Tag: Jacoby Brissett

Cam Newton is a Patriot. What Should We Realistically Expect?

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As you all have heard by now the Patriots did the most Patriots thing ever this week and signed a former elite player on a massively team friendly deal. The marriage of Cam Newton and the Patriots is not something I expected, but I also was told by the Boston media all offseason how high the team was on Jarrett Stidham with Brian Hoyer being the adult in the room for at least a little while. Welp, it seems like Belichick had merely been eyeing a fancy new toy for months just waiting for the price to drop before finally deciding to pull the trigger. Newton comes to New England on an incentive laden one-year prove it deal as the signal caller looks to bounce back from an injury shortened season last year.

Jarrett Stidham’s head must be spinning right now. The heir apparent to the Patriots QB1 only had to beat out veteran journeyman Hoyer to earn the job. Now he’s got Hoyer and a former league MVP boxing him out of the starting gig. Stidham took a road trip to Texas with the wife and got Wally Pipped before he even got off the Pike. Stidham checking his ESPN notifications and seeing the Newton signing:

By the way, this also goes to show you to never, ever, ever discount what the wise guys are saying in Vegas. Oddsmakers had the Patriots as the favorites to sign Newton months ago and we all thought what the hell are they talking about? Whoops.

Julian Edelman seems to already be on board with the former MVP coming to Gillette though.

Using the infamous and ridiculous Cam Newton font in his post legitimately made me laugh out loud.

Although Tom Brady was immediately in Edelman’s comments like an ex-girlfriend trying to honey dick him.

You left Jules, Tom! Let him be happy with someone else.

I’ve been a big fan of Ham Newton’s game ever since his days at Auburn when he crushed my dreams as a Boston based Oregon stan in the National Championship. So I’m pretty excited to see what one of the most dynamic QBs in the game can do with the best coach in the history of the league.

KEY STATS

People point to Newton’s career 59% completion percentage as a reason why he won’t fit here, but I fully expect the Pats to run the snot out of the ball this year. They were already trending that way the last couple of seasons, drafting Sony Michel in the first round, and this past offseason using the franchise tag to bring back Left Tackle Joe Thuney. Now factor in that Newton’s completion % is nearly 10% higher on play action than it is on non-play action plays. His completion percentage on play action is 68%, which will pick teams apart if the Pats can develop a decent running game in 2020.

If the Pats do want to jam Newton into the Tom Brady quick, short pass offense? His accuracy is not as good as Brady’s (Brady is 63% career), but their time holding onto the ball and average yards per throw is surprisingly close. In 2018 (Newton’s last *almost* full season with 14 games) Cam averaged 2.69 Time to Throw compared to Brady’s 2.62 seconds and 5 Completed Air Yards compared to Brady’s 5.6. He also had a Passer Rating of 94.2 compared to Brady’s 97.7 with a Completion Percentage of 67.9 compared to Brady’s 65.8.

Tom Brady is the GOAT and my favorite athlete of all time, but Cam Newton is not a bad replacement if healthy. Newton also only threw two more picks than Brady despite having an Aggressiveness % of 17.2 to Brady’s 13.9. And if that stat is entirely new to you as it is one I found that fits my agenda, have no fear: “Aggressiveness tracks the amount of passing attempts a quarterback makes that are into tight coverage, where there is a defender within 1 yard or less of the receiver at the time of completion or incompletion. AGG is shown as a % of attempts into tight windows over all passing attempts.”

INJURY HISTORY

As with any player, especially at QB, a recent injury history like Newton’s is alarming. Pats Pulpit does a great job of breaking it down extensively, but here are the spark notes.

  • January 2019 – Shoulder surgery on his throwing arm
  • December 2019 – Foot surgery for a Lisfranc fracture
  • 2014 – Ankle Surgery

It’s not an overly lengthy injury history, but it is a very recent one. Shoulder and foot injuries for a 31-year-old mobile QB are not ideal. Thats why he was available though and the last thing you want to do is repeat the Dolphin’s fatal mistake when they passed on Drew Brees in 2006 because of his shoulder injury. They went with Daunte Culpepper instead and have sucked for the past 14 years, meanwhile the Saints took a chance and won a Super Bowl as Brees flourished into a Hall of Famer.

FIT WITH PATS

As I mentioned earlier, this Patriots team already seemed poised to run the hell out of the ball so bringing in Cam Newton makes sense as they could utilize any of their half dozen runningbacks (is Damien Harris still alive and well?) and run the old Full House package from Madden ad nauseum. I don’t expect the Patriots to morph into an RPO team overnight like the Ravens did with Lamar Jackson, but I do expect a ton of Shotgun and spreading the defense out so Newton can utilize his strengths.

I honestly think James White might catch 100 balls this year (career high 87 in 2018). Newton looves throwing to his runningbacks. Sure he’s had the best RB in the game in Christian McCaffrey, but Newton threw to his RB1 more and more each year. From 2016-2019 McCaffrey had 80, 107, and 116 receptions on 113, 124, and a whopping 142 targets last year. Somewhat surprisingly that was *only* 8th in the NFL in total targets, but it also was 34 (!) more than any other RB in the game.

Obviously the Patriots have not had a mobile quarterback really ever, even before Brady, but when you see the actual numbers compared to Newton it is jarring.

Mobile quarterbacks have only very recently started to find success in the NFL so it clearly never hurt the Patriots before, but adding this element to their offense will be a welcome bonus to having Newton under center.

Mike Reiss said on ESPN the other day he believes the Pats will keep their offense 75% the same with about 25% changed to suit Newton.

Lets not forget that Josh McDaniels did in fact draft Tim Tebow in the first round back in 2010 while he was the HC in Denver. The Pats also had some fun with their most mobile quarterback since Doug Flutie when Jacoby Brissett was forced into emergency starting duties against the Texans in 2016. The Pats ran some RPO and Brissett ran the ball 10 times that game, including this 30 yard TD on a designed QB run.

And Brissett’s not even a mobile quarterback! He just looked that way compared to the Clydesdale that is TB12. Cam Newton ran a 4.59 40 yard dash at the combine compared to Brissett’s 4.94. Granted Newton has since had foot surgery, but my point is the Pats had a great game plan for a guy that runs a slower 40 time than me. Imagine what kind of damage they can do with a guy like Newton?

EXPECTATIONS

I’ve said in the past that watching Newton last year he looked cooked, but coming off a shoulder surgery less than a year prior and then injuring his foot really decimated any chance he had of stepping into throws. Not to mention his ability to scramble, so its no surprise he looked terrible. But Cam was great as recently as 2018 even though his season was cut short after 14 games with the shoulder injury. In 2018 Newton threw for 3,400 yards, 24 TDs, 13 INTs, 67.9% completion percentage, 94.2 Rating, with 488 yards rushing and 4 TDs. A far cry from his MVP year, but this is also with him throwing to his runningback, DJ Moore, Devin Funchess, Jarius Wright, Curtis Samuel, something called Ian Thomas, and a 33-year-old Greg Olsen. Not a ton of household names in there outside of McCaffrey.

CBS Sports’ Will Brinson was on Toucher and Rich this week calling Cam the greatest QB in league history and is *very* high on the fit.

“I think if Cam is healthy, Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick will unleash a really lethal offense…Rob Gronkowski is the second greatest red zone threat in league history and Cam Newton is No. 1 because he can run the ball.”

Although would it surprise me if Belichick just up and decides it’s not working and cuts Newton in training camp? With an incentive laden one-year contract, it would not shock me. I’d hate to see that happen though because this is the most excited I’ve been to watch the Patriots since Brady left for Tampa.

The fit remains to be seen, but I think Newton is DYING to prove he is still an elite QB in a league that is now littered with mobile QBs. Newton was the prototype so it must really piss him off to see half a dozen QBs winning with his blueprint. He wants to prove he is still the alpha and if he is fully healthy, motivation will not be a problem so I am excited to see what Belichick and McDaniels do with him.

JERSEY TIME?

I have to admit, I was pretty meh on the new Pats jerseys when they came out, but I think part of that was probably with Brady leaving town there wasn’t really any other players that made me want to buy a $100 jersey. I already have an Edelman jersey, Devin McCourty flirts with retirement more and more these days, Dont’a Hightower is also on the wrong side of 30. I love Chase Winovich, but I need to see him on the field more before I even think about elevating him to jersey status. N’Keal Harry needs to catch about a dozen touchdowns this year to get into this conversation. So who does that leave? Maybe Stephon Gilmore? I guess if I had to pull the trigger it would be either White (a Super Bowl hero) or Patrick Chung (a longtime Patriot who does anything and everything). BUT, I gotta say, this looks pretty sexy.

I have a rule that I don’t buy jerseys of players unless they have recently signed a contract extension so as to not end up with another Sergei Samsonov jersey that immediately became a throwback about a week after I bought it. But if Ham Newton has 10 touchdowns in September, it’s going to be pretty hard to keep my credit card in my pocket. Even if he is only on a one-year contract.

Would still be a better jersey to won than the two *different* guys I’ve seen wearing John Lynch Patriots jerseys in Allston over the years (Lynch retired before the start of the 2008 season).

Or maybe the injuries have finally caught up to a guy who has absolutely abused his body for the past decade and Newton really is cooked. Well its a win-win situation for the Pats. They get a 31-year-old, hyper motivated former MVP QB, who will not be fazed in the slightest about replacing a legend and ultimately dominates with a fresh start OR we get A+ fashion shows every week that will provide weeks worth of content.

Like I said, win-win.

Patriots Trade Jimmy Garoppolo to 49ers for 2nd Round Pick. Huh??

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Here I am minding my own business eating dinner and my phone starts BLOWING UP. At 8 pm on a Monday.

And I finally relent and check my notifications to see that the Patriots have traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a 2nd round pick. Huh?

Now, if the rumors by our old friend Mary Kay Cabot from the Cleveland Plain Dealer are true then this is a disaster. Cabot had been on a goddamn crusade telling anyone and everyone that the Browns were willing to basically give away their entire 2017 Draft to the Pats to get Garoppolo, but the Pats declined. First round pick. Two first round picks. You name it, Mary Kay reported it. Now Adam Schefter staunchly denied those reports saying the Pats were NOT trading Jimmy G. As he famously, and snarkily said: “Do I sound clear on that?”

The ONLY way this trade makes any sense is if the Patriots had hoped to work out some kind of bridge deal with Jimmy G and wait another year or two behind Brady and he flat out said no. Which I can’t blame the guy for, he sees QBs in his draft class like Derek Carr and Blake Bortles making big money and says enough is enough, now is my time. No more waiting. Thats the only reason this deal makes sense. Why else would the Patriots reportedly turn down a Top 12 pick (or two Top 12 picks) from the Browns in the 2017 Draft just 6 months ago? If thats the case then Belichick took a gamble and lost. Granted it’ll be a great second round pick, probably anywhere from No. 33-35 overall. But still, seems like a pretty underwhelming return for a guy that the Pats were, reportedly, turning down multiple first round picks for and had plans for him to be the QB of the future.

Now the next question is, umm who the fuck is the backup quarterback of the New England Patriots? Belichick has now traded the No. 2 and No. 3 QBs on the roster, having sent Jacoby Brissett to the Colts as well. Not ideal for a team banking on a 40 year old QB to stay healthy. It certainly makes a lot more sense now that the Pats were working out scrub backup QBs like the Yates of Hell a few weeks ago. So who is gonna be TB12’s backup now?

BAH GAWD IS THAT JOHNNY FOOTBALL’S MUSIC??

The Best of the NFL from Week 1

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After 7 long months, the NFL is BACK. Don’t worry, I watched all the games so you don’t have to. Sure, we had the Pats game on Thursday, but Sunday marked the first day where you could watch professional football for 10+ hours straight. So that is exactly what I did. A lot of bad games yesterday, but NFL Sunday is like pizza or sex. Even when its bad its good.

The fucking Jets man, they just cannot get out of their own way.

Nelson Agholor with an absolute web gem for the Eagles as they shut down the R-Words.

I would say Tony Romo is probably not a fan of the players sitting for the anthem.

It don’t matter if they’re 16-0 or 0-16, Bills Mafia always shows up to play.

After getting his first career INT called back on a penalty, Deshaun Watson gets his first career TD, looking noticeably more effective than Tom Savage unsurprisingly. Welcome to the league rook.

KAAA MEEE HAAAA MEEE HAAAAA

Just a week after being traded to Indianapolis, and just 3 quarters into Scott Tolzien’s season, the Colts turned to former Patriot, Jacoby Brissett.

Much to the chagrin of my Draftkings lineup, the Rams smoked the Colts and on the way Jared Goff resembled a real NFL quarterback.

Russell Wilson played like horseshit for most of this game against the Packers, but he is still fun to watch, making plays like this.

And your nominee for best catch of the week came on Sunday Night Football. Cole Beasley just putting on a show.

Opportunity for Jimmy Garoppolo Could Have Huge Payoff for the Patriots

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jimmygaroppolo

Yahoo Sports – Jimmy Garoppolo finds himself in a good situation. He can prepare all offseason as if he’ll be the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback for the first four games of the season, thanks to Tom Brady’s deflate-gate suspension…Think about Brock Osweiler, who was looking at the possibility of going into free agency with almost no regular-season snaps on tape. But Peyton Manning got hurt, Osweiler showed enough in seven starts with the Denver Broncos last season to get a $72 million deal from the Houston Texans, and now he’s their starter.

It’s tough to admit, but the whole Deflategate witch hunt may end up being a good thing for the Patriots. Regardless of all the other shit, it’s looking more and more likely Tom Brady is going to miss 4 games. It’s unlikely that Jimmy Garoppolo is going to play well enough for Belichick and the Patriots to give Brady the Drew Bledsoe treatment, but that’s why this may pay off even better for the Pats. Most people kind of scratched their head when the Pats took Garoppolo in the 2nd round back in 2014. For one, it was the highest Belichick had ever drafted a QB with the Patriots and two, it seemed a year too early.

We all know the Brady decline is going to come eventually, but it doesn’t seem like we’re quite there yet. So the Pats wasted a draft pick right? That may have been true if NFL head coaches didn’t get borderline aroused about young QB’s with potential. I mean look at all the absolute scrubs that have swindled huge contracts from teams based on nothing but potential and limited snaps. If you don’t have a great QB in this league it’s damn hard to be successful so coaches and GMs are willing to roll the dice continuously hoping to strike gold. That’s how guys like Matt Cassel, Matt Schaub, Matt Flynn and most recently Brock Osweiler have landed mega deals with virtually no real playing experience.

Which brings me back to Belichick, this guy is always five steps ahead of the rest of the league. Sure he couldn’t have known Brady would get suspended and give Jimmy G a 4 game audition as trade bait, but we all know TB12 ain’t retiring any time soon. So the Garoppolo pick was definitely made with the ulterior motive of flipping him for even more draft capital. If Garoppolo comes in and plays well, you could very easily get a 1st round pick for a young, promising QB who’s spent the past few years being groomed by the best coach and QB in the game. Jimmy gets paid, Belichick gets TWO 1st round picks in 2017 (giving Gooddell the finger in the process), Brady continues doing Brady things and we start this process over again with Jacoby Brissett, who is more likely on the track to eventual Patriots starter down the line.

belichick_laughing

Bill Parcells Says New Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett is A-OK in His Book

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Courtesy of NY Daily News

Courtesy of NY Daily News

Boston Herald – “You never really know for sure until you see a player under the gun, so to speak, at the top level,” Parcells said. “But, that being said. I have a very high regard for this young man. He’s an awesome kid…..”He’s very bright. He has zero personal issues. He’s a very dedicated, committed guy, and I think he’s going to the absolute perfect place for him.”

I still have no idea what to make of Jacoby Brissett and we probably won’t really know for a couple of years, but as far as references go you could do a lot worse than Bill Parcells. Obviously I don’t know much about his relationship with Brissett, but this basically boils down to the Big Tuna wanting to let everyone know the Pats newest QB has his head screwed on straight. AKA Not an Asshole.

And that’s definitely good to hear from a hard ass like Parcells. A former coach who famously ripped players and wasn’t exactly known for lavishing praise on his guys. I hope this isn’t just Bill softening with age because as far as the comparisons to Troy Brown and Tedy Bruschi go that’s great, but QB is a different animal.

Backup QB is always the most popular guy in town too and this goes double for the third stringers. How else do you explain legit nicknames like The Yates of Hell? Or the stories of Rohan Davey throwing balls from his knees at midfield and hitting the uprights? Absolutely useless info, but the kind of cool stories that you hear about players that never see the field. So my point is, barring “24” style catastrophe, we won’t know much about Jacoby for a while, unless you lie through your teeth like Mel Kiper Jr, so it’s good to hear some high praise out of a Hall of Fame coach right out of the gates.