Currently, Cam Newton is quarterback number one but there is some division over who currently is quarterback number two before Jones and Stidham report in seven days for rookie minicamp. While some fans believe that Jones is the number two guy that could be the starter, not everyone agrees.
Mike Lombardi who has ties to the Pats, spoke about the Patriots depth chart on his podcast and it's clear what he said will not sit well with all fans of the six time superbowl champions.
Lombardi said, "“I think it’s a year [until he becomes the starter]. I think, look, they’re going to coach the [bleep] out of him. They’re going to get him in there, he’s gotta be smart as hell. Here’s what you have to do to play quarterback for the Patriots. You have to have great intelligence. Great intelligence. You have to have really great anticipation with the football. And you gotta be deadly accurate. Those are the things, those are the three things that Mac Jones does.
Give him directions to the weight room. Because I promise you, that body will change. I promise you by April the 30th next year, Mac Jones will look like a different human being. That body will change. Because they’re going to change that body.”
The big knock on the the Patriots last year was they ran the Brady offense. Yeah they added in some option runs for Newton but the passing plays were still designed for a guy who could throw from the pocket and do it accurately.
Jones won't be asked to run an option, and he'll barely be asked to run but everything else from last year will be the same. Sure they added tight ends but it's still gonna be similar concepts. With that Jones should run the offense better. Jones turns 23 right around week one, so sitting Jones his rookie year should not hurt him.
The thing that made Tom Brady great wasn't just his desire to improve mentally but physically. If I am Jones, at least for the 2021 off season, I am entering the TB12 clinic to work with Brady and learn what he can about how to improve physically. Nothing football related really, just find out how to get a head physically.
Now while the Patriots are working on getting Jones up to speed, I expect them to play Stidham where they can. They spent a forth on the kid and they're going to want to get some value on him. Right now, he's worth about as much as a UDFA. That's not good because it means he has no trade value. Stidham could be a good long term backup for the Patriots but the Patriots aren't known for keeping backups that long.
With that, when Cam faulters and cost the Patriots games because he's not accurate enough, expect the Patriots to be make the switch to Stidham. Stidham showed in 2020 that he is no less accurate than Cam, with the same decision making abilities.
The Patriots are reported to have the sixth easiest schedule, so that might not be until November before they have to switch quarterbacks, if Newton can holdout to after Thanksgiving, Stidham might have to fight with Jones to see the field but being that he's now playing for his career, there's more pressure on Cam than just following Brady. With that, I believe cam will be benched by no later than after the second week of October for the 2019 backup who will also be playing for his career.
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