Patriots: A Josh Rosen Trade is possible but He's a far cry from Ton Brady.

Josh Rosen was drafted by the Cardinals in first round of the 2018 draft. Rosen went 3-10 as a starter that season. David Johnson ran for 940 yards on 258 carries, so he had some help from the run game. Arizona had no offensive line and Rosen was sacked 45 times. 

Rosen did have Larry Fitzgerald catch 69 passes. His three main receivers were Fitzgerald, Kirk, and Johnson who totalled 1770 receiving yards of Rosen's 2200. That season, Rosen had 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. 

In 2019 the Dolphins traded for Rosen to be their future franchise quarterback and planned to develop him with help from Ryan Fitzpatrick. Rosen would get three starts and go 0-3. He threw for 567 yards, 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions. He was also sacked 16 times.

The dolphins had no run game to help out Rosen. They did have Davante Parker who put up 1200 yards and 5 other pass catcher who put up respectable numbers for depth guys. The Dolphins saw enough in Rosen to draft Tua as their franchise quarterback. Rosen appears to not even be good enough to challenge Fitzpatrick for the backup role.

Rosen has dropped back 502 times and and been sacked 61 times. He has a 54.8% competition percentage and about the only thing going for him is the fact that he has NFL starting experience.

Currently, the Patriots have Cam Newton,  who with his style of play, I expect to be done after the 2025 season. Then they have Brian Hoyer who should be the team's third string quarterback and a future coach in the NFL.

Then they have 2019 fourth round draft pick Jarrett Stidham. Like Tom Brady with Friesz and Bishop, Stidham was said he couldn't beat out Hoyer for the Backup job and did in 2019. In his rookie season, Brady went 1 of 3 for 6 yards, Stidham went 2 of 4 for 14 yards and a pick 6.

Like Brady heading into his second year in 2001, Nobody expected Brady to beat out the former number one on the roster and Brady started his second season on the bench with no NFL experience. Like Brady; Stidham will be sitting and learning behind a franchise quarterback going into his second season.

The Patriots will want to give Stidham competition in 2021 as Newton will probably play himself out of a contract this year. The Patriots signed Lewerke to be the next Brian Hoyer but could trade a future 2022 pick for Rosen. 

The Patriots could offer a 2022 sixth round pick for the young quarterback with it changing to a fourth if he manages to start in 2021. This gives the Patriots time to develop Rosen and have a competition in 2021 with Stidham. 

Unlike Brady who played with one team for 20 years, this will be Rosen's third team. That's the third thing to show why Rosen isn't Tom Brady 2.0 but could still be developed into a starter. Now, if Newton gets hurt or doesn't play well, Stidham is in line to replace him, thus making him closer to being the next Tom Brady. 

And let's be real, Newton didn't come into camp and run away with the job. He stayed even with Stidham until Stidham got hurt and won the job because he was getting more time and was the better playmaker. If Newton ran away with the job, we're not talking potential trade here.

Cam Newton declared Patriots starter for now

Heading into Thursday morning, the Patriots were ten days away from facing off against the Miami Dolphins and had no starting quarterback. The decision was going to come down between Cam Newton and Jarrett Stidham. Two former Auburn quarterback with similar yet different play styles.

Tom Brady couldn't leave the Patriots fast enough and at first there was expectations that there would be a competition between Brian Hoyer, hero of superbowl 53 and 2019 rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham but Belichick would add Newton in late summer.

The Patriots now had Hoyer, a passive quarterback who could beat you with his mind and a his weak arm, Newton a reckless abandonment quarterback who would beat you with his legs and deep ball, and Stidham who falls in between the two veterans.

The quarterbacks would split reps but it was clear that Hoyer was just a conservative game manager who wasn't going to do anything flashy to win the job and this the other two would have to lose it.

Stidham was looking accurate in camp until he injured himself from overuse due to lack of stretching. The Patriots wouldn't find out about the injury for three days later. Over that three day period Stidham showed something was off and went on a interception streak. The Patriots were frustrated over the injury and the lack of disclosure.

Newton would see more reps but as several writers acknowledged, Newton was inconsistent and inaccurate. Newton wasn't pulling a head and the two quarterbacks stayed even in play. Newton's worst day saw him complete 46% of 28 passes. Newton showed some reason for concern, as he had several dropped interceptions and was made to do a lap for lack of ball security.

Belichick dragged the competition out hoping that one of his two quarterbacks would eventually run away with the job. Even with Newton getting more reps, that didn't happen. Hence, Belichick had to name a starter with only days before week one.

Bill could go with an accurate but inexperienced  mobile passer, or an inaccurate but experienced veteran running cannon. With Newton only being on a one year deal and Belichick wanting to continue to develop Stidham in the spring, Cam Newton won the Starting job by default.

Newton could play into a bigger contract but he could also play poor enough to be benched during the season. There is debate among analysts, to whether Newton will hold the Patriots back to only 7 wins or if he can lead them to 12 wins. This is still a wait and see situation. The Patriots are expected to keep Brian Hoyer as the teams third quarterback, to continue the development of Stidham.

The 31 year old Newton has an incentive based contract and thus will be looking to prove himself this season. For now, Cam Newton is the starter of the New England Patriots and we in Patriots Nation wish him all the best of luck going forward.

How much time does Newton have left as a starter and how should the Patriots approach the future.

I have been hard on Cam Newton because I know what I see. However, I want to see Cam play at elite levels because he is on the Patriots. I have read a lot of articles and unless the article tells me that the writer doesn't know what he's talking about, like Brady Quinn saying the Patriots don't have a fullback on the roster; I try to accept what they say with a grain of salt. 

I have been hearing and reading people saying that Cam Newton will be the Patriots franchise quarterback for a decade. As much as it's possible, it's not realistic. That's not me hating on Newton, that's just the way he plays.

Ask yourself this, right now could Brian Hoyer be the franchise quarterback for the Patriots for a decade? I'm betting majority of you are going to say no. Cam Newton as a pocket passer is worse than Hoyer. He is not a pocket quarterback, never has been.

This camp we have seen Newton complete uptown 68% of his passes. We have also seen Newton complete only 46%. Newton has also benefited from dropped interceptions because he throws the ball too hard. As a pocket passer he is inaccurate and inconsistent. It's why he has only had 3 seasons above 60% competition percentage.

Newton is a scrambler or running quarterback. Ask Evan Lazar, Newton is not a guy you want standing in the pocket, he's not gonna excel on passing drills. He's a guy who's gonna cause defenders to move up because of his scrambling ability, causing pass catchers to get open. He's a guy that relies on deep 50/50 jump balls. That's his game.

Because Newton is a guy who makes his money more off his legs than his arm, he is gonna take a lot more hits. Newton has already had several injuries. Two major ones back to back in 2018 and 2019. Newton's body is already starting to show signs that it cannot keep taking hits, which means he's getting close to playing in borrowed time.

Newton does not have the ability to transition into a pocket passer, he's not Steve Young. Newton turns 32 after the season. If he plays well and gets a long term contract, Newton has 4 or 5 years left max. That's all due to his play style. Again that's not me hating.

The Patriots have three more years of Stidham, including 2020 and would have to decide if he's their franchise or they would have to draft Newton's heir in the 2023 draft. Basically, the Patriots will find themselves in the same situation the Patriots found themselves in, in 2017.

The Patriots wanted to sit and develop Stidham another year behind Brady before Brady left town. Newton has not run away with the job, too many reporters have said this for me to doubt it.

The Patriots' best case scenario is to sit and develop Stidham this year and depending on how well Newton plays, to sign Newton to a two year contract. That allows the Patriots to move on from Cam if Stidham develops well enough but doesn't trap the Patriots incase Newton gets injured. 

If Newton out plays his contract and shows he can be extended past that give him a two year extension, understanding that they'll have to draft a quarterback to replace Stidham at that point. That is how to approach the Newton situation. 

I know I am talking about Newton like he's old but scrambling quarterbacks who aren't pocket passers don't tend to have long careers. This will be Newton's tenth season. Odds are not on his side. Honestly, Newton at this point should be considered on a year to year basis. 

Patriots: Goodbye Sanu, thanks for playing who wants to be a whiff.

Tom Brady pressured the New England Patriots to trade for Mohamed Sanu during the 2019 season. Like Danny Amendola's first season with the Patriots, Sanu had one good game but was a bust the rest of the first season.

In February, fans learned that Sanu had suffered what should've been a season ending high ankle sprain but continued to play on it. Sanu would under surgery to repair the damage from not taking time off to heal.

In July, Sanu took to Instagram to show his work out regiment. He posted videos of him working out with the Patriots quarterbacks. Sanu was like American Express, everywhere you want to be.

Then came August, report after report and article after article mentioned Patriots pass catchers. Sanu was barely every mentioned. Gunner Olszewski, Demeire Byrd, and Devin Ross were turning up. Sanu would get the occasional mention on return reports but wasn't standing out there either.

On Monday the Patriots cut Sanu after not being able to find a trade partner. This wasn't surprising as I have been speculating this for a week, along with Meyers going to the untouchable practice squad position. 

At this point I ask myself, would I rather have one of the three unproven names that have been making a name in camp over Sanu? The answer is yes. Sanu didn't do much last season, and although I give him a pass due to injury last season, he hasn't made a name for himself once camp started either. He disappeared faster than Inman did last year. 

This is where the preseason comes in handy. However, those three guys that beat out Sanu, were going against the Patriots secondary. So while it wasn't in game competition, it was the best secondary in the league that they were competing against. 

I expect the Patriots receiving core to be Edelman, Harry, Olszewski, Ross, Byrd, and Slater going into the season. Meyers can still earn a spot but he has to really perform.

Patriots' media not satisfied that the Patriots have named Newton the Savior of the Franchise.

Depending on the source, Cam Newton is either playing perfect at camp or has been inconsistent with accuracy issues. Hoyer has played like a conservative game manager and Stidham has either been an accurate quarterback who got hurt and had his injury effect his play before being limited.

Michael Corvo of Clutch Points noted that the Patriots play the Dolphins in September 13th and still have not named a quarterback.

The media has been pressuring Belichick to name Cam Newton the starting quarterback before he even signed with the team. So when asked for probably the hundredth time Belichick responded, “When we’re ready to do it, we’ll do it."

Belichick doesn't have to name a starter until about an hour before kick off if I understand the rules correctly, so he could keep everyone guessing.

However, Mike Gairdi doesn't seem to think that any of the quarterbacks have played well enough to start for the Patriots.

Kyle Hightower of the Boston Globe also weighted in on the subject and while he also believes Newton is the frontrunner, he said the following.

"Stidham has clearly improved since his rookie season when he beat out Hoyer. But he is coming off an injury that limited his time on the field last week. Hoyer’s value continues to be the ton of experience he has in offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ system."

Stidham gave his thoughts on camp. "That’s kind of my big thing. I just want to continue to learn from the guys in the quarterback room, whether it be Cam, or Hoy, or (quarterbacks coach) Jedd (Fisch), or Josh (McDaniels), or whoever it may be. Just continue to learn from those guys and really try to help myself get better and really excel on the field every day.”

Corvo is not a fan of anyone who hasn't crowned Newton the new GOAT, saying of those who are waiting for Newton to clearly run away with the job; "Or, if you’re a Patriots fan with a half-empty glass of Boston Lager, Belichick’s reluctance to commit could imply that none of the QBs have dramatically stood out."

While Newton has been showing improvement, that's exactly what Patriots Fans should be thinking at this point. Newton even admitted he wasn't the starter yet because he knew he had extra work to do to get there.

Harris misses back to back days allowing Michel to gain ground.

Damien Harris was having one hell of a training camp. So good that the former 2019 third round pick was being thought of as a person who could steal away the job. As open camp was coming to an end, Sony Michel came off the pup and was reported to "look good", 2018 good. 

With that, Harris could not afford to let up, especially seeing as the Patriots signed Lamar Miller who was on the pup also and could come off at any time. The Patriots were looking like they could have three potential number ones going into this week.

According to Jeff Howe of the athletic as written by the roto wire staff, "While the Patriots haven't provided any information, back-to-back absences hint at some type of injury. Prior to the past couple days, Harris had been splitting first-team carries with Sony Michel, who returned from the PUP list last Wednesday. The New England backfield has been a consistent source of intrigue this summer, and it appears there's still much to be determined in the coming weeks. Harris still has 12 days to get healthy before a Week 1 matchup with the Dolphins."

Healthy or not, his missed time is helping Sony reclaim his spot and allowing Miller the chance to leap from him.

Brady Quinn doesn't know who fullback Jakob Johnson is or what team he plays for, as he talks about the Patriots quarterback battle.

Brady Quinn spoke about the Patriots quarterback competition and I was willing to give the former NFL quarterback's opinion a read. Instantly, I found one thing that says he has no idea about the Patriots other than Cam Newton is on the team.

Everyone knows the Patriots are having a quarterback competition and everyone has an opinion on who should start. Brady Quinn of CBS weighted in on the competition saying, 

“He’s the guy, there’s no doubt about it,” Quinn said Tuesday on CBS Sports HQ. “In part because Jarrett Stidham is dealing with a little bit of an injury, but that’s just a portion of it. I think he gives them the best chance of winning the AFC East. I think Bill Belichick wants to prove to a lot of people they can win without Tom Brady. If you look at his skillset, if you look at the fact that he can be a great scheme fit for this offense and Josh McDaniels their play caller -- it makes a lot of sense."

So far what we have heard out of camp from several people including Brian Hoyer and Evan Lazar is that it is Tom Brady's offense doctored up. That is exact what I predicted, the offense would be 2/3s if Brady's with some air raid plays pulled from the back of the book for Cam and Stidham.

Mike Giardi and a few others have said that none of the quarterbacks have looked good and that Cam hasn't pulled away. That he has been inconsistent and inaccurate, that the only reason he pulled a head of Stidham was due to injury but let's continue with Quinn.

“When you look at their roster, I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t implement some of the same running schemes that we saw from him at times in Carolina with the New England Patriots. They don’t have a fullback on the roster, but they did draft Dalton Keane as a tight end/hybrid player. Maybe he could play some of that role. They have a large stable of running backs and the reason being is that I think they’re going to use them in the passing game, but also two running back sets with Cam Newton as well.”

Here is where Quinn reveals he doesn't know anything about the Patriots and is talking out his a**. The Patriots have Jakob Johnson on the roster, Johnson is a fullback. Had Quinn even bothered to look at the roster, he would've known that.

Everyone and their mother expects to see aspects of the Panthers' offense installed for Cam and Keene can play the H-Back position which is just a fancy way of saying tight end playing fullback. 

Quinn continues,  “I just think he brings from a schematic standpoint so many more issues for opponents. Bill Belichick knows that. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s the guy, and I think that he’s going to have a really good season.”

Quinn isn't saying anything that fan's don't already know. He's just reaching for his 15 minutes because his career in the NFL was cut short due to poor play. NFL analysts have predicted that Cam will either flop and be a 7-9 quarterback or a division winning comeback player of the year, so nothing of worth from Quinn.

Are the Patriots willing to pay up to acquire linebacker Beranrdrick McKinney?

The Patriots lost all four of their 2019 starting linebackers, either to free agency or to covid. There are someplace between 96 and 128 starting linebackers in the NFL and it's safe to say none of the current Patriots are ranked high that list. The 2020 patriots linebackers are either new to the team or been buried on the depth chart, so the Patriots don't know what they have.

The Patriots have money to play with, so who would they bring in? DPN'S Ray Rauth suggests a trade for Texans' linebacker Beranrdrick McKinney. Ray says he's a former 2nd round pick, who's coming off a down year and about to get paid six million dollars. 

Alright, so far sounds like possibly a 4th round pick could get him but then Ray drops his positional ranking. Ray describes him as very versatile and says "Pro football focus ranks him the 14th best linebacker in the NFL...", that makes him a linebacker one. 

The Texans have him locked up until the 2023 season, which he's slated to make $9 million that year.  Now as far as having a down year, I don't see that much of a difference but I'm not looking at analytics. He was in the backfield more in 2016 and 1017 than he has been over the past two seasons but otherwise he's down 9 solo tackles but only 4 combined tackles.

Before I look at his play style, maybe the Patriots can give up a third and a player for him to make the deal better but I see the Texans wanting a minimum of a second round pick. The Patriots are probably gonna have another bottom third pick again, so I don't agree with Ray that he will come cheap.

First I can see why Ray likes him. Here's a little bit about what Bleacher Report said. "PRO COMPARISON: Jamie Collins, New England Patriots

An impressive athlete with the skills to play inside or outside, McKinney and Jamie Collins are very similar weapons when looking at the X's and O's of their games."

McKinney is 6'4" 245 pounds, who runs a 4.5 forty time. CBS sports wrote about him, his "Value lies in his versatility and raw athleticism. He lines up all over the field for the Bulldogs, taking snaps and middle linebacker as well as rushing off either edge. His athleticism has been well documented, with McKinney reportedly clocking in the 4.5s and posting a 34-inch vertical leap..."

"Overly reliant on speed when rushing the quarterback, showing limited hand technique to defeat blocks once engaged. This issue comes into play not only when rushing the passer but also against the run where McKinney looks to slip past blockers rather than showing the aggression and strength to truly stack and shed. Not a sudden mover that lacks ideal range, causing him to struggle with coverage responsibilities.”

Lance Zierline of NFL.com said basically the same thing. McKinney was projected from what I have seen as a third round pick that the Texans reached on and it paid off for them. 

After everything I have read and seen, McKinney sounds like a high second or late first round pick, when it comes to trade value. What would the Patriots be willing to give up for a linebacker one and would the Texans be willing to help Belichick rebuild the Patriots. I don't know that this trade is within the Patriots price range.

Fournette and or Kamara to the Patriots?

There were rumors that the Patriots would sign Cam Newton upon release and I was asked to cover the story. To sum it up, I said no way, no how, would Belichick sign Newton and that a trade for Jacoby Brissett would happen first. Few months later, Cam Newton is a Patriot and the frontrunner of the quarterbacks competition due to an injury to Stidham.

Now the Patriots are being mentioned for Alvin Kamara and Leonard Fournette. The Patriots have Damien Harris, Sony Michel, and Damien Harris, all who should be able to to be the lead back and a few stable guys who can rotate in. 

Kamara has played in 45 games for the saints and started 25. Over his career he's rushed for 2408 yards, 27 touchdowns and a 5 yard average. He's also been a staple of the saints passing attack catching 243 balls for 2068 yards and 10 touchdowns. Over that span he's also averaged 7 yards a punt return and 31 yards a kick return with a touchdown in 2017.

In the playoffs Kamara has played in 5 games, rushing for 173 yards in 52 carries and hauling 28 catches for 237 yards. The Saints are asking for a first round pick for the young running back.

Unlike Kamara, Fournette has played 36 games for the dysfunctional Jaguars. Fournette is also still young and a free agent. Where Kamara is more finesse, Fournette is a more traditional back.

Fournette has rushed for 2631 yards and 17 touchdowns in 666 carries, only holding a career average of 4.0 and coming off his best season, where he averaged 4.3 yards a carry. 

Fournette is not exactly known as a pass catching back with only 1009 yards and 2 touchdowns on 134 receptions. Again though, he had his best season as the Jaguars quarterbacks dumped everything off to him it seemed in 2019, where he caught 76 passes.

In 3 playoff games he rushed 70 times for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns, while catching 7 passes for 44 yards. Unlike Kamara, Fournette doesn't return kicks. 

Kamara wants to get paid, so I don't see the Patriots spending a first round pick on him but he would be the better fit. Fournette the Patriots could get the same protection out of Michel, Harris, and Miller. I won't pretend to know why he was ousted from Jacksonville.

I know someone wants to know, what about Injuries. Michel has only missed 3 of his 32 possible regular season games. He's also started 22 of 29 games. And Miller has missed 7 of a possible 112 games. Starting 89 of 105 games because miami didn't start him his rookie year. Since most people don't think the preseason means anything, we'll ignore time missed before week 1.

As for Harris, Belichick redshirted him and he only saw 4 carries in two games. The Patriots are stacked and James white is massively underrated as a running back one. So while the Patriots could use either if their talents and they are both young enough to be signed, the Patriots should be okay at running going forward.

Shannon Sharpe was right for a change about the Patriots

Undisputed with Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless is a click bait opinion show with very little news. I try not to watch it very much as it's like trying to get news from Sean Hannity or Laura Ingram, it just rarely happens.

So checking out youtube and I see that they're back on the Belichick verses Brady debate because of some book that was released, talking about details from two years ago. 

Look, Shannon Sharpe is right. We have seen players sent packing going back to Drew Bledsoe and Lawyer Milloy. Belichick isn't the first coach to do it and he won't be the last 

The 49ers got rid of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. The Buffalo Bills got rid of Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith. The Dallas Cowboys got rid of Emmitt Smith. Pittsburgh allowed Rod Woodson to play elsewhere. Miami almost traded Marino to Minnesota, the same place where Brett Farve retired.

Why were so many great players forced to finish their careers elsewhere? One word, business! There comes a time when players have reached an age and its best to let them go. Doesn't matter the sport, just ask Jose Bautista.

Between 2018 and 2019, the Passing game had two of it's worst years with Brady. In 2019 the blocking was horrible but it wasn't in 2018. The run game also wasn't as effective but again, it was good in 2018. So what else was going on.

The pass catchers couldn't get separation, I'll give that to Brady. However, I'll give to Belichick the fact Brady didn't want to work with or mentor younger pass catchers. I'll also give to Belichick the fact that Brady's accuracy was slipping and that he was ignoring open pass catchers because he didn't want to work with them.

Tom Brady admitted that. No one, and no one else could've gotten away with that mentality in the NFL. Not Brett Farve, not Russell Wilson, not Joe Montana, not Dan Marino, and not even Roger Staubach. Brady had been getting away with it and in 2019, it finally costed the team.

I've said for about five seasons now that the Patriots had nothing to worry about until they failed to make the AFC Championship game. Under Brady, a first round bye was almost a guarantee. When they failed to achieve that, I still wasn't worried. When Brady ended the season with a pick six, I got worried. 

Look Belichick was right to be firm with an aging 42 something year old quarterback. Notice Brady didn't go to a team where he had to make them better, he went to a team stacked with weapons. Why because he doesn't have to work as hard. He doesn't have to play elite to put up elite stats.

The Patriots have a motto, "Do Your Job", by selecting a team with that much firepower, Tom Brady proved that by the end of 2019, he was no more than "Johnny freaking Foxborough". 

How bad would the passing game of been in 2019, if the defense wasn't getting so many turnovers? Two things are true in football, being down a lot or getting the ball because of your defense, leads to inflated passing stats. Brady was worse in 2019 than his stats show. It's time people acknowledge it.