensive player of the year and by signing Newton that the Patriots aren't in rebuild mode.

WEEI's Rob Bradford had this to say about the Captian Position, "And does anyone think Edelman won't be more of a locker room presence than a good chunk of those wearing the 'C' on their jerseys? Of course not. And because his voice is just as powerful and impactful even without the title, that immediately devalues the captain role."

Bradford calls captains,  "Organization Eye Wash" and says "But let's start re-imagining leadership while finally not worrying about who is getting the 'C' on their varsity jacket.

A real leader would want it that way."

Basically, being named a captain doesn't mean a damn thing. It's for show. Maybe it's to put it on for the media or maybe it's to put it on for the captians to boost their egos. 

Let's look at the rebuild for a second. The Patriots held a quarterback competition in this August. Why because the only quarterback on the roster from 2019, was their fourth round quarterback. Newton is coming off back to back injury seasons, with little time in the Patriots system. Plus the teams that Newton and Hoyer played for in 2019 thought they were expendable or they would still be on those rosters.

The Patriots had a competition for receiver, releasing Sanu and seeing Marquis Lee opt out. Harry, Edelman, Olszewski, and Meyers were all part of one of the worst, if not the worst receiving units of 2019. They had issues with drops and getting seperation.

At tight end the Patriots have two rookie tight ends with Izzo being the only returning player from the 2019 unit. Cannon opted out , the Patriots have no clue at right tackle, and are still holding a competition for their depth.

The interior defensive line and entire linebacking unit has holes. Danny Shelton and all four boogie men linebackers are gone. The Patriots are trying to find their replacements with edge rushers, safeties and ragtag players. It doesn't stop there as Bill is still trying to figure out who his kicker is.

That definitely sounds like a rebuild. Is it a major rebuild? That's all based on one's opinion of the players in the roster. Some call it just a "little retooling".

Trotta is upset that Esiason isn't jumping on to the Newton bandwagon due to Cam being named starter and captain. Trotta is also upset that the former quarterback suggests that Newton won the job due to injury.

Boomer said this on the Greg Hill show, “The bottom line is Stidham got hurt, Cam got in there and they are paying him no money whatsoever. I don’t think he’s that accurate on third down. I think if he turns the football over that is when a change could come.”

When Boomer spoke recently, he also said Cam "is the better athlete but not necessarily the better quarterback." I have read too many articles on the quarterback battle.

Prior to getting hurt, Stidham was the more accurate quarterback. When Stidham started throwing interceptions and then his injury was revealed, the team said it was due to not being able to have proper throwing mechanic including planting his legs. There was frustration that Stidham hid his injury for three days. 

Newton did acquire about a weeks worth of reps. During those two weeks, Newton was "inaccurate and inconsistent" , failing to hit passes he should and having dropped interceptions from throwing the ball too hard.  Reporters were saying none of the quarterbacks were doing anything to separate themselves.

By the time Stidham was a full go, Newton had spent almost a week with the starting unit, getting twice the snaps. Then the Patriots had their worst passing drill session, with Newton only  completing 46% of his passes, well below both Stidham and Hoyer.

Evan Lazar went as far as saying, "7 on 7 drills, accuracy and so on isn't Newton's game. His game is running around , beating you with his legs and arms strength."

Trotta wasn't done trying to attack Boomer Esiason, writing "If Cam in New England was such a terrible fit, why would a former NFL executive believe that the franchise is already considering offering him a contract extension? We get that Newton has to prove he can stay healthy, but the lack of respect he’s received from media loudmouths (especially Esiason) since he arrived for camp has been mostly unwarranted."

First, it's easy for "former executives" to talk out their rear, just as easy as it it for former players. So it doesn't matter what a former executive believes. It is true Newton has to prove he can stay healthy but Newton has also to prove he can play consistently well.

Newton has been inconsistent his entire career. Like every other year he's been up and down. He's only been on three winning teams and only had three seasons at 60% or higher. Look at his 2017 and 2018 season, and then take your beer goggles off and look at how he performed in camp. Don't forget, at one point Bill had Newton run a lap for fumbling . 

On ESPN's get up Dan Graziano said, “…All you’re hearing is positives from what they’re saying publicly and behind the scenes about how Cam Newton has brought energy, about how hard he has worked, about how he and the coaching staff have meshed together. It’s the kind of thing that makes you skeptical. When you hear people talk this glowingly about a situation like this that’s so new, you wonder are they trying to hide something?"

Leaving Patriots Wire's Isaiah Houde asking "does he have a point?"

Just because Newton won the job doesn't mean he's the better quarterback. As a pure passer in camp and over his career, Newton has showed he can be equal to or worse than Hoyer.  Let me repeat that. Newton has shown he can be a worse pure passer than Hoyer. 

Newton's strong point is running the football; you know just like James White, Sony Michel, and Rex Burkhead. Newton is a 6'5" old school H-back who just happens to have an arm. That's what makes him dangerous because he's causing teams to come up and play him as a running back. 

The Patriots offense is designed to to work better with a mobile quarterback. Even during the Brady years, it was handicapped with Tom Brady. Imagine if Brady had Stidham's mobility. I was hoping the Patriots would acquire Tyrod Taylor or RG3 this offseason because they're passers and I still would take them over Cam's athleticism.

Boomer is right to think the Patriots might not do well with Cam Newton in 2020. Only fools have crowned Newton the new Goat before he takes one meaningful snap in a Patriots uniform. That's not saying Newton cannot win comeback player of the year, it's saying like a coin; there's more than one possibility. Hope for the best and brace for the worst.

Cowherd thinks the Patriots will suck.

Colin Cowherd had not faith in the New England Patriots after Tom Brady left. The had a quarterback who's situation made him an unknown as to his true value. They also had majority of their elite defense. Pretty much, Brady and the linebackers were the only major differences. Colin thought the Patriots were going to tank, and guess what; he's talking tank again.

Cowherd said “The Belichick/Cam thing has worked better from a PR standpoint than I thought but this is going to be a really bad football team... After Halloween last year the Patriots scored over 25 points ONCE, against the dreadful Bengals, and that was WITH Tom Brady who had memorized the system. They were 4-5 in their last 9 games, they had 8 players opt-out, and they had several key starters lost to free agency and replaced NONE of them."

Belichick didn't make a lot of splashy moves early. He signed Brian Hoyer, Beau Allen, Brandon Copeland and Marquis Lee, while acquired Dan Vitale via trade. The Patriots 

Cowherd continued, "Oh yea, the Draft? They’re not that great at that, and NEVER draft somebody that makes an immediate star impact. They have no functional tight end, no deep threat, the legendary offensive line coach is gone, Brady is out, Gronk is gone…"

Devin Asiasi has been looking dominate for a rookie. The entire starting offensive line minus Marcus Cannon is returning and the Patriots are stacked on their offensive line. If the Patriots want to beat people deep, they have Byrd but that's not their game.

Colin Cowherd also said, "It’s BAD. I have them finishing at 5-11… I had them at .500 after Cam arrived and then they had 8 players opt-out, and they didn’t replace anybody in free agency… I think Belichick knows there are three world class quarterbacks prospects out there, and Belichick knows you can’t win in this league without elite superstar quarterback play. He had a losing record in Cleveland when he didn’t have that. I think the Patriots are targeting a ‘restructuring’ year, and will take the year off. I don’t think New England is a good football team, and this is not a hot take.”

Cowherd is suggesting the Patriots are gonna tank, regardless if it's by choice or by default. The Patriots are counting on their receiving core to make an improvement this year. The entire team is going to have to step up. Special teams and defense might have to carry the team early on.

Patriots may give Michel a Snap count

In May Sony Michel had surgery to relieve pain in his right leg, this caused Michel to miss most of the 2020 training camp. On August 26, Michel came off the pup list and reports said he looked good.

Now this is the third camp where Michel has missed substantial time. In 2018 Sony Michel had fluid drained from his knee. In 2019 he had a knee scope. Having so much done at an early age the Patriots may be cautious with the young back.

The Patriots have enough of a running game now that they have Cam Newton that they can have a snap count for Michel versus Miami week one and not miss a beat.

This is not uncommon for teams to do when players haven't spent a lot of time at camp. In 2018, the Patriots gave Josh Gordon a snap count. It's just something teams do. Whether or not Michel needs to take plays off, is up to the coaching staff. The Patriots have Rex Burkhead and James White ready to go, along with undrafted free agent J.J. Taylor.

A letter to my readers

I've been going pretty hard to make sure I deliver one quality article for the DPN supporters. I've written anywhere from 3 to 10 articles a day going back months. I cannot remember the last time I took a day off and focused on other hobbies. 

There's a saying quality over quantity but when one barely knows the difference between crap and acceptable, one doesn't know when they've written that quality article. 

Today is September 8th, 2020. Since September 1st, I have written 27 blogs. I am lucky if I have a post with more than three readers. Too many with 1 or none.

Over the past two months maybe longer I have skipped on my water changes for my fish tanks. People have no Idea how far behind the one I missed out on DPN's live stream was. 

I have blown off people, slacked at work, even failed to give my two cats the proper amount of attention. I am going to take a couple of days to recharge before I start up again.

I have been trying to read a blog or to just go live and give my opinion on a subject on Sportscastr because I wasn't getting the post interaction I needed. I knew my time with DPN was going to come to an end soon because they didn't need me for what I was doing. I have had nothing but issues with going live on Sportscastr. With the company refusing to create an app, I was S.O.L.

I am debating creating a Facebook page, where I can go live and attempt to read one of my articles a day. I am horrible with reading out loud and Although I can talk better free flowing, I for some reason become absent minded. 

So if you're reading this, thank you for getting this far. I appreciate my readers. However few you may be. 

Thank you,

Joe

Scott Zolak is around the corner

The current 2020 roster has Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham, and Brian Hoyer on the roster. With three quarterbacks on the roster, one normally works as the practice quarterback to keep the defense ready and the other rides the pine. 

However, that didn't stop the press from asking about the Patriots acquiring another quarterback for the practice squad incase of emergencies. Carrying four quarterbacks into a season is rarely done, and normally means there's serious issues at the position. Belichick had a response in a very Belichick way.

When Phil Perry asked Belichick about a practice squad quarterback, Belichick responded, “Scott Zolak is right around the corner...” 

Zolak can surely still throw the ball with a red shirt on but he hasn't played in like 20 years or so. He can help keep receivers loose but there is no way the Patriots would sign him and Bill's response to the thought of carrying four quarterbacks goes to show how intelligent he thought the question was. 

2020 NFL Preview: What’s Best-, Worst-Case Scenario For Cam Newton, Patriots?

Zack Cox of NESN wrote an article called "2020 NFL Preview: What’s Best-, Worst-Case Scenario For Cam Newton, Patriots?". In the Article, he does a good job of giving Cam Newton Credit for the best case scenario but his worst case scenario, he really doesn't talk about Newton's flaws.

In his best case Scenario, He talks about the team as a whole making significant improvements. Michel develops in the passing game. Harry's lack of development being on Brady. Wynn staying health, so on and so on.

Here's what Cox's best case for Newton was, "An uber-motivated Newton stays healthy and performs the way he did during the first half of 2018, when he looked like a potential MVP candidate. His rushing ability allows Josh McDaniels to introduce a whole host of new concepts (read options, designed QB keepers, etc.) into New England’s offense and creates additional space for running back Sony Michel, who enjoys a resurgent third season after an inefficient 2019."

Pretty optimistic take and very well all a real possibility. With that out look, one can see why fan's are so hyped about Newton. However, there are another possibilities just as likely. Which gives fans just as much reason to worry.

For his worst case, Cox says neither Edelman, Harry, or the tight ends are unproductive. That Wynn has his third season with injuries. The running game sucks, the defense cannot handle the departures, and Bill whiffed on the kicking game. Again, all very possible.

As for worst case with Newton, Cox wrote "Newton, who is coming off back-to-back season-ending injuries and has not taken a hit since last September, gets banged up early in the season, requiring at least one stint on injured reserve. Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer both start games in his stead, and neither is particularly effective."

Injury is one way to go but Injury might not be the worst scenario, at least for the Patriots concern Cam. Go with everything else Cox said but let's look at another scenario for Newton.

Maybe Cam gets a little sore or banged up from taking hits but like Brady in 2019, Cam starts and plays all 16 games. Stidham has his second season of getting reps with the first team in practice due to Newton getting hit. 

However, Cam Newton repeats his 2017 season performance. Cam throws for 3300 yards and 22 touchdowns. He adds on another 754 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. Sounds good right?

INewton only completes 59% of his passes. Averaging 6.7 yards an attempt. Gets sacked 35 times, 8 more times than Brady did in 2019. Throws 16 interceptions and fumbles the ball 6 times. Keeping the Patriots out of games they should win.

With the worst case scenario that Cox described and with Newton's history, a 2017 repeat is possible. Especially if you believe some analysts and writes about how inaccurate Newton was in practice. This season is very possible. 

Several analysts only have the Patriots winning 4 - 7 games, even with Newton under center. Most figure a minimum 9 - 10 wins but those analysts other ones, are really focusing on the worst case. 

I think most Patriots fans expect the 2020 Patriots to win the division and get double digit wins. Some even think with Newton, that the Pats are superbowl contenders. However, like Cox pointed out, The team could just have everything go south. Cox and Myself both pointed out two possible worst case scenarios which could cause the Patriots to have a worst case scenario.

JJ Taylor Keeps the Patriots UDFA streak alive.

Damien Harris was tearing up camp and made it very well known that Sony Michel's job was no longer safe. Running back is one of those positions where you can be good and lose your job. Unfortunately, Harris injured his pinky and now will be out at least for three weeks. So the Patriots placed him on the injured reserve.

JJ Taylor is a hobbit among normal men, Standing 5'5" and weighing 190 pounds. He's an inch shorter than Darren Sproles and so far in camp, he could be just as Dangerous. Especially running wheel and fly routes. 

The Patriots were endanger of losing their streak of signing UDFAs due to the lack of preseason games. With both Harris and Beau Allen on the Injured reserve, the Patriots promoted two rookies to the roster. Linebacker Cassh Maluia was the other rookie. With how well Cowart is doing, Allen may not come off the IR.

Unless you're Middle Eastern, Asian, Native American, Latino, or Pacific Islander, Stop claiming racism in the Patriots receiving core.

The New England Patriots could use to bolster their receiving core. 2019 wasn't a spectacular year for the New England pass catching unit and it hasn't changed much in 2020. Sub out Byrd for Dorsett and it's the same squad. 

Jerry Trotta of Musket Fire suggests Laquon Treadwell as one of three players the Patriots should sign. Treadwell is young and a former first round pick, who has shown plenty of ability worth making him a development case. Trotta is right, he could be worth adding.

Now here's where I have an issue with Trotta. He suggests that race is what would keep him from being signed by the Patriots.

Trotta wrote, "We’re not saying he would be a lock to carve out a role in New England, but he has to be motivated to remove the dreaded “b” word from his resume, right?..."

Ok, lets look at what the Patriots have at receiver. Edelman and  Gunner Olszewski both caucasian. Byrd,  N'Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers, and emergency receiver and special team's captain Matthew Slater; all African American. 

Year after year the Patriots rotate from the caucasians and two African Americans, to three African American and two caucasians; rarely counting Slater who is technically a receiver. When the Patriots went with Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, and Julian Edelman in 2016 and only had Slater, Michael Floyd,  and Malcolm Mitchell that the racism started. (The Patriots were built around their 4 tight ends that year, who were equally split)

Look at their draft going back to 2010 when they really started needed to address the position and were trying to get the best players out of college. 2010: Taylor Price. 2012: Jeremy Ebert. 2013: Josh Boyce, Aaron Dobson. 2014: Jeremy Gallon. 2016: Malcolm Mitchell, Devin Lucien. 2018: Braxton Berrios, 2019: N'Keal Harry. Only three of nine were caucasians.

The arguement about the Patriots being racist and not signing "Black" receivers is a dumb arguement, especially after a season having Josh Gordon, AB, DT, Sanu, Jakobi Meyers, Phillip Dorsett and Matthew Slater on the roster. 

The real issues for the people that bring it up is one, that the Patriots have caucasians receivers on their roster and two that at least one of those players is a feature player in the offense, with sometimes up to three. It's sick and it's disgusting. It hurts the civil right movement for equality and needs to be ended. Those in the media who make these racism claims where they're unfounded need to be shamed.

The Patriots keeping Brian Hoyer must be a bad sign for Jarrett Stidham’s development

If you read Patriots reports on camp and ignore the hype ones, where Newton could do No wrong and Newton is now the Goat; you'll see that it was just Stidham's injury and time missed because of; that gave Newton the start. 

That the Two Auburn quarterbacks were neck and neck because neither pulled away. That both were just as interception prone, with Stidham throwing soft enough for defenders to hang on to, and that the major difference between the two was athleticism versus accuracy. 

So let's back track. Tom Brady left a string of Bread crumbs about his future during 2019 and paid Belichick back for superbowl 52 with a pick six to Logan Ryan, to eliminate the Patriots from the playoffs.

After the 2019 season, it was reported that Bill Belichick wanted to give Stidham one more year before seeing what he had. Tom Brady knew this and left, messing everything up. So Bill went out and signed Brian Hoyer, a conservative game manager that he could win with. Hoyer would be the equivalent of Trent Dilfer in 2000 to Belichick.

Then covid went and screwed everything up. Teams couldn't hold any type of spring workouts. Player development was brought to a halt in name of safety. However,  the Patriots still had the preseason or so they thought.

On June 20th, 2020 the NFL canceled the Preseason. Any further attempts to get Stidham ready for the 2020 were pretty much shot. It was later that week that the New England Patriots brought in Cam Newton with an opportunity to start. 

It wasn't because of his price. It wasn't because of his athletic ability or prior accomplishments. It was because of the cancelation of the preseason, the fact that nobody was touching Cam, and the fact that he had starting experience. That's why Newton got the contract he got laced with insensitive, not because of money situations.

Belichick knew at his worst Cam Newton was Brian Hoyer with legs, which meant at his worst Cam could scramble where Hoyer couldn't. This Camp however, showed as a pure passer, Newton is worse than Hoyer. Which means, keeping him in the pocket is the key to beating him.

Bill would give Stidham a chance to compete but knew he wasn't ready and expected a sophomore slump. The two quarterbacks were about the same until Stidham's injury. That wasn't a good look for Newton. The team was frustrated Stidham because he had three bad days of camp due to injury and he could've been rested if he reported it that Monday.

The Patriots have shown confidence in Stidham and he beat out Hoyer in 2019, so why is Hoyer still here. Obviously the team must not believe in Stidham anymore, right?

Wrong! Hoyer has nothing to do with Stidham. Hoyer has everything to do with covid-19. If there was no covid, he would've been cut. Hell if there was no covid, Cam Newton is not a New England Patriots quarterback and Hoyer remains the backup to Stidham.

There aren't a lot of guys who know the Patriots system, who also have NFL experience. Hoyer is a valuable back up quarterback. It's why Bill keeps going back to him. Hoyer would not make it to the practice squad. So Bill kept him.

Hoyer will serve as an extra coach and also be the scout team quarterback. He will make sure the defense and the two Patriots quarterbacks are ready. Hoyer has one of the best minds in football, it's just sad that he wasn't gifted the physical tools. So anyone thinking that Hoyer means Stidham messed up, erase those thoughts. Hoyer is a pure precaution move.

Todd Davis could be an underpaid addition to the Patriots linebacking unit.

There's a handful of big names the Patriots could bring in to help. Names like safety Sidney Jones, receiver Laquon Treadwell, safety Sean Davis, receiver Hakeem Butler, or safety Ha Ha Clinton Dix. Former UDFA, linebacker Todd Davis, could be just as big a help on defense. He's only 28, so he could be a long term piece.

Davis is a 6'1" 230 pound linebacker who can play anywhere. He has had four straight solid seasons, and is coming off back to back 100 plus tackle seasons.

His three come and short shuttle are in the range Patriots like for their slot receivers, meaning he can change direction with ease during pursuit. He's said to have good field awareness and is dangerous in zone coverage.

Here's some of what the mile high report liked about Davis.

"Good at point of attack. Diagnostic skills. Good at stacking, then shedding blocks. Solid pursuit. Good outside zone defender. Solid ability to change of direction. Solid ball skills."

The Patriots lost arguably the best linebacking unit in football after the 2019 season ended so they have a large hole filled with question marks.

Here's what the mile high report didn't like going into last season.

"4.87 40 shows up on the field. 1.68 10-yard-split. Missed two games with high ankle sprain in 2017. Short arms (31 1/4”) hurt his ability to separate from better blockers."

These are all issues the Patriots coaching staff can scheme around. So not areas that would cause for concern. He's been in the league since 2014, so his experience should also help make up for any flaws he has. Davis is recovering from a calf injury but should be ready to practice as soon as signed.

Butler could be the receiver the Patriots were looking for.

Hakeem Butler was expected to be a 2nd round pick out of Iowa State. In 34 games he caught 2149 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 2017, he was the teams third receiver catching 700 yards just over 1/4 the total passing yards. In 2018, he caught 1300 of the schools 2200 passing yards. He was targeted 20%-30% of the teams passes. He also has some experience in the return game, as a bonus.

He ran a 4.48 forty and had a 36" vertical jump. At his proday, he added a 7.09 three cone drill.  He has a large catch radius, can play all of the receiver positions. Was considered too big and too fast to press. He had a case of the drops in 2018 but was the only pass catcher in 2018. His footwork needed improvement to help with route running and just overall consistency. 

The Arizona Cardinals were able to snag this second round prospect in the fourth round. The Cardinals haven't been exactly the best at developing players but their receivers coach spoke in May of 2019 about Butler.

David Raih called Butler "mentally tough" and “he’s just your big rangy guy who’s got a ton of physicality." 

"His footwork is raw. We’re going to train him to really increase his route ability, but as far as mindset, ability, length, hands, he ran a 4.48, he’ll be an outside guy to start and I’m really looking forward to training with him.”

Jess Root of USA Today wrote, 'It would appear the Cardinals will give him a specific role on the outside. As of right now, he projects as the team’s fourth wide receiver, which will give him limited snaps in terms of playing time. However, his length and speed give him the opportunity be an impact player with even limited opportunities as a rookie."

The 2019 Patriots really didn't have the ability to separate. The team lost a few pass catchers but don't have any receivers on the roster that are a real difference from last year. 

The Patriots also accepted that Harry is not an X receiver but instead a big body slot guy. If Arizona did their job with development, Butler can be that guy the team needs, even if he is starting behind. 

Patriots cut both kickers during 53 man shake down.

In 2019 Stephen Gostkowski got hurt and went out with a season ending hip injury. He was replaced by Nick Folk and Nuggent, with Folk having two runs in 2019. Folk appeared in seven games and went 14 of 17. Not exactly bad for a guy who missed half the season. 

In 2020 the Patriots let Gostkowski go and drafted Justin Rohrwasser from Marshall in the 5th round. It varies where Rohrwasser ranked but most everyone will confirm he wasn't one of the top 5 kickers in the draft. 

In college Rohrwasser went 33 of 42 or 78.6% and on extra points, which in college the line of scrimmage is the 2, he went 96.8%. 

Rohrwasser wasn't really kicking during camp. When he was, he wasn't looking accurate. Many in the media suspected injury and the Patriots ended up bringing back Nick Folk, even though at the time Gostkowski was still available. 

On Friday, Belichick said the two kickers looked about even to him. Leaving many to wonder what he was seeing. On Saturday, Belichick cut both kickers, Puzzling everyone.

The Patriots currently don't have a kicker and it is unclear what the team is going to do. Will the team resign one after placing people on the injured reserve? Will the team let Bailey kick them or is Belichick just going to go for it this season? The Patriots have options, so nobody knows what they're gonna do.

Shinny things in the cutdown that may still have value for the Patriots

The What's what of the free agent scrap heap from the cut downs to 53 men. These are the few salvageable names I can see out there, not including names the Patriots may have just cut.

QB:

Mike White

Tyler Huntley

Josh Rosen

Cole McDonald 

RB:

Damerae Crockett

Jacques Patrick

DJ Foster

Sewo Olonilua

AP

Rod Smith

Pete GuerrIero

WR:

Hakeem Butler

Jon'Vae Johnson

Darrell Stewart

Laquon Treadwell

Quartney Davis

TE:

Ahmed Wagner

Giovanni Ricci

DT:

Raequan Williams

LB:

Todd Davis 

DB:

Lamar Jackson

Kareem Orr

Kevin McGill

Stanford Samuels

Ken Webster

S:

Clinton Dix

Nigel Warrior

Elijah Riley

Sidney Jones

Sean Davis

The Patriots have the task of building their practice squad and trying to add any parts from today's trash heap. The lack of a preseason is going to make this hard. This is the biggest treasure trove of players because one really doesn't know what they're getting.