Five things a quarterback must have the ability to do.

There are many things a quarterback needs to be able to do by the time they reach the pro level. Call me old fashioned but I believe there are four things they must be able to do well, even if they don't like doing them and they're all tied together.

The first thing is the ability to read a defense both before and after the snap. Knowing of it's man or zone, picking up the blitzer, and a  various of other tasks. 

Then comes to game manage. Making adjustments if need be. Paying attention to the clock and running the play given. Avoiding turnovers and taking what the defense is giving them.

Followed by the ability to dink and dunk. Picking up a handful of yards here or there in short to intermediate passes. Letting the pass catchers get y.a.c. yardage. Quarterbacks like Big Ben hate the style of play but it made him a better quarterback. Some quarterbacks spend so much time throwing the long ball that they can barely throw it short with any kind of accuracy.

A quarterback needs to be able to throw the ball forty yards. Not every quarterback needs to have Drew Bledsoe's arm. Chad Pennington and Jim Harbaugh didn't have the longest deep ball but could still get the ball over a defense's head. 

Both the dink and dunk, and the 40 yard passing game are part of game managing. It's part of taking what's there and secondary skill of being able to scramble for a few yards on occasion can also be included.

There's a bonus fifth thing that I forgot. The ability to see the field. If a quarterback doesn't see them, the ball will never get to them.. They spend their time throwing to covered pass catchers or scrambling and giving the pass catchers a bad reputation, when the blame actually falls to them.

The Patriots have decisions to make at the quarterback position. Whether it's draft a quarterback, trade for Jimmy Garoppolo,  or ride with Newton, Stidham, and Dolegada. Who ever the quarterback is, they must be able to do all the things mentioned above at a top thirty two caliber level.

Stidham and Dolegada are still in development, Newton's in decline, and Garoppolo cannot stay healthy. The only rookie I have confidence in being able to do all the above consistently either 2021 or 2022 is Mac Jones. 

Of the guys who've been in the league, it's Jimmy because I believe the offensive line can keep him healthy. Followed by Newton and Stidham, who are basically the same guy when it comes to passing ability. Again one's in development, the other's in decline. People don't have to agree but I don't have faith in last year's quarterbacks having the ability to game manage or dink and dunk. 

There's too many red flags. Newton's not 2018 Cam and Stidham isn't 2017 Stiddy. Hell Garoppolo not even the same guy the Patriots got rid of, so draft and start Jones.

Patriots'and 49ers' brass getting cozy in Alabama

The Patriots reported had Jimmy Garoppolo as plan A going into the offseason. The 49ers have been adamant about not trading Garoppolo but then went out and traded up to the number three spot. The Patriots said they weren't trading for Garoppolo and then are seen buddy it up with 49ers personal at the Alabama pro day. 

It's not just anyone buddying up, it was Belichick, McDaniels, Lynch and Shanahan. Both the Patriots and the 49ers have their eyes on Mac Jones. There's other players to watch from Alabama but both teams are in need of a quarterback. There's still ways for the 49ers and Patriots to get a deal done. The 49ers saved the patriots money few years back by cutting Hoyer. They could do it again.

There's still moves the teams could make, including a N'keal Harry trade. If there's a way to work it so the 49ers get paid and the Patriots get Garoppolo on the low it will happen. Maybe Harry and a fifth for a sixth. Then cutting Garoppolo. It's just one of many ideas. 

Harry is a former number one who's not developing in the Patriots system but could turn things around in San Francisco. Harry has this season and next, so he's still worth a third at this moment.

Steven A. Smith even floated a Garoppolo for Newton trade idea. For me I don't care how good Newton can run thr ball if he cannot dink and dunk. Jimmy's made of glass and Newton's arm is dead. I'd bet on the Patriots offensive line over Newton's arm.  So I like it kinda but more would have to be involved.

Whatever the case,  where there's smoke, there's fire, and there's a lot of smoke coming from the Alabama proday. What are they up to is anyone's guess but somethings a brewing. Even if it fizzles out.

Why I can say Newton needs to move the ball and defend the pass catchers at the same time.

I've explained my thoughts on the Patriots pass catchers many times. Yet I still get questioned. Supporting cast can be divided three ways, maybe even four but the more it's divided, the better it is for the pass catchers.

1) by thirds, Good-average-bad. Which means every 10.6 is a new ranking. 2) By fourths, good-above average-below average-bad. Every 8 spots is a new ranking. 3) By fifths, Good-above average-average-below average- bad. Every 6.4 spots is a new ranking. 

The Patriots supporting cast were ranked 17th in 2019. They dropped to 22nd in 2020. They were never in the "bad" category, below average but never bad. They played out of their levels at times. Izzo a number two tight end playing as a number 1 was a decent blocker and a top 50 pass catching right end.

The supporting cast as a unit had one of the best true catch percentages and were ranked 3rd in target separation. While at best only 70% of the passes thrown to them were catchable.

I saw too many games where guys were open and the quarterbacks made bad decisions or threw the ball to their bubble at best. To many high, wide, short, or behind passes. I started defending the pass catchers after the Denver game because I had seen enough to know the problem wasn't on them, they were playing at about the same level they played at in 2019.

The quarterbacks weren't playing at the same level. Brady in 2019 played at a 14th to 17th ranked level. While his accuracy or ball placement was slipping he was still accurate getting the ball to where it needed to be for the most part.

Newton was the best quarterback in 2020 for the Patriots, ranking someplace between 27th and 32nd. Unlike Brady, Newton's running ability aided in his rankings. Looking at analytics, Cam was in the backup ranks for many, if not majority of "passing" categories. Hoyer, and Stidham were worse but to be expected, they played less.

Tonight I defended Cam, while at the same time criticizing him. I said "We were hard on Cam because the Patriots didn't put six on the board enough. That Cam doesn't need to throw 20 touchdowns if the running game can make up the difference. All Cam needs to do is move the ball down field." 

I was quickly met with a question about the pass catchers. My answer to how Cam can do it with the pass catchers from 2020 is get them the ball when they're open and put it where it needs to be and not to their bubbles. I put majority of the blame for the lack of production by the pass catchers on Newton when he was on the field, at least 75%.

There were arguements made before and during the season that a few rankings ahead didnt matter much when it came to Newton's ability compared to other guys. Whether it was comparing his 2018 stats to Brady's or whomever. 

That same arguement can be made about the 2019 and 2020 supporting cast of the Patriots, 5 spots while staying in the below average category doesn't make much difference.

The Patriots are still gonna call Dink and Dunk plays, we saw many times, whether it was Buffalo, Arizona or whomever that Newton struggled with short range accuracy. It wasn't just once or a handful of times. Newton whether it's his mechanics or lack of abilities, struggled with short passes. I have no faith that he can be counted on to throw short passes consistently.

The Patriots might add more down field throws but the dink and dunk will still be the bread and butter because the supporting cast is still built for a short to intermediate passing game. Even if they become a more RPO offense.

So when Newton has the opportunity to move the ball on a 3-5 yard dump off, he must take it instead if holding on to the ball. Throwing the ball to a covered pass catcher, throwing the ball poorly so the pass catchers cannot get Y.A.C., or scrambling for up to a three yard gain. 

My criticism and defense of Newton tonight were just. Newton as a passer, must be at least a top 32 across the board in every category or Newton better be a top 5 runner against the likes of Shaquan Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and other running backs. Because honestly, his legs don't matter if he cannot be counted on to complete a pass when needed. 

I said last year and I'll say it again. Tyrod Taylor would have more success in New England than Cam because while similar, his playstyle and mentality is different on the field. Newton is an aggressive gunslinger and Taylor is more of a conservative dink and dunk quarterback. Newton needs to play like Taylor in 2021.

The only way Cam Newton can take credit for any production increase as a passer is if he's a top eight quarterback.

There are 32 teams in the NFL. If we divided the teams by Good, average, and bad, there would be 10.6 teams of each. There would be 1 team on the cusp of being good and another on the cusp of being bad. Same with their supporting casts. 

The Patriots supporting cast according to playerprofiler.com in 2019 was ranked 17th. That's clearly in the average range. In 2020, the supporting cast was ranked 22nd. In that still below average on the verge of being bad range. They had one of the highest true catch percentages as a group and were ranked 3rd in target separation.

What hurt the supporting cast's production and kept them from being higher was their quarterbacks. Depending on which site we look at, Tom Brady was between 14-17 in ranking in 2019. He jumped to top 5 in 2020. Newton in 2020 was ranked between 27-32. Depending on the site. With majority of his passing analytics falling between 32 and 40.

Both quarterbacks had new playbooks, Terminology and systems to run. Neither had a full offseason. Cam admitted to not knowing the play at the line of scrimmage and started playing bad week 3, one whole week prior to covid. After beating up on the worst option stopping defense and the worst pass stopping defense. 

The Raiders were bad at stopping both. Newton had a terrible first half versus the Raiders and was bailed out by his running backs in the second half because he didn't improve. He looked like Jarrett Stidham that game. Thay wasn't the only time during the 2020 season when Newton looked like Stidham. In fact outside of three or 4 games, Newton looked like Stidham most of the seaaon.

The Patriots tight ends struggled. Izzo held his own as a blocker and put up top 64 tight end stats, trying to be a number one because he was playing above his pay grade as a number one, when he's clearly a number two. The Patriots fixed this by signing Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry, shipping the best tight end they had over the last two years off to Houston with their former director of player personnel.

The Patriots brought in two receivers to bolster the depth chart. The Patriots have themselves set up for a run heavy playaction dink and dunk offense. They are still interested in Jimmy Garoppolo who is their plan A. If plan A falls through, they have Cam. 

Of course there reason to think Cam will put up better stats in 2021. He'll of Stidham plays, there's reason to think he'll have better stats because the talent around them is better. So any improvements in production will be a due to the new weapons and not because the 2020 quarterbacks are any good. Did you know if Nathan Peterman played on both the 2020 and 2021 Patriots, he'd be likely to put up better production this season?

Newton's going to have better numbers by default. So how much better does Cam Newton's production have to be for it to be him and not Bourne, Agholor, Smith, Henry, and a healthy Edelman? 

Brady would've put up the same stats in 2020 that he put up in 2019 had he stayed. Because the cast was average. The Patriots significantly upgraded the supporting cast and still have the draft. There's no way anyone can give credit to Newton for improved production if he doesn't at least make the top ten, if not top eight.

The Patriots are going to run a play action heavy Brady offense in 2021

Jimmy Garoppolo was reportedly plan A and the Patriots are still pursuing him. Which gives reason to think that the Patriots are gonna try to run a heavy play action version of the Brady two tight end offense. Especially when they refused to get away from the Brady dink and dunk offense in 2020.

Cam Newton ran the Brady offense that was modified with option runs because that was his strengths, to a 7-8 record. He had a dismal season as a passer but apparently there were reasons.

Newton came Into the season late. He didn't have time to learn the playbook, Terminology, or develop chemistry with the pass catchers.This season, if He's the starter, he'll have an entire offseason to get up to speed.

Newton's supporting cast, his weapons were ranked 22nd, in the below average but not yet garbage section. The new Patriots signings should move the supporting cast to at minimum an above average grade. 

Newton's not coming off injury and with the vaccine, he shouldn't have to worry about catching the virus that haunted the world in 2020.

The Patriots offense prior to free agency was built around dink and dunk play action and it still is. Newton was an emergency plan to help get free agents in the door. I have been hard on Newton because he looked like a backup passer and threw to guys bubbles, with bad ball placement. Especially on screens. 

Even though the Patriots still want Garoppolo, and are likely to take Mac Jones or Trey Lance, two guys who can run a west coast offense; the Patriots shouldn't be no worse than 7-9 with Newton running a play action heavy Brady offense again. 

Maybe I'm wrong and the Patriots switch up to a more boring RPO offense, and I spend the next decade bored of the Patriots offense. I'll get used to it. It's very possible but I still don't see it yet.

I was born in 80 and started watching football in the late 80s-early 90s during the golden age of dink and dunk football. I watched (figuratively) Drew Bledsoe throw 70 passes versus Minnesota. I watched Chad Pennington dink and dunk all over the Patriots as a Jet. Steve Walsh, Joe Montana, and Dave Krieg were some of my favorite quarterbacks along with the two guys previously mentioned. All dink and dunk quarterbacks. We all got spoiled with 20 years of great dink and dunk football thanks to Tom Brady. 

I've grown to hate the gunslinger offense, too risky and I am not a fan of modern running quarterback option offenses. Yet Tyrod Taylor is one of my favorite modern day quarterbacks, probably because he's more dink and dunk than other mobile quarterbacks 

The NFL evolves and like the generations of fans before us, dink and dunk fans must evolve or sound like bitter fans complaining the NFL has gone soft. However, I still believe that the 2021 Patriots will be a run heavy, play action dink and dunk offense.

The Patriots didn't build their offense for a mobile quarterback

The Patriots are still in on Jimmy Garoppolo going in to April. Yet the offense was supposed to be built to run a Baltimore RPO offense, or was it? It very much looks like the early Gronk-Hernandez Patriots roster.  So going after Garoppolo makes sense if the Patriots still wanna run a more Dink and Dunk play action offense. 

That leads to the draft. Unless the Patriots over pay, Garoppolo should only cost a third round pick and maybe a player. Thus the Patriots could still be in on a quarterback. 

With the Patriots still being interested in Garoppolo, that suggests that the Patriots want either a mobile pocket or west coast quarterback. 

At first glance that would appear to be Trey Lance but hold the phone. Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa gives reason to keep an eye on another quarterback.

“I would say he’s (Mac Jones) a sly kind of athletic person. He’s a more mobile Tom Brady. He’s very athletic, very smart too," Tua told Yahoo Sports.

When Tua compares him to Brady, it's the style of play he's talking about. Mel Kiper has basically said the same thing but what Tua is getting at is that teams have to pay attention to Mac Jones because if he wants to sneak out of the pocket he can. With the talent he had at Alabama, he didn't need to.

Now Lance's offense looked similar to the 49ers offense, which is why the 49ers will probably take him. He needs a little development time to pick up terminology among other things but he also seems to fit what the Patriots might be looking for.

Here's what Dylan Chappine, who compared Lance to Donovan McNabb had to say. "Overall, Lance is a dangerous dual-threat quarterback that has shown enough natural accuracy to feel good about him developing into a high-end starter in the right situation. I think Lance’s best fit would be in a West Coast offense that also takes advantage of his ability as a runner."

Now whomever is selected probably wont play in 2021 unless Cam Newton is the only real experienced veteran quarterback on the Patriots roster but that doesn't mean they won't see playing time. 

It's now very likely that the Patriots are looking to run a more mobile version of the Brady offense similar to what they ran in the early years of Gronk's career, instead of changing to a Baltimore, Auburn, Carolina RPO offense for Cam Newton and a rookie. If the Patriots were looking to be more of an RPO offense, they would've started implementing it in 2020.

Patriots Fans have right not to have faith In Cam Newton in 2021.

The patriots had the 22nd ranked supporting cast in 2020 and although they have not re-signed Rex Burkhead, with all the offensive additions, they should improve to at least the 17th ranked cast that they had in 2019. With that people are saying that Cam Newton is the shit and anyone who disagrees will eat their words. Wrong! If Cam Newton plays better, we won't eat our words because he'll finally of done something worthy of being the quarterback.

Depending on the site, Brady was ranked someplace between 14 and 17 in 2019 with the 17th ranked supporting cast. In 2020 Brady moved to the top 10, Newton depending on the site fell to between 27 and 32, while the supporting cast was ranked 22nd. In that average to below average range. 

Majority of Newton's passing stat rankings analytically were in the back up range from 35th to 40th. His legs kept him good enough to start. Both Newton and Brady had new teams, new playbooks and Terminology. Both Cam and Brady are former MVPs and Newton is a decade younger and a better athlete than Brady. 

With the 22nd ranked supporting cast who had one of the highest true catch percentages and was ranked 3rd in target separation, Newton should've matched Closer to Brady's 2019 passing stats. That falls on him and not his cast.

Also versus the Raiders Newton started to decline, prior to covid. That was after only putting up 75 in the ground versus the week 1 Dolphins who couldn't stop the run and seattle who couldn't stop the pass. The raiders couldn't stop either.

In the first half versus the Raiders Newton went three and out twice, threw and interception, drove down for two field goal drives and a touchdown drive. He went 10 of 19 with a touchdown, interception, and a sack. 3 for 8 yards on the ground. And would finish the game. He would finish the game going 17 of 28 for 162 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception, getting sacked twice and only rushing 9 times for 27 yards.

That's prior to covid. He went down hill in week three, thus eliminating 4 excuses, weapons, new system, lack of offseason, and covid being the reasons why he played bad.

Newton did not play up to a starting level quality quarterback. So fans are not over reacting and they won't eat their words for saying they have no faith in him. If Newton plays well, he will finally of done something worthy of being a starting quarterback in a Patriots uniform. At the moment, he has done nothing in a Patriots uniform to say otherwise.

Patriots are interested in Fields

The Patriots are reportedly heavily interested in Justin Fields. On paper based on numbers, he looks good. When I wrote my top quarterback prospects list back in January, he finished behind Mac Jones who scored an 88.5, and Fields score of 87.5 that was enough to put him ahead of Dustin Crum 86.7 who returned to school, Trevor Lawrence who scored an 84.2 and Zac Wilson and Kyle Trask who scored an 80.4 and 80.2. I was shocked that Lawrence didn't make the number one spot on my list with all the talk about him. Link: http://vicariouslypatriots.blogspot.com/2021/01/temo.html

The problem is Fields had a lot of concerns when I read his scouting reports. Film and game play don't always agree with numbers and show things that numbers don't, that was evident in the scouting reports. I wrote an article that "Belichick could be playing Russian Roulette if he drafts Fields". Link: https://vicariouslypatriots.blogspot.com/2021/01/belichick-could-be-playing-russian.html

The article was my report in fields. What I had found was that Fields can be accurate and hit timing routes but throws to bubbles too often instead of putting the ball where it needs be. That although he has good strength, he has the ability to throw touch passes but he relies on his strength when he shouldn't. 

He has the ability to be elusive in the pocket but his pocket awareness is bad. He freezes and takes sacks or gets nervous and runs when he shouldn't.

Fields has good vision going through his reads but he's got the gunslinger mindset, always looking for the big play when he could be taking advantage of the dink and dunk and moving the chains. He has a habit of locking on to his first read and not looking off the safeties.

Fields is accurate on short to intermediate but accuracy fades when he goes longer. Many of his deep throws were from broken plays.

His gunslinger mentality gets him in trouble. Relying on his arm strength, he forces the ball into tight windows or to covered pass catchers, while other guys down the progression are open. This is also because he locks on to his first read too often. Again he needs to learn to take what the defenses give him and Dink and Dunk, like an intelligent passer.

Fields is more of a finesse runner, at least compared to Cam Newton. He needs to learn he's not gonna bull people over and learn to slide and save himself for another play. He can throw on the run, so defenses will need to account for him on the move which should allow him theoretically to throw the ball to open guys but accuracy of the throws will come into question.

The good news is Fields is very coachable. The bad is he gets lazy at times and it shows in his accuracy on tape. His decision making can be questionable. He's got all the potential to be a top pick but his consistency and work ethic on the field hurt his value. 

His footwork is said to be sloppy at times, throwing from the wrong stants and his throwing mechanics could be tighter. He's a lot like Cam Newton in this aspect as well.

Fields can line up under center and he has the ability to read a defense pre snap. He's also shown he can be a leader in the locker room but he's also shown he needs a lot of work and should not start year one and possibly not year two.

There were three names that I saw in comparison when I wrote my initial report on Fields. The ceiling name was DeShaun Watson, the floor name was Ryan Tannihill, and the in between name was Dak Prescott. 

Fields reads to me has a high risk, high reward, younger version of Cam Newton which is scary because without Newtons legs and deep ball, Newton is a backup quarterback. Fields, has the ability to have his problems fixed and be able to developed into the dink and dunk quarterback the Patriots need and want.

With his aggressive style, Jimmy Garoppolo or Tyrod Taylor would be mentors than Newton, to calm him down and show him how to play conservatively. If he was overtly cautious, then Newton would be a better mentor but Newton displays all the bad habits the Patriots will need to fix with Fields.  Not a good pairing. I believe fields could fall unless a team believes they can fix his problems but could he fall to 15 or would the Patriots need to trade up?

Why are the Patriots interested in Garoppolo, while having Cam?

It came out this offseason that the New England Patriots were interested in bringing back Jimmy Garoppolo, with the Boston Sports Journal saying that's who the Patriots want as their guy. Since then they have re-signed Cam Newton but the Patriots are still after Jimmy Garoppolo.

Everyone and their mother has said that if the 49ers move from Garoppolo, that it won't be until they make their draft selection on day one. In late January, early February it came out that the 49ers didn't trust Garoppolo as the starter. 

The Patriots built a team and are a quarterback away from being good. Well that's if you don't believe that Cam Newton is a starting quality passer. Newton fans are puzzled why the Patriots are still interested in Garoppolo. Yet before Cam, they were making the case that the Patriots should re-sign Cam as an Insurance policy to lure in free agents until they get a quarterback.

Now that we know the Newton bandwagon has reverted, since he was brought back. Let me ask them, isn't it possible that the Patriots did what they said and that's why they brought Cam Newton back? 

Many of the bandwagon will say Garoppolo's barely an upgrade. Admitting that he is an upgrade. Garoppolo is a "dink and dunk" quarterback and Newton isn't, correct? That's what the Patriots have ran for the last 20 years, and what they wanted Cam to be in 2020. 

Is it not possible that alone makes Garoppolo a superior quarterback, strictly as a passer if they're solely looking for a "dink and dunk" guy? 

Also, in January and early February of 2020, the Patriots reportedly admitted they wanted to develop Stidham for another year. The Newton fan base swore up and down that Newton's signing guaranteed him the start because "you don't sign Cam Newton to be the Backup!" 

So is it not possible that as a bridge quarterback, Cam did not do what the Patriots expected of him as a mentor to Stidham and don't trust him fully to mentor a younger quarterback, Regardless, of Stidham's talent level? Of course it's possible, the real question is, is it true? That we don't know. However, we must keep an open mind. 

We trust Belichick to make the right decisions and if he's aggressively pursuing Garoppolo, it says a lot about the style quarterback he wants and what he thinks of Cam Newton. Belichick must be careful not to turn off the 49ers by pushing to hard, or the Niners could keep him out a spite. While the offense could be built for a gun slinging mobile quarterback, but it's also built for a game managing dink and dunker.

Lack of faith in the Patriots quarterbacks, makes the signings meaningless atm

The Patriots are having one of their best off seasons in years. Loading the offense with guys like Trent Brown and Hunter Henry. Last year I wanted Hunter Henry but this offseason, I'm just like "meh". 

In 2020, I was excited for the quarterback competition. Up until Stidham got injured. I read reports saying basically that Cam looked like the superstar he was expected to be and then I read reports saying nobody was doing anything to pull ahead. After watching Stidham and Newton play, I definitely believe the latter. 

I looked forward to the week one game versus  Miami and went into the season giving Cam a chance to earn my approval.  I wasn't impressed with the offense week one. I knew the Dolphins couldn't stop the option play, so I expected a massive blow out. The won but it wasn't dominant. 

Week two, I liked that the Patriots were throwing more but walked away thinking Newton was leaving guys open and that his accuracy still wasn't on point, although his completion percentage was high. That while everyone was saying resign, I was saying he needed to still prove himself and the offense had room for improvement.  

Week 3 Cam feel apart in the first half and the team although they ran well, failed to throw for the amount of yards they should've.

Entering week 4, I figured Hoyer would game manage the offense and the Patriots would win. When Stidham came in, I was actually excited to see him play and that excitement carried until Edelman caused a pick six.

I was excited  and looking forward to week 5 until the league moved the game. People can say what they want but the league moved the game so that the ratings wouldn't drop without Cam. When the game got moved I lost the excitement for it. 

There were only two other times I got excited during the 2020 season.  The rest of the season I was meh. The run game was ok but I hated the passing game and what I saw, the problem wasn't with the playcalling or pass catchers but the quarterbacks and their piss poor passing ability. 

Mac Jones is about the only move I could actually get excited for. I like Garoppolo and Tyrod Taylor but they don't wow me. At the moment, if Edelman goes down in 2021 or doesn't play, I have little interest in the offense. I have no faith in their ability to pass the ball and dont like the style of offense Newton supposedly needs to run to be successful. 

So whole everyone is celebrating, I'm like I'll celebrate when I see that Cam can dink and dunk successfully and put the ball where it should be and not in the bubble of his pass catchers.

What offense the Patriots run, depends on What they do at quarterback.

There is a division in Patriots Nation over what the Patriots are doing with the roster build. The Patriots tried to run a modified version of the Brady Dunk and Dunk offense in 2020 but it was not compatible with Cam Newton and the pass catchers suffered. The Patriots pass catchers were ranked 17th in 2019 and fell to 22 in 2020. Still in that average to below average range. 

The Patriots signed Jonnu Smith, an inline tight end who can be moved around. They also signed move tight end Hunter Henry. Adding to their receiving core, they signed Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne. Both are Z receivers capable of playing anywhere. 

Mike Giardi tweeted, “One NFC scout said to me that Kendrick Bourne is Jakobi Meyers, only more expensive. Not a big run after the catch guy.”

With Agholor, the common thing I was seeing was everytime there was talk of replacing him, Philip Dorsett's name was always on the list. One person referred to Agholor as "a more explosive Dorsett."

It's hard to say what the Patriots are trying to build but the receivers suggest a more pocket passing Brady system. The tight ends are the tricky part. As they're both on the taller side for pass catchers. It was reported that Jimmy Garoppolo was their plan A at quarterback. There's still very much the possibility that he can be. If the 49ers get their quarterback, they might be willing to part with Garoppolo for the Patriots third.

What type of offense the Patriots run depends on if they're able to get a better pocket passer or not. If the Patriots can get Jimmy Garoppolo ot Mac Jones, then it will be a Brady style offense, if not It may look more like one of the Panthers offenses at best. Some think the Patriots will need to trade up, I don't think so but It all depends on how they rank this years draft class. Let's just hope it's not the 2016 or 2017 Panthers offense, if the Patriots run a more friendly offense for Newton.

Jonnu Smith, Newest Patriots Tight End

The Patriots made a plethora of moves on Monday. Filling many team needs. The biggest impact they might have made was signing Jonnu Smith. Many consider this a steal but who is Jonnu Smith. If you don't watch anything but Patriots football, you might not know.

Smith is a 6'3" 248 pound tight end who played college ball for FIU before getting drafted by the Tennessee Titans. In college, Smith lined up in both the Half back and fullback positions. He lined up as the H-back, as the U-tight end, and as the inline blocking tight end.

Smith used his 4.62 forty time and 7.32 three cone to create havoc on defenses. He was most dangerous lining up as a receiver from the slot or outside pass catcher. The cons against him coming out of college was that he wasn't a great blocker and guys would easily get bye him, drops, that he wouldn't finish plays, and was raw. Smith also had an injury history in college, one of his injuries being a torn ACL. The projections I found had Smith getting drafted between the third and fourth rounds. 

His college stat line read as followed. 178 reception for 2001 yards with 18 touchdowns. 1 carry for 5 yards, and 1 kickoff return for no yards.

The Titans thought that it was good enough to draft him in round 3 of the 2017 draft. The Titans developed him behind Delaine Walker, and appeared to fix his flaws. In 2018 Smith suffered a season ending MCL injury. In 2020, Smith also missed time for an ankle and knee injury.

Heading into the wildcard weekend in January 2020, Belichick talked about Smith. Here is Bill Belichick's January 2020 scouting report of Smith.

Belichick said, “He’s just a really good tight end, can do a lot of things. Blocks well, runs well, is a good receiver. Played him at tailback, he looked pretty good back there. He’s a very athletic player. Hard to tackle. Catches the ball well. (He’s) great after the catch, probably the best in the league. I mean, I can’t imagine anyone better than him after the catch.”

Over his NFL career, Smith has the following stat line. 114 catches on 169 targets, for 1302 yards and 16 touchdowns. 12 broken tackles and 8 drops. 82 yards and 1 touchdown on 6 carries. With 1 kickoff return for 16 yards, probably on an onside but I don't know for certain.

The Patriots have been looking for a chess piece that can play all over the board since Gronk retired in 2019. While shorter than Gronkowski, they may have finally found their answer, signing Smith to a four year, fifty million dollar contract. With having two inline blocking tight ends in Izzo and Asiasi, and two H-Backs in Keene and Vatile, the Patriots now are fully loaded at tight end. With the ability to run. Two, three, four, and even five tight end sets. 

The tight ends behind Smith are sure to have to battle their way to stay on the roster with all the receiver signings the Patriots have made. Competition normally breeds success and with how dismal the Patriots tight ends have been the past two seasons, the tight ends should improve to keep their jobs. 

The biggest worry now is can Cam Newton return to form or will he continue to hurt his pass catchers production and development for a second straight season. No pass catcher in New England could've succeeded with the quarterback play in 2020. Even the Patriots best pass catcher Jakobi Meyers couldn't find the endzone in 2020. Meyers will surely regress a little statistically in 2021, with the addition of Smith. Question is Will Smith regress due to the Patriots quarterbacks?

Wanna heal the Newton division, Ease the Concerns around him.

There are concerns surrounding Cam Newton, free agency, development, and production of the supporting cast and any backup quarterbacks the Patriots might have in 2021. I am going to list them, these are real concerns about Cam, unlike those who are hating on him because he's not Brady or due to the color of his skin.

The style or system of offense. The Patriots offense for the most part is a quick pass, dink and dunk offense. It's designed for accuracy. Many, many fans still want this style of offense and are not fans of the gunslinger style of play. Although the Patriots modified the Brady playbook and added option runs, they expected Newton to be able to run the plays called. They expected him to be able to throw short passes. Newton needs a playbook with a simple route tree. Deep posts, deep slants, deep wheel, deep curls, and streak/go routes, with nothing short or intermediate. 

Not exactly routes for slot or flanker receivers, or anyone who makes their money escaping into the flats. Which is how the Patriots offense is constructed. Newton needs different talent. He needs tall, fast, X-Receivers with leaping ability and large wingspans. Not flankers, slots, ends, or backs. Look at the size of the pass catchers in Carolina.

Newton takes too long on deciding whether to hand the ball off or keep it. He also hangs on to the ball too long, allowing defenders time to beat the blockers. This can kill a production value and development of pass catchers, running backs, and blockers.

Newton's ball placement is bad. He throws the ball to the pass catchers' area, to their bubble. That one, hurts production because it's not where it should be most of the time. And two, hurts development because they're too busy trying to make circus catches, instead of picking up Y.A.C. Izzo is 6'5" and Harry is 6'4", how many times did the pass go soaring above their heads or be at least a foot out of arms length? 

Newton also struggles to throw short passes, ball placement is really horrible in that area. That's the area slot, tight ends, and backs work. There was a screen versus Buffalo if memory serves, where he threw the ball way to high, and white couldn't get the yards after catch that he should've. 

His vision is bad. Newton doesn't tend to look under 10 yards, or outside the hashes. So either any routes short, on the outside, or both, he's not seeing them because he's looking for the big play deep and down the middle. Shrinking the field and giving the advantage to the defense. One can blame it on injuries, opt outs, coaching, and departures but under Cam Newton, the supporting cast's production value dropped from 17th in 2019 to22nd in 2020.

Plus Newton's arm strength has come into question. Separation may have played a part in it but Cam was spiking the ball into the ground, and the Patriots weren't throwing it deep. Why, when his accuracy deep was good? Besides Byrd, the Patriots had guys throughout the season with a 4.4 or better  coming and going on their practice squad. Yet they chose to stay with the shorter route guys. Stubbornness or lack of trust in Newton's arm?

Newton was forgetting the play at the line of scrimmage when he should be reading the defense and seeing if anyone is gonna have their guy beat, or making adjustments. That hurts the entire offense's development and production. He could've occasionally audibled but didn't, probably out of fear of getting benched.

He might be a good leader but his approach to his job has to come into question. Studying techniques he might pass down. Pointers he could give to improve the play of his backups. Most young quarterbacks try to emulate the starter a head of them. As a passer, nobody can say that Stidham didn't look a little too much like Newton in 2020, compared to his preseason performance in 2019. 

If it was 2015 Cam, that might not be an issue but Stidham looked like a 2020 Cam Clone when throwing the ball. Stidham's got his own issues, he didn't need to learn any bad habits from Newton. What Stidham needed was pointers on how not to be scared in the pocket, not examples of bad play.

Free agents are going to look at all this. Some might blame it on circumstances, knowing all three quarterbacks the Patriots fielded were in bad positions in 2020. Not all will, the question is what percentile. 

Newton hurt production and development of the guys around him, regardless of which reason I listed above. Regardless of what reason or excuse is given. There's no denying that. 

That's why he's so adamantly defended the guys around him, saying "the answers in the locker room". Newton knew a lot of his pass catchers problems were because of him. One can assume he knew he was a bad example for Stidham on the field. He definitely felt pressure  late in the season of getting benched for Stidham, especially after praising his development earlier after the charger game.

How many free agents are going to wanna come play with Newton, how many are going to wanna get paid if they gotta play with Newton, and how many are going to view playing with Newton as career damaging after 2020 and decided to pass? On top of that, how much are Newton's issues going to hurt development and production of the supporting cast in 2021? These are all questions the Patriots face. 

The Patriots can tell free agents that Cam is an insurance policy but they're looking to improve the position. At the end of the day, the Patriots are taking just as big a gamble on Newton, as any player agreeing to play with the Patriots in 2021. They know this, question is do they believe he problems are worth the risk or do they feel they have no choice. Newton's contract says he had no other options, is the same true for the Patriots?

Those unhappy with Cam re-signing are fans of Dink and Dunk offenses.

The Patriots re-signed Cam Newton. Some people are upset with it because of how bad of a passer he was in 2020 and blame him for the pass catchers going from 17th ranked to 22nd, while others blame Josh McDaniels for calling the same high accuracy timing route dink and dunk offense he ran for years with Brady.

I am one of those who hated watching Cam Newton in 2020. Newton looked slow making decisions on the option runs, he also looked slow as a runner. However, I didn't mind him as much as a runner because I thought that aspect was missing from the Patriots game offense under Brady.Where I had an issue with Cam is he is a mobile gunslinger. 

I grew up watching guys like Dave Kreig, Steve Walsh, Chad Pennington, and Joe Montana. In the modern era I have liked to watch guys like Colt McCoy, Trent Edwards, and Tyrod Taylor, while wanting the Patriots to draft guys like Mike White, Ryan Finley, and Seth Lobato to replace Brady.

These are "Dink and Dunk" quarterbacks. Guys who made their money of throwing passes of 10 yards or less, with a lot of them coming out of the backfield. They would manage the game eating up time on what essentially amounts to a three to five yard run. Relying on yards after the catch and waiting for the defense to come up and a guy to slip past them.

These guys run or ran a safe conservative offense where turnovers are kept to a minimum. Dink and dunk quarterbacks don't typically hit a lot of bombs or Hail Marys but as long as the offense is clicking, they typically can lead the team to a minimum of 3 points a drive. 

They also tend to eat up more clock, even on three and out plays drives, where as gun slingers are trying to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible to a guy sprinting 20-40 yards down field. Something that's helpful against teams with high powered offenses. Dink and dunk quarterbacks also tend to take less sacks because almost every target is a check down, unlike other offenses.

The NFL is a high scoring league, so anytime a team can avoid throwing interceptions or punting, it's beneficial. The average team has eight to ten possessions a game. If the quarterback can lead the team on at least one touchdown drive and three field goal drives, they can win as long as they eat up the clock and the defense plays well.

Patriots re-sign Newton.

The Patriots are taking a huge gamble. Not only are they risking the 2021 season but the development of their offensive players. Minutes after 8 a.m. Jim McBride announced that the Patriots we re-signing Cam Newton  on a one year deal. 

This is a bigger gamble than last season. As a passer Newton is on a backup level, barely better than Brian Hoyer and equal to Jarrett Stidham. The only benefit to his gane is Newton runs like an aged fullback. 

Its unclear how much the Patriots are signing Cam to, and unknown at the moment how bad this will hurt the Patriots' chances of signing free agent pass catchers. The 2020 Patriots were not built for Cam Newton, and the supporting cast ranking fell by 5 points. Largerly due to Newton. It's going to be interesting to see how the Patriots build the 2021 roster and if there's another quarterback competition in 2021.

Don't give up on Stidham, even if he's not plan A.

CBS sports thought Jarret Stidham was a first round draft pick prior to the 2018 college season. Even though the 2018 season was bad and many thought Stidham was a development project, Mel Kiper thought he was going to the Patriots in the second round., and would not make it past round three.

Prior to the 2019 NFL draft, Kiper said that Stidham was underrated and that "Tom Brady wasn't going.to play forever. After the Patriots drafted Stidham, Kiper said, “Stidham can make Round 1 throws and Round 7 interceptions. This is an excellent upside developmental play behind Tom Brady.”

Stidham sat a year behind Brady. Got to see how Brady works and studies. He got to watch how Brady plays. He was reportedly ahead of schedule in development for a year one player. Then year two he had to watch a guy who wasn't even a top 32 passer work, play, and study. Stidham looked like he was emulating Newton in 2020. 

Newton can run and has the confidence to do so. Stidham has the ability to run but looked scared on the field. If there was one thing Stidham needed to learn from Newton, it was confidence. Maybe that's why Bill never let Stidham start at the end of the season. Stidham could be liked by the locker room but if he doesn't have the confidence on the field, it doesn't matter.

Anyone who watches and subscribes to Colts Law on Patreon, knows that Mr. Owens has stated that Stidham is still a project, and that although he shouldn't start in 2021, he shouldn't be shown the door. 

That's not surprising when looking at everything he was up against in 2020. No second year of rookie minicamp, no OTAs, No August training, No Preseason, got injured,  was practicing with the scout team and getting third string reps. And an average to below average supporting cast that many people have said "No quarterback could've been successful with," and last I checked Stidham was a quarterback.

Jordan Palmer spoke to Tom E. Curran in the Patriots Talk Podcast. Palmer goes on to say that Stidham never had anything close to an NFL offense while in college. That the Auburn offense was "the farthest thing" from an NFL offense. Palmer even went on to say that "Gus Malzahn used numbers instead of letter in the offense". He then says "The Patriots have one of the most complex NFL offenses".

Palmer said when he originally started working with Stidham that he was "no where near" NFL ready. Palmer also says he has all the traits desired for a quarterback and not to go off of what was seen in 2020.

Palmer goes on to say "teams give up on players to soon after taking guys who don't fit their system to start". Basically implying that the Patriots didn't do their homework on Stidham. Palmer also implies that Stidham can still be a good quarterback but "he needs to be properly developed by an NFL franchise". He suggests that the Patriots not give up on Stidham yet.

2021 will be Stidham's third season in the NFL. After talking to Lawrence Owen, Stidham is not ready to start, as he needs more development. Palmer said the same thing. Stidham is still basically a sophomore due to the covid season. If the Patriots are going to sit and develop Stidham for the 2021 season, they need a good reliable pocket passer. 

There are a lot of rumors that the Patriots are interested in Jimmy Garoppolo. That Garoppolo "is plan A." That would be a great quarterback to have Stidham sit and learn behind during his final two years of his rookie contract. Garoppolo struggles to stay healthy so the Patriots might wanna rework his contract but he's also set to be a free agent the same time Stidham is. Which puts the Patriots in a win-loss situation if neither pan out.

The most ideal Situation is if the Patriots can Get Jimmy, and develop Stidham for 2021. Then depending on how Garoppolo plays have a competition in 2022 or re-sign Garoppolo to be the starter. Garoppolo is currently 29 and will turn 30 in November. Stidham turns 25 in August, and could also be re-signed as the long term backup. 

Keep in mind that Aaron Rodgers would've still been a backup at age 25 but Farve retired to get out of OTAs and forced the Packers hands early, and when Farve unretired the Packers stuck with Rodgers. So Stidham not taking over until he's 26 or 27 would not be unheard of. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that Stidham is the of future franchise but the Patriots shouldn't give up on him before spending enough time developing him. Stidham could end up being a good career backup for the Patriots. Something teams like the Cowboys, Bills, and Oilers enjoyed in the 90s. Stidham could be the next Frank Reich, Jason Garrett, or Jeff Carlson. 

All he needs is time to be developed but it depends on Belichick and how loud Bill's internal clock is ticking. Bill maybe in a win now, instead of his normal "win now and retool for the future". 

Don't forget that in 2020 when fans were calling for Stidham and the media asked McDaniels about it, it was McDaniels basically throwing Bill under the bus. Saying he was "comfortable in his knowledge of Stidham's development" but the decision on "who starts is up to Belichick". McDaniels may of wanted go with Stidham but at the end of the day It's Belichick's team. 

So In Bill We Trust, and all we can do is hope he doesn't give up on Stidham too early and allow another team to steal him before he can guarentee Stidham's a bust.

Is Folk too rich for the Patriots blood?

Nick Folk finished the season as a top fifteen kicker. According to Pro Football Reference Folk finished 2020 the sixteenth ranked kicker. Making 92.9% of his kicks, 8th in accuracy. 

Folk's accuracy should command bigger money and Folk should be asking for a minimum $3.5 million dollars a season. The Patriots have Justin Rohrwasser and Roberto Aguayo still around the organization.

Aguayo finished his college career with an 88.5% accuracy on field goals, after watching his accuracy fall by almost 10% in his final year.  In his rookie year he hit 71% for the Buccaneers back in 2016. 

The Patriots also have former 5th round pick Justin Rohrwasser, who they selected over more accurate kickers like Jonathan Song. Rohrwasser finished his college career with a 78.6% field goal percentage.

If the Patriots let Folk hit free agency, they could end up over paying or seeing him walk. Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, and the Philadelphia Eagles could all be in the market for Folk's services. 

The Patriots could hope that Aguayo bounces back to his form but the guy hasn't held a kicking spot since 2016. He's been riding the pine. The other hope is that Rohrwasser suddenly becomes an accurate kicker. Which is doubtful. 

The best thing for the Patriots is to either re-sign Folk before free agency starts, or draft a kicker in the Draft. The only other free agent kicker worth signing at the moment is Jonathan Song, and seeing teams didn't sign him, it's a safe bet that his lack of a team is due to his agent not being liked. 

It's a very strong possiblity that Belichick doesn't wanna pay Folk after his strong 2020 season. Time is ticking and we should have some idea of what's going on with Folk within the next seven to ten days.

Jimmy Garoppolo and a Seventh for N'Keal Harry and a Fourth?

The Patriots have been in need of a quarterback and are reportedly taking calls for N'Keal Harry. One team that might be interested in Harry is the 49ers. In 2019, the 49ers had interest in Harry but the Patriots drafted him in the first. 

Harry has played in 21 games and has only been targeted 81 times, catching 45 passes. Keep in mind, Harry had a 42 year old quarterback in 2019 who didn't want to work with rookies, and in 2020, a guy who couldn't remember routes, held on to the too long and either ignored or didn't see Harry. And was spiking the ball at Harry's feet or throwing it out of Harry's reach.

Still Harry in two seasons has recorded 414 yards and 4 touchdowns, getting robbed at least one touchdown in 2019 versus the Chiefs due to bad officiating.

Here's an interesting scenario. The Patriots trade for Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers pick 229 in exchange for N'Keal Harry and pick 121. Before you say "no way", let me explain.

Jimmy Garoppolo led the 49ers to the superbowl but he wasn't great. On top of that Garoppolo cannot stay healthy. Over the last three seasons, of 48 games, Garoppolo has started 25. He's missed almost half of the games. That's according to Pro Football Reference. 

Garoppolo has also thrown 26 interceptions over his last 31 regular season games. That's almost good for 1 a game. He's also averaging getting sacked over two times a game. Pro Football Reference also has Garoppolo listed with 17 fumbles during his time with the niners. Garoppolo has recovered 5 during his time with the niners but there's nothing to indicate how many were his own. Garoppolo is guaranteed at least 1 turnover a game.

When everything is added up, Jimmy has a higher floor at the moment then Harry but both guys come with risks. Starting quarterbacks are harder to come by. The NFL quarterback Power rankings released on February 11th have Garoppolo ranked 30th over all. Cam Newton was ranked 32nd. Newton's only a starter thanks to his rushing ability, he's a mid range backup as a passer.

The Patriots might be able to hang on to their 4th and send a 5th round pick but I doubt the 49ers would let him go for that cheap. The only way I see the 49ers letting Garoppolo go for a 5th is if they can get their quarterback and are trying to dump Garoppolo's contract. However, it is that reason that I see the 49ers settling for a fourth.

The clock is ticking and soon, the draft will be upon us. It's only a matter of time before both players are moved, can the Patriots get the deal done before it's too late?

Patriots shopping Harry

In 2019, the New England Patriots drafted N'keal Harry in the first round. Rumor at the time was he was drafted then because the Cardinals were going to take him with the very next pick if they didn't. Flash forward two seasons and the Patriots are reportedly shopping Harry.

Although drafted as a receiver and playing primarily the X role, Harry is a big slot or move tight end who cannot get separation playing the wrong role for the Patriots.

Harry has his share of problems. He doesn't use his size to his advantage and he struggles to get separation due to bad foot work. However, all his lack of production is not on him.

In 2019 in the time Harry was active, bad calls, penalties, and a 42 year old quarterback who's accuracy was slipping a little, didn't want to throw to Harry.

In 2020, a 31 year old quarterback struggling with accuracy and mechanical issues, who didn't see or Ignored Harry, who didn't know Harry's routes killed Harry's sophomore leap. There was one point Harry's trainer spoke out blaming the quarterback but Harry to keep the peace l, retracted the statement.

There are teams that could still use Harry. Harry is under his rookie contract until 2022, with a fifth year option available. Arizona being the team that made the Patriots anxious, are probably the best team for Harry. 

The Patriots have a few options with Harry, they can keep him for another season and hope he plans out. They can convert him to a move tight end, they can trade him, or they can cut him. If the team is unable to find a trade partner, they should keep Harry for one more season. 

Harry is a former first round pick and even though Meyers had a good season, it would've been better with a better passer. Looking at film and listening to analysts talk, the Patriots catchers were all held back by poor quarterback play. If the Patriots could get Jimmy G or even Fitzpatrick, Harry could have a career year and improve trade value.

Titans release Butler.

The Titans cleared $10 million in cap space by releasing Malcolm Butler on Tuesday. Butler had a career season but has never really lived up to the number one that he was signed to be. Butler finished with 4 interceptions, 14 passes defended, 100 tackles, and allowed a rating of 83.2%. 

Of the 127 times butler was targeted, he allowed 80 to.be caught for a competition percentage of 63%. Teams averaged 10.9 yards per catch on Butler with 226 yards after the catch.

The 31 year old defensive back will probably be expecting around $10 Million in salary for 2021. Butler showed he is still a number one but his age suggests that he would be wise to consider signing with a team with an established number one.

Blue Jays nation, It's just one game.

The Blue Jays' Steven Matz had a good day on the mound versus the Philadelphia Phillies. He pitched three innings, striking out three and allowing only one hit. These are the type of performances Blue Jay fans have longed for since the days of Dave Stieb, David Cone, David Wells, and Juan Guzman. Not to say that the Jays haven't had good pitchers since the world series years, just they struggle to get a staff.

The team doesn't appear to know what to do when the mitts and ball are in there hands. The team is constantly having to put up, four, five, six, or more runs on the board just to keep up with the defensive side of the ball. 

Matz looked good in his outing today but this was his first start of 2021. People shouldn't get excited yet for him. Two of his main three pitches are a sinker and a change up. Instead pitching to the lower corners of the strike zone, Matz pitches to the center - upper center of the strike zone, and is prone to fly balls and game day souvenirs for the fans on the other side of the outfield wall.

The Birds need reliable arms behind Ryu but It's too early to start to think that the Jays' staff is more than a bunch of batting practice and homerun derby guys. It's nice to have guys that can find the plate but what good is it if they can't avoid the bats. Someplace over the last 30 years, the team forgot how to develop anything besides long ball hitters. It's not likely that the Rodgers have improved the coaching staff. So while Matz put up a good outing, it wouldn't be wise to expect a repeat performance anytime soon.

Trent Brown returns to New England, What Does That Mean.

The New England Patriots entered the 2021 offseason with Joe Thuney and David Andrews both heading to free agency. Both men are expected to cost the Patriots a fortune. The Patriots have a lot needs and it was expected that one or both could men be gone. 

The Patriots tagged Thuney in 2020 but cannot afford to do that again, and while the Patriots had an adequate backup in 2019, Andrews was sorely missed. 

At 5:44 am on Tuesday March 9th, Ian Rapaport released a statement saying that the New England Patriots had made a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for offensive tackle Trent Brown. 

Rapaport says the Patriots are getting Brown and a seventh in next years draft for a fifth round pick. The Patriots and Brown will also will enter contract talks to rework his contract.

Brown played for the Patriots in 2018 and was the best tackle in the NFL. Brown signed a massive contract with the Raiders but the Raiders clearly do not think they benefited from the contract and are trying to free up cap space. 

This move more than likely means the Patriots are moving on from Joe Thuney, and the mostly outcome will be having Brown take over as the starting left tackle. By doing so Isaiah Wynn would slide inside to guard.

Many thought that Onwenu would move to the left side. This trade would probably see a battle with Cannon unless the Patriots decide to cut Cannon. According to over the cap, Cannon is on the books for over $9 Million and the Patriots would save $2.5 Million of they decide to cut him. If I read that correctly.

Brown only played in five games in 2020. If the Patriots can get Brown to play at 2018 levels, than they have just fleeced the Raiders. This move suggests the Patriots are planning on bringing in a more statuesque passer. The Patriots have been linked to Jimmy Garoppolo and Mac Jones. Both quarterbacks would benefit from having Trent Brown. Then again so would the lesser tiered free agent pocket passers the Patriots have available to pick from.

Free agency starts on March 17th, just eight days from today. This move is certainly something that should draw attention from free agent pass catching prospects. This may be just the beginning for the Patriots, stay tuned for more, and be sure to check out my people over at Dear Patriots Nation. Ray, Conor, and Sara are bound to cover this tonight.

The Patriots supporting cast fell five points due to Newton.

In 2019 Tom Brady was the 17th ranked quarterback in the NFL and his supporting cast matched that. Brady Boasted a 55.7 QBR. In 2020 the Patriots lost Sanu, Ben Watcson, Matt Lacosse, Philip Dorsett, and Tom Brady. The supporting cast dropped to 22nd but why?

The Patriots brought in a running quarterback in Cam Newton. Newton's passing stats were bad enough that he was he wasn't good enough to be in the top 32 but his rushing stats brought him up to the 27th ranked quarterback, with a QBR of 47. PFF gave Newton a grade of 70.9.

People are arguing that if Cam Newton had better weapons that he would do better. They use Tom Brady as an example. Brady's QBR in 2020 jumped to 72.5. Brady's supporting cast was ranked 6th in 2020, which is the same ranking they had in 2019. According to pro football reference, Brady jumped to the second ranked quarterbacks in the NFL.

It is safe to assume that Cam Newton's stats would be better if he went from the Patriots to The Buccaneers. However, Stidham, Hoyer, even Nathan Peterman would look better with that kind of talent. In fact that's the knock on draft prospect Mac Jones. People wanna know if it's him or all the first round talent around him.

Now with that being said the Patriots supporting cast would be better with a better passer. Brady was slipping a little bit in accuracy in 2019 but the Patriots supporting cast was ranked 17th. DeSean Watson, Big Ben, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins, and Baker Mayfield, would've gotten more production out of the Patriots supporting cast in 2020 because they're better passers.

Saying Cam Newton would've been better if he had better weapons is like Mark Sanchez saying he would've been better if he had Randy Moss, Jim Harbaugh would've been better if he had Jerry Rice, or Jamarcus Russell would've been better if he had Megatron. 

The fact of the matter is the Patriots pass catchers dropped in production with a lesser passer, and it was clear on tape that enough of their lack of production was from Newton's inability to pass the football, and his admission that he couldn't remember what plays he was calling. Leading to the speculation that the Patriots offense was too complicated for him.

Newton is a quarterback who's pass catchers have to run Streak, Deep Post, Deep Corners, Deep Wheel Routes, and Deep Curls. That's it. His pass catchers routes must be limited in the playbook and they must all be limited to within the numbers. Newton needs a simple non pro level, college or high school offense.

That doesn't change the fact that if you put almost any quarterback on the Patriots and then put them on the Buccaneers with both teams 2020 supporting cast that they wouldn't do better but it also doesn't change the fact that the Patriots supporting cast would've done better with any passer ranked above Cam Newton. 

It's a nice narrative if you're to trying to save Newton's career for those still stuck on the 2015 Cam Newton bandwagon but when looking at the bigger picture, it's clear for anyone to see that it's just a half truth, and that the other half is that Newton lowered the production of the supporting cast. Thus If he went to Tampa, there's a good chance that the Buccaneers supporting cast would've dropped in ranking under Newton.

Jimmy G. Is Patriots' Plan A.

The Patriots finished 2020 with a 7-9 record. Failing to make the ppl playoffs for the first time since Matt Cassel was the quarterback because of an injury to Tom Brady. The Patriots suffered some key losses of talent due to opt outs but still managed to find themselves in a spot to finish 11-5 had they played better. 

With the losses of Ben Watson, Sanu, and Dorsett the Patriots supporting cast only dropped 5 spots in ranking going from 17 to 22. That's without OTAs, rookie minicamp, and a preseason, along with a subpar passer throwing them the ball.

Jarrett Stidham is still under contract and while there's a chance he still could start, due to everything he missed, he should still be treated as a sophomore going into year three. The Patriots must bring in another quarterback. Is that resigning Cam Newton or one of the lower tier free agent quarterbacks? Even if Stidham has lost his value, they must still bring someone in.

The Patriots apparently wanna bring back Jimmy Garoppolo, the original Heir apparent to the Brady throne. This to me doesn't say bridge quarterback and if I'm correct, the Patriots will ride with Stidham as plan B. 

Greg Bedard of NBC sports said, “That, if they had to draw it up, exactly the optimal situation for the Patriots for this coming season, it’s Jimmy G coming back here. And of course, that’s all dependent on the 49ers doing something.”

If the Patriots trade for Garoppolo, the 49ers still hold all the cards. And can make the Patriots life miserable before cutting him if they cannot make a deal. Causing the Patriots to miss out on free agents while don't wanna sign because the Patriots don't have a proven starter.

The 49ers have said that Jimmy is their starter but like the old Falcon's coach used to say in the NFL, things are "not for long." The Patriots might have to wait until the 49ers pick at pick 12 to get their quarterback. Depending on how much pressure Robert Kraft puts on Belichick to right the ship, the Patriots might leap from the niners to get a quarterback, not risking it on the 49ers at that point.

Even if Jimmy is plan A, the Patriots must have a plan B. Maybe plan B is Cam Newton, maybe it's Jakobi Brissett, maybe it's Tyrod Taylor. The one thing about sports that is true when it comes to roster building is that a team cannot put all it's eggs into one basket. Give the Patriots supporting cast a quarterback in the 17-24 tier range and watch them bounce back up to 15-18 in rank.

Why people are advocating for Stidham.

Jerry Trotta recently wrote an article titled "Patriots.com editor thinks team should go with Jarret Stidham as Starter." In the article he asks why people are advocating for Stidham and quotes Paul Perillo but never answers the question. Instead basically says the Patriots might not have options but Stidham isn't the answer. So here are fourteen reasons people are still advocating for Stidham.

1) No rookie minicamp. Stidham missed 7 weeks of rookie minicamp. Stidham was entering year two and would've benefited from this time where coaches could spend more individual time with him to help his game like they did his predecessors like Garoppolo, Hoyer, Cassel, Brissett, ect.

2) No OTAs. There is a 10 day training period where players get into football shape and get some chemistry with their teammates before taking summer off. The familiarize or refamiliarize themselves with how their teammates play and move.

3) The August camp could've started in July as teams are allowed to start training camp 15 days before their first preseason game. Even though there was camp, the camp training was limited in 2020. Teams were only able to do so much. Due to pandemic protocols.

4) There was no preseason games. That's four games of NFL experience Jarrett Stidham missed. Coaches use this to evaluate players but during the first three to four seasons, this is how many backups are getting NFL game time experience. Stidham missed this and was behind four games worth of NFL experience heading into week one and it showed when he did get time to play.

5) Stidham's injury. Stidham was the co-starter with Newton. Neither quarterback as a passer was pulling ahead according to many writers like Curran. Even CLNS said something in one of their podcasts. Lazar criticized Newton's passing ability and said things might be different if he was allowed to run. There is no telling who would've pulled ahead. It wasn't covid but it still caused him to be limited when he needed full on practice.

6) He was relegated to second string and scout team reps. Learning and running the opponents playbook almost every week. In week four Hoyer got all backup reps behind Newton and in week five when he should've gotten extra reps and a start, the NFL didn't allow the Patriots to do anything that wasn't virtual until Newton was healthy enough to play. Going as Far as moving the game to week six.

Furthermore, every time he took the field, Stidham's play was comparable to Cam Newton's play at some point during the season. Week four Stidham looked like Cam Newton versus the Raiders. Week seven, Stidham looked like Cam versus the 49ers. Week sixteen Stidham looked like a continuation of Newton's first half performance. His touchdown drive versus the chargers, was comparable to Newton's play versus Seattle. Only Stidham threw a touchdown. Need I go on?

7) Newton was brought in to start according to his supporters, which include many members of the media who were looking at Newton with "2015 beer goggles". Why does that make sense, because Belichick wanted to redshirt Stidham in 2020, according writers in January of 2020. It's possible Bill was hoping to pull a Randy Moss with Cam and only saw 2015 Newton when signing him but than again he did bring in Fisch but for which quarterback?

8) Stidham had a great year in 2017 and was projected as a first round pick in 2018, which extended after the draft until the 2018 season started. Stidham decision to return to school was disastrous in 2018 season. Stidham was viewed as a project going into the 2019 draft, a far cry from a first round selection. There were circumstances to say it might not all of been Stidham's fault.

9) Belichick and players praised Stidham after the 2019 Season. There were people with ties in the organization that said the Patriots believed Stidham was the future. When asked in December of 2020, when people were calling for Stidham to start, McDaniels said "He was comfortable with his knowledge of Stidham's development" but threw Belichick under the bus saying he doesn't decide who starts. That could've been McDaniels copping out or he really could've been blaming Belichick for why Stidham hadn't started.

10) In December Cam Newton, who some believe was a bridge quarterback, praised How well Stidham's development had progressed. Going on to essential say there was reason to be worried about Stidham showing enough to give coaches cause to make a switch.

11) James White in December said that Stidham was ready to start and In February he said that Stidham would be good when given the opportunity. White is a team leader and his opinion should be taken as such.

12) Belichick let Stidham play versus Buffalo but not start against the Jets. Buffalo was a top team who never let up against the Patriots in December. The Jets were an easier opponent. It was in Belichick's best interest to put Stidham in versus the Bills because the way the Jets were playing, week seventeen would've been the equivalent of a preseason game.

13) The Patriots have cap space and are bound to upgrade the offensive unit in 2021. The supporting cast fell from 17th in 2019 to 22nd in 2020. Belichick is going to do his best to get the team back into the top 16 in 2021. While I have said the Patriots quarterbacks were the reason for the teams decline. 

Almost everyone has said "No Quarterback could've had a good season/succeeded with the talent around them." If the masses are true, Stidham was an inexperienced quarterback, who as much as he was ahead in his rookie season, was still only a sophomore project in development in 2020. Since no experienced quarterback could've done well, can't blame Stidham for being in a no win situation.

14) Stidham will have an actual offseason and will have more time for the coaches to actually train him on everything they couldn't in 2020. On top of that Stidham started training for 2021 almost immediately after the season ended with quarterback guru Jordan Palmer. Stidham is also likely to hold another camp in June and July.

I hate having to defend Stidham because I saw someone who was no better a passer than Cam, even if Stidham should have a higher floor because he's in development, as to where Cam is going to be an eleven year veteran. I asked a film guy to look at tape and what he saw was a quarterback still in need of development, which makes sense if you read his 2019 scouting reports and not his 2018.

During the 2020 Season, when Cam was having his ups and downs, I said if Cam is extended, it should be through the 2022 season. That the Patriots should continue to develop Stidham, have another quarterback competition in 2021. If some the 2022 off season, the Patriots are not sold on Stidham as the starter, draft or sign a quarterback to ride with Newton for the last year of his contract. That if they were sold on Stidham, to keep Newton as a backup. 

This is why people are advocating for Stidham. These maybe excuses but they're no different than what the Cam supporters are saying for him. If everyone is going to base Stidham completely off his 2020 play and not combined with what he did in 2017, 2018, at Auburn, 2019 and all the circumstances he had to deal with in 2020; Than you have to base every quarterback off what they did in 2020, not in 2017 in Foxborough, 2015 in Carolina, or any other year with any other team and take any circumstances surrounding the player as an excuse. Otherwise, you're being a hypocrite.

One unit fell off by 5 spots, another unit dropped by 10 spots in 2020 from 2019, where does the blame lie.

Yes, the Patriots pass catchers could've been better. The Patriots lost Philip Dorsett but the 2019 supporting cast was ranked 17th with the 17th ranked quarterback.

In 2020 the supporting cast was ranked 22nd, a huge part of that is because their quarterback was ranked 27th. He was only ranked that high because of his rushing and receiving abilities. He was the worst starter and there were backups better than him.

Just to be clear elite is 1-5. Good is 6-10, Above average is 11-15, average is 16-20, below average is 21-25, and bad is 26-32.

There were plenty of times the pass catchers weren't getting open but there were too many times they were open and either they weren't thrown the ball or it was a bad pass.

Looking at what weapons the Patriots lost, the fact they they only fell 5 points, and seeing how much of a difference in the passing game the drop off is between 17 and 27. Any Newton fan being honest with themselves has to put majority of the blame on him for the drop in production by the pass catchers. As long as I hear the pass catchers getting blamed for Newton's drop off, I will continue to defend them.

Perillo "Pats Should Stick With Stidham."

Writer for the Patriots Paul Perillo recently wrote an article titled "NFL Notes: Pats Should Stick With Stidham," In which he discusses the Patriots quarterback Dilemma.

In the article Paul talks about the Patriots quarterbacks options as either being unrealistic or not worth the Patriots pursuing with few exceptions. Perillo basically says none of the free agent options on the market are going to make any real impact on the 2021 season. 

While a draft pick could be good in the years to come Perillo says, even the draft is not going to make a huge impact in the 2021 Patriots quarterback picture. 

Paul Perillo writes, "Rather than exhaust resources in an effort to perhaps crack the .500 mark, the wisest move might be to just stick with Jarrett Stidham and let the season play out."

Many fans who want the team to rebuild instead of retool, don't want the Patriots to make a big push towards the 2021 season but would probably disagree because while they want the club to be good in 2022, many argue about getting a solid quarterback in 2021 as a bridge guy for the season. They turned on Stidham faster than they did Drew Bledsoe for the team starting 1-11 in 1993, even though Bledsoe himself would go 5-7.

Perillo says Stidham had made his mistakes but with the condition of the 2021 roster, it's better to ride out one season with Stidham. Perillo brought up all the pre Newton praise he got and said the Patriots should basically put up or shut up in 2021 with Stidham. 

It's not about grandeur for Perillo, it's about making the most of the talent. Developing and giving Stidham experience. He believes Stidham will struggle in 2021 and suggests a backup plan that involves using Stidham as the bridge quarterback.

Perillo writes, "Which brings us to Part II of the 2021 plan: draft a developmental quarterback. If Belichick can't grab one at 15, then a Day 2 option such as Kyle Trask, Kellen Mond or perhaps Jamie Newman might make sense. None of those options will help in 2021, but Stidham would buy some time for a rookie to develop."

Doing so would allow Belichick and the Patriots to allocate what they can for the 2022 offseason and Perillo agrees. Perillo also says that there's no guarantee any quarterback that the Patriots bring in, including Cam Newton, will bring in pass catchers.

That Jimmy G and Mac Jones are the only names likely to entice anyone to wanna sign with the Patriots. There's so much around both quarterbacks that the niners might keep Garoppolo and Mac Jones might not fall out of the top ten and could cost too many assets to give up. 

If the Patriots are building long term, what good would it do to trade away the farm to get their quarterback, what good would it do to have a quarterback and no ability to put pieces around him over the next few years? Too many good quarterbacks have had their talent wasted by sub tier talent around them. 

Belichick is a wise general manager and the greatest head coach of all time. He's better than Shula, he's better than Paterno. This soft rebuild or retool will be the final layer of cement in his legacy. The first move Belichick needs to make is at quarterback and it might start with Jarrett Stidham.

The Patriots are in a Code Orange Not A Code Red situation.

Around the 2015-2016 season,  I began telling people that when the Patriots failed to make the AFC championship game, it would be time to worry. The Patriots would continue to reach the AFC Championship game all the way until the 2018 season, where they won their six superbowl.

In 2019 the Patriots offense lost Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots signed Austin Seferian-Jenkins to replace him but he was released for personal reasons at his request. The team had injuries devastate their offense, mainly their running game, and the team sorely missed Malcolm Mitchell, who would've been in his prime.

In 2019 the defense kept them in games but the offense was clearly lacking. The Weapons around Brady were ranked 17th. Between Brady refusing to throw to his pass catchers, and the little bit of decline and the talent level around them, the Patriots slipped. The Patriots lost some key games late in the season and ended up in to the wildcard weekend. 

They still fielded close to the same offense in 2020, as far as their weapons were concerned. Ben Watson and Matt Lacosse were replaced by Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene. The Patriots were without Josh Gordon, Dorsett and Sanu. Byrd, Meyers, Harry, and Olszewski were expected to step up and replace them.

Even with Injuries, the offensive weapons played at the same level they did in 2019 but were ranked 22. How is that possible? First the Patriots replaced the 17th ranked quarterback in 2019 for the 27th ranked quarterback in 2020. The down grade in passer hurt the production of the pass catchers. It's hard to imagine any pass catcher being successful with the passers the Patriots fielded.

Second the defense was not as good, and did not give the offense the ball as much. The defense went from 1st overall ranked to 7th overall ranked. That's a huge drop and the lack of turnovers meant less opportunities for the offense.

The Patriots finished the season 7-9, yet even with Brian Hoyer playing versus Kansas City, and Jarrett Stidham coming in several times. The Patriots were still in almost every loss, sometimes coming down to one position or play.

The Patriots have some spots they need to fill. The Patriots have Brandon Bolden returning from covid and J.J. Taylor. The club needs to figure out if their production is equal to what they're losing from James White and Rex Burkhead. Honestly, I think the Patriots will be fine letting both backs go.

As long as he is affordable, the Patriots should bring back Damiere Byrd. The Patriots can continue to have an average pass catching unit. The Patriots have a lot of prospects but don't have a proven X receiver. They're also lacking a true move tight end. In free agency, the team should look at Trey Burton, A.J. Green, DeSean Jackson, and Marvin Jones. Players that should add some production. They need to add production, not a big contract tied to a big name, these guys are now around a number 2 tier.

The problem with the offense is it wont matter who's catching the Ball if they don't have someone who can throw. If the Patriots bring back Cam Newton, they have to change the entire offensive scheme, otherwise he's a waste of a spot.

I like Jakobi Brissett but he was ranked 27th in 2019 but was passed over by the Colts for Phillip Rivers. Is he a better passer than Cam Newton? Fitzpatrick had a better season than Newton but is currently ranked 21st by the NFL in power rankings, Newton is now ranked 32. Tyrod Taylor has dropped to 49th and Brissett isn't even ranked in the NFL power rankings. Even Minshew is ranked 34th but is arguably better analytically. 

The Patriots must have better passing in 2021 from their quarterback. Regardless, the Patriots must have better play from their quarterback 

On defense, the Patriots have Hightower back but must do everything to sure up and improve the defense. Danny Shelton and Elandon Robert's should be resigned, along with Adam Butler and J.C. Jackson. 

Most importantly, the Patriots must not only draft right but actually develop their players. Who is the last tight end, the Patriots developed. When is the last time the Patriots developed more than one pass catcher. It took them 3 years after Malcolm Mitchell to find and develop Meyers. When's the last time the Patriots developed an interior defensive lineman or even a pass rushing defensive lineman in the front three or four? 

Entering 2021, the Patriots sit at a retool or soft rebuild. If, they do not handle this offseason correctly, They will be in full rebuild in 2022. If they do handle this season right, there is no guarantee that they will be good in 2021 but they will set themselves up for next offseason to be good in 2022.

I have heard people talk, I have listened to a buddy of mine over at Dear Patriots Nation. There is a misconception that if the Patriots go in to rebuild that it means true fire sale. That's not always the case and people need to learn that a retool or soft rebuild is different from a full on rebuild, where teams dump everyone. 

The Patriots have not reached that tipping point yet and I think fans need to understand that many of them are asking for the same thing with different understand of what specific words mean. For now the Patriots are in a code orange and we will have to wait and see if it clears this offseason or if they enter a code red next offseason.