Patriots Operating as If They Have 2018 Version of Cam Newton
Evaluating NFL players during the summer without games has been difficult, and the quarterback position has been no different. For the New England Patriots, this has been the challenge of evaluating their quarterback competition. Second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham has been limited by a hip injury over the past couple weeks, which has put all eyes on Cam Newton, the team's projected Week 1 starting quarterback.
So what has the Patriots coaching staff seen from Newton? Well, let's just say they are operating as if they have the 2018 version of Newton.
"It's one of things thats difficult to evaluate as you go, in terms of while you're practicing," quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch said Thursday during a video conference with the media. "Because tackling to the ground as we all know is very different than tagging off. Then you get somebody like Newton who's at 250 pounds and 6-foot-4 or 5 whatever he is, and now its like how do you evaluate that when they're in a red jersey."
"You have to assume a healthy Cam, which is what we've seen since we've worked with him," Fisch continued. "You go back to the last time you've seen a healthy Cam. What did a healthy Cam Newton look like and in terms of running the football and in terms of being able to break a tackle or be able to knock a guy down. And thats kind of the assumption that we're all going to work off of as long as he's healthy and able to continue to do the things he's shown to be able to do."
Going back to the last time we've seen a healthy Cam Newton means going back to 2018. Although he only played in 14 games, Newton had a career-high completion percentage (67.9 percent) and almost 3,400 passing yards. He threw 24 touchdowns that year, which is tied for second-most in his career, leaving you to wonder what his numbers would've looked like had he played all 16 games.
Newton also rushed for 488 yards that season, which wasn't one of his strongest seasons as a runner. His career high season total is 741 back in 2012. But compared to Tom Brady's 35 total rushing yards in 2018, Newton looks pretty great.
His performance so far during the summer and his work ethic gives hope that Newton will have success in New England and potentially duplicate some of the stats he posted earlier in his career. Without preseason games, however, it's hard for coaches to know just how Cam Newton will perform as a Patriot.
