Day Seven No Pads And No Urgency For The Quarterbacks.

It's day seven of camp and after getting a glimpse of what the teams was with pads on, the pads go away to hide the team identity like a superhero hiding their abilities. Was that to bring attention back to Mac Jones, was it for player safety, or was it not to give too much away? That's up to speculation but probably all three as they went away again.

Mac Jones

The youngster would throw 45 passes on Wednesday, and he would complete over half of them but there would be drops (one leading to an interception) and solid defensive play to assist in the 22 incompletions.

Jones is showing chemistry with Harry and Olszewski, while trying to build it with Meyers. Jones to Gunner may have been the play of the day as they connected on a 50 yard pass. And  while Jones looked better today, excelling in the quick game; He also looked like a rookie with his accuracy, sailing passes and hitting the bubble but way off the mark. Just more consistency issues today for the young rookie as he tries to become what he was drafted to be, the future of the franchise.

Jones continues to be an elusive chess piece, sliding around the pocket and avoiding sacks to get rid of the football. While he still has room for improvement, his ability to move around, buy time and make throws is something that continues to stand out next to his accuracy. As Jones becomes more comfortable, expect him to do what most pocket quarterbacks do and take off for a three to five yard gain. He's not Newton but he should be able to do it better than Brady.

Jones needs to learn to string things together consistently. He shows improvement multiple steps forward, followed by a step backwards. The good news is he seems to be inching his way forward. Hopefully Newton can carry the team until he's ready.

Jones once again reportedly stayed late he tries to get up to the NFL speed. This is something Jones needs to do often, with how the NFL has changed training & practice rules over the past twenty years. Jones isn't getting the same amount of training as Brady and Bledsoe did in their respective rookie seasons, so he has to do it on his own.

The young quarterback also still needs to learn to let mistakes go and go on to the next play instead of dwelling on the last. Bad plays happen but quarterbacks need to be focused on the play at hand or they'll be distracted on the field. I don't know how the team coaches this out of him.

Cam Newton

Newton looked great in pads Tuesday but how would he look on Wednesday? That was the question. And the answer some fans may not like.

Newton threw two interceptions, one failing to see Adrian Colbert as he was trying to lead a pass catcher, and the second JC Jackson baiting a hesitant Newton into a throw. At the point he threw them, neither throw should have been made.

Newton continues to show inconsistency with his accuracy, especial during the quick game; as he tries to build chemistry with Bourne, Agholor, Smith, and Henry but like with Jones, Newton dealt with drops and solid defensive play. However he also dealt with his own deficiencies as a passer.

Newton continues to hang on to the ball way too long and was again sacked today but that wasn't the only issue as Newton showed poor decision making and was forcing passes instead of taking what the defense was giving him.

Even though N'Keal Harry and the other pass catchers did their best to save their charismatic quarterback, he still looked like an below average passer on the day. His personality isn't going to make up for his lack of accuracy. Opposing defenders aren't going to slack off because he's a nice guy.

Newton still seems to get fooled by what he's seeing in coverage. This is Newton's eleventh year but to paraphrase what Evan Lazer said last season, "Newton has made his career out of running the football and throwing the long ball. He's not the guy you want in passing situations."

This might be harsh but basically it's almost like the only thing Newton knew how to read was if a defender was coming to tackle him and leaving a pass catcher open or dropping back and leaving him a running lane. I know it's a bit of a stretch of the truth but the only time the guy can be even close to consistently accurate is when he's throwing the ball twenty plus yards down the field, relying completely on arm strength and the receivers catch radius. Like we saw last year if the team gets behind, Newton is not gonna beat the opponents with a thousand paper cuts.

Newton would get praise from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who said Newton didn't understand a single thing McDaniels was telling him last season but now gets it and that is why there's improvement offseason. Remember, Newton played for overly simplified offenses at Auburn and in Carolina. And I think that's what McDaniels was eluding to.

McDaniels said, "He just knows much more about what we’re doing. It’s a lot less new learning every day, more repetition of things he already understands. … There were things I was telling him to do last year that he didn’t quite understand, but I was telling him, ‘Hey, do it this way. Try and do it that way. Make him the Mike, whatever.’ He was trying to do everything I said. Now, he actually understands the ‘why’ on most things."

Add to that the Patriots spent last season teaching Newton the proper mechanics for an NFL quarterback, something Carolina apparently didn't think was important. The Patriots have been trying to teach Newton to be a rounded passer that can throw screens and short passes just as accurate as he does the long ball.

McDaniels comments on the day are almost like he was saying he has to teach both quarterbacks how to be a passer in the league. At this point of Newton's career, he shouldn't need it, granted Newton is a mobile quarterback but still he should need that much work.

Let's face it although Newton won an MVP and has a decade of NFL experience, he's still just a 32 year old college quarterback entering this season. While it's good to have faith in Newton, to think we've seen anything that should have sold the fanbase complete on Newton for the season is about as delusional as wanting to sign Newton long term after the week two game of 2020 season.

As far as the quarterbacks go today, reportedly it wasn't much of a competition. It's safe to say by now Newton is the starter, as there was no apparent urgency to out do the other quarterback from either guy. Let's face it, Jones needs to learn to be an NFL starter as his inexperience and lack of emotional control show.

And although Cam can run, unless he's throwing the long ball, he's a below average to average passer at best that struggles running an offense built around the quick game. While the team has improved, the question is how much if any will the passing game improve with Newton under center. What we're seeing suggests the same amount of inconsistency is coming in 2021, and the best we can hope for is Newton to crack the top twenty in passing statistics.

Quick note, people are wondering about Gunner as a pass catcher. Evan Lazer said that Olszewski spends more time with the special teams units than the receiving core but is showing good development for a backup receiver at the moment. That's great news as if the team had him with the receivers more, he might be able to battle his way up the chart.