Patriots quarterbacks after day one

Day one of Patriots Camp is now on the books and all eyes are on the quarterbacks. How did they do and who's gonna start week one are the burning questions.

Phil Perry who does the podcast with Tom tweeted Thursday, "7-on-7 work... Newton: 4-for-4, nice diving grab by LaCosse on one Jones: 2-for-3, Wilkerson dropped one when Jones pump faked and put it on his target over the middle Stidham: 2-for-3, missed Jak Johnson wide Hoyer: 2-for-2, completed an underthrown bomb to Agholor."

Perry continued, "Patriots QBs did some bucket drill today. Stidham and Jones threw the best-looking deep balls. McDaniels also had QBs do a who-can-hit-the-target-quicker drill. From "hut" to the receiver's hands, who wins? Hoyer beat Jones 2x. Stidham and Cam won one each. Hoyer and Cam tied."

Cam Newton:

The main thing I read and am hearing about Newton is that he's still not showing good accuracy, meaning he's still throwing to the pass catchers' bubbles. He's worked on his mechanics but still looks like 2020 Cam. He's leading the camp but isn't doing anything to show he's a superior passer to any of the other three quarterbacks. 

Phil Perry tweeted about Cam, "Could see Newton working on *not* tilting his shoulders before releasing early on. Shot one high, one low in drills. Two on-target check-downs in 7v7s. One well-placed out complete to Agholor in 7v7s. LaCosse bailed him out with diving catch on a quick out in the same period."

Perry would go on to say he doesn't see any difference in how Cam is throwing the football from last year. Tom E. Curran who works with Perry would also go on to say that Newton's accuracy hasn't changed.

Bob Socci of 98.5 the HUB wrote the following about Cam Newton, "At first glance, Newton seems slightly slimmer than when he first appeared in Patriots’ shorts and shell last August. But, having just turned 32 after a full decade of service in the NFL, he looks similar in several ways from a fundamental standpoint. His left foot still steps somewhat sideways rather than directly at the target while releasing throws and his ball placement remains inconsistent."

Mike Reiss of ESPN wrote, "Meanwhile, Newton's work also seems to be paying off. His presence is notable, as his voice often booms across the field, and his decision-making appeared decisive Thursday."

Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald wrote, "Newton’s mechanics were more compact on shorter throws, but they unwound sometimes on longer passes. Overall, a solid day for him."

Mac Jones: 

The main thing I read and hear about 'Big Mac' is besides he needs to work on his frame is, He's an accurate quarterback, putting the ball where it needs to be. Throws a catchable pass but has no zip. 

Phil Perry tweeted Thursday, "Mac Jones, to me, was as advertised. Consistently accurate, putting the football on people’s faces. Threw with anticipation. Moments where he had the football on targets as soon as they came out of their breaks. Caught Matt LaCosse by surprise with one up the seam."

Bernd Buchmasser wrote, "Jones, meanwhile, did look as advertised by all accounts. His arm looked good, while he threw a catchable ball — something wide receiver Jakobi Meyers noted earlier this week during a conference call."

Bob Socci wrote, "Regarding Jones, he looked a lot like his description in most pre-Draft scouting reports. To borrow baseball pitching parlance, he doesn’t light up the radar gun but he has good command of the strike zone."

Tom Curran tweeted, "Accuracy on uncontested throws - which is all we were seizing today - is as advertised. Arm isn’t really live. These are just observations relative to how far he (Jones) may need to go. Fortunately, except for height, the other things he can improve."

Andrew Callahan wrote, "Jones’ scouting report came to life, as much as it could in an OTA practice. He threw regularly with anticipation, worked quickly through his (surely basic) progressions and usually delivered an accurate ball."

Jarrett Stidham:

Not much was said about Stidham Other than he was there. Tom Curran did say on his podcast that Stidham had the best looking arm of the four quarterbacks but had inconsistent anticipation.

Brian Hoyer:

Other than throwing the best pass of the day and not being afraid to throw the ball, there's not a lot being said about Hoyer. Curran did say he thought Hoyer looked the best of the bunch. 

The one thing I did find interesting is that Hoyer was brought in to supposedly mentor Jones but he was working with Stidham on the first day of OTAs with reporters. Mike Reiss's comments about why Hoyer's throwing, which got repeated by Tom Curran on his podcast, I found interesting. "Hoyer's throwing incase Jones beats out Cam."

Bernd Buchmasser wrote, "Hoyer’s underthrown bomb was one of the best plays of the day, with Agholor being able to grab the football despite the imperfect placement."

Overall:

Many who spoke about camp credited Hoyer with the best throw of the day. Last offseason the three quarterbacks on the roster according to many did little to separate themselves. Although Jones is the most accurate, my inference from everything I'm seeing and hearing is that Newton is still doing little to pull himself away from the 2020 quarterback room going into the off season so far. And Mac Jones is impressing and showing leadership skills already, even though it's currently Newton's team.