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.