Tag: Panthers

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.

Fire Flames Jersey Alert: Springfield AHL Team to Wear Ice-O-Topes Simpsons Jerseys

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NHL.com – The Ice-O-Topes are headed to Springfield. The Florida Panthers’ Massachusetts-based American Hockey League affiliate will become the Ice-O-Topes and wear spectacular uniforms for one week to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “The Simpsons.”

NEEEEED. Minor league teams love to run promotions based on the wacky jerseys they’re wearing and most of them are terrible, but some of them…some of them are special.

Just look at the attention to detail with the donut and nuclear symbol stripes!

If they auctions these off after the game like a lot of teams do then I may have to put this jersey on The 300s company card. It may also be the only reason I ever go to Springfield ever again. Now that the casino has opened up in Boston, just around the corner from my office, there really is no need to go west. Maybe if you want to take your kid to the Basketball Hall of Fame I suppose? Welp, the Panthers AHL team just put this on my list of places I would consider leaving my winter hibernation for.

My Fantasy QB Cam Newton is Dressing Bad, Playing Worse

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Look, sometimes I enjoy dressing like a dickhead too. Maybe throw on some white jeans when I’m in a beach town and have a couple crafties by the water. But Cam Newton cannot continue to dress like Audrey Hepburn if he is going to keep putting up these disastrous fantasy performances.

I honestly don’t know what I did to Ron Rivera to deserve such blatant disrespect for my fantasy team, but he’s about to get himself fired with bullshit play calls like this.

In reality he’s probably still hurt after offseason shoulder surgery and an ankle injury in the preseason because he missed throws that literally I could make on multiple occasions last night.

I give him credit for shouldering the blame, but I don’t know if he actually gets it. It sure as shit doesn’t seem like it with SNL worthy clips like this from his post game presser.

If we’re being honest I knew I was in trouble last week after I saw him strutting to the podium wearing a hat wrapped in barbed wire immediately following a 5 point performance.

Maybe this is all some abstract art project like the time Joaquin Phoenix pretended to lose his mind just because. I remember being legitimately concerned for the guy and it all turned out to be a hoax. Remember even David Letterman almost kicked his ass.

But hey, if I can’t win a fantasy football matchup, at least I can laugh at my own expense. Here are the best of the rest smoking Aunt May Cam Newton’s outfit last night.

Steve Smith Has No Shame In Getting Fantasy Tips

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Just an absolutely hysterical clip taken from a Carolina Panthers practice last year. Former Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, Sr., always known for being uhh… outspoken, has apparently developed a passion for fantasy football. And just like the rest of us, he’s looking for an inside edge wherever he can get it.

We’ve all been in the position of trying to figure out who to start in your last flex spot (which means you can start a player at any offensive skill position, Cam). But we don’t get the opportunity to go directly to the source while making the decision. And clearly, Panthers rookie WR DJ Moore knew that his performance wasn’t cutting it as of late.

Unfortunately for DJ, Steve might have been right to bench him based on how he ended the season. Including two games (in the fantasy playoffs no less!), where Moore ended up with… two points.

A little pro tip for Steve for this year when it comes to Panthers receivers, just draft Curtis Samuel instead. You’ll get the same production a few rounds later. Just don’t tell DJ that.

Panthers Runningback Christian McCaffrey is Going to Rush for 3,000 Yards This Year

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Curls for girls, baby!! It would seem like Christian took our description of him as a “receiving back” pretty personally. The guy looks like he wants to prove he can run through a literal brick wall like he’s Jerome Bettis or something. Borrowed a few workouts from the ole Mark Wahlberg movie Pain and Gain to do just that.

Now, is adding on oodles of muscles necessarily the best thing for an elusive back that like it or not is a receiving back (he caught 107 balls for 867 yards and 6 touchdowns last year)?

Only time will tell, but hey at least Christian is ready for bikini season.

 

Top 5 Moments from Week 12 in the NFL

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In case you were too hungover to watch anything else after the Patriots game yesterday, we’ve compiled the Top 5 moments from Week 12. A lot of wild plays were made yesterday so here’s what you need to see.

Christian McCaffrey had a downright Madden kind of game on Sunday rushing for 125 yards and a TD while also catching 11 balls for 112 yards and another TD through the air. Incredible performance from the Stanford product as he continues to prove he’s more than just the “receiving” back many projected him to be in the NFL.

Speaking of Madden type plays, this one from Browns tight end David Njoku for a TD is the exact type of play in Madden that would have made me fire my controller off the wall in college. Glitch city.

We’ve got Seattle runningback Chris Carson doing Matrix type flips on the field. Usually leaving your feet NEVER ends well, somehow Carson ends up right back where he started unharmed and ready to run.

If we’re being honest, that flip and that landing really reminded me more of this than anything else:

Baker Mayfield continues to live dangerously going off for four TDs in a win over the Bengals. After the game he took ex-head coach Hue Jackson, who is now an assistant with division rival Cincinnati, behind the shed after the game.

Ben Roethlisberger just gift wrapped the No. 2 seed for the Patriots with one of the worst interceptions you will ever see. In a game where he threw for 462 yards and a TD, Big Ben completely submarined the entire day with one awful throw.

ESPN President John Skipper Resigns Citing Substance Addiction Issues

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ESPN – John Skipper resigned as president of ESPN and co-chairman of the Disney Media Networks on Monday. George Bodenheimer, ESPN’s president from 1998 to 2011 and its executive chairman until May 2014, will take over as the acting chairman of the company for the next 90 days to help Disney chairman and chief executive officer Bob Iger find Skipper’s replacement. “Today I have resigned from my duties as President of ESPN,” Skipper said in a statement. “I have had a wonderful career at the Walt Disney Company and am grateful for the many opportunities and friendships. I owe a debt to many, but most profoundly Michael Lynton, George Bodenheimer and Bob Iger. “I have struggled for many years with a substance addiction. I have decided that the most important thing I can do right now is to take care of my problem.

So John Skipper, the president of ESPN, resigned from his lofty position yesterday citing substance addiction issues. The guy with one of the most powerful positions in all of sports and media stepped down after literally signing a contract extension through 2021 last month. That is not normal.  I don’t mean to break out the jump to conclusions mat..

..but this all just seems to be coming at an odd time. More and more sexual abuse and harassment allegations continue to pile in every day and now we’re starting to see the movement entering the world of sports. Christ, theres an 800 page book I read about all the wild shit that went on at ESPN over the years.

Just this week we heard that Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was coming under fire for allegations of workplace misconduct against him, then the NFL took over the investigation, then the creepy details came out, and now he’s selling the team. That shit happened QUICK.

Think about that for a second. This is the NFL; the definition of the old boys club. There’s no young tech billionaire owner in the NFL like the NBA has in Mark Cuban. Its all old, rich, white guys who probably think they’re beyond reproach. Welp, its 2017 boys and its become real apparent, real quick to a lot of entitled rich guys like Richardson that ain’t the case anymore. Now we have P. Diddy coming out saying he wants to buy the Panthers.

This NEEDS to happen. Besides the fact that I could just post Chappelle’s Show clips of Making the Band all day, he would bring some much needed diversity into the club that is NFL owners. Diddy would bring a new voice as both a black man and a much younger perspective on everything from the racial issues of the league to the promotion of the product.

Back to Skipper though, it seems like this guy has been underwater for some time. That scathing Boston Globe piece came out last week slamming the Worldwide Leader for its workplace environment that was toxic to many women. Buccigross was the main fall guy in that piece as he was outed for sending overly flirty text messages and unsolicited shirt pics. Not on the level of some shit we’ve heard from Weinstein, but obviously wicked inappropriate. I don’t understand what these guys don’t get. When I’m at work I pretend everything I say and do will be recorded and used against me in the future. So just don’t try and fuck all your coworkers or be a weirdo in the office and you’ll be good. We’ve all got skeletons in our closet, but keep that shit in the closet at home.

We all of course remember the short lived Barstool Sports show with the Pardon My Take guys PFT and Big Cat that lasted all of one episode before ESPN cancelled it.

ESPN was taking heat from Sam Ponder and other female employees about the network associating with Barstool, which they were pissed about. What I don’t get is, you know what Barstool is about, you know what their audience is, you know there may be controversy, but you green light the show anyways. Then you pull the plug after one episode and some blowback from disgruntled parties? Either stick with your decision and give the show a chance to make it through some growing pains or just don’t do it at all. If Skipper and ESPN were so concerned with the negative reaction AND they were knowingly embroiled in behind the scenes legal battles with former employees regarding sexual harassment, then why not kick the can down the road and try the show later on? Its just poor management.

Hopefully Skipper gets whatever help he needs for his substance issue, but with the timeline of everything and more allegations making their way into the sports world I would not be surprised if we start hearing some less than flattering details leaking out sooner than later.

Greg Olsen to Broadcast Week 11 Game for FOX

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At first glance, the Vikings look like giant whiners here. Don’t want an injured Panther broadcasting your game? Deal with it. What is he going to see in person that millions of other people at home won’t see on television? You’re acting like George Costanza with his ATM code.

Taking a moment to think about it, though, I’m with the Vikings on this one. They might be a little paranoid, but this is not an unreasonable request. And even if Greg Olsen won’t see anything that the people at home won’t see, it’s still a bad look for the league. If the NFL were half as concerned with the integrity of the game as they claim they are, they would step in and quash this.

Can you imagine the outcry if an injured Patriots player were scheduled to broadcast the Dolphins game this week? Adam Gase would have Hard Rock Stadium swept for bugs. The Patriots would get crushed on ESPN for once again going outside of what is acceptable and decent to gain even a slight edge over an opponent. Draft picks would be seized, congressional probes would be launched.

Of course, Bill Belichick would never allow an injured player to broadcast another NFL game. I bet the Vikings get more intel out of Olsen rambling on the air for three hours than he gets out of them seeing them from the broadcast booth.

Cam Newton Says Some Not So Nice Things About Women in Sports

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I was half heartedly watching this video waiting for the innocuous comment that everyone was getting all riled up about. Fire up the outrage machine and call the PC Principal. Overreaction metaphors galore. But in literally the first 5 seconds of speaking Cam Newton drops an absolutely cringeworthy line.

“Its funny to hear a female talk about routes….its funny.”

This is like something out of an SNL skit because it just comes off as so bizarrely out of place. Am I personally offended by this? Of course not. But do I think that this will be discussed ad nauseam every single day on SportsCenter for the next month? 100% And thats the weird part. I don’t know if Cam Newton is a raging sexist who goes around telling female reporters to get back in the kitchen, but jesus christ dude you’re doing a press conference in front of cameras and microphones. You HAVE to know that comment is not gonna play well. Comedy Rule No. 1, Cam: Read the room. Know your audience.

Jonathan Stewart Just Won NFL Training Camp With His Oregon Ducks Themed Audi

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As an Oregon Ducks fan (This is on you, Boston College) Jonathan Stewart’s newest car legit has me sweaty and short of breath. And not in the fat guy climbing stairs kind of way. That car is so money. And I love that J-Stew went for the even uglier Oregon color scheme and design of his heyday rather than the more recent neon and chrome color scheme.

Its even got the absurd attention to detail that Phil Knight’s favorite school is so fond of like the duck wings on the goddamn mirrors.

Impeccable. The little yellow touch with DUCKS on the door handles is phenomenal as well.

Now hopefully Stewart can get another one of these for the Ducks to illegally bribe a 5-star QB recruit with because Oregon has been absolutely awful under center since Mariota left school to turn pro. Vernon Adams, who plays in the CFL now, was the best they’ve had but he was a short term solution for a team that suddenly finds itself back in the dark, pre-Mariota days without any known commodity heading into 2017. Look good, feel good, play good. Ducks are halfway there.