Starter Cam Newton
The first thing I read about today is Cam threw and Interception because he was oblivious to where and what Devin Mccourty was doing on the field, and put the ball behind his target where McCourty had favorable odds of catching it. As we all know and hopefully can admit, field vision and accuracy were something that plagued Newton in 2020, and was part of the reason why the pass catchers struggled.
Newton continues to lead off in reps for the Patriots offense and went 14 of 17. Newton showed off his arm strength, hitting Wilkerson on a 50 yard over the shoulder bomb. Newton also completed 80% of his passes against the starters compared to Jones who was at 78%.
A sack by Hightower on a must convert goal line play had Newton and the entire offense run a lap. This is becoming an issue as this is now the third time Newton has failed in these situations this offseason. Uche would also get an apparent sack later on Newton. Due to lack of reps,
Newton played catch with Jake Dolegala, instead of finding any pass catcher to throw to. Newton needs improvement. He didn't have a full offseason and that was supposedly why he struggled last season, and he's the starter and not getting reps after lack of offseason reps being his problem? Something strange about that. If he needs the full offseason work to have success, why are they limiting him like he doesn't? Maybe it's just me.
Newton still has some issues he has to work on, many of them we all saw last year but there is some good news that Evan Lazar pointed out.
Lazar wrote, "Newton’s timing and consistency in the offense are improving, and he hasn’t done anything to lose the job..."
Newton could improve more if he got more reps. While many think that the uptick in reps for Jones is a sign that there's a competition, at the moment I wouldn't hold much stock in there being a competition. Not saying that Jones can't start later in the year but it's unlikely at the moment that Newton doesn't start week one.
First round draft pick Mac Jones
Like with Newton, the first thing I read about is Mac throwing an interception to Michael Jackson due to poor ball placement on the throw. Jones is known for his accuracy. So I hope this wasn't a sign of things to come. It's also to be noted that it was a good play by Jackson.
Mike Kadlick wrote, "Jones impressed when taking command of a two minute drill during 11’s. Not with his arm strength, but with using his voice to get the team lined up properly and getting the ball into the right guys hands. He set up Quinn Nordin for a long field goal, which he drilled."
Jones went 20 of 26. His anticipation throws continue to shine, with his best throw being an out route to Meyers. Everything wasn't all good as Uche also got a sack on Jones.
Mike D'abate wrote, "Once again, he was impressive in his ability to lead his receivers to open areas on the field."
Jones continues to get the ball out quick, going through his progressions, finding the open pass catcher and putting the ball where it. needs to be.
Jones makes improvements everyday and continues to look good running the offense. Again, he's still learning to play at an NFL speed and more than that, in my opinion although things may look close; it's his lack of emotional control when things go south that will see him sit for part if not all of 2021.
Other notes
Harry continues to have a solid camp with another good day including on special teams, and the quarterbacks finally found Meyers.
Injury prone Hunter Henry is out, David Andrews is also out, and Dalton Keene reportedly had surgery, whichbis probably a good thing, seeing how stacked the Patriots are at tight end. Cardona and Hawkins were also injured on the day. Agholor wasn't at camp.
Stidham came to observe and soak up things mentally, it was also his birthday. And Ted Karras was healthy enough to practice. And Richard Seymour 2.0, Christian Barmore returned to camp.
Folk continues to miss camp, losing ground to the rookie kicker.
No comments:
Post a Comment