New England Patriots 2021 offensive playbook: Who stays, who goes
The New England Patriots need a change at quarterback…or do they?
New England fandom was justifiably ecstatic when the Patriots rather surprisingly if not miraculously latched onto a still free-agent Cam Newton for pennies on the dollar prior to going to camp.
Euphoria reigned in many quarters (here included) as New England had somehow, someway landed probably the best possible option for a mere pittance. The right spot at the right time, so to speak. Nothing changes after the poor season to alter that opinion.
Newton was still the best option over an inexperienced Jarrett Stidham and career journeyman Brian Hoyer.
Newton was signed to start and he did just that. Now let’s look at the facts, not the perception of his performance as is fashionable.
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Newton completed 65 percent of his passes in the 14 games in which he has played this far. He only threw 5 TD passes, however, and 10 interceptions. On its face, not the greatest of statistics. But that’s not the whole story. Newton’s completion percentage was more than 5 points higher than his career average.
Yes, five points higher at 65.4 percent. Interestingly, Tom Brady, with a 10-5 Tampa Bay team loaded with receiving talent completed 65.9 percent of his (just slightly above Newton’s), which is about 2 points higher than his lifetime completing percentage of 64 percent. Those statistics don’t lie.
Newton with what he had at his disposal had a far better comparative season than Brady with what he had. Not even close. Brady played with an offensive wagon load of star receivers. He had seven wide receivers with 33 or more catches through 15 games. Brady’s tight ends in 15 games have caught 81 passes.
Cam Newton in15 games had three receivers with 31 or more catches. And to put the cherry on top of the cake, Newton’s tight ends have caught 15 in 15 games. Those statistics speak for themselves.
Tom Brady has one of the league’s best receiver/tight end corps in the league. Newton has the worst. Newton also rushed for 513 yards and 12 touchdowns. That’s only 178 yards fewer than the teams’ leading rusher Damien Harris with 691.
No other New England Patriots runner scored more than three touchdowns. In sum, there was Newton and no one else in New England’s skill department this season, especially when the great Julian Edelman went down with an injury. He only played in six games with a meager 21 catches. Last season he hauled in an even 100.
Should the New England Patriots keep Cam Newton?
The decision on whether to keep Cam Newton on the 2021 Patriots team and beyond is not an easy one. On the negative side, he’ll be entering his year 32 season and has a lot of miles on his legs. But on the positive, there is a whole lot more.
Newton proved he can still be an effective leader of an offense and a team. He was a great teammate and was elected Captain right out of the box. He was a terrific person for this team, with a great team-first attitude. And Newton never complained or became surly as Brady did last season. He was just awesome. Period.
Everything about Newton’s participation was positive, except the result in the record. But that problem wasn’t due to Newton much at all. He did the best with what he had which wasn’t much at all. He put himself on the line to try to get this team to win. It was his supporting cast that was the issue. That responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of the offseason personnel decision-making.
With Julian Edelman available and healthy, and better play-calling by Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels, this team might just have sneaked into the playoffs as bad as Newton’s supporting cast was. It says here, that if New England can sign Newton for a decent three-year deal, they should do it. No one available will be any better.
The other two quarterbacks mentioned did basically nothing in 2020 and both are expendable. Why keep three on the roster if only one will really play? Use that spot for a skilled player, if this team can even locate and sign one.
In addition, the team’s first or second-round pick has to be used on a quarterback like Trey Lance of North Dakota Stae or Kyle Trask of Florida, whether or not they keep Newton. They failed to draft one into the squad last season. Another gaffe.
It’s again an imperative to do so this offseason. But with the Patriots’ bizarre draft non-strategy, there may not be anyone in the entire draft’s top 10 quarterbacks who is even deemed worthy of selection by New England. A previous article explained that.