Patriots: Debunking criticism of Cam Newton’s horrible 2020 statistics
Observers sugar-coated Brady’s 2019 season and blasted Newton’s in 2020
How convenient it was for those same observers critical of Cam Newton to conveniently forget that the surly GOAT, Tom Brady in 2019 not only sent a number of passes into the dirt but also reportedly flat-out refused to even throw to some of the incapable receivers he had.
Edelman’s catches were likely inflated because no one else (James White excepted) was or could get open to catch balls even from the best ever.
Yet, Cam Newton was expected to turn that group into stars evidently.
Back to Edelman, when he went down with an injury, that was that for Newton. Yet, what about the tight ends, they must have contributed? Well, let’s just say not so much.
Related Story. New England Patriots: Cam Newton vs Mac Jones a most intriguing battle. light
The Patriots tight end room was probably the worst in the NFL. Their starter, Ryan Izzo caught 13 passes and had no TD receptions. He was traded after the season to Houston.
The two rookie third-round picks from whom a lot was expected, or at least something was, delivered almost nothing.
Devin Asiasi had two catches and one touchdown catch. Dalton Keene had three receptions and no TDs.
All told, the tight ends caught 18 passes and had one touchdown. Those numbers speak for themselves.
So, to put it clearly on the table, Newton got virtually nothing from the tight ends whatsoever. The head of football operations Bill Belichick seems to have completely agreed with that assessment.
Belichick went early and often spending millions of owner Robert Kraft’s money on landing perhaps the two top tight ends in free agency in the offseason.
They were Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry. Together that pair caught 101 passes in 2020. They should be a far better asset to Cam in 2021 than last year’s group for certain.