Three Realistically Potentially Free Agent Quarterbacks That Could Work For The Patriots In 2021.

The Patriots need to retool. While the draft and trades could change the free agency moves, I am gonna look at the free agency quarterback market as if the Patriots only have that pool if talent to work from and to see who they would bring in. 

One quick note, don't confuse completion percentage with accuracy. Cam Newton came to New England with a percentage under sixty percent, and although he has a much higher competition percentage, he has been saved by the hands of his pass catchers, as his ball placement is poorly thrown to their bubbles.

At quarterback there are three names that stand out. The 2020 Patriots offense at times, has shown how effective the option run can be. What hurt that aspect of the offense was the accuracy and decision making of Cam Newton. 

Newton is a see it and throw it quarterback, not a passing drill quarterback capable of understanding and hitting timing routes. Newton showed he's only capable of two things this year, throwing it deep or running it. That style play caused Logan Thomas to switch positions because it doesn't typically work in the NFL.

There are two mobile quarterbacks going to be free agents that can hit timing routes and while maybe not as athletically gifted, could potentially run the 2020 Patriots offense better or at least to the level fans were hoping for. Both quarterbacks as starters have led their teams to the playoffs before injury ended their playoff run. Both were also ran out of town by impatient fan bases hungry for a change in culture.

Tyrod Taylor, the 31 year old quarterback has bounced around the league since leading Buffalo into the post season. The knock on Taylor is he's too conservative. Fans over his ten year career have bitched and yelled for him to throw the ball to covered pass catchers and to take a chance on the big play, mainly by having him throw the ball up for grabs, 40 yards or more down field.

Taylor doesn't like to throw the fifty fifty ball and that angers fans, who seem to prefer high risk gun slinging to the dink and dunk, game manager style quarterback play. A style that can be successful with the right combination of quarterback and coaching staff. Taylor's not gonna wow anyone with highlight throws but like Chad Pennington, he has the ability to dissect a defense, even if it means taking off.

Over Taylor's ten year career, he's played in seventy two games, starting forty seven of them. He has a career completion percentage of 61.4 and has thrown for 9770 yards. He's thrown for 54 touchdowns and 20 Interceptions. Taylor also has a career rushing average of 5.4 yards per carry. 

Taylor has spent seven of his ten years as a backup, losing his job to injury and a hot quarterback multiple times. His time in Buffalo was with Rex Ryan's ultra conservative passing / extremely run heavy offense. The Patriots would give Taylor the ability to throw for 3600 yards and rush for another 400 more. Stats expected from Cam in August.

The second name on my list is Robert Griffin the Third. Griffin is currently 30 years old and since his time with the Redskins came to an end, the quarterback like Taylor has been primarily a backup plagued by injuries. He's been sitting behind Lamar Jackson the past few years. 

Griffin played his first season in 2012 but missed both the 2015 and 2017 seasons. Griffin has appeared in fifty six games, starting forty of them. Griffin has a career completion percentage of 63 and has thrown for 9271 yards. Griffin has thrown 43 touchdowns and 30 interceptions over his career. A large part of his turnovers has been him being under pressure alot, playing with inexperienced pass catchers, and throwing from behind (losing).

Griffin also has a 4.9 yards per carry career average and like Taylor should easily add on another 400 yards to the Patriots rushing offense. 

The a Patriots could just bring back Cam Newton if they want a mobile quarterback but his inaccuracy has hurt the Patriots as he's been saved by the hands of his 27th ranked pass catchers, which Cam Newton and the Patriots coaches are at least 50% responsible for. The 27th ranked Pass catchers, who the Patriots have just failed to teach separation to at the same time having a quarterback who throws to their area Instead of to them.

The last name on my list is "Big Red" himself, 33 year old Andy Dalton. Andy Dalton's career with the Bengals was a double edged sword where the coaching staff and team injuries hurt him just as much as his career in Cincinnati helped him. Dalton is coming off a one year deal with Dallas.

Over Dalton's ten year career, he has appeared in 143 games starting 141 of them. Dalton has a career completion percentage of 62.2 percent. The pocket passer has thrown for 33,520 yards with 218 touchdowns and 125 interceptions. 

Unlike the other quarterbacks in this list, Dalton is not a mobile quarterback, however that doesn't mean he won't scramble when he needs to. Dalton had a career average of 3.1 yards per carry and averaged 128 yards a season. 

All three free agents I mentioned can throw timing routes, something that is not part of current quarterback Cam Newton's game. The Patriots could execute the 2020 version of the Patriots offense with Taylor or RGIII way better than they could with Newton. With Dalton, they could roll back into the full Tom Brady playbook. 

All three guys should come cheap, under ten million dollars, and All three could help develop an incoming rookie or compete with backup Jarrett Stidham and push him to be better. Something Stidham's buddy and Auburn alumni failed to do. If the Patriots want to bring back Cam Newton to mentor a rookie quarterback, they'd be better off just re-signing Brian Hoyer or having Stidham who will be under contract still do it.

The Patriots Top Three Needs On Offense Heading Into The Offseason.

This is probably the easiest thing to answer and yet the most nonchalant answer at the same time. However, it's true and it really cannot be disputed.

The first thing needed for the Patriots offense is to address the quarterback one position. Cam Newton was a good runner but he honestly wasn't a top 32 passer. Cam's completion percentage was bailed out by his pass catchers ability to catch the ball anywhere near them. 

His decision making and ball placement were just plain bad. It wasn't covid and it wasn't the playcalling. McDaniels brought out the option runs into the offense to adapt the system to Cam Newton. The team even tried to work on Newton's mechanics to help with his accuracy. 

Newton still throws to his pass catchers bubbles Instead of to them and he does not seem to understand timing routes. He is a throw it up for grabs, deep ball gunslinger and that is not the Patriots offense. 

The team is not built to be a high risk, high reward passing game; they are not built for Cam Newton. The Patriots rely on accuracy and with how Cam Passes, nobody can deny that's not him. This is the best Newton can run the Patriots "Air West Spread" offensive system, even after they modified it for him.

Everyone can pretty much agree that 2019 was a bad year for the Patriots passing game. Brady had one of his worst completion percentages and one of his highest interception years. That was an average Cam Newton year in Carolina, minus 400 yards passing and plus 400 yards rushing. 2020 is a down year for Cam. 

Newton has never had weapons, that was his defense coming to New England. Newton still doesn't have weapons and what he does have is still elevating him. Sure he'd be a better quarterback if he had a tier better weapons, that is true for every quarterback but the don't have the cap and have too many needs to get enough weapons to make Newton good. A true number one, might make Newton average at best.

The second thing needed are upgrades at positional coaches. Quarterback coach Jedd Fisch is gone and the Patriots cannot seem to develop wideouts or tight ends. Let's be real, It doesn't matter how good the talent is coming out of the draft, if the coaches cannot develop them. 

Sure incoming talent could be better than what's on the roster but it's still the coaches' jobs to improve the players and not just hope the talent is good enough on it's own to improve the roster.

Since Edelman is still on the team, let's go back to 2009, the year he came out of the draft and see how many tight ends and receivers the team has taken and developed.

WR: Brandon Tate, Julian Edelman, Taylor Price, Jeremy Ebert, Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, Jeremy Gallon,  Malcolm Mitchell, Devin Lucien, Braxton Berrios, N'Keal Harry

TE: Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Lee Smith, AJ Derby, Ryan Izzo, Devin Asiasi, Dalton Keene

Of those 17 guys maybe 5 at most were able to be developed and 4 of those 5 came between 2009 and 2010. 

The Patriots have been successful at bringing in sustainable free agents, thus it falls on to their ability to develop and not their ability to scout. Which is something I have been saying all season. 

The third thing the Patriots offense needs are up grades with their pass catchers. The guys they got are doing their best but they struggle to get separation. It doesn't help their production that when they do manage to get open, Newton cannot get them the ball and part of their inability to get separation is on the coaching but there is still room for upgrades. 

Marquis Lee will be returning but that's not enough and there's no guarantee that he will be the guy, not to mention his injury history. The Patriots don't need a true number one. They need a solid group of pass catchers. Instead of a true number one at receiver, bring in two or three number twos that cost the same as one number one. 

The Patriots also don't need a top tier number one at tight end. Ryan Izzo is a solid number two. The Patriots need a lower tier number one tight end, who is still a serviceable tight end one ranked between fourteen and twenty four. 

Most teams only have one, maybe two good coverage defensive backs. Again a solid unit that the ball can be spread around to in the Patriots system is more valuable than one player. 

If the Patriots spend all their cap on one number one and that one player goes down and the team is back to where it started but with less money. It's easier to replace a cog than it is to replace the entire engine. 

When it comes to the offensive side of the ball, it's hard to argue with what I wrote. There maybe other things the offense needs to improve on, like play calling but these are the top three needs.

Cam Newton's Basement weapons are elevating him.

The Patriots passing game in 2020 has been abysmal. The Patriots have one of the worst passing offenses in the NFL and the worst they've had in over 25 years.

As a group the papers pass catchers are in the bottom eight. Patriots pass catchers are possession receivers, who cannot burn or separate.

Cam Newton is a bottom eight quarterback. Newton is a running quarterbac with an arm but no accuracy and bad decision-making.

Strangely enough believe it or not, this poor pass-catching unit is actually elevating Cam Newton's play. Let me explain.

Cam Newton is having one of his best pass completion years because his pass catchers can catch but he's not doing this past catchers any favors in return. Anyone who has watched Cam play has seen how bad his accuracy is. Newton puts the ball in such bad spots, that once his past catchers catch the ball , they have no room to do anything with it. 

Now one can nip pic and go through video to find good throws, like in the Seattle game and than dissect a play to make it look like Cam is good but as a body of work, there's going to be more tape inaccurate passes than not.

When the Patriots pass catchers do manage to get open, Newton for some reason fails to get the ball to them. N'keal Harry, Ryan Izzo, Dalton Keene, and many others of the Patriots pass catchers have been the victim of Cam Newton. 

How productive can a pass-catcher be if the quarterback isn't getting them the ball or when he does they have to do a bunch of extra to catch it?

There's an argument that Cam Newton would be better if New England got better pass catchers. Every quarterback would be better with better pass catchers but that doesn't make the quarterbacks any better. It just means the talent around them is capable of doing more. Of making the quarterback look above his pay grade.

Being that a bottom tier group of pass-catchers is elevating Cam, that means a Cam Newton isn't just a bottom passer. He is the bottom tier passer. In fact there are backup quarterbacks that are better passers than Cam Newton, meaning Newton should be holding a clip board.

With a group of below average pass catchers, 2017 to 24 range, Cam Newton would be lucky if he elevates to 24. Give Cam Newton an average group (15-18) and Newton would be lucky if you made it into the top 20. Thus to make Newton above average in theory, the Patriots would need a top 10 pass-catching unit. However is the NFL has shown up over the past 30 years, bad quarterbacks find a way a f****** up.

Jarrett Stidham Has Done Just As Much To Earn The Last Two Starts As Cam Newton

The Patriots are a team that is earn your spot. Newton won the job by default when Stidham got injured. Need proof, Stidham was a co-starter prior to the injury. Belichick put Stidham in the dog house and Hoyer didn't earn the number 2 role, which was given back to Stidham after the K.C. game. 

Newton has not done anything this season as a passer to show he should continue to start if the Patriots get knocked out. He beat up on the worst 2 passing defenses and a below average passing defense. The only reason being given for Newton to start until the team was knocked out of the playoffs, was his legs. Realistically, Newton's legs have been almost as inconsistent as his arm.

What have we seen with Jarrett stidham?  Versus KC, he came in with the score 13-3. He came in and made it 13-10 but was a product of the offense as Edelman handed a pass to the defender for a pick six to make it 20-10 before Stidham with now added pressure, threw another interception that ended the game.

Tell me that pick six at the hands of Edelman didn't effect the confidence of Stidham with the game still in reach. If anything, that put more pressure on the young quarterback's shoulder to make something happen. That added pressure could've destroyed Stidham's confidence. 

Versus the 49ers, Stidham came in with the score 33-6. He threw an interception and almost tied Cam Newton's stats for the first 3 quarters. Again Stidham came in and made a Cam Newton pass and put the ball in the area of the pass catcher and not where it should've been. He was under pressure to show Belichick something, instead of just playing his game.

Versus the Chargers, Stidham came in went 2 for 3 in the 4th; throwing a perfect timing route strike to Olszewski for a touchdown.

WEEI on or around November 4th quoted Belichick as saying Stidham had improved since last season. So he's obviously showing something in practice. I know what else is Belichick gonna say, right but that same argument can be made about all his praise for Newton.

After last season Belichick had said that with getting to practice with the first string that Stidham was ahead of where he should be.  It also came out that the Patriots wanted to sit him one more season for development but were very confident in him.

So why wouldn't Belichick start Stidham? How about because this year, he'd be replacing Tom Brady. A buddy of mine said Josh Rosen was played too soon and it destroyed his confidence. Why wouldn't Bill want to protect his young quarterback? We all talk about how smart Belichick is, so why wouldn't Bill know if it's too early to play Stidham?

There's been a lot of talk that Belichick conceded this season. I even said that after last week that this season seemed like an extended 2021 preseason. With how brutal Patriots fans are and how easy it is for a young player to lose confidence, I said and still believe Belichick would protect a young quarterback. Especially if the offensive weapons are as bad as people say they are.

There's also been talk about McDaniels looking vanilla this season. Something this writer was saying last season after watching the last two seasons. I got crucified and told how much of a genius McDaniels is. 

McDaniels has peaked as an OC and should not be given the Patriots head coaching position. There is an arguement that Cam Newton is a product of McDaniels this season. That arguement can also be made for Stidham. 

McDaniels needs to spend the offseason watching the top 10 offenses in college and get reinspired or he needs to take the Houston job.

The only thing I will say in defense of McDaniels is that he did what the Patriots have done for the past twenty years. He modified the system without getting rid of it.

He added the slow option plays that is what Newton does well, without sacrificing the accurate passing game for a extremely high risk deep passing game. Which is the other part of Newton's game.

So with the last two games, it makes sense to play Stidham. Bill may decide to give Stidham a placebo for 2021 and have him play only the Jets. If Stidham stinks, he'll struggle versus the Jets and if he doesn't, he can ride that high into 2021.

Patriots in favor of the preseason

Fans and players with large bank accounts would have the preseason eliminated. Lack of the preseason has hurt the Patriots. Belichick has stressed the importance of those games and now Kraft is defending the preseason. 

This year not only has it hurt The quarterback battle but it also hurt Newton's ability to grow chemistry with his pass catchers. 

Every year the Patriots have undrafted free agents making the roster. J.J. Taylor was originally cut and brought back. Would David Andrews or Malcolm Butler made the team without the preseason playing time, doubtful. 

If the NFL wants to eliminate thosegames, those games need to be made regular season games with rules and regulations so those extra 40 guys that aren't gonna be part of the actual roster, have to play.

Robert Kraft among owners against reducing preseason to 2 games (report)

https://www.thescore.com/s/16304288

Cam Newton is not being Evaluated fairly.

Writer Thomas Carannante of Musket Fire wrote, "At this point, every New England Patriots fan knows that Cam Newton isn’t the problem with this offense. You saw the numbers. Tom Brady, up until about a few weeks ago at this point last year, was having just as unproductive of a season from an efficiency standpoint. There’s a reason he left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers."

Patriots fans who watch the games have made it clear on Twitter that Newton is a large part of the problem.  Newton has mechanical issues. Since he fails to see open guys. Scrambles and hangs into the ball too long with guys open. 

Then he throws the ball to his pass catchers area instead of to them. He throws ground balls when throwing short. Newton's got a completion percentage in the mid to upper 60s. That's because his guys are catching the ball. He's placing the ball high, behind, low and in front of his pass catchers.

Newton missed one game, he's got a true completion percentage of 74% ranked 27th. When under pressure, he's ranked 6th but when he's got a clean pocket he drops to below average at 18th. As you can see in the image below from Player Profiler, there's 2 receiver separation stats. One of them is ranked 4th. And the other is ranked 27th.

Edelman, Byrd, Meyers, Harry, and Izzo, the top 5 pass catchers have a combined little over 70% catchable pass rate. Yet of all the passes they're thrown, they're catching  above 80%. 

One.thing analytics don't show is something coaches tape and the eye test show. Guys are getting open. It might not be on every play but they are getting open. One play it might be Izzo, another play it might be Harry or Keene. Newton's getting open guys the ball for what ever reason.

Naysayers are going to call b*******. There was one point that it was written that Newton wasn't throwing to his right. Can anyone tell me that the Patriots stopped lining guys up on Newton's right? I don't think so. That alone helps prove my arguement. 

Newton is a below average to basement quarterback in the short to intermediate range, with equally leveled pass catchers. So while he might not be the problem, he's a large part of the problem with the Patriots passing game. Newton's played 12 of 13 Patriots games and the Patriots don't plan on benching him yet. 

With how he's playing as a passer and the fact that the Patriots refuse to let Stidham start, it's true that Cam Newton's not being evaluated fairly because if he was treated like any other quarterback, after his last 3 performances as a passer he would've been benched. 

Cam Newton is being shown favoritism at this point. Whether it's because of his legs, or to protect Stidham while the team is in playoff contention is regardless at this point. 

Michel expected to try and make the most of playing time verus Miami if Harris cannot go

Damien Harris is dealing with an ankle injury which has had him limited. The Patriots are likely going to try to avoid it becoming more serious. Look for Sony Michel to attempt to remind the Patriots of why he was a number one overall in 2018.

Michel has spent a good portion of the season on IR. However, he is averaging 5.3 yards per carry on 43 carries.

Michel entered 2020 coming off back to back 900 yard seasons. Penalties and injuries had kept Michel from crossing the thousand yard mark in both his previous seasons.

Michel was thought to be an duel threat weapon coming out of college but has yet to live up to that. Even though the quarterback play has not been the best over his time in the NFL. According to player profiler Michel has only ran 21 routes and his 3 receptions are good enough to rank him 113th. Cam Newton has 301 attempts. Michel isn't even involved in 10% of the passing plays.

Look for Michel to have a big game versus the dolphins if given the chance.

How much blame is on Cam Newton for N'Keal Harry's lack of production?

"Cam has not played well. Cam has struggled with his mechanics. Cam has never been accurate".

All said by Shannon Sharpe to defend Cam Newton versus comments made by N'Keal Harry's trainer.

Now before someone brings up Cam Newton's completion percentage, just because one throws the ball to someone's bubble doesn't mean they're accurate. Bad ball placement can occasionally result in completions. Newton does not put the ball where it needs to be consistently, instead he puts it in the area of his pass catcher. That hurts production of the guys catching the ball. Thus it hurts the team.

Skip Bayless in defense of Cam Newton "To your point he's always had accuracy issues but he's also had stretches like against Seattle, he have a big game; he almost put up 400 yards."

Cam Newton had a big game against the 32nd pass ranked defense. Cam Newton also had a big game against the 31st pass ranked defense. I know, what about Houston, he lit them up. They're only ranked 24th. Which is one spot from the start of the bottom 8 of 32 pass defenses. So yeah, Newton has played okay at times as a passer, just as long as the team was a basement team. Those are the only 3 games Newton put up respectable passing numbers.

Yes, Cam has played bad. Yes, Harry's production is low this season. The only other thing I will say in defense of Harry is coaches tape has shown on occasion Harry to be open and Newton fail to even realize it.

Which along with Newton's accuracy issues, has hurt Harry's stat line. By how much, nobody knows. Thus Harry is also at fault. That doesn't mean Harry hasn't struggled to get separation. It means when Harry is doing his job, Cam is not. Making the formula of Cam Newton and N'keal Harry a failure thus far.

Newton has only gone over 200 yards passing 3 times this season. Average to me is 200 yards. Average this year, the number 16 and 17 ranked passers are throwing 248-256 yards per game. Below average are ranks 17-24. Newton is sitting at 26th with 181 yards per game. He's in the basement.

I understand the Patriots pass catchers aren't great. If his weapons were a tier better, Newton would still be at best a bellow average passer. Give him a true number one, he might be an average passer. 

All the friends that Newton has around the league that are pass catchers are sitting there thinking, "I like that guy but this is business and I gotta think about my future. Playing with him is career suicide, dude can't pass unless he's throwing it deep. Do I really wanna be running full on sprints every play?"

No athlete in football wants to be running full speed on every pass play to try and run 20+ yards down the field on every play to get where the quarterback is accurate. No coach in their right mind wants to have their quarterback sitting that long in the pocket waiting for their guys to get down field. Otherwise we'd see more deep balls in the league.

https://youtu.be/Wx7PlsCNiTg

Newton is an average passer having a down year and it's majority, himself to blame

From the time he signed until week one versus the Miami Dolphins, the explanation for why Cam Newton was an inconsistent passer with only three winning seasons was that he didn't have any weapons. Now the explanation for his bad play is he doesn't have any weapons and in Carolina, he had Greg Olsen. 

Head scratching  how he went from having zero weapons to at least one. Newton's always been good for at least 400 yards rushing. His career passing stats on average were basically Tom Brady's in 2019. 

As for having no weapons, first unlike Carolina the Patriots run by committee. Harris has rushed for 691 yards and the team has rushed for over 1400 yards without including Cam. So the rushing is statistically on pace for his career with the Panthers.

Newton's panthers almost always had 800+ yard, 700+, 500+ yard, and 400+ yard pass catchers. Newton has had 3 bad passing games, where combined he's thrown for 308 yards. His naysayers response, "I'd rather have an ugly win that a pretty loss". Which are also Cam's words. 

Prior to the past three games, Newton's pass catchers were on pace to meet Newton's career average. Byrd and Meyers are both over 500 yards, Edelman's over 300 and Harry's just under. If they continue their trajectory, Newton will have two 700+ yard pass catchers, a 400+ yard pass catcher, and a near 400.  

Yes, Cam had covid and missed practice. Lack of practice is another explanation floating for Cam. However, Stidham never getting any first team reps and basically not getting any real practice except for with the practice squad is somehow not. Well if lack of practice is at fault for some of Cam's bad play, ding dong; it's also the reason for Stidham's. 

The fact of the matter is Newton does having a down year has a passer period. He looks slow as a rusher and put Stidham's inexperience, since the Ravens game, it's made sense to continue to start Cam Newton until the Patriots are mathematically out of the playoffs. 

Belichick is doing his best not to put Stidham in a situation where is confidence can get destroyed. Belichick's destroyed enough young quarterbacks confidence to know that. 

Everyone talks about Newton's completion percentage being making him an accurate quarterback. Newton throws to their bubble. If his players catch it, his percentage goes up. Newton puts the ball in the wrong location too often. His pass catchers help his stats by catching balls that hurt their stats. 

Newton's pass top for receivers and Izzo combined on average are thrown 7 catchable balls out of 10. Yet they're hauling in 8 of every 10 passes regardless of how bad the ball is thrown. Those type of stats inflate a poor passer's completion percentage. 

One more note. Tom Brady's stats might be better than Cam's but they're still bad for all those weapons. There's not guarantee that Newton would be any better. Also any quarterback would look better if they had top 5 pass catchers. That doesn't mean the quarterback still isn't trash, it means he's getting bailed out by his pass catchers. 

Brady's always put up good stats, except for 2018 & 2019. He hasn't always had top 5 pass catchers. Newton's has not always had good stats with "nobodies". If Newton really needs top tier talent, then he's not the guy. Yeah, it's nice but the Patriots will be in the same spot if the guy goes down. Last year was probably Brady's worst year and he still did better than Newton statistically and they should be close to the same. 

Let's not kid ourselves either. Newton's stats have been inflated by playing the Jets and Seahawks, the 31st and 32nd ranked pass defenses. Everyone knows that. The eye test shows how inaccurate Newton is. Yeah, he can throw the deep ball but his short passes are in the dirt or high. Analytics don't show that. Analytics don't show for bad ball placement. All they show is whether the pass is catchable or not, and whether it's a dangerous pass.

I wanted Cam to succeed once named the starter, I really did; even though I was a Stidham supporter. The problems with Cam have always been evident. He's not a good passer. He's a wild gun slinger who runs.  That doesn't excite me but it does worry me.

Let all this sink in and really look at Cam. 

McDaniels defends pass catchers as he indirectly calls out Cam with comment about efficiency.

Josh McDaniels recently talked about the players on offense and was very defensive of his personal. Thia season all wr have heard from fans is "the Patriots need weapons" and "nobody can get open". Now while the team could use better players, coaches tape has proven that guys are getting open.

Here's what McDaniels said, "They [the receivers] work their butt off, and they’re doing what they can do each week to prepare and play their best. I couldn’t ask any more of those guys with their attitude and effort and approach. I don’t worry about this, that and the other in terms of weapons and all that.

We have enough people here to win, and we’ve got to do a better job of executing and putting those guys in positions to be productive. But they come in here and work their butt off every week, and they’ve all made plays and done things to help us win. And we have to do more of that as we move forward here in the last few weeks."

It's easy to throw heat at the pass catchers, I mean even if the balls at their feet, three feet above their head, at their back shoulder or near their finger tips in front of them, the ball is catchable right? 

Edelman, Byrd, Meyers, Olszewski and Izzo are getting 70% catchable balls and of all the passes their being thrown as a group, they're catching 80% of the passes. The other receivers and tight ends haven't been targeted enough to add. 

There was one point this season where Cam Newton wasn't throwing to his right. That's on the pass catchers for lining up on the right, correct? Same with Cam not seeing them and doing what ever he does instead, right? 

Cam Newton has beat up on the two worst passing defenses in the NFL. Tim Tebow could've put up 300 against them. The only other team the Patriots passed well against was a middle of the pack team who they could've put up over 225 yards on the ground and in the air. 

Now Josh McDaniels play calling has been a little predictable. The offense goes through Newton's legs, everyone knows it. Any surprised that the Patriots have been using the "Brady" offense, had unrealistic expectations of a complete new offense being installed. The Patriots do what they do and modified it for Newton. 

The problem with the Patriots passing offense is a 3 part problem. One Cam cannot operate an accurate timing offense. He throws to the area of the receiver and not to the receiver. His issues as a passer are hurting the team. 

Then, McDaniels play calling, is to mundane. With a quarterback who needs to throw 50-50 balls all the time, McDainels should just run deep floods and hail out of bunch formations. Have Newton roll put on every play and scramble or just throw it up for grabs. That's the type of quarterback he is. Changing the 31 year old's mechanics isn't working. 

Lastly, the pass catchers aren't the best at getting separation, and they need to do a better job. They know Cam is a limited passer and they need to play accordingly. They have to adjust their play to make up for his limitations as a passer. 

Belichick and McDaniels both have said the Patriots need to improve their efficiency. That was general statement but it was an Indirect message to Cam. The former veteran may be on borrowed time.

Bill Belichick makes a general statement and indirectly singles out Cam Newton.

Check out DPN Commentary from Tuesday December 15th. They open the show with Belichick saying "the passing game isn't as efficient as it should be." He made a general statement about the passing game but I'm gonna show that it was an Indirect message to Cam Newton.

That comment falls on the quarterbacks and then, it falls on the the rest of the offense. Why, who handles the ball the most during passing plays, the quarterback. Cam Newton has started all but one game. Stidham has come in during pressure situations needing 2 scores to come back and in garbage time. Yes, the playcalling could be better but the quarterback /quarterbacks cannot execute. 

The offense would be better if Newton threw to guys instead of their bubble. Stidham throws a prettier pass but struggles with some decision making and still hangs on to the ball just a little too long. Hoyer forgot the fundamentals of playing quarterback. 

Belichick's statement will chase away veteran receivers, even if Cam is the returning quarterback. Especially if Newton's returning. He's been inconsistent and has truly only had good passing games versus basement teams, with Houston being the exception.

Belichick doesn't normally speak, he never calls any one player out. There are guys playing above their level and then there are guys not "doing their job" or doing it efficient enough as they should be. Instead of going full Bruce Arians, I think this is Bill acknowledging to the media who has been harping on him about starting Stidham, that he sees the problem also.

Look at the Patriots receivers and tight ends.
Izzo, Edelman, Byrd, Harry, and Meyers combined for so far this season.
Catchable passes: 71.66
True catch: 81.26
Target Separation 1.66
Basically 7 of 10 passes are catchable and of all passes thrown 8 of 10 are caught. That's what we're seeing here. They played one game without Newton so those numbers maybe inflated as Newton throws to their bubble and not always to them.

Harry: 
target rate 18.4%
Catchable passes 66%
True catch rate 87.9%
Target separate 1.47
Contested catch 76.9%

Edelman:
Target rate 22.5%
Catchable passes 71.8%
True catch rate 75%
Target separate 1.47
Contested catch 58.3%

Meyers:
Target rate 24.4%
Catchable passes 79.3%
True catch rate 91.3%
Target separate 1.89
Contested catch 61.5%

Gunner Olszewski:
Target rate 0.8% (3)
Catchable passes 150% 
True catch rate 66.7%
Target separate 3.00
Contested catch n/a

Damiere Byrd: 
Target rate 20.1%
Catchable passes 71.2%
True catch rate 89.4%
Target separate 1.79
Contested catch 36.4%

Isaiah Zuber: 
Target rate 1.8% (2l
Catchable passes 100%
True catch rate 100%
Target separate .25
Contested catch n/a

Ryan Izzo:
Target rate 7.4%
Catchable passes 70.0%
True catch rate 92.9%
Target separate 1.70
Contested catch 100%

Devin Asiasi:
Target rate 4.3%
Catchable passes 100%
True catch rate 0%
Target separate .5
Contested catch N/A

Dalton Keane:
Target rate 4.5%
Catchable passes 100%
True catch rate 100%
Target separate 2.00
Contested catch N/A

Cam Newton:
True Completion 70.6% No 27
Pressure Completion 49.5% No 5
Clean comp 74.7% / 74.1% No 18 / No 34
Target Sep 1.69/3.49 No 4 / No 27
Drops 12

Newton is ranked 27th in true completion percentage but he's top 5 under pressure. His clean completion percentage player profile has two ranks. He's either below average at 18 or worse than some backups at 34. His target separation also has two ranks, a top 5 and a bottom 6. I could not find why there were two each of those two stats.

The 5 main guys listed true catching is 80%. Imagine how they would be with a guy who could hit timing routes and threw the ball where it was supposed to go and not to their area of his target. 

Since the Denver game in just about every game, analysts have said coaches tape shows open receivers. The guy under center isn't getting the ball to open pass catchers. So yes, when Belichick talks about efficiency in the passing game he's most definitely talking about Newton. 

Bubbles are meant to be popped.

After the Chargers game, nobody in Patriots nation wanted to look for or talk about anything the Patriots did wrong in the blow out. In fact most of Patriots nation attacked anyone who did. So when the played Thursday, confidence was high that the team was back to normal.

Ray Rauth of sportscastr news wrote, "Last night’s game was simple for the New England Patriots, win or go home. Well, the Patriots left SOFI Stadium with the loss, and their playoff hopes long gone. What happened last night was the exact opposite of what we saw last Sunday when the Patriots beat the Las Angeles Chargers 45-0, in what can only be described as a complete team victory. Last night, under the lights, the Patriots fell to the Las Angeles Rams 24-3, and that game can only be described as complete team loss. The only New England unit that shouldn’t be in the dog house is special teams, besides that, the offense, defense, and the coaching, are on the hook for last night’s loss."

The Patriots played a bend, don't break defense that only allowed 17 points. If the offense did it's job, the Patriots' defense would've been acceptable. Newton barely completed over 50% of his passes going 9 of 16 for 119 yards and a pick six. Stidham had to come in during garbage time. He went 5 of 7 for 27 yards and a drop by Michel. 

The running game which was has been led by Newton all year was average when they were expected to carry the game. Newton only mustered little over 2 yards a carry and the team rushed for barely 100 yards.

I could go on but like Ray said it was a complete team loss. This season really seems like a. Extended 2021 preseason. The Patriots have evaluated their talent and developed some of their personal. The Patriots end the season versus the Jets and should come out fully on offense if their eliminated from the playoffs. 

While the Patriots are always one week at a time, never looking ahead. They're already on to 2021. Patriots nation needs to end all expectations for the rest of the year and just enjoy football.

Belichick is annoyed with his starting quarterback situation being the topic of press conferences.

Cam Newton has reportedly played bad enough for not only him to get benched but to have the reporters barrade Bill Belichick with questions on whether Cam Newton will continue to be the starter.

Bill Belichick doesn't not like to repeat himself. He doesn't like stupid questions. He doesn't like his decisions questioned, and he most certainly doesn't like to give too much away.

In a recent article, Jerry Trotta of Musket Fire wrote, "The worst part is that we have no idea. One thing is for certain, however, and that is Newton’s performance this season –regardless of the unfavorable circumstances he’s had to overcome — hasn’t exactly made a strong case for the Patriots to renew his one-year contract. Any extension would likely be a one-year bridge and not a path to certainty.

Through 12 games, Newton ranks in the bottom half of the league in completion percentage (66.1%), passing yards (2,172), yards per attempt (7.2) passing touchdowns (5), interceptions (10) and passer rating (78.9). The last time we checked, those numbers haven’t lived up to the Patriots’ lofty standards."

There's nothing wrong with Cam's completion percentage until you look at how accurate he is as a thrower, how often he fails to see open pass catchers, and how he struggles on timing routes. 

Tom Brady's stats for 2019 are a typical year for Cam Newton, minus 400 yards passing and plus 400 yards rushing. Although I have strongly disagreed, the arguement was that Newton never had weapons in Carolina. 

Cam Newton is having a down year, especially in the touchdown passing  department. The excuse is "he doesn't have weapons, he's a good quarterback". The only thing short on the excuse is, "if he had the weapons Carolina gave him..." 

The Patriots pass catchers might not be the best at getting open but contrary to belief, they are getting open. Coaches tape has been used by many analysts since the Denver game to the present, to show he's not seeing or ignoring pass catchers. 

The television camera only shows a sample of the field. One thing I have learned over the years is networks cannot be relied on because they often ignore things to talk about what ever the broadcasters wanna talk about. Sometimes they show the full replay and others they don't.

With the Patriots only having three games left and Belichick not liking to give away much. With Belichick saying Stidham was ahead of where he should be after the 2019 season due to getting snaps with the first team in practice and then around the first week of November, Belichick saying Stidham has improved from last year. It is unclear if Belichick will play Stidham or not once eliminated. Teams have limited tape on Stidham and the less they know the better.

Thomas Carannante of Musket Fire wrote, "But what’s worse for New England? It’s clear there’s no answer at quarterback. Cam Newton can’t get the job done as a passer, whether it’s because he’s regressed to the max, isn’t up to speed with the offense, or is really hurting from this abdominal injury.

Whatever the case, it’s really bad news for Bill Belichick and Co. if Jarrett Stidham is getting snaps at the end of games, which has happened four times now in 2020."

Why is it bad news, because the Patriots have to give up tape on Stidham and it means that the starter has losses the game and confidence of the coach.

While the fan base either wants Newton extended for the next decade or Belichick to draft a quarterback, there are some who want to see number four at the helm.

Danny Jaillet of Pats wire wrote, "Granted, we have not seen much in terms of playing time from Stidham. To be clear, I’m all for giving Stidham a chance at extended action. I want to see what he can do. However, there needs to be a contingency plan in case Stidham does not progress enough to warrant starting consistently.

The NFL is becoming a league of offense now. Good quarterback play is not only important but crucial to winning games these days."

Another bad thing is against the Chargers in garbage time when normally every coach in the NFL, including Belichick would've run the ball; Belichick had Stidham throw the ball. That's not done unless you're not confident in your starter or the coach and team feels disrespected by the opponent. So consider that as the 2020 season comes to a close.

McDaniels doesn't trust Newton.

In 2019 the Patriots had Tom Brady throw it 620 times and the team ran the ball 447 times. This season the Patriots have had Cam throw it 301 times and the team as a whole, has thrown it 361 times. The Patriots have already run the ball 427 times with three games left. 113 of those rushes have been by Cam Newton, compared to 26 by Tom Brady in 2019.

Now McDaniels recently came out and took blame for the failures in the passing game but what was he supposed to say, "the guy cannot get it done with his arm but Belichick wants to play him for the season?" Yeah, I don't think that would fly well.

Jerry Trotta of Musket Fire wrote, "We’ve heard time and again how it appears the Patriots have no faith in their quarterback’s ability to throw the ball..."

Watching Newton play this season, he has a high completion percentage but a lot of credit has to go to his pass catchers. Newton frequently throws the balls in his pass catchers bubble, meaning that the passes are high, wide, behind, or too low. Newton has also missed seeing open pass catcher quite a bit and at one point wasn't throwing to his right.

Trotta continued by saying, "Newton’s arm isn’t what it used to be, but it’s not a zero. And nothing we’ve seen from McDaniels has presented any belief in his current signal caller, who was supposed to unlock his beloved old offense from the days of Tim Tebow.

Unfortunately, the Tebow similarities have been far greater than we’d hoped."

The Patriots have been working on the 31 year old quarterback's throwing mechanics. Something done with rookies and sophomores, not veterans that have been in the league for a decade. When the Patriots try to run timing routes, Newton has struggled to release on time. Many times taking a sack or throwing the ball into coverage.

Cam is a "see it and throw it" quarterback, who makes his living off running around and throwing deep slants, streaks, and fades (straight line routes)  over his opponents heads. He looks at times this season, hesitant to scramble for unknown reasons.

The Patriots are not built for that style offense. Although they adapted Newton's option plays, they're still built to hit the slot receivers on quick passing routes over the middle. Backs on routes out of the back field and tight ends on the seam or in the flats. The entire offense is built on timing, not speed and 50/50 deep balls.

That's incompatible with how Newton plays. With Cam's struggles as a passer, I believe that he was a bench warmer for this season. I warned everyone that this offense would be a minimum 60-40 of Tom Brady's offense at the minimum. People thought the Patriots would switch to a run and shoot offense.

The Patriots get pieces to fit, instead of stars. This time they got a star who was a square that they tried to shove in their round hole. No matter how hard they try, they cannot make Newton work this year and please don't say the 31 ranked Jets or 32 ranked Seahawks pass defense. They couldn't get pressure or cover.

The Patriots may bring him back to mentor a rookie, like Fitzpatrick; or to be security blanket incase Stidham cannot beat him out and struggles in camp or early next season. Like CBS sports said "Cam should be most likely holding a clip board in 2021, looking for a chance to erase this season". Kinda like Andy Dalton and Joe Flacco are doing.

Cam Newton and the Patriots offense

McDaniels was vanilla last season. I called that and everyone rushed to his defense. He could've done so much more. It takes a quarterback normally 3 years to learn a system and everyone else 2.

I said at the beginning of the season that it would be at minimum 60-40 Brady's offense because they wanted to try and win. Plus the Team was built for Brady's offense and not a Hail Mary / bomb or scramble offense.

The patriots went out and for the first time got a piece that doesn't match their system. They're using Cam to the best of their ability, while not getting rid of the "Air West Spread" quick grid passing offense (Hybrid Air raid, west coast, and spread offense). I wrote an article about the offensive system earlier this year.

Quarterbacks normally are more accurate when they dink and dunk. That was part of  the Tom Brady Offense. Newton is not a timing route quarterback, he never will be. That's the issue the Patriots are having, they can't coach that into Newton. They got a square peg and they cannot round the corners to fit.

Newton needs a team full of speed X-recievers that can catch 20+ yard bombs and hail marys 25 times a game. Slot receivers will struggle with Cam unless McDaniels and Belichick can teach Newton how to improve as a passer. Meaning hitting quick release short to intermediate timing routes.

Newton throws to the bubble of his pass catchers, balls are in the ground, above their heads, way in front of them or behind them. It's not in their hands or bread basket enough. He needs four or five "Megatrons". Guys running 20+ yard slants, fades, and streaks. Straight line routes for the most part.

He had a good games against the Seahawks and Jets because they weren't getting to him and they couldn't cover his pass catchers. The 31st and 32nd pass defense. Tim Tebow could've put up 300 on those teams. If Newton plays the remaining three games he'll get another chance to pad his stats versus the Jets.

With how Newton's accuracy looks this year, free agents pass catchers are gonna look at Newton's accuracy, realize what type of pass catchers he needs and unless they fit the mold, they're gonna go elsewhere. Even if they fit the mold, if they want to win; they may still go elsewhere. There's a reason he only had three winning seasons in Carolina, and It's largely him.

I know, Newton didn't have weapons in Carolina but then people still bragged about how good he was with no weapons. Now in New England, he's playing bad as a passer and "it's the lack of weapons and the play calling"? Maybe 35 percent can be blamed on McDaniels and his teammates, the rest is on Newton.

Cam might be popular but it's clear the style offense he needs is a college option run and shoot. Unless the Patriots abandon the offense that has worked for 20 years with small modifications here and there, that offense will not be ran in 2021. They've adapted his option style to their offense which has been okay but he's failed to grasp their passing offense.

Cam might be back for a second season as security but unless things go poorly for the rest of the quarterback room, Cam should be gone after 2021, maybe 2022 but that's only if his backup needs development next season. That's my opinion. Take it or leave it.

As far as Stidham goes, the Patriots are in the hunt for a playoff spot. After this upcoming game, even if Cam is the man, bench him if they get eliminated. No point on getting Newton hurt if the team is done. Treat the remaining games like the preseason. Give the bench playing time and rest or limit your starters to avoid injury.

https://youtu.be/nGxsPwalrf4

The Patriots Offense Must Be Better, Especially On Third And Long.

By now everyone knows the Patriots need to play perfectly the remaining four games and get a little help to make the playoffs. The offense has been inconsistent and by far the biggest weak link this season. Sure the team can run the ball but that doesn't help on third and long.

In a perfect world, every play would net the offense a minimum 3.5 yards per play. That's not the case and the Patriots are going to need to convert on third and long. Currently the Patriots are converting 43.57% on third  down. The Buffalo Bills are converting over 49% and this up coming LA Rams over 46%. So the best thing defensively the Patriots can do is hang onto the ball for as long as possible.

Currently the Patriots are ranked 30th in passing offense per game and are ranked last in passing first downs. Everyone has heard the excuse that the Patriots don't have weapons and the pass catchers cannot get open. 

First, Newton never had weapons in Carolina according to his fans and he still moved the chains via the air. Secondly, starting against the Broncos, that myth of players not getting open was busted. Analysts are privy to coaches tape, which shows everything, not just the scope from the broadcast. 

Almost every week since the Denver game, they have pointed out people like Ryan Izzo or N'Keal Harry being open and not getting the pass. The television has even shown it with Keene and Izzo being open and Newton not getting them the ball. At one point it was noted that Cam didn't throw to his right, meaning anyone open on his right was ignored.

Cam Newton has been called a see it and throw it quarterback, the 31 year old former mvp is having his mechanics changed because he's inaccurate. He's a 10 year veteran and that's something one hears about for rookies and sophomores. 

Newton has his best completion percentage for a season so far but watching him, balls are high, wide or in the dirt; placement is off. The guy cannot drink and dunk. He throws grounders and dirt balls. Like Ray Rauth said, He has to learn to do that.

So how much of his high completion percentage falls onto how good of pass catchers his teammates are? A lot actually. They're making him look more accurate than he is.

Cam is the starter but for an example, Jarrett Stidham came in versus the Chargers and hit a timing route to Gunner across the middle for a touchdown. Being a throw it and see it quarterback, Newton struggles on those plays. With exception to Byrd, those are the routes that the Patriots pass catchers are built for. Newton doesn't have the accuracy to hit a player consistently with the defender within 2 yards if his target.

Speaking of Byrd, Newton had him open but his inaccuracy costed the Patriots when he missed badly on a 44 yard bomb versus the bolts. Luckily the Patriots didn't need it then but what happens against Miami, Buffalo, or LA if the Patriots are struggling and can take the lead with under two minutes and Newton misses that play? Newton's accuracy issues have proven that it's a real concern that in that scenario. That would be the outcome. 

So while it's every coaches dream that their offense is so productive that they're always in short and third or that they never get to third; it's unrealistic to expect them to be that productive, especially against good defenses. 

One more thing, three of the four remaining opponents are going to stack the Box. It's nice Cam Newton can run for touchdowns but quarterbacks are expected to have more throwing touchdowns then rushing. If Newton was newr or over 20 rushing touchdowns for the season, nobody would have an issue with how many passing touchdowns he has. Typically the average quarterback throws for about 25 touchdowns and then rush maybe upto an additional 4 more.

Cam Newton can be the inconsistent game manager in the passing game versus Miami and the Jets. The defense and special teams should be able to pick up his slack during those two games. 

However, in return the defense needs Newton to play like he has the passing ability of a 12-16 range quarterback. Not like one who can't lead the offense with his arm. The Patriots are ranked 30th in passing offense. As much as people wanna believe he's throwing like a sharpshooter, he's more like sporadic like a Gatling gun operator. He'll hit the target but he'll hit everything else also.

The receivers might only be getting a yard to yard and half separation but this is the NFL, not college. That's wide open, Newton has to start putting the ball in their hands and not in their bubble. Otherwise the Patriots are gonna need more of a miracle to make the post season. 

Another thing, now that Michel has lost his job, it's time to start using him as a pass catcher. We've seen an inaccurate Brady in 2019 miss him. What he did versus the Chargers

The RGIII, Vick, Lamar Jackson style offenses are supposed to be exciting. The Patriots Cam Newton style is slow and I have heard many fans this season complain that these are the most boring Patriots games they've ever seen, even with the trick and gadget plays. Without the threat of a quick strike passing attack in this offense, even fans don't respect the passing game. For myself, last year was boring offensively but this offense is actually worse. Idk how that could be possible.

Quick strike passing attack just doesn't appear to be part of Newton's game. Hopefully for the next few weeks, Newton can fake it until the Patriots make it (to the playoffs). Then they can game plan for the playoff teams accordingly. It all starts with the man under center. Currently, it all starts with Newton and that's a scary thought.

Like it or Not Tyrod is a Better Quarterback Than Newton.

Tyrod Taylor came into the league in 2011, same year as Cam and spent four years behind Joe Flacco. He was never gonna start in Baltimore. Tyrod soon found himself in Buffalo.

In Buffalo, Taylor had three coaches over his four season span. Rex Ryan was a joke. Anthony Lynn tried in his short time as interim coachand so did McDermott. Taylor still had 3 different offenses from 2015-2017. Living in Rochester, I get to see a bit of Buffalo's games. In 2017 Taylor helped lead Buffalo to the playoffs, even while getting benched because the fanbase thought Peterman was the next Tom Brady. 

Go back and watch Taylor's second half when he came in to take his job back from Peterman. If Taylor had started that Game Buffalo would've had 9 wins. 

What I saw in Buffalo was an accurate mobile quarterback who was conservative and like a former Patriots starting quarterback, he didn't like to throw the fifty fifty ball. Taylor could read the defense and see when there where defenders waiting to jump the pass. 

It happened in the playoffs and the broadcaster still wanted him to make throws that would be picked. If not for an injury Taylor would've lead Buffalo to a playoff win in 2017. The biggest problem with his time in Buffalo was they listened to the fans too much and changed their offense every year.

During his 44 regular season games in Buffalo, Taylor completed 62.6% of his 1236 attempts for 8,857 yards with, 51 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.  He also rushed for 1475 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 5.5 ypc. Taylor also had 17 fumbles over that span.

Cam Newton over those 3 years played in 47 regular seasongames and won an MVP in 2015. Completed 57.26 of his 1497 attempts 10,648 yards with, 76 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. Newton also rushed for 1534 yards, and 21 touchdowns, averaging 4.7 ypc. Newton also had 17 fumbles over that span.

From 2018 to 2020 taylor has gotten injured and rode the bench. Over that span, mainly in Cleveland, Taylor has completed 62 of 121 passes for 714 yards. Taylor threw for 3 touchdowns and 2 INTs. Taylor also ran it for 139 yards and 1 touchdown, averaging averaging 4.34 ypc. Over that span, Taylor had 2 fumbles.

For his career, Taylor is a 61.4 completion percentage quarterback.

Cam Newton was a 59.57 career completion percentage quarterback, who is still very inaccurate. This season he has 66.9% of his passes for 1984 yards, With 4 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He's also ran for 397 yards and 9 touchdowns, averaging 4.2 ypc. Newton has 3 fumbles on the year.

Taylor is a more accurate quarterback mobile quarterback. If the Patriots can increase Newton accuracy by 7 points, they can do that much easier with Taylor. 

As much as the fan base is not gonna like it. Taylor was more consistent during his time in Buffalo then Cam has been his entire career. Taylor is more accurate, less turnover prone, and a better passer, who averaged more yards with his legs when give the same amount of attempts. Taylor might not have Newton's prototype build but he is an upgrade over Newton. If Taylor had started for the Panthers in 2015, I believe he was capable of winning an MVP. 

The one thing that New England offers Taylor is stability. He would be coming into an offense that won't change from year to year, and his locker room won't be a joke. Taylor being a better passer, also has a longer shelf life. So while Cam is the Patriots quarterback, Taylor would be better for the Patriots.

What do the Patriots do at quarterback for the rest of the 2020 season.

The first three weeks of this season, I noticed Cam Newton was missing or ignoring open pass catchers. Sometimes he'd throw it to a covered target and other times he'd run. I mainly noticed this towards Ryan Izzo. I read, watch and listen to a lot of sports writers and analysts, least in my opinion. After the Broncos game, analysts started saying that coaches tape showed him ignoring Izzo and other open pass catchers.

Every week starting with the Broncos game, analysts have been saying this. There was also a moment where they said Cam wasn't throwing to his right. That means anyone open to his right was ignored. Now we at home, unless we know where to look, only have what we see on the television, we don't see the full tape.

 

After the Arizona win, Harry took a lot of heat for when his quarterback was in trouble and having to be directed. Several analysts, including CLNS media, who had someone at the game; pointed out that Harry was open multiple times during the game and even during the one play where Newton had to tell Harry what to do.

Cam Newton has 266 passing plays, 30.6 a game. A protection rate of 81.1%, 21 danger plays and 15 interceptable passes. Newton has throw 9 Interceptions and 3 fumbles. He's ranked 27th with a 71.2% true completion percentage.  He is ranked 31st in true passer rating with a 74.8. 

Matt Dolloff wrote this after the Patriots beat the Cardinals, "Overall, Newton went 9-for-18 for 84 yards and two interceptions passing - a 23.6 rating. You get a 39.6 if you just spike the ball on every play."

One of the things I have heard and read from analysts is don't confuse completion percentage with accuracy. They pointed out versus Arizona, how although Newton completed the pass to white on the screen pass, that the ball was high.

Mark Daniels wrote after the Arizona game, "The quarterback missed open targets, held the ball for too long and nearly cost the Patriots the win."

Karen Guregain wrote, "FOXBORO — Maybe Bill Belichick wouldn’t admit or acknowledge it after the game, but the thought had to cross his mind about pulling the plug on this not-so-excellent Cam Newton adventure.

Maybe not for the game at hand, but for the rest of the season. That was how it was trending, as Newton was performing that badly against the Cardinals."

Cam is also the Patriots starter until Belichick or Robert Kraft say otherwise. I do my best to support him but as a passer, he is doing just enough but just enough isn't good enough because he's too inconsistent. When Cam is good, he's a top 9-16 quarterback but when he's bad, he's a bottom 8.

Quarterbacks start to decline between 35 and 36 years of age. Cam is a running back who throws, and running backs start decending at 30. There was an analysts who also said something similar recently and I agree.

As a quarterback, Newton is 6-7 years further in his career because his skill revolves around his legs and not his arm. I am one of the few Patriots fans that did not want Newton signed long term after week 2. Who wanted to wait and continue to evaluate him. Who is not excited to see Newton play, thinks the patriots option offense is too slow and thinks Newton has 2 years left as a starter at most. 

Check this out, Ryan Izzo has been targeted 19 times with a target rate of 7.6% , 68.4% catchable passes, Target quality 4.4%, and a true catch rate of 92.3. He catches the ball when it's catchable.

His teammate, N'Keal Harry has been targeted 43 times this season or with a target rate of 18.9%, a 65% catchable rate, 3.3% target quality and a true catch rate of 85.7.

In comparison DK Metcalf has 90 targets with a target rate of 23.9%. 76.7 catchable passes, a target separation rate of 7 and a true catch rating of 84. If Harry was thrown more catchable passes his catch rate would be higher but that requires a more accurate passer.

Notice Metcalf has almost twice as many targets as Harry. Part of that reason is Newton doesn't see the field, is staying too long on or throwing to an earlier read or is taking off.

Analysts also mention a play sunday where Newton had Byrd open and threw the ball out of bounds. 5 of Newton's 9 incompletions were on poor throws. These weren't cause he was under pressure and throwing it away.

This was something I noticed earlier this season. Newton would have Izzo wide open and the ball would sail 5 yards above or around him, or Newton would try to force it to a covered receiver while Izzo was open someplace on the screen. 

The CLNS pod cast had talked about how Newton's game is the 10-20 yard range and that Cam has no idea how to take anything off. They use that as their explanation for why Newton puts so many balls short and in the dirt. Five yard passes should be a gimme for any quarterback but for Newton, they're harder to hit than 30 yard passes. 

Evan Lazar has said repeatedly that Newton "is not a passing drill, timing route quarterback. He's a run around, see it and throw it over your head quarterback." When it's clutch time and the Patriots need a passer, unless they're playing poor defenses, they cannot count on Cam's arm. How anyone could be excited from this, I don't get.

Dolloff continued,  "This win at least proves that Bill Belichick is still capable of preparing the roster enough to scratch out a win despite poor quarterback play."

Cam Newton isn't apologizing for his performance, saying he'd take "an ugly win over a pretty loss". At the end of the Day, a win in 75% of what matters. However with five games left and the playoffs still in reach, everyone's individual performances still matter. That leads to a whole can of questions for how the team proceeds.

There has been one question going around and it has been a debate among analysts. Newton is playing to help see what they have with their other guys. However, with how inaccurate Newton is. With how many times he either hangs on to the ball to long, throws it to a covered, or tucks it and runs; how much longer will they leave him in there? His fallacies are hurting the growth and development of the other players, whether anyone wants to admit it or not.

The question then goes to if not Cam, who? Analysts say Stidham is still making young or rookie mistakes and that includes turning the ball over. Now many analysts agree that it his turnover rate could improve as he gains experience on the NFL level. Analysts say that Stidham understands timing routes and is more accurate but again the main knocks on Stidham are that he's in experienced, and both games that he was put in, the game was still in reach and he couldn't handle the pressure and turned it over.

Then the arguement is made that Stidham's play was comparable to Newton's first half versus the Raiders during his first game, and comparable to Newton's performance versus the 49ers in Stidham's second appearance.

I have said that the Patriots need to ride with Newton until they're out of playoff contention but if Sunday's win was a statement win, The Patriots could make the playoffs despite an inconsistent Cam Newton. There are huge problems with that as far as developing players on the offense go.

Another thing I noticed and stated is Tom Brady's 2019 season stats minus 400 yards passing and plus 400 yards rushing are a typical season for Cam Newton. I said that since week one. Newton's passing stats are down by like 300 yards and that includes his one game missed. However, he's still pretty close with exceptions to his touchdown passes.

With the areas Newton is struggling, he could actually be doing more damage than good at developing other pass catchers but his legs give the Patriots the best chance to win. The alternative is a more accurate less mobile and inexperienced Stidham.

So what do the Patriots do? That is the million dollar question. When asked about the quarterback position going forward after Arizona, Belichick didn't sound as confident in Newton as he did after Houston.

Think about this, after returning from injury; In 2009 a 32 year old Brady had a 800+ yard pass catcher, a 700+ pass catcher, a 500+ yard pass catcher, and a 400+ yard pass catcher. His main receiver was Welker who is the equivalent of Julian Edelman. His secondary receiver was a washed up Dion Branch. Newton's on pace to have 4 pass catchers with the same amount of yards.

Here's the one major difference. A 32 year old Brady with nobodies at the end or beginning of their career and that includes inexperienced Hernandez and Gronk but Brady still put up 29 touchdowns all together. Newton with a similar offensive build at 31 is only on pace for 19 total touchdowns this season.

In 2019, Brady had 27 total touchdowns, which is around where Newton is normally and the offense is basically the same. So that's a huge decline in Newton's production.

One cannot use the arguement that Newton had no weapons in Carolina, and then say his stats are down in New England because he has no weapons. The arguements cancel each other out.

There was an arguement that the Patriots would be a better team in 2020, than in 2019 but would have a worse record. Now the question has to be asked, would the team of been better off going with Stidham than Newton. 

For those that say "I think we know", with everything Newton has shown us this season including camp in August, with Belichick orginally wanting to sit Stidham another year before Tom left, with the Patriots having confidence in Stidham this spring and summer, and with Belichick telling WEEI the following on around November 4th, "WE DON'T KNOW" if they would've been better off.

Here's what Belichick told 'Ordway, Merloni and Fauria early in November, "Jarrett has improved a lot from last year. He’s a much better player than he was last year. Just want him to continue to track in that positive direction. We’ll just see how it goes.”

Here's my final thought. There are many who will say don't play a young quarterback early, let them sit and develop because the risk of them losing confidence like Josh Rosen apparently did could happen to anyone. This line of thinking is especially true among Patriots nation. So why is Stidham now the exception to that line thinking or is it because he's a Patriots quarterback, or is it because he's not Cam Newton, and how can we be sure that's not what Belichick is doing with Stidham?