The Patriots quarterbacks in 2020 all gave reason for them not to start in 2021.

I know I am biased, so I asked Colts' expert and film review guy, Mr. Lawrence Owen to take a look at Jarrett Stidham. The reason being from what I saw Stidham was comparable in his play everytime he took the field to Cam Newton but Patriots nation sees no comparison. Colts Law obliged me. Least he can do since his Colts fled the division to get away from Belichick and the Patriots.

Currently the Patriots have Stidham under contract and Jake Dolegada signed to a future contract. There's is talk about Newton being the starter in 2021 and Stidham who played equally as bad as Cam Newton, being garbage and out of the league.

Let me repeat that, played equally as bad,  was comparable and yet one guy is wanted back while the other guy is wanted out. Why?

Almost every excuse for one, can be made for the other, and both have excuses the other doesn't have. The reason why people want Cam back is because he was the MVP in 2015. People are making every narrative to support Cam and smear Stidham. 

Okay, if we're going to be living in the past, going into and following the 2018 draft, Stidham was considered a first round draft pick. 

Furthermore, since we're doing narratives. Newton was brought in to be a bridge quarterback, while Stidham was redshirted and Newton showed he can't throw no more spiking balls into the ground and forgetting the simple playbook the Patriots ran. Don't like it if you're a Newton supporter, who's been bashing Stidham? Anyone with football knowledge and the ability to research can make that argument. It's all about the narrative to fit your agenda.

Now before I continue, there is also Brian Hoyer. The guy should be an assistant on the Patriots coaching staff. Everywhere he has gone, he has mentored younger quarterbacks. He's been an unofficial quarterback coach and should just accept his fate but he's hanging on for a chance to be the Next Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson. Slim to no chance, 2020 was his best chance and he blew it versus K.C.

Basically the breakdown on Cam Newton is his mechanic issues prevent him from throwing short to intermediate passes, he's only good between the numbers limiting the play calling. He doesn't see the entire field and gets tunnel vision at times. He doesn't see the field. His accuracy requires tall guys with speed and large wingspans, and he needs a simple playbook. Newton can run but he's gotten slow, and his decision making while option plays is also a little slow. His decision making on where to go with thr ball is off but that could be because he doesn't see the field, sucks outside the numbers, struggles with short to intermediate passes, and cannot remember the playbook because it's too complicated. It was referred to as calculus. 

Here's the Colts Law on Cam Newton. He'll breakdown the positives and most of the  negatives on him. You'll see things I mentioned and things I didn't. He's a more knowledgeable football content maker and less biased. There are positives that I didn't see and negatives I did and didn't. With Cam to paraphrase, "he is Flawed but not finished yet." If you wanna know the rest, check out the video.

https://youtu.be/gs7s4WiM3Kw

Stidham is a year 1.5 player at best because of the way the 2020 offseason or lack there of. He looks scared or lacked confidence and it shows in his play, especially when he has the opportunity to run. Stidham is afraid to take hits. Like Newton his ball placement is off due to mechanics and he doesn't see the entire field, however he's young enough to correct it. Again like Newton, he gets tunnel vision at times and his pocket presence is inconsistent. His knowledge of and to run the playbook is off due to spending so much time with the scout team and getting third team reps. His decision making is off but it's more due to lack of experience. The worst thing the Patriots may have done was play him in 2020. They may have ruined him the way the Cardinals ruined Josh Rosen. My boy Ray over at Dear Patriots Nation can tell you all about how Arizona ruined Rosen's confidence.

Here's the Colts' law on Stidham, watch until the end because he makes a good point at the very end. Again, you'll get what he sees, like it or not. Things I admit, I missed. Basically on Stidham to paraphrase, "he is not ready to be a starter but it's too soon to throw him away." Again, check out the video for the rest.

https://youtu.be/McU6UZ1r08k

The purpose of me turning to Colts Law was to ask him if Stidham was a possibility of competing for the starting role in 2021.  I wanted to know if he was trash like everyone was saying, if I was way off or some place in between. Luckily. He also broke down the film on Newton. My opinion has and always will be, that from everything we saw in 2020. Stidham was an equal passer to Cam Newton, and passing is the primary job of a quarterback. Everything else is secondary and expendable.

I am against changing the brady offense to fit a Newton style quarterback play. There are accurate mobile quarterbacks that the Patriots can sign, that can do what the offense was meant to do. 

The Newton style mobile offense is too risky but is great if you like defenses who get to feed off high risk - home run ball offensive football. I've heard people in the past say they want a quarterback who can do two things, scramble and throw hail marys. Madden has ruined football expectations but that's what Newton fans would see the offense become.

I have always said I would've preferred Tyrod Taylor on the Patriots. I have begged for him to be Brady's backup and would take his safeness over Newton's high risk - big play style any day of the week. Taylor led the Bill's to the Playoffs but needed help because the owners got involved and benched him during the season, which blew up in their faces.

With that said, I believe if Newton has a chance to start, with how bad of a passer he was in 2020, than so does Stidham. Stidham was equally as bad at the position. It's about what have you done for me lately, not what did you do for someone else years ago.

Newton is a better rusher but is in the decline. His play is built around his legs, and thus his career expectancy must be viewed on thr same level as a running back. Stidham on the other hand is inexperienced with a better upside due to his age. 

And I get the Patriots Pass catchers were below average but the quarterback play hurt them more than they hurt the quarterbacks. There's too much tape, plus Cam's own words to back that up.

Look, do I think Stidham should start in 2021? No. Do believe he was redshirted and may have been ruined by the 2020 off season or lack their of and for playing in 2020? Yes. Stidham is under contract and the Patriots should bring in a bridge guy, regardless if the Patriots draft a quarterback or not; unless they draft someone capable of starting. 

I like Brissett and I like Tyrod Taylor. Both could be a bridge guy and mentor a younger quarterback. Jakobi has a better upside in terms of longevity but I believe Taylor could run the Brady offense better. Stidham is a backup level at best, at the moment. Strictly as a passer, so is Cam, and with what he admitted on the I Am Athlete podcast, even with his running ability, he hurts the development of the pass catchers. Plain and simple. 

Plus is he's not helping with film study or pointing out ways a younger quarterback can read a defense and other things quarterback coaches do, is he really worth bringing back just to teach micromanagement? There's more to being a bridge quarterback than that, and if that's all he brings in, I say let Newton go.

As far as Stidham, develop him for more year and if you don't like his development, cut him next offseason in his final year. Stidham must take a major leap in 2021 to bring himself to a bottom tier starting level talent. There's if's ands or butts about it. 

Two passers of equal play, one with more opportunities to out on film for fans to see, while the other had to impress in practice. James White gives just as much reason to think he might of as everything we seen on tape of Stidham says he didn't. So trust Bill and stop writing off the guy who's actually under contract.

What's the Narrative with Stidham?

Many draft experts in 2019 saw Stidham as a project, questioning his 2018 season decline because in 2018 he was viewed as a first round prospect. He was projected to fall between the third and fifth round in the 2019 NFL draft. He would end up getting drafted by the Patriots in round four.

Stidham would go on to have a hell of a rookie preseason, putting up better numbers in his rookie year than many of the Patriots former backups included Brissett and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Stidham got some time with the first string offense in practice during the 2019 season but how much, nobody truly knows. He was relegated back to the scout team and running the opponents playbooks when Brady was healthy enough to play.

Belichick said Stidham was ahead of rookies due to his extra time with the first string, and almost the entire roster had something positive to say about him in the spring of 2020.

However in 2020, entering his second year, he did not have a traditional sophomore offseason. There were no OTAs. Training camp in August was a joke. There was no preseason to gain any experience as a player.  On top of that he spent the season with the scout team practicing and running the opponents plays. 

Some people thought that Jarrett Stidham had a quarterback competition with Cam Newton. The people who claim to know something about football, all said there was no competition. That the job was Newton's the second he got signed. Newton had been in the league since 2011, winning an MVP in 2015.

Is it not more than likely that Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels knew that Stidham, the project they drafted in the 2019 NFL draft was not ready to start in year two, did not want to destroy his confidence with not having a true offseason, and signed Cam to be a bridge quarterback?

I mean the Patriots had nobody to throw to. At least that's what everyone is saying and it would've hurt Stidham's development to take the abuse without any help on the field, in the form of pass catchers.

Cam Newton praised how far Stidham had developed in December. James White a core piece of the Patriots offense and well respected member of the locker room, also threw his support behind Stidham. Essentially saying Stidham would be successful whenever  he's given the opportunity to start.

If you go back to the end of the season, the games didn't matter. Why would Belichick bring Stidham in versus Buffalo but not let him start versus the Jets? Is it possible that Buffalo is a truly worthy team to gain experience from, while the Jets are a joke and any success Stidham would've had against them, would've been inflated and not really worth evaluating?

Of course it's possible. It's also possible that Stidham was redshirted in 2020. People will say the coaching staff and the locker room lost faith in Stidham. Other than Devin McCourty coming out and saying he would've been disappointed if Newton was benched for Stidham, what Do we really know? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

The reports that Stidham was demoted to third string for circumstances around his injury? We have to go by the media because nobody in the organization is gonna say anything. Same with the loss of the locker room. There's no proof that it's anything but click bait. It's all hear say. Why because it's the slow news season. 

If you don't believe me, ask Andy Hart, and some other writers and analysts. Like a buddy of mine says, "It's all about Narrative". If you want to believe Stidham is a bum, You'll spin everything to fit your Ideology. If you believe he was redshirted, same thing. 

This College Defense Is The Evolution Of The NFL

Football is slowly becoming more and more about fast athletic quarterbacks and tight ends, moving further away from pocket quarterbacks and inline blocking tight ends. Thus defenses have to evolve and mentality has to change on what defensive players are capable of.

The Universities of Clemson, Texas, Iowa, and LSU just to name a few have started using a 3-2-6 defense. It's kinda like a light version of a 34 defense, with only 2 linebackers instead of 4. The Benefits of this is defensive backs for what ever need. 

With the defense calls for less traditional roles of the defensive ends as they should be hybrid defensive tackles. With a strong nose guard lining up between them. The linebackers also have to be able to play both the edge/outside role and the traditional inside role.

That's great but how do you stop the run? First off, this formation has many facets, you're not limited to only three men on the line. One or both linebackers can be moved on to the line. Allowing for many different looks of the formation.

On top of that the strong safeties are hybrid linebackers. Just like Coy Wire who played 9 years in the NFL  for the Bills and Falcons, and current New England Patriots Kyle Dugger. Having hard hitting safeties that can come up and play the run is something done all the time in the league. 

What it comes down to is roster building and game planning. Taking away what your opponents do best by moving pieces around. Teams that wanna go jumbo or heavy against this defense formation, that's when you switch the linebackers to bigger Defensive tackles/ends. The safeties are still on the field. To play linebacker 

The NFL is evolving and defenses must evolve and adapt to the changes. One team with the personal to execute such a formation is the Patriots. Their entire defense is built on hybrid players. On top of that, they have one of the most intelligent defensive minds in NFL history. The Chargers are another team that is capable of running such a defense, or were under former head coach Anthony Lynn. There is enough college tape for professional teams to learn how to use this formation. It's time defenses in the NFL caught up with the modern offenses.

Four Quarterbacks with experience have real odds of being the Patriots starter in 2021 according to Vegas.

Brian Mazique wrote an article titled "Former No. 2 pick is the Favorite to be the Patriots week 1 starter in 2021." His article was based on Las Vegas and Vegas has 4 quarterbacks with some NFL experience starting before a rookie.

Sportsbetting.com has former Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota at +250, followed by former Patriots Jacoby Brissett at +350, next up is current Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham at +400, and the fourth quarterback at +500 is 2020 Patriots starting quarterback and current free agent Cam Newton. 

Newton is tied with a rookie quarterback, which doesn't say much about how Vegas views his ability to run the Patriots offense. There are 21 other quarterbacks listed with a worse chance but that's either because they're going to cost the Patriots too much to acquire or they're talent level is so low that it's almost insane to think they would start. Although, I do think RG3 and Tyrod Taylor should have better odds.

Mariota is was a good quarterback but went to the wrong team and his career never amounted to what it shouldve been. Since then, he has injury concerns. Rumor has it that his elbow is made out of glass. The fact that the Raiders signed him as a security blanket for Carr last season and now are wanting to ship him out should raise some flags.

Jakobi Brissett is another quarterback who knows the Patriots system. Belichick shipped him to the colts because he thought he was expendable. After taking over for Andrew Luck, the colts decided to go with Phillip Rivers instead of trying to make it work with Brissett. What's wrong with Brissett that we're not seeing?

Jarrett Stidham had a lot of hype going in to 2020. However, he lost the quarterback competition whether it was real or not. Got demoted to third string and regardless of how Cam played, Stidham was never allowed to start in 2020. According to a Colts media personal, Stidham's problems are correctable. There are so many conflicting reports to fit narratives concerning Stidham that from an outside prospective there has to be red flags, even if he was purposely redshirted.

Then there's Cam Newton. He won the so called quarterback competition, beat up on two suspect defenses and then started going downhill week three. Newton caught covid and there are a plethora of excuses to why he should be brought back. The fact that he admitted he completely forgot the weekly plays and didn't know what he was doing is grounds for him not to be re-signed. However, there are those who spin it to covid brain. According to the same Colts media person, there is something Cam does that's caught on tape that's also reason enough not to re-sign him.

I am a propionate of first round quarterbacks starting or at least competing for the starting job in year one. Probably because I got to watch guys like Drew Bledsoe and Payton Manning's rookie year. Those were some shitty seasons at quarterback. Any other quarterback should sit most if not all of their rookie year.

Unless the Patriots over pay to acquire Mariota, all four quarterbacks listed should have a competition against each other or even a rookie for the starting job. Honestly, not one of these quarterbacks of non rookie stature screams "everyone sign with New England". However, if the Patriots don't draft a quarterback, Brissett vs Stidham would be the Patriots best options. 

For all we know, the Patriots could have their eye on drafting Dustin Crum from Kent St. in 2021. Nobody honestly knows anything, not Ian Rapoport, not Mike Reiss, not Evan Lazar, and not Doug Kyed; nobody. The only ones who know are Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick and they're not gonna talk. So everything we hear is rumours and speculation to fit narratives of personal interest or for clicks and ratings.

J.J.Taylor The Patriots New Pass Catching Third Down Back?

The Patriots have both James White and Rex Burkhead entering free agency. Both are going to cost a bit of change. The exact amount varies. If you follow my blog, than you know I think the Patriots have an option that would allow both to be released.

In 2020, the Patriots signed undrafted free agent J.J. Taylor. He was the early spark plug the Patriots needed until the team changed gears and Burkhead stole his thunder.

Taylor is a pingpong ball, acquiring over half of his yards after contact. The 5'5" 185 pound back averaged 4.8 yards per carry. And showed the ability to play bigger than he is. Taylor is often forgotten because he got buried in the stable behind so many quality backs.

Although Taylor flexed as a power back, in college he showed the ability to be a reliable pass catcher.  He has the ability to develop into a Rex Burkhead type 3rd down back. Belichick got a steal with Damien Harris in the 3rd round of 2019 and may have done it again if he has the same confidence in his pony as his position coach.

Ivan Fears spoke about the idea of Taylor in the role that White and Burkhead play saying, “You haven’t seen him in that role, but early on, the kid’s got great hands. He’s really, really quick and sudden. He can get in and out of breaks. I think he has a chance to be a combination-type player. A guy who you can use in multiple roles. You’ve just got to play to his strong suit and not put him in a situation where he can be taken advantage of.”

The Patriots are going to need to cut money where they can and they still have Brandon Bolden under contract. Bolden is a lesser Burkhead and can pick up a little extra play time while the team fits Taylor into the role. Bolden has shown flashes of potential and is also a special teams personal, something Taylor could benefit to learn.

Tyrod Taylor too safe for some.

During his time in Buffalo, Tyrod Taylor produced a 22 and 20 record. Two of those years was under the Rex Ryan era, that saw Anthony Lynn replace Ryan. In the Third year, he had Sean McDermott take over with a more positive style. Ryan ran a dysfunctional power run offense and it costed the team games. In fact, Ryan's only goal during the seasons was to beat the Patriots.

Taylor was a safe but efficient game manager during his time in Buffalo. He completed 767 of his 1236 attempts for a completion percentage of 62.06%.  He threw for 8,857 yards with 51 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Taylor was sacked 124 times over his three seasons due to bad offense line play. He also rushed for 1575 yards and 14 touchdowns on 283 carries for a 5.56 yard average.

The fans in Buffalo hungered for an aggressive Eli Manning, Kerry Collins, Vinny Testaverde style gunslinger. The owners feeling the pressure of the fans benched Taylor for overly aggressive trick shot quarterback Nathan Peterman. The Bills were 5-4 going into the game and still very much in the playoff picture. The owners, still young as owners, got too involved and it costed the team.

Peterman would go 6 of 14 for 66 yards with 5 interceptions. His interceptions led to 1 pick six and 4 quick scores by the Chargers. Peterman made several throws that Taylor would never consider. Taylor rarely throws a 50/50 ball as he likes high percentage passes. Taylor's typical risky pass is a 70-30 ball.

The Chargers opened the second half and marched down the field for a field goal, making the game 40-10 when Taylor took the field. Taylor would come in and go 15 of 25 for 158 yards and a touchdown. While running 4 times for 38 yards and 1 touchdown. Buffalo would lose 24-54, surrendering only 17 points in the second half. Had Buffalo of started Taylor, they would've been in that game.

Taylor then gets the Bills into the playoffs needing help because Nathan Peterman started one game in his place.

In the playoffs Taylor played a safe game, even seeing a defender waiting to pounce on a pass in the 4th quarter, while the announcers are screaming for him to throw to the defender which would lead to a clear interceptions.

Taylor would go 17 of 37 for 134 yards with an interception. Putting up an additional 27 yards on the ground. 

In the fourth quarter in the final 2 minutes, Taylor has the Bill marching with a chance to tie or win the game. Taylor had moved the ball to his own 42 with 1:43 on the game clock. Getting injured on a 2 yard pick up. Peterman comes in and loses a fumble out of bounds. Peterman would get the Bills to the Jaguars 38 before getting called for an intentional grounding penalty. The next play Peterman would throw the game with another interception.

Taylor would go on to Cleveland and L.A. where he would lose his job to injury.

There are two groups when it comes to Tyrod Taylor, those who like his safe play and view him as a mobile pocket passer, and those who hate his play because he's not an aggressive, risk taking, big play quarterback. The only thing that both groups can agree on is that his injuries have hurt his career.

Taylor is one of the free agent options for the Patriots. When it comes to Taylor one has to ask themselves, am I a fan of safe precision passing or do I prefer a high risk high reward passer? I can tell you from talking to majority of Newton fans, that they prefer the big play mentality over a safe accurate dink and dunk passing game.

The Law Lays Judgement On Stidham.

In 2019 Jarret Stidham did not look great in relief of Tom Brady but he was praised as being ahead of schedule due to how much time he got and by the end of the season, every player seemed to have positive things to say about him. 

Of course in 2020, they all had positive things to say about Cam Newton, so I guess we have to take it with a grain of salt because as many like to point out, "what else were they to say."

Everyone saw how bad the Patriots pass catchers looked in 2018 and 2019 yet Stidham did something astounding. See the Patriots pass catchers were bad enough that they should've been out classed by the second string defenses during the 2019 preseason but Stidham excelled.

Here was how Stidham stacked up against Brady's previous backups in his rookie campaign.

Stidham (2019): 61-of-90 for 731 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT. 9 sacks. 17 rushes for 88 yards.

Danny Etling (2018): 20-of-38 for 178 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.

Jacoby Brissett (2016): 38-of-56 or 387 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.

Garoppolo (2014): 46-of-79 for 618 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT. 5 sacks. 4 rushes for 8 yards.

Ryan Mallett (2011): 36-of-63 for 357 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Brian Hoyer (2009): 29-of-44 for 354 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.

Jimmy G barely completed over 50 percent of his passes but he took less sacks and threw one more touchdown. Jimmy also ran it less than Stidham. Stidham however played with inferior pass catchers in 2019 compared to what Garoppolo had in 2014 and still completed over 60%.

Belichick wanted to sit Stidham in 2020. After Brady left, Bill went out and signed Cam Newton. A quarterback who at the time was guaranteed to start on all 32 teams in 2020, regardless of who was there because as his supporters said, "You don't sign him unless you're starting him." Sorry Green Bay, Tampa, and Kansas City. Y'all missed out on signing him to start over your quarterback. In all seriousness, I dismissed Newton being handed the starting job by signing but I could've been wrong.

In 2020, Stidham went 22 of 44 for 256 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He was blitzed 18 times, hurried 5 times, hit 8 times, and sacked 4 times, scrambling twice. He also rushed 7 times for 7 yards, picking up 3 first downs.

There's a term I heard recently, "Hero ball". That's the style football Stidham had to play versus both the Chiefs and 49ers. 

When Stidham entered the game versus the K.C. in week 4, he had a chance to lead a comeback. The score was 13-3. Stidham enters the game and drives the Patriots down the field with help from Damien Harris, for a score to make it 10-13. The Chiefs would march down the field and make it 19-10.  Stidham takes over and throws a good pass to an open Edelman and Edelman drops or deflects it into the hands of a defender for a pick six. The Patriots gave up after that. 

Against the 49ers, Stidham needed to come in and play mistake free football and hope the defense could make one key play. Stidham came in with the score 33-6. Newton had put the 49ers in scoring position 3 times. While Stidham showed good ability to throw the ball versus the Chiefs, his ball placement versus the 49ers was bad, looking confused at times. Running the 49ers playbook all week could've had something to do with that.

Stidham would then come in versus the Chargers, go 2-3 and hit a perfect timing route throw for a touchdown.

His final appearance against the Bills, Stidham was missing open pass catchers, skipping the ball on the ground like he was a heisman trophy winner. He looked scared and instead of taking a hit to deliver a pass to an open pass catcher, he would run the ball out of bounds. It was that game that I was like, "he's not the guy, he's no better a passer than Cam!"

Now, when It comes to Stidham, I don't think he's good enough to start but I do believe as a passer he is equally to Cam Newton and was redshirted. However, as a Patriots fan, I am considered bias. So I turned to a fan of another team who knows more about football than I do.

Here's what Mr. Colts Law had to say on Stidham.

Lawrence Owen's writes, "I looked at every snap Stidham took in 2020. There are 3 Major issues he has. There is some good in the tape, but he leaves his feet to throw when on the run too much. 

His pocket awareness and presence is not at starter level (yet, that can be fixed with practice/experience). And he seems to play scared. Granted, he was under constant duress in the majority of his snaps. KC, SF, Rams, & Buf all seemed to send extra pressure when he was in at QB. 

In summary, when he is in the pocket, with time to throw, he seems like a capable QB, able to go through his progressions, make the right reads, and make timely/accurate throws. But when he is pressured, his mechanics/decision making, goes right out the window."

I don't know if Lawrence Owen is going to put out anymore on Stidham, so I advise people to follow him and stay in the loop. That's colts law on YouTube and Twitter.

Now remember that in 2018, Stidham was viewed as a projected first round draft pick but in 2019, he was viewed as a fourth round project. Stidham has spent two years on the bench. In 2020, he was without a full offseason of OTAs, and preseason. And he spent the regular season practicing with the scout team learning and executing the opponents playbook. Instead of becoming efficent with the Patriots playbook.

All of his problems can be fixed. 2020 Bridge quarterback Cam Newton praised Stidham's development in December. Belichick said Stidham improved and did everything asked of him in 2020. And, Josh McDaniels said he felt comfortable with Stidham's development but it wasn't his decision to decide who starts and who sits. 

Adding everything up, Jarrett Stidham was redshirted and at the very least, will be the Patriots backup in 2021. With a full offseason in 2021, depending on what Belichick does, Stidham could very well be the starting quarterback in 2022 or he could be on his way out of the league. Either way, there are no guarantees at the moment on the trajectory of his career.

Did Newton Hurt His Chances Of Getting Re-signed?

Cam Newton was recently interviewed on "I AM ATHLETE" podcast. There were a couple of things that stood out to me. Some positive for the Patriots and some not so positive for Newton. It answers some questions that started after the first half of the game versus the Raiders.

The first thing is Newton said he was used to "Improv" but with the Patriots they had to work with him. Basically eluding to the Patriots timing offense. But it gets worse.

Newton said, “Throughout those times, there was times where it was just like, ‘Hold on, set 180. Wait am I supposed to, set 1-8-what? Hold on.’ I was thinking too much. Going back to that analogy, the offense kept going and I was stopped and stagnant for a week, two weeks. By the time I came back, it was new terminology. I was like, ‘Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Let’s go back to No. 1.’ I wasn’t trying to learn the system for what it was. I was learning a 20-year system in two months.”

Newton admitted he forgot the play at the line of scrimmage. How can any offense be productive if you cannot remember the play. Chris Simms once said there's a way to learn a playbook and most players get it wrong because they start at the beginning. He had said it was why it took him hours to learn the titans offense while it took others years to own.  Newton after signing in late June is still learning the playbook. 

When Brandon Marshall tried to attack the Patriots receiver's for not being any good, Newton stepped up and defended them. Newton basically brought up their tier talent level and hinted that they were not healthy and playing above their ability. Newton stopped short, leaving out the guy throwing them the ball didn't know what play they were running in his defense of his pass catchers.

Marshall also tried to attack McDaniels playcalling and again was shut down by Newton. Marshall clearly is resentful of his work relationship he had with McDaniels. Newton made clear McDaniels is not a Belichick clone.

Newton also referred to the Patriots way as a "confrontational" environment, where people worked up to 16 hour days. He admitted that not everything that's part of the Patriots way, he was used to.

Overall, while Newton defended his teammates and the Patriots way, his comments about the playbook during the interview and his forgetting of it is very much detrimental to him as a player. The Patriots pride themselves on football knowledge. Newton should know 60% of the playbook by now at the minimum. He couldn't remember plays from individual weeks' game plans. His actual knowledge is now in question. While he might get another shot with the Patriots, his chances may have just dropped.

Bump Gilmore's salary a little or Ship him off.

The Patriots secondary has been built around shutdown corner Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore was so good that in 2019 he won defensive player of the year. It's hard to say if Gilmore fell off in 2020 or if he benefited from the boogeymen defense in 2019. 

Gilmore only played in 11 games and 62% of the snaps in 2020. In 2019 he played in 94% of the snaps of all 16 games. Five games can make a huge difference statistically.

In 2020 he had 37 tackles with a forced fumble. He deflected 3 passes and had 1 interceptions. Gilmore allowed 57.1% of the 49 targets to be completed. Over the past 3 seasons, Gilmore has seen a slow increase.

Gilmore turns 31 in September and is set to make $7.5 Million in 2021. If Gilmore wants more than a $4 Million raise in 2021, the Patriots should take whatever they can get for him. With one exception.

As previously stated, Gilmore is the backbone of the Patriots secondary. If the Patriots are offered a player for Gilmore and that Player comes with a $15 Million contract like an OBJ, the Patriots should in that case just pay Gilmore. Then again, the Patriots may have trouble bringing in a pass catcher but even so, there's no guarantee anyone including OBJ would pan out in New England. 

Furthermore, If I'm correct on my Salary Projections going off different sources, I'd rather see the Patriots bring in both DeSean Jackson and A.J. Green for a total of around $10-$11 million before going after OBJ. If they can meet Gilmore at a four million dollar pay raise, that's $14 million and the team can breathe a little easier, Not having to rely on JC Jackson to be the number one yet. If not, they must lock up J.C. Jackson, who's also gonna want Gilmore money.

Patriots could look to re-sign a former first round draft pick

In 2020, Phillip Dorsett left the Patriots looking for an opportunity to be a more prominent role on an offense. Outside of Edelman, the Patriots basically rotate the receivers the way they do their backs. That was a turn off for Dorsett who stayed in 2019, with hope of a chance to prove himself.

On August 24th, Dorsett suffered an injury to his foot, that saw him have surgery on November 3rd. Dorsett never got back to full health and missed the entire 2020 season.

Before leaving the Patriots, Dorsett would get open a couple of times a game and like Ryan Izzo, he was good for at least one big play a game. Dorsett was sliding into that Danny Amendola role.

In 2019 Dorsett had Tom Brady throwing him the ball. On the season Brady had a true completion percentage of 66 percent, with 75.9% of the passes he threw Dorsett being catchable. Dorsett was targeted 54 times catching 29 passes, with a true catch rate of 70.7 percent. He caught 397 yards and 5 touchdowns. Dorsett had a target separation rate of 1.72 which was good enough for 25th in the league. In comparison Byrd had a 1.77 in 2020.

Dorsett is 28 years old but he's only played in 71 of a possible 96 regular season games. If healthy, Dorsett can be a valuable number three or four pass catcher. Dorsett isn't commanding big money and wants to play. It's more about legacy than money for him.

Dorsett could be signed and come in and compete with the other pass catchers. He's an upgrade over everyone except for Byrd, Edelman, and Meyers. Dorsett is only a year removed from the playbook and should pick it up quick.

The problem is he wants to prove he can play. With all of Newton's struggles and with the possibility of Newton versus Stidham round two, and the Patriots looking like they have no other options, Dorsett may consider any other offer but New England. 

Like with many free agent prospects, the Patriots may prove to be a hard sell, the only thing that might save them with Dorsett is he saw how Stidham performed in practice over the duration of 2019. If you view Dorsett as an upgraded depth piece over what the Patriots had in 2020, pray that Stidham was redshirted and not trash. 

Darnold Not Worth A Second.

The New York Jets are shopping former first round draft pick Sam Darnold for a second round pick. Darnold will be entering his fourth season and whatever team that makes the trade, will want to pick up his fifth year option.

In 2020, Darnold threw for 2208 yards with 9 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 364 attempts in 12 games. He had a completion percentage of 59.6 percent. In comparison Cam Newton threw for 2657 with 8 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Completing 65.8 of 368 passes in 15 games. Darnold produced nowhere near the production Newton produced on the ground.

Here's the one thing I will say to the stats above before I continue. There is a difference between playing for Bill Belichick and Playing for Adam Gase. There is also a difference between the Patriots front office and culture and what's at Metlife in New Jersey.

Darnold's supporting cast was 29th with a protection rate of 74.1%. The Patriots fielded a supporting cast ranked 22nd with a protection rate of 82.1%. So Darnold would be walking into a better roster. 

Darnold was ranked 22nd on money throws, 6th in danger plays, and 4th in interceptable throws. He also featured a true completion percentage of 67 percent and was one of the worst under pressure with a 34.4%. He was ranked 6th with a clean pocket of 77.5% but his redzone completion percentage was only 37.8 percent. The Jets' pass catchers were 13th in target separation.

Cam Newton was ranked 35th on Money throws, 20th on danger plays , and 17th on interceptable passes. Newton had a true completion percentage of 71.2, with a 48.3 under pressure. Newton had a 74.3 with a clean pocket but in the redzone it was a 52.8 percent. The Patriots were ranked third in target separation. 

I purposely kept this out. Cam Newton was the 4th ranked in deep ball accuracy, Darnold was ranked the 33rd. 

While Darnold is more accurate or at least safer for the most part, and his weapons and pass protection was inferior to the Patriots, by analytics he was better than Newton. However, Newton puts up better rushing production, that cannot be over looked.

If they were to go after Darnold, a second round pick is too much. A late third to a fourth is closer to the production value Darnold has shown in his three seasons. 

While Darnold has three seasons of Starting experience, some of his numbers suggest a quarterback competition between him and Stidham could be worth while. Getting Darnold for a fourth and having a three way competition between Newton, Stidham, and Darnold would not surprise me. All three quarterbacks at that point would be expendable.

I am throwing Stidham in the mix because he was comparable to Newton, everytime we saw him. He has some support on the roster and Belichick did say Stidham had improved at one point during the season. My question is, while I believe he is a better fit than Newton, is Darnold an upgrade over Stidham after three years with the Jets?

DeSean Jackson To the Patriots is a risk reward signing.

The Eagles released 34 year old pass catcher Desean Jackson. Jackson has shown signs that he has the ability to still play. The problem is that over the last 3 seasons, Jackson has only played 20 games.

In 2020 Jackson caught 14 of 26 balls for 236 yards and a touchdown. Jackson only played in 5 games in 2020. So that's roughly 5 targets a game. Jackson has a target separation rate of 1.50 and a true catch rate of 77.8%. It's not bad seeing 69.2% of his targets were catchable.

Jackson's age and health are definitely risks but Jackson when healthy can be a viable number 2 or 3 option. He's good for 50 catches and 750 yards still based off his 2020 production. His production really hasn't slipped since 2018 when he caught 41 passes for 774 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The other thing that Jackson brings is experience and leadership. Young pass catchers can use his knowledge to improve, while quarterbacks can rely on his experience to bail them out. 

Any team considering signing Jackson has to weight the number of games he's expected to play (6) to the production he's gonna bring. Jackson was a $9 million a year player when healthy but he's only showing over his last 3 seasons, that he's only worth a third of that. 

The Patriots could lure him in with an incentive based contract with his guaranteed signing money based off the number of games he's eligible to play. He's worth a two year $7 million dollar contract plus incentives. Any team to pay him more than $4 million a year straight out is taking a huge risk.

Jackson is at a point of his career where he needs to figure out if the pay is worth the risk to his health. He could pull a Reggie Wayne or Eric Decker. Any team that signs him needs to protect themselves with a clause in case he retires before the season starts.

Take away friendship bias and Stidham has support from the offensive side of the locker room.

There is talk from members of the media that the Patriots didn't trust Jarret Stidham. Jerry Trotta wrote an article where he talked about Greg Bedard reporting that Stidham wasn't trusted during the season. Darren Hartwell of NBC sports says otherwise. So I am going to look and see what I can find from during and after the season the season.

First let me say that prior to Newton being given the starting spot in 2020, everyone in the building had something positive to say about Stidham's work ethic, development, and ability as a player.

Stidham was demoted to third string for circumstances around his injury in August and promoted back to second string after Brian Hoyer played poorly and Stidham played decently coming off the bench. If the coaching staff thought Stidham was that bad, he would not have been moved up on the depth chart. Stidham was expected to start versus Denver but the league for suspect reasons, postponed the game giving enough time for Cam to return.

The week of December 8th, Cam Newton appeared on a local talk show and said the following of Stidham. "I am so proud of Stid. We had a chat yesterday in the QB room and honestly, his growth and his development is something that really caught my attention because I have known him enough to know I don’t know if he makes that throw or be able to stand in that pocket, a murky pocket, for what it was and fire an absolute strike to Gun Show [Gunner Olszewski]."

After the loss to the Rams Belichick said the following about Stidham. “Jarrett has worked hard. He’s tried to take advantage of his opportunities. But that’s not really the point...”

Belichick would get back to Stidham later in that interview saying, "Jarrett’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and he’s done everything he can do. I don’t think you can ask any more than that.”

Although Harry later retracted the statement after pressure from the organization, in mid December around the 17th, his trainer and friends were quoted as saying that Harry blamed Newton for his lack of production and eluded to him being more productive if Stidham had been playing. 

The Patriots didn't want friction in the locker room and have always been good about keeping issues in house. Belichick was doing his best to keep Cam from having an emotional breakdown or so it seemed in 2020.

On December 21, 2021, James White appeared on Dale & Keefe with Nick “Fitzy” Stevens and Andy Hart filling in. White told them, “Jarret is a good football player. Obviously, you could tell that coming in his rookie year learning and things of that nature. He has all the talent he needs to be successful in this league and I am sure he’s probably excited for whenever he gets the opportunity to step out there and I think he will be great whenever he does.”

In December McDaniels said he was confident of Stidham's development but the choice on who starts is Belichick's decision.

James White appeared on SiriusXM NFL Radio the week of February 7th and continued to show confidence in Stidham. White said, “I am sure he’s chomping at the bit to get his opportunity. I think he will be a guy that can get some things done. He works hard. Strong arm, studies hard, prepares hard and it’s tough being a backup. He may not get many reps as he wants to, but he stayed motivated throughout that entire season.He got to play sometimes towards the end of games. He’s a young guy excited to get out there. You want to play those four full quarters and get your opportunity. I am sure he’s working hard this offseason to prove that he can do that.”

On February 9th Damien Harris was showing support for Stidham who had begun training in California. Harris posting emojis of support.

Now while Stidham seems to have support from the offensive side, the defense not so much. Devin McCourty said the thought of Cam getting benched in December "Sucked," and in late January, D-Mac said he "wouldn't mind seeing my guy resigned."

There seem two be two sides to this debate. The offense versus friends. Harris is a friend of Stidham's and D-Mac is a friend of Newton's. So if wiping away the comments of friends about support or lack of support for Stidham. There seems still to be support from the offensive side of the locker room for Stidham to start or at least compete in 2020.

The Forumula For Cam Newton To Find Success In The NFL AGAIN.

I have been critical of Cam Newton since the idea of him coming to the Patriots came up in 2020. There is a possibility of him coming back in 2021. Now I am going to try to keep this a positive post. 

Okay, here's the first thing people need to know about Cam returning. The Offense is going to look pretty much the same. Newton will be a place holder and nothing more. If you're okay with that, then Cam can be a last resort.

If you want Cam to be re-signed and be successful with the Patriots, then somethings gotta change. The Patriots pass catchers were third in getting separation and they also had a true catch 15 to 20 percentage points higher than their catch rate on average. These guys have to go and so does the Brady offense.

What did Cam do well in 2020? Well, there were four things Newton did well. Running the football, throwing deep, throwing under pressure and throwing to his pass catchers bubble. This leads into the direction the offense needs to go. 

The Patriots needs to give up on pass protection with Cam Newton. Sign guys that can run block that are below average pass Blockers. Allow the defense to come at Cam, he's more accurate in those situations.

The next thing needed is the Patriots must clean house of most of their pass catchers. Newton needs tall guys, 6'4" or taller. These guys must have good 40 times, along with good long and vertical jumping ability. 

They must have long arms and be good at catching the 30 - 70 balls. Yes I wrote that right. Newton throws to their bubble and thus they need to have good hands with that wingspan. They must be able to play bully ball and risk offensive pass interference to catch these balls.

The Patriots must send their players every play on streaks, wheels, deep posts, and deep corners routes; otherwise known as vertical routes. Let the defense come at Cam and let him scramble and either take off or throw it 20 plus yards down the field on almost every play. 

The Patriots need to get rid of the fullback position and only keep a half back in the back field for RPOs, incase Newton wants to hand it off and for the occasional wheel route.

This is how the Patriots can be successful with Cam Newton. It's a high risk, high reward mobile gunslinger offense.The dink and dunk offense must go, and the 15 yard passes must be treated like three yard passes by McDaniels. 

This must become the new offensive Identity if the Newton is to be successful until another quarterback is ready to take over. The problem is the next quarterback must be able to run this offense or the Patriots will have to tear down and rebuild a whole offense in 2022 or whenever they move on from Cam. 

This is pretty much the formula for any team that wants to be successful with Cam Newton. Newton was sacked 291 times, had a career completion percentage under 60%, and threw 108 interceptions during his career in Carolina and it all makes sense. For Newton to be successful, these are things that fans have to be willing to put up with. 

Cam Newton is a college quarterback that needs a college minded offensive coordinator to run a college offense in the NFL. Is that Josh McDaniels and at his age, will any team build an offense around Newton's needs because he showed that he's not a plug and play. If Newton wants to prolong his career, taking a backup role around starters like Jackson, Hurts, and other running backs that play quarterback will be his best odds after he leaves the Patriots.

Who Did They Have Throwing Them The Football?

Analytics website Newton was ranked 27th over all and 32nd in overall accuracy. Newton was accurate under pressure, 4th best but when he had all the time in the world, with a clean pocket he was ranked 35th. He was 4th best in deep ball completion percentage but that's because nobody respected the passing game and moved up to play the run.

If you go back to last August, Evan Lazar of CLNS said Newton was not the guy to stand in pocket or beat anyone passing drills. That he was not a procession passer. That Cam was they type to run around all over the place, improvise and throw the ball down field over heads. It showed in 2020.

The Pass catchers were ranked 22nd in the NFL, 30th in drops with only 18 as a group and had a very high true catch percentage. Analytics don't lie, they don't tell the full story but they don't lie.

Here is my question, the Patriots pass catchers according to player profiler were 3rd best in getting separation in the NFL. Writers and analysts were saying coaches tape showed that after the Bronco game, and to watch that tape and not TV tape. Combine that with the analytics. 

Just how bad were the Patriots pass catchers and how much of their lack of production and development was because they had nobody throwing them the football? We saw all season that Cam Newton couldn't hit timing routes and that's what the team was built around, quick not fast receivers, making cuts and getting open. 

That's the Patriots offense for 20 years because it works. The Patriots thought they could just insert Cam Newton because he was the best player available. We have seen the Patriots sign the best fit year after year, even with better players available. 

The Patriots wanted to sit Stidham and develop him for another season. We know Bill protects his assets and is a good reason why he didn't start Stidham at the end, will he start him in 2021? Stidham has had support of James White since November and now he has Damien Harris's.

How much of signing Newton was Belichick trying to send a message that not every franchise quarterback fits in the Patriots system, how much was him trying to get a big name to replace Brady, and how much was bad scouting? Whatever the case, it effected the Patriots pass catchers and even run game in 2020, bringing the entire offense down.

What Type Of Quarterback Are The Patriots Looking For?

The Patriots brought in Cam Newton in 2020 to be the starter. They hoped he could at the very least be a game manager for the team. However, they did not get the style quarterback they were looking for in Newton.

Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald talked about what the Patriots were looking for. He mentioned a guy who could read the defense and knew where the ball had to go. He also said that the Patriots like a smart quarterback who doesn't turn the ball over. 

The Patriots reportedly did their homework on Cam Newton but if they truly did their homework, they would've known that Cam was an inaccurate, turnover prone quarterback who cannot hit timing routes.

Callahan looks at a couple of quarterbacks but the one veteran he mentioned that I believe fits the mold is Tyrod Taylor. It's no secret that Taylor is a passive passer but that's what makes him good. Go back to the playoff game in Buffalo. 

While the broadcaster is screaming for Taylor to throw the ball, Taylor sees the defender waiting to jump the pass. Taylor was doing a fine job of managing that playoff game but Taylor got hurt and Nathan Peterman came in and did what he does best. He turned the ball over. 

Here's what Callahan said about Taylor. "Tyrod Taylor: Taylor protects the football well, with a career 1.4% interception rate, but may be too risk-averse. The Pats are plenty familiar with Taylor, having faced him as a starter in Buffalo from 2015-17."

Last offseason, I was getting in to arguements with my fellow fans because I was saying I would rather have Taylor over Newton. That I preferred Taylor's safeness over Newton's aggressive gunslinger type mentality.

If the Patriots brought in Taylor and had a quarterback competition between Stidham and Taylor, I think that would be a good idea. Taylor is a better passer than Newton and Stidham could learn more in practice from Taylor.

The Patriots have a type of quarterback and even if that quarterback can run, he must be cerebral with the ability to throw in the pocket. One thing the Patriots messed up on in 2020 was they got away from taking the piece that was the best fit when they signed Cam. With Cam they signed the best player  available and they paid for it.

The Blue Jays Maybe A Team Without A Home In 2021.

Due to the global pandemic, the Toronto Blue Jays were unable to play at home during the 2020 major league season. Instead the ball club played 26 of their home games in Buffalo New York.

While hope is high that the team will be able to play at home in 2021, the team will start the season in Florida. The city of Buffalo will be having Bison games, the Toronto affiliate club. Thus, the stadium maybe busy if Canada refuses to allow teams to cross the borders freely.

The season is still weeks away but It maybe another long turbulent year for the Blue Jays, as they seek their third world series title and first world series birth since 1993. While the worst may have been in 2020, the pandemic is not done with the ball club yet.

The Patriots may have to so something they have not done prior to 2015.

There's no secret that the Patriots must improve on quarterback play if they want to succeed. The Patriots also need help in other areas and are sure to look for developed pass catchers. However, even if the Patriots want to go with Stidham or draft a quality quarterback like Mac Jones, they might have to go another route.

Although the Patriots need a quarterback, free agent pass catchers of value may look at the Patriots and be like "who's throwing me the ball?" The NFL is a where players make their millions. One wrong signing could be financially devastating for any player.

The Patriots were honestly not built for Cam Newton and Cam was not the passer the Patriots were hoping for. If the Patriots redshirted Stidham, he did not look good in relief. Both players are enough to scare off good talent and the Patriots struggle to develop pass catchers. 

The Patriots dynamic duo of tight ends came into the league in 2010. One half of the duo ended up in jail and the other half by the end of 2015, had given enough concern that the team should've been looking to draft a tight end in 2016. 

The Patriots have drafted four tight ends and four receivers since 2015. Malcolm Mitchell had a promising career but his knee issues  ended his career early. None of the other eight players had or have made a difference. So it's a safe bet that the Patriots haven't really hit on a pass catcher via a draft pick in over five years.

With that in mind, the Patriots are at the mercy of free agency. Unless the Patriots make a trade, realistically they're looking at tier two and three quarterbacks. Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Andy Dalton don't exactly scream success to free agent pass catchers. 

The Patriots are going to have to sell everyone they sign that they have a plan. Question is, do players have enough faith in Bill Belichick to come to New England or did Tom Brady and Cam Newton destroy the Patriots as a viable place to play, with their performances in 2020? If not, the Patriots will need to finally develop some pass catchers.

New Quarterback Coach?

Jedd Fisch had the task of trying to fix the Patriots quarterbacks in 2020. Fiach has since moved on to greener pastures, leaving a vacancy for the Patriots to fill.

Instead of adding Brian Hoyer to the staff, the Patriots are adding Adam Gase desciple Bo Hardegree. Hardegeree has been around, spending time with New York, Miami, Chicago, and Denver. 

The 36 year old is taking a spot some people including this writer thought would be reserved for 2020 third string quarterback Brian Hoyer. It's possible Hoyer doesn't retire but after saying he wants to be in New England, he might have to find a home elsewhere or commute if he plans on playing the 2021 season. Hoyer could still come on as an assistant but the longer it takes him to retire, the less likely that is to happen.

It is unclear how well Hardegeree will do with the Patriots but he is friends with linebacker's coach Mayo and former Jets' coach Adam Gase. So Belichick likely has had good references concerning the newest member of the staff. The biggest concern for Patriots fans will be how well did he on Sam Darnold?

Garoppolo versus Stidham might be the Patriots best hope for 2021.

The Patriots passing game looked abysmal in 2020. If you watched DPN Commentary on February 16th, 2021, you know more blame falls on Cam Newton than the pass catchers. Yet, Cam is still a possibility to return. 

Newton is among a plethora of names that could be in the quarterback room in 2021. It's looking more and more like the Patriots redshirted Jarrett Stidham in 2020. With that said, the Patriots are looking at a lot of mid to lower tier quarterbacks via free agency or trade. 

The Patriots may still take a quarterback in the draft but it's unlikely they'll draft a quarterback before late on day two at the earliest, if at all. The Patriots reportedly aren't going to be taking a quarterback early in the draft which bodes well for any veteran or Stidham. 

There is a very good chance that Jarrett Stidham could be in another quarterback competition in 2021, much to the dismay of many fans. The dream scenario for Belichick and the Patriots would be a Jarrett Stidham vs Jimmy Garoppolo competition. 

Garoppolo seems favored by the media as being on the Patriots roster in 2021 and Stidham will most certainly still be around for another season. Both quarterbacks are young and are liked by Belichick. If Belichick can find a young starting quarterback to lead the Patriots, it would put the Patriots in a spot to avoid a rebuild. Providing they nail the rest of the 2021 offseason.

Bruce Arians Says What Many Assumed

Bruce Arians has taken pop shots at Belichick during the 2020 season. Anyone with a brain can see through that but his latest comments are more honest but the media is sure to twist them. Most fans can agree that Brady wanted to prove he could win without Belichick. That's what Arians alluded to, take a look.

Arians told Pro Football Talk, “I think Brady’s competitive spirit is so strong that he wanted to do it. He wanted to show people. I’ve never said anything bad about Bill Belichick; I know everybody tries to say I do. His record speaks for itself. He is probably the greatest one ever. But I think Brady wanted to try a different way."

This is what Patriots nation has said over the 2020 season, some even before Tom left. Now Arians knows he took pop shots at Bill over the past few months but this comment here is nothing any honest Patriots fan should get upset with. 

Brady showed that if he left the Patriots and went to a team stacked with talent that he could win. He proved his point, he didn't need Belichick. All Brady needed was an elite team in need of a quarterback to win and he found that in Tampa. While Brady proved he could win without Belichick, the team he won with does not make Brady look any better. At least in my opinion. 

If anything, it makes Brady look worse as a quarterback. I made the comment that all three the Patriots quarterbacks in 2020 would've had better seasons playing with the Buccaneers. I stand by that, so while I give it to Tom for winning his seventh but this was his least impressive superbowl victory.

"We have the answer in that locker room"

Back before Cam Newton signed with the Patriots, I was asked by Ray Rauth of DPN to write an article on Cam Newton. I went through and what I saw was a quarterback with only three winning seasons, who was inaccurate, inconsistent, and turnover prone.

I was worried that he would cost Patriots games if signed. It was very clear in the article I wrote that I thought it was a bad idea for the Patriots to sign Cam Newton. In fact I thought there was no chance. 

The article wasn't used, presumably because of my writing abilities. Ray was a huge Cam Newton fan and my article definitely clashed with his opinion, so I had questions on whether he would use it after I completed it. 

I wasn't so kind on many of the draft prospects Ray seemed to like and I was wrong on the kid with the Chargers. Ray is a homer and some of my takes can seem a little negative.

In my article, I made the case that Cam was inaccurate in Carolina, only having three seasons with a competition percentage above sixty percent. I got told by many "he had no weapons, look who he was throwing to". This defense would get flipped to he had Greg Olsen in Carolina but no tight ends this season, after he started struggling with the Patriots.

I made the case that Newton was inconsistent and was told by the bandwagon "to look at the team he played for, he was the team". They blamed the coaching staff and both sides of the ball for why Cam was inconsistent with both winning seasons and accuracy.

I made the case that he was turnover prone, I was told "Cam had no offensive line or pass catchers, what do you expect". 

Stats don't tell the entire story, so I thought that maybe I was missing something, as I didn't watch a lot of Panthers' football.

During the 2020 season I noticed that Newton looked slow deciding on whether to hand it off or keep it. That he also looked slow running the football. In fact the whole option offense looked too slow. Honestly, I thought the 2019 offense was vanilla but the 2020 offense was extremely boring with Cam on the field.

I noticed that Cam Newton was throwing to his guys bubble instead of to his pass catchers. I began saying that Cam needed guys with a large wingspan. 

I am a Ryan Izzo fan, after the Bronco game I started saying Cam was ignoring his pass catchers. I asked how far down the progression they were. Assuming that Newton wasn't making all his reads. 

There started being an arguement asking who Cam had to throw to, at the same time several sports writers were saying coach's tape was showing each of the pass catchers were getting open a handful of times a game but Newton wasn't seeing them. There was even a period where Newton wasn't throwing to the right. Thus I started asking who was throwing the pass catchers the ball. 

In October, Cam Newton was asked about if the Patriots needed new pass catchers, he responded, “There's no need to press the panic button. There's no need to start reinventing the wheel. We have the answers, and I'll say it again, we have the answers in that locker room.”

On February 16, 2021, Dear Patriots Nation or DPN Commentary, or whatever it's being called now, looked into some analytics. Some of what they said I knew but some I didn't know. 

They brought up the fact that according to Analytics, Cam Newton was one of the lower tier starters around 27th, and that his ranking was only in the starter category due to his " receiving stats". 

They mentioned that Cam was slow running sideways, and just how inaccurate he was. They mentioned that the Patriots pass catchers were ranked 22nd and that their true catch percentage was high. 

Here's something I didn't know to this extent. They mentioned that the pass catchers were "ranked 3rd in getting separation". I knew they were getting open but I did not know by how much. 

Another statement made which I have made asked a lot is that the ten year veteran was having his mechanics worked on like he was just entering the league. That's something we would expect from Jarrett Stidham but not the former 2015 league mvp.

Ray even brought up finally what I have been saying that weeks one and two, the Patriots played to their opponents weaknesses and that Newton went down hill starting week three, not after he got covid.

One of the arguments for not playing Jarrett Stidham was it would hurt player development. Cam Newton was a lower tier of player than his pass catchers, and now knowing that the arguement that he had nobody to throw to was majorly flawed, I can say without a doubt Cam Newton hurt not only the development but production of his pass catchers. 

In fact, Ryan Izzo should've been well over 300 yards receiving but the Patriots quarterbacks, mainly Cam had serious accuracy problems. Which begs the question just how good were the 2020 pass catchers?

Now I am not saying Jarrett Stidham should've played. What I saw from Stidham was a quarterback who should have a deceptive running ability, look scared to run, with Cam Newton's passing ability but with the added ability to hit timing routes. All I am getting at is the arguement of why not to start Stidham after being eliminated from playoff contention has been debunked. There's only one argument that now makes any sense.

There's a saying, "say something enough and people will believe it". That's true of both the Stidham and Newton bandwagons. It was ever so clear during Dear Patriots Nation's live show on February 16th. 

The host Ray Rauth was giving out the analytics and some of the Cam Newton bandwagon was trying to use the defense that DPN had been saying since the start of the 2020 season in defense of Cam. Even to the point that they were disagreeing with the analytics that Ray was giving and his assessment based on the analytics.

Ray Rauth laid out the case tonight as to why Cam Newton should not be given a chance to return in 2021. Ray also mentioned something I had talked about many times, which is the possibility that Jarrett Stidham was redshirted in 2020. Which is the only argument that makes sense on why Stidham didn't finish the season as the starter. So I do wanna ask three questions.

Cam Newton said back in October that the answers to the passing game were in the locker room when talking about the pass catchers. Analytics show that to be true. Newton also said in December that Jarrett Stidham had improved drastically as a quarterback, which was backed up by James White after the season.

Is there a chance that Cam was 100% right and the answer to improving the passing game was in the locker room, referring not only the pass catchers but Jarrett Stidham?

Also, could Jarrett Stidham be the reason why the Patriots are rumored not to be going after a quarterback in the 2021 draft? Lastly, if the Patriots plan on making Stidham the quarterback in 2021 and Newton was holding back the pass catchers, what improvements are really needed on the offense?

Fake Media And Click Bait, The truth takes a back seat to the dollar.

So I am on YouTube and a video from the homeland defense podcast plays. It's a video from five days ago. It's an eight minute video. In the video, the host says the Patriots refused to meet with an agent, saying they had their quarterback situation figured out or something along those matters. 

There's more to the video but I'm like how have I not heard this. I'm friends with the people over at Dear Patriots Nation and DPN Commentary. If this is true, people are slipping. 

So I go and research this and there's nothing in 2021 saying about an agent talking to the Patriots. The content maker says "the agent claimed the Patriots were going to give Stidham a second chance to claim the Franchise spot." So I looked for that. There's nothing this year saying that.

It doesn't matter whether it's a fanatic podcast like DPN or a connected source like Ian Rapoport, sports media is getting as corrupted as main stream political media. Everything is about the dollar and the truth is slowly getting replaced with propaganda, satire, and opinion to make money. 

It's different when the content creator informs the audience that their show is opinion or satire but when fiction is passed off as fact, even if it's on these shows, it creates misguided people. 

If you don't have time to fact check, than go into anything you read, watch, or listen to with the knowledge that it could be a big steaming pile of mularkey, and don't take it as anything more until you see it for yourself.

Cam could be back

The Patriots quarterback competition is a big question mark. There are currently so many possible outcomes that non can really be ruled out at the moment because one is just as possible as the next.

Take Cam Newton for example. He had one of the worst seasons for a passer in modern nfl history. Yet there is still a chance that he could be under center in 2021. There are those that argue his pass catchers couldn't get separation but at the same time, those who argue the pass catchers couldn't throw the ball to themselves. The Patriots passing game was a double edged sword, there's no other way to describe it. 

Even Mike Reiss of ESPN asked, " I think the concern is the functional passing game -- how much of that was Cam versus how much was around him?..."

The first few weeks, the pass catchers got all the blame but then coaches tape showed Newton wasn't on his game.

When football experts have to question how much blame goes where, the arguement of "who did he have to throw to" goes out the window because he could've been just as bad with Hopkins.

Even so Cam could be the man come week one. If he fails, he's done. The only thng we have to now ask is, can he do more than run.

Update:

Check out speak for yourself, they explain the condition and some very optimistic home takes on Cam. In the resigning Cam would be a mistake video on YouTube.

And by the way for anyone who has forgotten, completion percentage is one of the stats that do not tell the full story. 

Remember the nfl quarterback competition in hawaii? Some quarterbacks can hit the target. Cam is the type of quarterback who would hit the black paint or worse the white paint outside the black. Accurate enough for pass catchers to catches but inaccurate 

Possible Zach Ertz trade

Zach Ertz was on pace for 100 receptions but he also on pace for only 500 yards. The lowest of his career since his rookie season. Eritz only played in 11 games for the Eagles, catching 36 of 72 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown.

Jeremy Fowyler of ESPN tweeted on Saturday about a possiblity of moving Ertz in a "package" deal. Now Ertz has a base salary of near eight million and is in a contract year.

Ertz appears to be in decline but if the Patriots traded for him, having Asiasi and Keene, it's unrealistic that they would still draft a tight end. Ertz is 30, so all the Patriots would be doing is buying time for their 2019 rookies to develop.

Before someone says anything about the Patriots current group of tight ends, go back and look at how many times Izzo was open and the ball was either thrown poorly to him or he was ignored. Izzo's production is just as much a factor of bad quarterback play, as it is his abilities. Izzo wasn't the only tight end ignored.

Going after Ertz is a possibility but the Patriots need to be sure he's worth the risk and cost. If Ertz doesn't bounce back, the Patriots are going to be out a draft pick most likely as what else do they really have to offer Philadelphia. A draft pick that could go towards a rookie.

Also Ryan Izzo is proof when comparing his 2019 and 2020 play that if the Patriots do not improve on their quarterback play, Ertz will have worse stats. It doesn't matter had how good the pass catchers are if they don't have some competent throwing the ball.

What's everyone's beef with Gilmore?

Stephon Gilmore had a down year in 2020 but he wasn't the only one. J.C. Jackson also got beat by several receivers during the season. The secondary didn't play at the 2019 level but it was still good. Part of that which nobody's talking about, is because they didn't have a single linebacker from last year's elite core on the field. In fact, Pretty sure in 2020 there wasn't a single starting linebacker on the field from Gilmore's time in New England.

I've heard Patriots fans talk about the possibility of Gilmore sitting out because he wants to make over $10 million in 2021. Nick Villano of Musket Fire challenges that in his article about who the Patriots should cut.

Villano recently wrote, "Gilmore was pretty good in 2020, but far from dominant. Eight cornerbacks made the PFF’s top 101 in terms of grade. Gilmore was not one of them. Yet, his cap number is hitting more than $16 million..." If Villano is right, 16 is more than 10, it's more than 8, and it's. Ore than 6. All numbers I've heard Gilmore was supposed to make.

If Gilmore is getting that much, he's not sitting out. People have been wanting the Patriots to ditch Gilmore, because they got J.C. Jackson. I've watched Jackson play. He looks like an average to below average number one corner against number one receivers. Playing across from Gilmore has elevated his game, even a lower tier number one should dominate a number two pass catcher. That's what it looks like is happening with Jackson. His stats are getting inflated by Gilmore.

Unless the Patriots are planning on a full rebuild, they really cannot afford to get rid of Gilmore. However, If Bill were to trade him, not only should he want a pick but a former high round player that's not quite playing to the elite level expected. So Bill can try to strike lightning twice.

Villano mentioned cutting Gilmore. That's ludicrous. Belichick can get something via trade for him. The last thing Belichick would wanna do is allow anyone in the east to get him without strategically getting something in return. Kinda like what he did to Thomas, sending him to the Jets, or sending him away like he did with Jimmy G. when Cleveland wanted him. 

I understand there will be a time to move on from Gilmore, and if the right time comes, Belichick will take advantage. That time is not now. If things change this offseason than maybe but until then, the Patriots need Gilmore and we need to except it.

The Patriots Only Have Four Realistic Options At Quarterback In 2021.

The Patriots had a plan going into the 2020 offseason. Re-sign Tom Brady, while redshirting and developing Jarrett Stidham. It was a solid plan except for one thing and anybody who followed the breadcrumbs knew it. Tom Brady wasn't coming back for 2020. In fact, his very last pass as a Patriots quarterback may have been a purposely thrown, to say F' you to the Patriots in spite. 

The Patriots signed Cam Newton as the guaranteed starter according to many, which means they redshirted Jarrett Stidham for the season, regardless of how good or bad Newton played. Need proof go back and read what was said about Cam after signing and throughout the competition.

Heading in to the 2021 season, the Patriots on paper have a lot of options. Realistically, I think they only have four. Run with Stidham and Dolegada, re-sign Newton or Brissett, or draft Mac Jones and let Stidham start part of the year, with Dolegada as the projected long term backup.

The Patriots redshirted Stidham and have given him plenty of compliments, even saying he's improved as a player, while his play says otherwise. Going into his third season, Stidham has completed fifty percent of his passes with two touchdowns and four interceptions. Jedd Fisch was brought in purposely to develop Stidham. 

Now Cam Newton missed majority of 2019 before getting released by the Panthers. Newton signed with the Patriots in June and was either signed with the starting job guaranteed or he won it by default due to Stidham's injury. All depends on which bandwagon you're with.

Newton played well enough week one, running all over the Miami Dolphins. He followed that up throwing all over the Seahawks, who made the Patriots look like their receivers had elite separation skills.

Then Newton had a horrible first half versus the Raiders and although the Patriots adjusted at half time, that was the beginning of a downward spiral for him. Belichick refusing to make the switch at starter gives way to the thought of a possible Newton return in 2021 or Stidham having a redshirt year in 2020.

Newton had one of the worst seasons ever for a passer in the modern era of the NFL. Newton's ground game maybe enough to bring him back as he put up double digit touchdowns on the ground. He most likely won't be re-signed until after the draft, if they bring him back. If things go south again in 2021, will Belichick replace him?

Jacoby Brissett had his job given away in 2020 but in 2019, he did not have that bad of a season. Brissett completed 60.9% of his 447 passes for 2942 yards, with 18 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Going 7-8 eight as a starter. Although Brady won more games, Brissett's 2019 was comparable to Brady's 2001 statistics.

The colts went 11-5 in 2020 but Philip Rivers retired and now the Colts are without a starter and have no plans of bringing Brissett back. What makes Brissett a good option is he has experience in the Patriots offense and would only need a review of the playbook. Unlike Newton, if the Patriots want him, he'll be signed before the draft.

If Jimmy Garoppolo gets released, he will be added to the second option but for now, I believe he will cost too many assets to be an option, unless the Patriots can get him for a fourth round draft pick. What would make him a good option is the same thing that makes Brissett one, previous experience.

The last option is Mac Jones. Jones had a very good season in 2020. That's after completing 68% of his passes and 14 touchdowns in 2019. In 2020 Jones completed 77.4% of his passes for 4500 yards, with 41 touchdowns and 4 interceptions on 402 passes. 

Jones has played in a pro ready offense at Alabama and is projected to go in the top twenty of the NFL draft. Jones may have to sit for part of the 2021 season and if So, The Patriots would be wise to start Jarrett Stidham in 2021 to increase his trade value. 

Stidham is signed through 2022 and the Patriots will need to do as much to advertise Stidham as possible to recover the fourth round draft pick they spent on him, if they go with that option. The Patriots could throw everyone a curve ball but at the moment these are the most likely outcomes.

Have we seen the end of this Patriots' tenure?

The Patriots are still gonna need to make some room and free up some cap and roster space. One area the Patriots can do this, is at tight end position. With Matt Lacosse returning, there is no need for both him and Ryan Izzo.

Looking back at 2019 with an accurate quarterback who could actually see the field and hit timing routes, Matt Lacosse played in 11 games. He caught 13 of 19 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. If Lacosse had played a full 16 games, he was on pace for 19 catches on 27 targets for 191 yards and 1 touchdown.

In 2019 Ryan Izzo with Tom Brady caught 6 of 9 targets for 114 yards and a touchdown in 6 games. If Izzo had played all 16 games,  he was on pace for 16 catches on 24 passes for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns. With Brady, Izzo was on pace to out do Lacosse but a concussion ended  his season.

Matt Lacosse opted out in 2020, while Ryan Izzo had to make due with one of the least accurate quarterbacks in the NFL. In 2020 Izzo had 13 catches on 20 targets, for 199 yards and no touchdowns in 12 games. Had Izzo of finished the season, he would've had 17 receptions on 27 targets for 265 yards and zero touchdowns. Watching how many times the ball was thrown to the wrong spot and Izzo was missed or ignored, Cam Newton killed Izzo's production.

With a lesser quarterback, Izzo's stats looked more like Lacosse. Give Izzo an accurate arm in the pocket and watch him bounce back.

Both Izzo and Lacosse have missed a lot of time over their Careers. Matt Lacosse is 28 and Izzo is 25 with a lot more upside and he is still on his 7th round rookie contract. Lacosee however is set to make a cap hit of $1, 450,000. That's one to two depth pieces or a quarter to a third of the money needed to sign their draft picks.

Izzo has shown Development as an inline blocker and number two pass catching tight end. The Patriots are in need of a U-Tight End otherwise known as a move tight end. As I have stated in the past, the Patriots have two inline tight ends (Izzo, Asiasi) and two H-back tight ends (Vitale and Keene). That was forgetting Lacosse was had opted out. 

The Patriots are sure to target a tight end this offseason and do not six tight ends. Vitale, Keene, and Johnson are sure to compete for the fullback spot, Keene and Vitale offer more athleticism and schematic options than Johnson. Johnson may find the axe and while Bill may have Lacosse and Izzo compete for a spot, Izzo should have earned it over the past two seasons. 

I believe Matt Lacosse will soon follow the path of Matt Lengel out the door, and 2021 could be Izzo's last season with the Patriots. Only time will tell what Belichick has in store. It goes without saying but "In Bill We Trust."

Veteran receiver could find Green grass in New England, as Patriots consider bringing in a tiger on the prowl.

The New England Patriots had trouble getting separation during the 2020 season. On the Active roster they had one guy with good speed to stretch the field, the practice squad had three or four more but the team seemed to lack the quickness to be able to lose defenders when making their cuts. The Patriots need someone with better three cone and ten yard time. That guy might be A.J. Green.

The Patriots were one of the teams interested in A.J. Green before the Cincinnati Bengals slapped green with a franchise tag of $18 million. It's doubtful that they Bengals will wanna spend that kinda money again on Green as if tagged again it would be in the $35 million range. Green made it clear he wanted out vocally and by taking plays off but did just enough to show teams he could still play.

Green's half-assed play gave him 523 yards and 2 touchdowns on 47 catches, with a long of 33. Green didn't play balls to the Walls like he normally would and it showed on tape. Green wants to win a ring. The Patriots secondary carried the team and Hightower is returning to help the defense. That could be enough to lure him in.

Green may or may not be a number one anymore but he is a number two at the least. Edelman, Meyers, Byrd, and Green could be a hell of a core. Green is expected to fall in that $5 - $8 Millon dollar range. Cincy jungle says his range is up to "$8.8" million. 

Green is only currently 32 and Edelman is 34. 2021 will probably be Edelman's last season and the Patriots will need veteran leadership. We saw the chemistry Amendola and Edelman had. Edelman is sure to welcome Green and make him at home.

Some people are arguing the Patriots need a guy lining up on the sideline running to the endzone at full speed on every play. That would tire a guy out quickly and once winded, teams would put a lesser corner with speed on that receiver. The Patriots need guys who get separation on routes. Any where Green goes he's gonna be motivated to win a ring and prove he's still got it.

Plus Belichick has been trying to bring in another experienced veteran for years. Sanu, Decker, Gordon, A.B., Thomas, Wayne, the list goes on. The Patriots even tried to make a trade for Green in 2019 but the Bengals didn't budge.

If the price is right, Green is exactly half of what the Patriots need to do at receiver. Adding Green and a true X-Receiver at the tier two level in the same $5-$8 salary bracket would help the Patriots but Troy Brown must, and I repeat must get more out if his depth incase someone goes down. The Patriots have a lot of options currently on the roster and in future contracts, the 2021 receivers room is going to be packed. Brown must push them to the limits. That would include Edelman and Green if signed.

Yes there are big names n free agency but they come with big contracts, and there's not a lot of space in $60 million for multiple big contract players.

The average nfl team had to save $3,484,498.78 for the 2020 nfl draft. According to Pat's cap on Twitter, the Patriots have $63,973,455 to play with. The Patriots would be to set aside five million towards the draft.

The Patriots should not spend more than $15,000,000 on a player this offseason and should only give out two big contracts. If the Patriots set aside five million like I suggested, that would leave them at $58,973,455. 

According to spotrac, JJ Watt is going to want around $16.6 million for 2021. Most of the top pass catchers are going to want $10-$15 million.  Say the Patriots sign 2 guys and pay out $25 Million. That would leave the Patriots with $33, 973,455. The Patriots could then sign 6 average guys at $5 million a pop or 13 players at $2.5 million. 

Now as much as I like JJ Watt and some of the other guys, the Patriots should try to sign guys who max out between $8-$9 million. We know Belichick knows how to scout. Look at the number of veterans Belichick has brought in and hit on, on low end salaries. Danny Shelton and Nick Folk were his last dumpster finds.

$63 million and some change, rounded up to $64 million sounds like a lot but that all depends on how much Belichick and the Patriots spend on each individual player. I have always been against a single player making more than 15 percent of the team's salary, and would prefer not to have them pay more than 10%. I am typically against free agents taking up more than 15% of a team's available cap space, again preferring to stay around 10% per player or less. Barring  circumstances like low cap, my opinion will never change.

My ideology for the salary cap means that teams have to know how to scout and coach players, both off and on the field. With exception to the last three seasons at receiver and tight end, the Patriots under Belichick have had no issues at any position doing that.

Which is why, if Belichick is going to spend big on a player or two, those are the areas he should put the money into. Give me a team full of versatile number twos over a handful of number ones. As long as the skill sets are balanced, any team should be able to win games. Providing they have coaches that can coach.

Why Did Belichick Refuse To Switch Quarterbacks After Being Eliminated?

On February 11, 2021, CLNS had a live stream titled 'Patriots offseason mailbag podcast', in which they mentioned that New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick refused to change starters in 2020.

They talked about the excuse of the Patriots still being in playoff contention. Then they talked about refusing to make the change once they were eliminated. They questioned why Belichick refused to make the switch.

Everyone has heard the "Stidham is bad" arguement, so when Lazar brought that there is a possibility that Stidham could be the starter and a bridge quarterback in 2021, it blue my mind as I didn't expect to hear it from respectable sources. I have been saying there's a sliver of a chance Stidham starts in 2021.

In the late winter of the first part of 2020, the Patriots intended on two things. One, re-signing Tom Brady, and, two, sitting Jarrett Stidham for the duration of the 2020 season. Tom Brady had to move on and forced the Patriots to find a veteran or start Stidham.

The Patriots Signed Cam in late June. This is where I can use Cam Newton's bandwagoners' words against them. "You don't sign Cam Newton unless you intend on him being the starter." That was all Stidham fans heard. I can already hear Newton's bandwagon. "Yeah, so! What's that got to do with anything?" 

Actually that could have a lot to do with Jarrett Stidham, remember the Patriots wanted to sit and develop him for the season back in January. Half the sports writers and analysts called the competition a farce, believing Newton was the starter from the get go; agreeing with all the Newton bandwagoners.

Bill Belichick played Stidham in garbage time situations but refused to let Stidham start. On December 11th, Belichick was asked about Stidham and admitted that Stidham like most second year players had improved from his rookie season and said the following, "Jarrett’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and he’s done everything he can do. I don’t think you can ask any more than that."

McDaniels was asked about Stidham before the second Buffalo game in December.  McDaniels said, “We work as hard as we can to get everybody ready to go. I’ve seen plenty of Jarrett in practice. I see him every day. I’ve seen him for two years. I’m confident that I understand where Jarrett is at in his development."

So what does Belichick see in Stidham's development? In May Belichick said, "know he’s working hard in the offseason. I know he’s made a lot of progress in terms of understanding our offense and understanding opponent defenses..." flash forward to December, where Belichick spoke about his quarterback.

Mark Daniels wrote in early December, "When he was asked if he believed Stidham was “still an ascending player,” Belichick said, “Yes.” He added that the 2019 fourth-round pick has built good habits, fundamentals and gained more knowledge in the Patriots’ system this season." 

So Belichick thought Stidham was leaps ahead of where he should be after the 2019 season and then said he's improved in 2020 and is still improving. Sounds like Belichick thinks Stidham is trending in the right direction, although his play in garbage time says otherwise. Remember stats don't tell the full story but that's what a lot of people are going off of.

Now back to how all this ties into why Belichick refused to start Stidham. Belichick is always doing what's gonna help the team win. With three games left, the Patriots season was all but over with. I think most people can agree with that, as their odds of making the playoffs were very slim.

Ask yourself this. If a coach has three games left with no chance of making the playoffs and they have a franchise quarterback, does the head coach continue to play them or does the coach bench them, so that they don't get hurt? A good coach would probably save them for next year majority of the time, right? Now what if that franchise quarterback was in development all season, would the coach risk injuring them to start in place of the bridge quarterback? Most likely not, am I wrong?

Now, let's go back to what we know. Belichick wanted to sit or redshirt Stidham in 2020, and the Patriots signed Cam Newton because "you don't sign Cam Newton unless he's starting". Belichick does whatever it takes to win, and winning in 2021 means making sure his starting quarterback for 2021 doesn't get hurt by starting the last three games of the 2020 season. A season which the team has already lost and the remaining games mean nothing.

Thus it made sense for Stidham to play as little as possible during the final three games, IF Stidham was the projected starter in 2021. Letting Stidham play a little bit against Buffalo in garbage time allowed Bill to give his quarterback some experience against a good defense in preparation for the 2021 season, and why Stidham didn't play against the Jets in week 17.

So when people like Evan Lazar bring up the fact that there's a chance that Stidham could start, it's possible, And when everyone questions why Belichick didn't make the switch at the end of the season for Stidham, there is another scenario besides the one where Jarrett Stidham sucks because he looked like Cam Newton throwing the football, during his garbage time play. 

That other possibility is the scenario I laid out before you. That Belichick planned for life after Tom, and that the scenario everyone's talking about in 2021 with Mac Jones and a bridge quarterback, Bill Belichick did that in 2020 with Stidham and Newton. Keep an open mind and remember "In Bill We Trust!"

As Conor Carney says, "the only certain about Bill Belichick is that nothing is certain." So if you're dealing in certainty that there's no chance Jarrett Stidham starts in 2021, remember majority of us said the same thing about AB signing with the Patriots or Tom Brady leaving. How'd that work for us? Stop confusing improbability with certainty.