The Patriots quarterbacks in 2020 all gave reason for them not to start in 2021.

I know I am biased, so I asked Colts' expert and film review guy, Mr. Lawrence Owen to take a look at Jarrett Stidham. The reason being from what I saw Stidham was comparable in his play everytime he took the field to Cam Newton but Patriots nation sees no comparison. Colts Law obliged me. Least he can do since his Colts fled the division to get away from Belichick and the Patriots.

Currently the Patriots have Stidham under contract and Jake Dolegada signed to a future contract. There's is talk about Newton being the starter in 2021 and Stidham who played equally as bad as Cam Newton, being garbage and out of the league.

Let me repeat that, played equally as bad,  was comparable and yet one guy is wanted back while the other guy is wanted out. Why?

Almost every excuse for one, can be made for the other, and both have excuses the other doesn't have. The reason why people want Cam back is because he was the MVP in 2015. People are making every narrative to support Cam and smear Stidham. 

Okay, if we're going to be living in the past, going into and following the 2018 draft, Stidham was considered a first round draft pick. 

Furthermore, since we're doing narratives. Newton was brought in to be a bridge quarterback, while Stidham was redshirted and Newton showed he can't throw no more spiking balls into the ground and forgetting the simple playbook the Patriots ran. Don't like it if you're a Newton supporter, who's been bashing Stidham? Anyone with football knowledge and the ability to research can make that argument. It's all about the narrative to fit your agenda.

Now before I continue, there is also Brian Hoyer. The guy should be an assistant on the Patriots coaching staff. Everywhere he has gone, he has mentored younger quarterbacks. He's been an unofficial quarterback coach and should just accept his fate but he's hanging on for a chance to be the Next Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson. Slim to no chance, 2020 was his best chance and he blew it versus K.C.

Basically the breakdown on Cam Newton is his mechanic issues prevent him from throwing short to intermediate passes, he's only good between the numbers limiting the play calling. He doesn't see the entire field and gets tunnel vision at times. He doesn't see the field. His accuracy requires tall guys with speed and large wingspans, and he needs a simple playbook. Newton can run but he's gotten slow, and his decision making while option plays is also a little slow. His decision making on where to go with thr ball is off but that could be because he doesn't see the field, sucks outside the numbers, struggles with short to intermediate passes, and cannot remember the playbook because it's too complicated. It was referred to as calculus. 

Here's the Colts Law on Cam Newton. He'll breakdown the positives and most of the  negatives on him. You'll see things I mentioned and things I didn't. He's a more knowledgeable football content maker and less biased. There are positives that I didn't see and negatives I did and didn't. With Cam to paraphrase, "he is Flawed but not finished yet." If you wanna know the rest, check out the video.

https://youtu.be/gs7s4WiM3Kw

Stidham is a year 1.5 player at best because of the way the 2020 offseason or lack there of. He looks scared or lacked confidence and it shows in his play, especially when he has the opportunity to run. Stidham is afraid to take hits. Like Newton his ball placement is off due to mechanics and he doesn't see the entire field, however he's young enough to correct it. Again like Newton, he gets tunnel vision at times and his pocket presence is inconsistent. His knowledge of and to run the playbook is off due to spending so much time with the scout team and getting third team reps. His decision making is off but it's more due to lack of experience. The worst thing the Patriots may have done was play him in 2020. They may have ruined him the way the Cardinals ruined Josh Rosen. My boy Ray over at Dear Patriots Nation can tell you all about how Arizona ruined Rosen's confidence.

Here's the Colts' law on Stidham, watch until the end because he makes a good point at the very end. Again, you'll get what he sees, like it or not. Things I admit, I missed. Basically on Stidham to paraphrase, "he is not ready to be a starter but it's too soon to throw him away." Again, check out the video for the rest.

https://youtu.be/McU6UZ1r08k

The purpose of me turning to Colts Law was to ask him if Stidham was a possibility of competing for the starting role in 2021.  I wanted to know if he was trash like everyone was saying, if I was way off or some place in between. Luckily. He also broke down the film on Newton. My opinion has and always will be, that from everything we saw in 2020. Stidham was an equal passer to Cam Newton, and passing is the primary job of a quarterback. Everything else is secondary and expendable.

I am against changing the brady offense to fit a Newton style quarterback play. There are accurate mobile quarterbacks that the Patriots can sign, that can do what the offense was meant to do. 

The Newton style mobile offense is too risky but is great if you like defenses who get to feed off high risk - home run ball offensive football. I've heard people in the past say they want a quarterback who can do two things, scramble and throw hail marys. Madden has ruined football expectations but that's what Newton fans would see the offense become.

I have always said I would've preferred Tyrod Taylor on the Patriots. I have begged for him to be Brady's backup and would take his safeness over Newton's high risk - big play style any day of the week. Taylor led the Bill's to the Playoffs but needed help because the owners got involved and benched him during the season, which blew up in their faces.

With that said, I believe if Newton has a chance to start, with how bad of a passer he was in 2020, than so does Stidham. Stidham was equally as bad at the position. It's about what have you done for me lately, not what did you do for someone else years ago.

Newton is a better rusher but is in the decline. His play is built around his legs, and thus his career expectancy must be viewed on thr same level as a running back. Stidham on the other hand is inexperienced with a better upside due to his age. 

And I get the Patriots Pass catchers were below average but the quarterback play hurt them more than they hurt the quarterbacks. There's too much tape, plus Cam's own words to back that up.

Look, do I think Stidham should start in 2021? No. Do believe he was redshirted and may have been ruined by the 2020 off season or lack their of and for playing in 2020? Yes. Stidham is under contract and the Patriots should bring in a bridge guy, regardless if the Patriots draft a quarterback or not; unless they draft someone capable of starting. 

I like Brissett and I like Tyrod Taylor. Both could be a bridge guy and mentor a younger quarterback. Jakobi has a better upside in terms of longevity but I believe Taylor could run the Brady offense better. Stidham is a backup level at best, at the moment. Strictly as a passer, so is Cam, and with what he admitted on the I Am Athlete podcast, even with his running ability, he hurts the development of the pass catchers. Plain and simple. 

Plus is he's not helping with film study or pointing out ways a younger quarterback can read a defense and other things quarterback coaches do, is he really worth bringing back just to teach micromanagement? There's more to being a bridge quarterback than that, and if that's all he brings in, I say let Newton go.

As far as Stidham, develop him for more year and if you don't like his development, cut him next offseason in his final year. Stidham must take a major leap in 2021 to bring himself to a bottom tier starting level talent. There's if's ands or butts about it. 

Two passers of equal play, one with more opportunities to out on film for fans to see, while the other had to impress in practice. James White gives just as much reason to think he might of as everything we seen on tape of Stidham says he didn't. So trust Bill and stop writing off the guy who's actually under contract.

What's the Narrative with Stidham?

Many draft experts in 2019 saw Stidham as a project, questioning his 2018 season decline because in 2018 he was viewed as a first round prospect. He was projected to fall between the third and fifth round in the 2019 NFL draft. He would end up getting drafted by the Patriots in round four.

Stidham would go on to have a hell of a rookie preseason, putting up better numbers in his rookie year than many of the Patriots former backups included Brissett and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Stidham got some time with the first string offense in practice during the 2019 season but how much, nobody truly knows. He was relegated back to the scout team and running the opponents playbooks when Brady was healthy enough to play.

Belichick said Stidham was ahead of rookies due to his extra time with the first string, and almost the entire roster had something positive to say about him in the spring of 2020.

However in 2020, entering his second year, he did not have a traditional sophomore offseason. There were no OTAs. Training camp in August was a joke. There was no preseason to gain any experience as a player.  On top of that he spent the season with the scout team practicing and running the opponents plays. 

Some people thought that Jarrett Stidham had a quarterback competition with Cam Newton. The people who claim to know something about football, all said there was no competition. That the job was Newton's the second he got signed. Newton had been in the league since 2011, winning an MVP in 2015.

Is it not more than likely that Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels knew that Stidham, the project they drafted in the 2019 NFL draft was not ready to start in year two, did not want to destroy his confidence with not having a true offseason, and signed Cam to be a bridge quarterback?

I mean the Patriots had nobody to throw to. At least that's what everyone is saying and it would've hurt Stidham's development to take the abuse without any help on the field, in the form of pass catchers.

Cam Newton praised how far Stidham had developed in December. James White a core piece of the Patriots offense and well respected member of the locker room, also threw his support behind Stidham. Essentially saying Stidham would be successful whenever  he's given the opportunity to start.

If you go back to the end of the season, the games didn't matter. Why would Belichick bring Stidham in versus Buffalo but not let him start versus the Jets? Is it possible that Buffalo is a truly worthy team to gain experience from, while the Jets are a joke and any success Stidham would've had against them, would've been inflated and not really worth evaluating?

Of course it's possible. It's also possible that Stidham was redshirted in 2020. People will say the coaching staff and the locker room lost faith in Stidham. Other than Devin McCourty coming out and saying he would've been disappointed if Newton was benched for Stidham, what Do we really know? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

The reports that Stidham was demoted to third string for circumstances around his injury? We have to go by the media because nobody in the organization is gonna say anything. Same with the loss of the locker room. There's no proof that it's anything but click bait. It's all hear say. Why because it's the slow news season. 

If you don't believe me, ask Andy Hart, and some other writers and analysts. Like a buddy of mine says, "It's all about Narrative". If you want to believe Stidham is a bum, You'll spin everything to fit your Ideology. If you believe he was redshirted, same thing. 

This College Defense Is The Evolution Of The NFL

Football is slowly becoming more and more about fast athletic quarterbacks and tight ends, moving further away from pocket quarterbacks and inline blocking tight ends. Thus defenses have to evolve and mentality has to change on what defensive players are capable of.

The Universities of Clemson, Texas, Iowa, and LSU just to name a few have started using a 3-2-6 defense. It's kinda like a light version of a 34 defense, with only 2 linebackers instead of 4. The Benefits of this is defensive backs for what ever need. 

With the defense calls for less traditional roles of the defensive ends as they should be hybrid defensive tackles. With a strong nose guard lining up between them. The linebackers also have to be able to play both the edge/outside role and the traditional inside role.

That's great but how do you stop the run? First off, this formation has many facets, you're not limited to only three men on the line. One or both linebackers can be moved on to the line. Allowing for many different looks of the formation.

On top of that the strong safeties are hybrid linebackers. Just like Coy Wire who played 9 years in the NFL  for the Bills and Falcons, and current New England Patriots Kyle Dugger. Having hard hitting safeties that can come up and play the run is something done all the time in the league. 

What it comes down to is roster building and game planning. Taking away what your opponents do best by moving pieces around. Teams that wanna go jumbo or heavy against this defense formation, that's when you switch the linebackers to bigger Defensive tackles/ends. The safeties are still on the field. To play linebacker 

The NFL is evolving and defenses must evolve and adapt to the changes. One team with the personal to execute such a formation is the Patriots. Their entire defense is built on hybrid players. On top of that, they have one of the most intelligent defensive minds in NFL history. The Chargers are another team that is capable of running such a defense, or were under former head coach Anthony Lynn. There is enough college tape for professional teams to learn how to use this formation. It's time defenses in the NFL caught up with the modern offenses.

Four Quarterbacks with experience have real odds of being the Patriots starter in 2021 according to Vegas.

Brian Mazique wrote an article titled "Former No. 2 pick is the Favorite to be the Patriots week 1 starter in 2021." His article was based on Las Vegas and Vegas has 4 quarterbacks with some NFL experience starting before a rookie.

Sportsbetting.com has former Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota at +250, followed by former Patriots Jacoby Brissett at +350, next up is current Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham at +400, and the fourth quarterback at +500 is 2020 Patriots starting quarterback and current free agent Cam Newton. 

Newton is tied with a rookie quarterback, which doesn't say much about how Vegas views his ability to run the Patriots offense. There are 21 other quarterbacks listed with a worse chance but that's either because they're going to cost the Patriots too much to acquire or they're talent level is so low that it's almost insane to think they would start. Although, I do think RG3 and Tyrod Taylor should have better odds.

Mariota is was a good quarterback but went to the wrong team and his career never amounted to what it shouldve been. Since then, he has injury concerns. Rumor has it that his elbow is made out of glass. The fact that the Raiders signed him as a security blanket for Carr last season and now are wanting to ship him out should raise some flags.

Jakobi Brissett is another quarterback who knows the Patriots system. Belichick shipped him to the colts because he thought he was expendable. After taking over for Andrew Luck, the colts decided to go with Phillip Rivers instead of trying to make it work with Brissett. What's wrong with Brissett that we're not seeing?

Jarrett Stidham had a lot of hype going in to 2020. However, he lost the quarterback competition whether it was real or not. Got demoted to third string and regardless of how Cam played, Stidham was never allowed to start in 2020. According to a Colts media personal, Stidham's problems are correctable. There are so many conflicting reports to fit narratives concerning Stidham that from an outside prospective there has to be red flags, even if he was purposely redshirted.

Then there's Cam Newton. He won the so called quarterback competition, beat up on two suspect defenses and then started going downhill week three. Newton caught covid and there are a plethora of excuses to why he should be brought back. The fact that he admitted he completely forgot the weekly plays and didn't know what he was doing is grounds for him not to be re-signed. However, there are those who spin it to covid brain. According to the same Colts media person, there is something Cam does that's caught on tape that's also reason enough not to re-sign him.

I am a propionate of first round quarterbacks starting or at least competing for the starting job in year one. Probably because I got to watch guys like Drew Bledsoe and Payton Manning's rookie year. Those were some shitty seasons at quarterback. Any other quarterback should sit most if not all of their rookie year.

Unless the Patriots over pay to acquire Mariota, all four quarterbacks listed should have a competition against each other or even a rookie for the starting job. Honestly, not one of these quarterbacks of non rookie stature screams "everyone sign with New England". However, if the Patriots don't draft a quarterback, Brissett vs Stidham would be the Patriots best options. 

For all we know, the Patriots could have their eye on drafting Dustin Crum from Kent St. in 2021. Nobody honestly knows anything, not Ian Rapoport, not Mike Reiss, not Evan Lazar, and not Doug Kyed; nobody. The only ones who know are Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick and they're not gonna talk. So everything we hear is rumours and speculation to fit narratives of personal interest or for clicks and ratings.

J.J.Taylor The Patriots New Pass Catching Third Down Back?

The Patriots have both James White and Rex Burkhead entering free agency. Both are going to cost a bit of change. The exact amount varies. If you follow my blog, than you know I think the Patriots have an option that would allow both to be released.

In 2020, the Patriots signed undrafted free agent J.J. Taylor. He was the early spark plug the Patriots needed until the team changed gears and Burkhead stole his thunder.

Taylor is a pingpong ball, acquiring over half of his yards after contact. The 5'5" 185 pound back averaged 4.8 yards per carry. And showed the ability to play bigger than he is. Taylor is often forgotten because he got buried in the stable behind so many quality backs.

Although Taylor flexed as a power back, in college he showed the ability to be a reliable pass catcher.  He has the ability to develop into a Rex Burkhead type 3rd down back. Belichick got a steal with Damien Harris in the 3rd round of 2019 and may have done it again if he has the same confidence in his pony as his position coach.

Ivan Fears spoke about the idea of Taylor in the role that White and Burkhead play saying, “You haven’t seen him in that role, but early on, the kid’s got great hands. He’s really, really quick and sudden. He can get in and out of breaks. I think he has a chance to be a combination-type player. A guy who you can use in multiple roles. You’ve just got to play to his strong suit and not put him in a situation where he can be taken advantage of.”

The Patriots are going to need to cut money where they can and they still have Brandon Bolden under contract. Bolden is a lesser Burkhead and can pick up a little extra play time while the team fits Taylor into the role. Bolden has shown flashes of potential and is also a special teams personal, something Taylor could benefit to learn.

Tyrod Taylor too safe for some.

During his time in Buffalo, Tyrod Taylor produced a 22 and 20 record. Two of those years was under the Rex Ryan era, that saw Anthony Lynn replace Ryan. In the Third year, he had Sean McDermott take over with a more positive style. Ryan ran a dysfunctional power run offense and it costed the team games. In fact, Ryan's only goal during the seasons was to beat the Patriots.

Taylor was a safe but efficient game manager during his time in Buffalo. He completed 767 of his 1236 attempts for a completion percentage of 62.06%.  He threw for 8,857 yards with 51 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Taylor was sacked 124 times over his three seasons due to bad offense line play. He also rushed for 1575 yards and 14 touchdowns on 283 carries for a 5.56 yard average.

The fans in Buffalo hungered for an aggressive Eli Manning, Kerry Collins, Vinny Testaverde style gunslinger. The owners feeling the pressure of the fans benched Taylor for overly aggressive trick shot quarterback Nathan Peterman. The Bills were 5-4 going into the game and still very much in the playoff picture. The owners, still young as owners, got too involved and it costed the team.

Peterman would go 6 of 14 for 66 yards with 5 interceptions. His interceptions led to 1 pick six and 4 quick scores by the Chargers. Peterman made several throws that Taylor would never consider. Taylor rarely throws a 50/50 ball as he likes high percentage passes. Taylor's typical risky pass is a 70-30 ball.

The Chargers opened the second half and marched down the field for a field goal, making the game 40-10 when Taylor took the field. Taylor would come in and go 15 of 25 for 158 yards and a touchdown. While running 4 times for 38 yards and 1 touchdown. Buffalo would lose 24-54, surrendering only 17 points in the second half. Had Buffalo of started Taylor, they would've been in that game.

Taylor then gets the Bills into the playoffs needing help because Nathan Peterman started one game in his place.

In the playoffs Taylor played a safe game, even seeing a defender waiting to pounce on a pass in the 4th quarter, while the announcers are screaming for him to throw to the defender which would lead to a clear interceptions.

Taylor would go 17 of 37 for 134 yards with an interception. Putting up an additional 27 yards on the ground. 

In the fourth quarter in the final 2 minutes, Taylor has the Bill marching with a chance to tie or win the game. Taylor had moved the ball to his own 42 with 1:43 on the game clock. Getting injured on a 2 yard pick up. Peterman comes in and loses a fumble out of bounds. Peterman would get the Bills to the Jaguars 38 before getting called for an intentional grounding penalty. The next play Peterman would throw the game with another interception.

Taylor would go on to Cleveland and L.A. where he would lose his job to injury.

There are two groups when it comes to Tyrod Taylor, those who like his safe play and view him as a mobile pocket passer, and those who hate his play because he's not an aggressive, risk taking, big play quarterback. The only thing that both groups can agree on is that his injuries have hurt his career.

Taylor is one of the free agent options for the Patriots. When it comes to Taylor one has to ask themselves, am I a fan of safe precision passing or do I prefer a high risk high reward passer? I can tell you from talking to majority of Newton fans, that they prefer the big play mentality over a safe accurate dink and dunk passing game.

The Law Lays Judgement On Stidham.

In 2019 Jarret Stidham did not look great in relief of Tom Brady but he was praised as being ahead of schedule due to how much time he got and by the end of the season, every player seemed to have positive things to say about him. 

Of course in 2020, they all had positive things to say about Cam Newton, so I guess we have to take it with a grain of salt because as many like to point out, "what else were they to say."

Everyone saw how bad the Patriots pass catchers looked in 2018 and 2019 yet Stidham did something astounding. See the Patriots pass catchers were bad enough that they should've been out classed by the second string defenses during the 2019 preseason but Stidham excelled.

Here was how Stidham stacked up against Brady's previous backups in his rookie campaign.

Stidham (2019): 61-of-90 for 731 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT. 9 sacks. 17 rushes for 88 yards.

Danny Etling (2018): 20-of-38 for 178 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.

Jacoby Brissett (2016): 38-of-56 or 387 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.

Garoppolo (2014): 46-of-79 for 618 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT. 5 sacks. 4 rushes for 8 yards.

Ryan Mallett (2011): 36-of-63 for 357 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Brian Hoyer (2009): 29-of-44 for 354 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.

Jimmy G barely completed over 50 percent of his passes but he took less sacks and threw one more touchdown. Jimmy also ran it less than Stidham. Stidham however played with inferior pass catchers in 2019 compared to what Garoppolo had in 2014 and still completed over 60%.

Belichick wanted to sit Stidham in 2020. After Brady left, Bill went out and signed Cam Newton. A quarterback who at the time was guaranteed to start on all 32 teams in 2020, regardless of who was there because as his supporters said, "You don't sign him unless you're starting him." Sorry Green Bay, Tampa, and Kansas City. Y'all missed out on signing him to start over your quarterback. In all seriousness, I dismissed Newton being handed the starting job by signing but I could've been wrong.

In 2020, Stidham went 22 of 44 for 256 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He was blitzed 18 times, hurried 5 times, hit 8 times, and sacked 4 times, scrambling twice. He also rushed 7 times for 7 yards, picking up 3 first downs.

There's a term I heard recently, "Hero ball". That's the style football Stidham had to play versus both the Chiefs and 49ers. 

When Stidham entered the game versus the K.C. in week 4, he had a chance to lead a comeback. The score was 13-3. Stidham enters the game and drives the Patriots down the field with help from Damien Harris, for a score to make it 10-13. The Chiefs would march down the field and make it 19-10.  Stidham takes over and throws a good pass to an open Edelman and Edelman drops or deflects it into the hands of a defender for a pick six. The Patriots gave up after that. 

Against the 49ers, Stidham needed to come in and play mistake free football and hope the defense could make one key play. Stidham came in with the score 33-6. Newton had put the 49ers in scoring position 3 times. While Stidham showed good ability to throw the ball versus the Chiefs, his ball placement versus the 49ers was bad, looking confused at times. Running the 49ers playbook all week could've had something to do with that.

Stidham would then come in versus the Chargers, go 2-3 and hit a perfect timing route throw for a touchdown.

His final appearance against the Bills, Stidham was missing open pass catchers, skipping the ball on the ground like he was a heisman trophy winner. He looked scared and instead of taking a hit to deliver a pass to an open pass catcher, he would run the ball out of bounds. It was that game that I was like, "he's not the guy, he's no better a passer than Cam!"

Now, when It comes to Stidham, I don't think he's good enough to start but I do believe as a passer he is equally to Cam Newton and was redshirted. However, as a Patriots fan, I am considered bias. So I turned to a fan of another team who knows more about football than I do.

Here's what Mr. Colts Law had to say on Stidham.

Lawrence Owen's writes, "I looked at every snap Stidham took in 2020. There are 3 Major issues he has. There is some good in the tape, but he leaves his feet to throw when on the run too much. 

His pocket awareness and presence is not at starter level (yet, that can be fixed with practice/experience). And he seems to play scared. Granted, he was under constant duress in the majority of his snaps. KC, SF, Rams, & Buf all seemed to send extra pressure when he was in at QB. 

In summary, when he is in the pocket, with time to throw, he seems like a capable QB, able to go through his progressions, make the right reads, and make timely/accurate throws. But when he is pressured, his mechanics/decision making, goes right out the window."

I don't know if Lawrence Owen is going to put out anymore on Stidham, so I advise people to follow him and stay in the loop. That's colts law on YouTube and Twitter.

Now remember that in 2018, Stidham was viewed as a projected first round draft pick but in 2019, he was viewed as a fourth round project. Stidham has spent two years on the bench. In 2020, he was without a full offseason of OTAs, and preseason. And he spent the regular season practicing with the scout team learning and executing the opponents playbook. Instead of becoming efficent with the Patriots playbook.

All of his problems can be fixed. 2020 Bridge quarterback Cam Newton praised Stidham's development in December. Belichick said Stidham improved and did everything asked of him in 2020. And, Josh McDaniels said he felt comfortable with Stidham's development but it wasn't his decision to decide who starts and who sits. 

Adding everything up, Jarrett Stidham was redshirted and at the very least, will be the Patriots backup in 2021. With a full offseason in 2021, depending on what Belichick does, Stidham could very well be the starting quarterback in 2022 or he could be on his way out of the league. Either way, there are no guarantees at the moment on the trajectory of his career.

Did Newton Hurt His Chances Of Getting Re-signed?

Cam Newton was recently interviewed on "I AM ATHLETE" podcast. There were a couple of things that stood out to me. Some positive for the Patriots and some not so positive for Newton. It answers some questions that started after the first half of the game versus the Raiders.

The first thing is Newton said he was used to "Improv" but with the Patriots they had to work with him. Basically eluding to the Patriots timing offense. But it gets worse.

Newton said, “Throughout those times, there was times where it was just like, ‘Hold on, set 180. Wait am I supposed to, set 1-8-what? Hold on.’ I was thinking too much. Going back to that analogy, the offense kept going and I was stopped and stagnant for a week, two weeks. By the time I came back, it was new terminology. I was like, ‘Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Let’s go back to No. 1.’ I wasn’t trying to learn the system for what it was. I was learning a 20-year system in two months.”

Newton admitted he forgot the play at the line of scrimmage. How can any offense be productive if you cannot remember the play. Chris Simms once said there's a way to learn a playbook and most players get it wrong because they start at the beginning. He had said it was why it took him hours to learn the titans offense while it took others years to own.  Newton after signing in late June is still learning the playbook. 

When Brandon Marshall tried to attack the Patriots receiver's for not being any good, Newton stepped up and defended them. Newton basically brought up their tier talent level and hinted that they were not healthy and playing above their ability. Newton stopped short, leaving out the guy throwing them the ball didn't know what play they were running in his defense of his pass catchers.

Marshall also tried to attack McDaniels playcalling and again was shut down by Newton. Marshall clearly is resentful of his work relationship he had with McDaniels. Newton made clear McDaniels is not a Belichick clone.

Newton also referred to the Patriots way as a "confrontational" environment, where people worked up to 16 hour days. He admitted that not everything that's part of the Patriots way, he was used to.

Overall, while Newton defended his teammates and the Patriots way, his comments about the playbook during the interview and his forgetting of it is very much detrimental to him as a player. The Patriots pride themselves on football knowledge. Newton should know 60% of the playbook by now at the minimum. He couldn't remember plays from individual weeks' game plans. His actual knowledge is now in question. While he might get another shot with the Patriots, his chances may have just dropped.

Bump Gilmore's salary a little or Ship him off.

The Patriots secondary has been built around shutdown corner Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore was so good that in 2019 he won defensive player of the year. It's hard to say if Gilmore fell off in 2020 or if he benefited from the boogeymen defense in 2019. 

Gilmore only played in 11 games and 62% of the snaps in 2020. In 2019 he played in 94% of the snaps of all 16 games. Five games can make a huge difference statistically.

In 2020 he had 37 tackles with a forced fumble. He deflected 3 passes and had 1 interceptions. Gilmore allowed 57.1% of the 49 targets to be completed. Over the past 3 seasons, Gilmore has seen a slow increase.

Gilmore turns 31 in September and is set to make $7.5 Million in 2021. If Gilmore wants more than a $4 Million raise in 2021, the Patriots should take whatever they can get for him. With one exception.

As previously stated, Gilmore is the backbone of the Patriots secondary. If the Patriots are offered a player for Gilmore and that Player comes with a $15 Million contract like an OBJ, the Patriots should in that case just pay Gilmore. Then again, the Patriots may have trouble bringing in a pass catcher but even so, there's no guarantee anyone including OBJ would pan out in New England. 

Furthermore, If I'm correct on my Salary Projections going off different sources, I'd rather see the Patriots bring in both DeSean Jackson and A.J. Green for a total of around $10-$11 million before going after OBJ. If they can meet Gilmore at a four million dollar pay raise, that's $14 million and the team can breathe a little easier, Not having to rely on JC Jackson to be the number one yet. If not, they must lock up J.C. Jackson, who's also gonna want Gilmore money.

Patriots could look to re-sign a former first round draft pick

In 2020, Phillip Dorsett left the Patriots looking for an opportunity to be a more prominent role on an offense. Outside of Edelman, the Patriots basically rotate the receivers the way they do their backs. That was a turn off for Dorsett who stayed in 2019, with hope of a chance to prove himself.

On August 24th, Dorsett suffered an injury to his foot, that saw him have surgery on November 3rd. Dorsett never got back to full health and missed the entire 2020 season.

Before leaving the Patriots, Dorsett would get open a couple of times a game and like Ryan Izzo, he was good for at least one big play a game. Dorsett was sliding into that Danny Amendola role.

In 2019 Dorsett had Tom Brady throwing him the ball. On the season Brady had a true completion percentage of 66 percent, with 75.9% of the passes he threw Dorsett being catchable. Dorsett was targeted 54 times catching 29 passes, with a true catch rate of 70.7 percent. He caught 397 yards and 5 touchdowns. Dorsett had a target separation rate of 1.72 which was good enough for 25th in the league. In comparison Byrd had a 1.77 in 2020.

Dorsett is 28 years old but he's only played in 71 of a possible 96 regular season games. If healthy, Dorsett can be a valuable number three or four pass catcher. Dorsett isn't commanding big money and wants to play. It's more about legacy than money for him.

Dorsett could be signed and come in and compete with the other pass catchers. He's an upgrade over everyone except for Byrd, Edelman, and Meyers. Dorsett is only a year removed from the playbook and should pick it up quick.

The problem is he wants to prove he can play. With all of Newton's struggles and with the possibility of Newton versus Stidham round two, and the Patriots looking like they have no other options, Dorsett may consider any other offer but New England. 

Like with many free agent prospects, the Patriots may prove to be a hard sell, the only thing that might save them with Dorsett is he saw how Stidham performed in practice over the duration of 2019. If you view Dorsett as an upgraded depth piece over what the Patriots had in 2020, pray that Stidham was redshirted and not trash.