Signing(s): Cam Newton to Patriots

[tarheelhockey]

He had Olsen and Steve Smith for several years.

Olsen yes, but Newton was just beginning to break into stardom when Smith left.

When the Panthers were good and Newton was dominating, he was throwing to trash WRs. In 2015, he won the MVP while throwing mainly to Ted Ginn, who was one of the worst in the league for converting opportunities.

Since Smith left in 2013, the Panthers’ top wide receivers:
Kelvin Benjamin
Ted Ginn Jr.
Devin Funchess
DJ Moore
Uh... I guess the ghost of Jerricho Cotchery?

Christian McCaffrey, who is not a receiver, is a better receiver than any of these players.

 

[JeremyTB]

Newton is suppose to be this big difference maker for the Pats when 31 other teams feel they have a better starting QB than him? I say this because for that price every team would sign him if they felt he was better than what they currently have. And Newton at this stage would accept any teams offer if they guaranteed him the starting job which the Pats haven't even done.

 

[StreetHawk]

Newton is suppose to be this big difference maker for the Pats when 31 other teams feel they have a better starting QB than him? I say this because for that price every team would sign him if they felt he was better than what they currently have. And Newton at this stage would accept any teams offer if they guaranteed him the starting job which the Pats haven't even done.

Teams who did NOT need a new QB given their QB's play & contract situation:
NFC - AZ, SF, LAR, SEA, NO, TB, ATL, NYG, WAS, DAL, PHI, GB, DET, MIN. Just leaves Chicago in the NFC
AFC - KC, DEN, LAC, LV, BUF, NYJ, MIA, HOU, TEN, CLE, CIN, BAL, PIT. Leaves Indy and Jax.

Have to keep in mind that Cam is coming off injury and has taken a lot of hits over his career. With Covid, he could not get checked out by teams when free agency began. Plus, there is the contractual obligation to the current starter for a lot of teams.

Indy opted for the durable, but old Rivers. Chicago opted for Foles, hoping Nagy can work the same magic that Peterson did with him. Jax, well, they are not expected to be a good team anyways. LV, you can say Carr, but at least he's been durable having missed just 3 starts in 6 seasons.

Main thing for Cam, is to show he is back healthy. If he gets NE to 8-8 or 9-7 given their limited weapons, that would be solid for him. And depending on performances by certain QBs, another opportunity can be hand next off-season.

 

[Troy McClure]

Teams who did NOT need a new QB given their QB's play & contract situation:
NFC - AZ, SF, LAR, SEA, NO, TB, ATL, NYG, WAS, DAL, PHI, GB, DET, MIN. Just leaves Chicago in the NFC
AFC - KC, DEN, LAC, LV, BUF, NYJ, MIA, HOU, TEN, CLE, CIN, BAL, PIT. Leaves Indy and Jax.

Have to keep in mind that Cam is coming off injury and has taken a lot of hits over his career. With Covid, he could not get checked out by teams when free agency began. Plus, there is the contractual obligation to the current starter for a lot of teams.

Indy opted for the durable, but old Rivers. Chicago opted for Foles, hoping Nagy can work the same magic that Peterson did with him. Jax, well, they are not expected to be a good team anyways. LV, you can say Carr, but at least he's been durable having missed just 3 starts in 6 seasons.

Main thing for Cam, is to show he is back healthy. If he gets NE to 8-8 or 9-7 given their limited weapons, that would be solid for him. And depending on performances by certain QBs, another opportunity can be hand next off-season.

Yeah, it's not right to say every other team passed on him. A whole bunch of them flat out can't afford to add a double digit QB because they're already paying their QB $20-35 million.

 

[StreetHawk]

Yeah, it's not right to say every other team passed on him. A whole bunch of them flat out can't afford to add a double digit QB because they're already paying their QB $20-35 million.

Plus Was Cam really wanting to go to camp to compete against a Carr in LV for example?

with NE he’s up against a guy with 4 NFL passes in his career.

 

[DangleCity]

I still think it might be Stidham's job to lose. The idea that the Pats would wait until the end of June to sign their starting qb is a little questionable to me and he got backup money on a one year deal. If he comes in and plays well he's likely gone in free agency anyway. I think they still want Stidham to be the future but understand they have no idea how he's going to look in actual games. If he busts Cam could be there as a plan b. Hoyer is the kind of backup you want holding a clipboard.

There is zero chance the Patriots or Cam for that matter, signed up to be a back up. Having Stidham sit another year can really only benefit him

 

[DangleCity]

Newton is suppose to be this big difference maker for the Pats when 31 other teams feel they have a better starting QB than him? I say this because for that price every team would sign him if they felt he was better than what they currently have. And Newton at this stage would accept any teams offer if they guaranteed him the starting job which the Pats haven't even done.

Well if you believe Richard Sherman, then maybe there were other reasons why everyone passed on Newton

 

[sigma six]

I was really looking forward to an era of not having the pats shoved down my throat by the media every damn day but they keep finding ways.

 

[Evincar]

Olsen yes, but Newton was just beginning to break into stardom when Smith left.

When the Panthers were good and Newton was dominating, he was throwing to trash WRs. In 2015, he won the MVP while throwing mainly to Ted Ginn, who was one of the worst in the league for converting opportunities.

Since Smith left in 2013, the Panthers’ top wide receivers:
Kelvin Benjamin
Ted Ginn Jr.
Devin Funchess
DJ Moore
Uh... I guess the ghost of Jerricho Cotchery?

Christian McCaffrey, who is not a receiver, is a better receiver than any of these players.

I wouldnt lump DJ Moore in with those guys. Guy is probably already a top 10 WR right now. Benjamin could have been a solid WR if not for the knee injury and eating his way out of the league. I think it goes to show you that Carolina tried to compensate for Newton's inaccuracy by drafting tall WRs like Benjamin and Funchess who can make contested catches. Interesting to see what N'Keal Harry does with Newton.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I wouldnt lump DJ Moore in with those guys. Guy is probably already a top 10 WR right now.

Right this minute, maybe, but he only played 16 games over 2 seasons with Newton. Those 16 games included the first games of Moore's career, and also several where Newton was playing through major career-altering injuries.

Here's how those games played out. The numbers tell it all... he took about half a season to break in and become a regular target, and then went through the normal ups and downs of a rookie receiving more attention from the defense. Then they came back next year and made him the focus of the passing game, but that was the exact same time Newton was playing badly hurt and finally left the lineup.

2018
Sep 9 - 0 targets
Sep 16 - 2 targets, 1 catch, 51 yd, TD
Sep 23 - 2 targets, 1 catch 3 yd
Oct 7 - 4 targets, 4 catches, 49 yd
Oct 14 - 5 targets, 4 catches, 59 yd
Oct 21 - 5 targets, 3 catches, 29 yd
Oct 28 - 6 targets, 5 catches, 90 yd
Nov 4 - 2 targets, 1 catch, 16 yd
Nov 8 - 5 targets, 4 catches, 20 yd
Nov 18 - 8 targets, 7 catches, 157 yd, TD
Nov 25 - 9 targets, 8 catches, 91 yd
Dec 2 - 8 targets, 4 catches, 44 yd
Dec 9 - 8 targets, 5 catches, 67 yd
Dec 17 - 3 targets, 2 catches, 12 yd

2019
Sep 8 - 10 targets, 7 catches, 76 yd
Sep 12 - 14 targets, 9 catches, 89 yd

You can see where this was supposed to go, if things had stuck to the plan. For the first time since he was a rookie/soph, Newton had a legitimate receiver to throw to and the numbers were starting to pile up.

Benjamin could have been a solid WR if not for the knee injury and eating his way out of the league. I think it goes to show you that Carolina tried to compensate for Newton's inaccuracy by drafting tall WRs like Benjamin and Funchess who can make contested catches. Interesting to see what N'Keal Harry does with Newton.

Benjamin was drafted because Carolina got rid of their entire WR group after 2013. They had 4 WRs who caught passes that year -- Smith, LaFell, Ginn, Hixon -- and all were over 27. They knew going into the following season that they had to draft a WR. As you say, there was a coin flip's chance that Benjamin could become a star, but that went the wrong way after his injuries and attitude kicked in.

It says a lot that after completely cleaning house in 2013, the Panthers had completely cleaned house again by 2017. The only constant, and the only real quality receiver during that time, was Olsen. Everybody else was a grab-bag of trash being cycled in and out of the lineup. Newton absolutely carried that offense with a very conservative passing scheme, because they flat-out did not have any talent outside the TEs.

 

[Canes]

I wouldnt lump DJ Moore in with those guys. Guy is probably already a top 10 WR right now. Benjamin could have been a solid WR if not for the knee injury and eating his way out of the league. I think it goes to show you that Carolina tried to compensate for Newton's inaccuracy by drafting tall WRs like Benjamin and Funchess who can make contested catches. Interesting to see what N'Keal Harry does with Newton.

Newton made Benjamin and Funchess look like competent receivers, you make it seem like it's the other way around with those two making him look like a competent QB which is just asinine. There's a reason both of them basically are out of the league now and it's mostly due to them not being good football players. DJ Moore also barely played with Newton as tarheelhockey has pointed out. The fact is Newton did a lot without much around him and with GMs who thought protecting him was an afterthought. It's amazing he did what he did given the utter incompetence around him for much of his career.

 

[Evincar]

Newton made Benjamin and Funchess look like competent receivers, you make it seem like it's the other way around with those two making him look like a competent QB which is just asinine. There's a reason both of them basically are out of the league now and it's mostly due to them not being good football players. DJ Moore also barely played with Newton as tarheelhockey has pointed out. The fact is Newton did a lot without much around him and with GMs who thought protecting with was an afterthought. It's amazing he did what he did given the utter incompetence around him for much of his career.

I dont think I implied that but okay. I dont think he's is the type of QB that makes his WRs better regardless. He's always been a little spotty as a passer but he does most of his damage with his legs.

 

[Voight]

If someone thinks Newton is able to play at the same level as he was a few seasons ago, then this is a horrible deal because even the incentives will make him one of the lowest paid starters.

But I get why teams were reluctant to give him the going rate even for bad starters. Newton is a total unknown.

He is one of the most overrated QBs of the last decade and has shown since his 2015 season that he isn't as good as some would like to think.

Maybe Belichik can work some magic and have him do well in his system. Pats have nothing to lose.

 

[DangleCity]

He is one of the most overrated QBs of the last decade and has shown since his 2015 season that he isn't as good as some would like to think.

Maybe Belichik can work some magic and have him do well in his system. Pats have nothing to lose.

When Newton was put in a competent offense run by Norv Turner, he had the best numbers of his career. He gor hurt that season though and really hasnt played since, but I have complete confidence that McDaniels and Belichick will put him in the best position to succeed. Newton should also have some extra motivation that this is probably his last shot at a big contract. The only thing that would really hold him back this year is if he isnt healthy.

 

[Voight]

When Newton was put in a competent offense run by Norv Turner, he had the best numbers of his career. He gor hurt that season though and really hasnt played since, but I have complete confidence that McDaniels and Belichick will put him in the best position to succeed. Newton should also have some extra motivation that this is probably his last shot at a big contract. The only thing that would really hold him back this year is if he isnt healthy.

I agree that if anyone can get the best out of him / rebuild his value it'll be BB/McDaniels I'm just surprised it happened now. Pats were never gonna go after Rivers and while I thought they might make a move for Dalton, Belichik has never had a QB like Cam so if he was going to take a one year flyer on someone, it seemed like it was always gonna be Newton.

 

[StreetHawk]

I agree that if anyone can get the best out of him / rebuild his value it'll be BB/McDaniels I'm just surprised it happened now. Pats were never gonna go after Rivers and while I thought they might make a move for Dalton, Belichik has never had a QB like Cam so if he was going to take a one year flyer on someone, it seemed like it was always gonna be Newton.

Be interesting to see. Cause NE is notorious for changing their offensive game plan based on their opponent. They could run the ball 45 times and pass 20 in one game and the very next week flip the script and have the QB chuck up 50 passes.

 

[John Price]

 

[Voight]

Can't wait for Sherman to complain about this. I mean.... nobody forced him to take this deal. It was probably his last shot at getting a roster spot.

 

[SouthGeorge]

 

[DangleCity]

As usual, SouthGeorge is always asking the tough questions.

 

[StreetHawk]

Can't wait for Sherman to complain about this. I mean.... nobody forced him to take this deal. It was probably his last shot at getting a roster spot.

Cam ultimately got screwed over by Carolina. They clearly didn’t want to keep him but man alive once you sign Bridgewater cut the man.

that’s something really messed up with the nfl cba. Why can you cut guys after free agency begins without penalty? I get no cash owed to the player but there should be salary cap ramifications if you do this. Similar to Seattle cutting Britt and Fuller after the draft. A portion of their contracts should count towards the salary cap to get rid of these situations.

This is a rant cause the new cba is signed. But come on. Give these guys a chance to have an open market.

 

[CaptnCanada]

Comeback player of the year?

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

the same way he dealt with Gronk...by letting him have a personality.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Is it time for the Pats to pull plug?

88-131 (67.1%)
969 yds
2 TD
7 INT
71.7 QB Rtg

Statistically he is among the worst starting QB's in NFL if not the worst

Pats are 2-4 at this point

 

[Tuggy]

He's looked like hot garbage the last two weeks.

But I don't know how much is attributed to a long injury layoff, no training camp, new team, Covid disruptions, lack of practice time with new team/teammates, or he simply can't throw the ball as well anymore.

Whether it's all those variables, or a combination...he hasn't been good.

If they lose next week against Buffalo then they'll be in a deep hole that they probably won't get out of.