Harrison makes comment on Newton that many were saying in August about the 2020 season.

Former safety and NFL great Rodney Harrison thinks it would be a mistake for the Patriots to re-sign Cam Newton. Harrison works with NBC and played fifteen years in the NFL, six with the Patriots during their defensive lead dynasty in the early 2000s.

Harrison was recently on with Tom Curran and was asked about the idea of Belichick giving Newton a second year. 

Harrison said, "That would be the worst decision Bill has ever made because now you're not being fair to your team. When I saw what I saw with Cam, every time I saw Cam pretty much I was hurt. Because I was a guy that believed in Cam, and when you see him drop back and he continues to throw the ball into the ground, throw it five feet or five yards above somebody else, you're like 'What are you doing, Cam?' 

You have to find a quarterback. It would be a terrible mistake for Bill Belichick to bring Cam back because Cam can't play football anymore. He just can't play quarterback in the National Football League," Harrison said with conviction.

I am glad Harrison brought up accuracy issues with Cam but it wasn't just on incompletions. Newton would put the ball in bad placement on completions as well. Throwing jump balls on screens, putting the ball at back shoulders, ect. 

Josh McDaniels was criticized for not opening the playbook but after the loss to Houston, Ryan Hannable said basically the same thing. 

Hannable said, "Newton cannot make simple throws, so why would the team feel comfortable letting him loose and allow him to do more? Sure some will hit, but it's not something sustainable."

Hannable would go on to add, "Furthermore, Newton struggled to identify and handle the blitz." Hannable wasn't done there saying, " In sum, the Patriots offense is getting held back by Newton in certain instances, but given potential options this offseason it’s quite possible the quarterback returns for a second season in New England."

In December after the Dolphins game, Evan Lazr gave Newton praise where it was due but followed with, "However, he’s also hurting the offense in some instances with poor timing on his throws and isn’t maximizing opportunities that present themselves."

Cam Newton should potential in his first two games running all over the Miami Dolphins week one, and Passing all over the Seahawks in week two. Although the Patriots would make second half adjustments, the first half versus the Raiders in week three was a sign of things to come.

Joe Julius of the football Film room wrote, "Despite Newton’s improvements from the pocket in recent years, he is still inconsistent due to this lack of precision to his game. You can get away with that at times as a quarterback. But in those key moments where defenses dial up more disguises and blitz pressure, the small details of playing the position (footwork, mechanics, timing, ball placement, etc.) matter more. Newton doesn’t always exhibit these. In Week 6, it resulted in a lackluster offensive performance."

Evan Lazar and several writers or analysts started saying after the Denver game that Coaches tape showed Newton had guys open but wasn't seeing them. Lazar at one point went on to say, " Macro issue the Patriots don't have enough at receiver, Micro issue there's definitely mistakes that Cam is making out there."

Darren Hartwell of NBC after watching game footage to that point of the season said the following after the loss to the 49ers. This was in response to Newton not throwing to the right. Hartwell said, "What's going on here? Is Newton favoring the left side of the field due to a mechanical issue in his throwing motion..."

How does a quarterback hit open pass catchers if they're not throwing to one side of the field? This is just an example to show Newton missing open pass catchers.

YouTube video content creator YaBoySavage, did a video showing three plays versus Buffalo. In the video he acknowledges the Patriots pass catchers aren't the best but says even with Greg Olsen, that "the 2020 Patriots are better than the 15-1 Panthers team that Newton played on." He goes on to show film that shows guys open and poor accuracy, timing, and mechanics by Cam.

See the video https://youtu.be/VQSyuSlJLaY

However majority of Newton's flaws was something we've all known since Camp when Tom Curran was saying "nobody separated themselves apart in the quarterback competition", and Boomer Esiason was saying, "The bottom line is Stidham got hurt, Cam got in there and they are paying him no money whatsoever. I don’t think he’s that accurate on third down. I think if he turns the football over that is when a change could come.” 

Some in Patriots nation just chose to ignore it, attacking those who criticized Cam as either unintelligent, racist or both. Sometimes these statements were true and somewhere unjustified insults because people didn't have tunnel vision of 2015 Cam Newton.

On September 3rd, in my article 'Cam Newton Declared The Starter For Now.' I wrote the following statement.

"Newton would see more reps but as several writers acknowledged, Newton was inconsistent and inaccurate. Newton wasn't pulling a head and the two quarterbacks stayed even in play. Newton's worst day saw him complete 46% of 28 passes. Newton showed some reason for concern, as he had several dropped interceptions and was made to do a lap for lack of ball security.

Belichick dragged the competition out hoping that one of his two quarterbacks would eventually run away with the job. Even with Newton getting more reps, that didn't happen. Hence, Belichick had to name a starter with only days before week one."

It look looked more and more like Belichick's hand was forced as the season went on.

Tom Curran and Boomer Esiason weren't the only ones to criticize Cam Newton's passing ability as Evan Lazar went on to say, "7 on 7 drills, accuracy and so on isn't Newton's game. His game is running around, beating you with his legs and arms strength."

Look, I am sure if people go through the hundreds of articles from the quarterback competition that we'll find many saying that Newton was a good athlete but subpar passer. 

It's funny how so many people were criticized, insulted, and ignored for saying Cam wasn't the guy, including a few former Patriots like Rich Ohrnberger, who gave reason to think 2020 could've been a redshirt year for Stidham. Yet Rodney Harrison comes out and says "it would be a mistake" to roll with Newton in 2021 and everyone pays attention. Guess some former Patriots have more pull than others.