Mac Jones Had A Rookie Day, While Newton Acceled With Pads As Expected.

The first day in pads, how would things look when the defense can go full speed against everyone except the quarterbacks? Would Mac Jones continue to look like a first round passer who occasionally makes rookie mistakes? Would Cam Newton continue to look average at best as a passer? These are things we were looking for on Tuesday.

Mac Jones

Mac had a two good throws but threw an interception and was inaccurate on tuesday during 11 on 11s, reportedly forcing the ball and not going through his progressions. Jones looked like a rookie quarterback today which is to be expected since he is a rookie, hopefully he keeps these days to a minimum.

Jones ran the two minute offense well going 5 of 6. He also looked solid during the 7 on 7 periods, completing all 8 passes. Jones would go 14 of 20 on the day. Accuracy, decision making, and completion percentage are the areas where Jones is better than Cam and needs to excel. Today, Jones was off for part of the day.

Things weren't entirely as dire for Jones on the day as they seem. Kharl Thompson explained that not all Jones's throws in the 11 in 11 drill were bad.

Thompson said, "Jones did have a pretty throw on a corner route to Nelson Agholor in red-zone team segments that should have been a touchdown, but Agholor, for whatever reason, couldn’t keep his feet inbounds."

Cam Newton reportedly ran over and put a towel over one of the officials heads apparently to make the statement that the play would be reviewed in a game.

Just goes to the old Bill Belichick adage "stats don't tell everything." But what happened today is Jones got complacent as stated by Henry McKenna.

McKenna Wrote, "It’s one thing to excel in shorts and shells during the early days of training camp. It’s another thing entirely to excel against pass-rush pressure, press coverage and thud-level tackling. So it’s as Belichick says: 'He has a long way to go.' "

Cam Newton

 

Cam had a good day looking in control of the offense but showed he's still got room for improvement. He continues to show good strength and zip and finally had more quality snaps than Jones. He also showed better decision making on the day but while his accuracy is improving, can he get away from being a bubble boy? Which is his biggest accuracy issue.

There are issues his supporters will willingly over look to make Newton look better than he is but Cam is showing slightly improved intermediate accuracy and the ability to throw with touch. He also looked like a starter, leading receivers to where he wanted them. His Naysayers cannot say that he isn't looking improved as a passer from last season but they'd be lying to say he looks like a top 16 passer.

Henry McKenna Wrote, "Jonnu Smith went up to snag a toe-tapping grab along the sideline to help out Cam Newton. The New England Patriots quarterback had a pretty sharp practice, but this wasn’t one of his best throws – too high and too far outside. It didn’t matter. Smith turned a bad moment into a brilliant one, and caught it for a 15-yard pickup and a big play during 11-on-11 drills.

Was it a precursor of what’s to come in 2021 for Newton, a quarterback who so badly looked like he needed help in 2020?"

Newton showed he can still manage the two minute offense going 4 of 5. Newton would go 15 of 22 on the day. And Newton continues to work with deep threat and the two tight ends. Building up repporet with the three pass catchers. That's Newton's bread and butter but the Patriots bread and butter plays are short and intermediate passes to the slot guy and backs.

Newton also showed off his running ability, something that was hard to do without pads, and something we expected to see on Tuesday. There will be more to this to come as it's the only thing that keeps Newton from being a backup quarterback.

Paul Puerillo wrote after camp, "Newton was a bit erratic in early 7-on-7 work as Kyle Dugger knocked away a pass intended for Hunter Henry, and later he underthrew Harry on a deep ball."

Add that to the quote I included from McKenna and it's clearly evident that 2020 Cam Newton has still been popping his head up during the offseason. Newton is showing improved accuracy from last year but is still only looking average as a passer. He needs to show consistency as a passer. This was a loss for Jones today but with exception to his emotional outbursts, Newton hasn't done anything to truly beat Jones out prior today. Newton is the bridge starter, and starter by default at the moment. The question is will that change anytime during 2021?

The last thing the Patriots need is to rush and start Mac Jones and have a Ryan Leaf, Sam Darnold situation but with all the hype still being centered around Cam Newton, one would think he's dominating practice and looking greatly improved and that's just not the case as he's not doing anything to show he's the better quarterback. I would say except keeping his composure but we saw that he lost that at minicamp. 

At the moment wait until week four or five before deciding if Newton is an improved quarterback from last season. And because I believe that statement, Jones still has a chance before the season starts to dethrone Newton but at the end of the day it's up to Bill Belichick unless Robert Kraft overrides him.

Other notes from practice: Harry, Bourne, and Olszewski had good days during the one on ones. And a day after Nick Folk's leg was short, Quinn Nordin was out there today making 4 out of 5 from up to 46 yards. While Ted Karras is still out with a knee injury.