New England Patriots: 3 top goals for quarterback Cam Newton in 2021
New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton will have numerous goals for the 2021 season, but here are three most likely at or near the top of his list.
This space has made no secret for its admiration of Newton both prior to and after his arrival in New England last season. It was the best move the New England Patriots made in a dismal 2020 offseason.
Also, yes, he has been defended here from the naysayers who couldn’t see the forest for the proverbial trees in their evaluation of his 2020 performance. Newton faced truly unprecedented adversity in 2020. The problems will be mentioned but not belabored here.
He came in late and had basically no preseason, and was forced to learn the system on the fly. He had a supporting cast that was an embarrassment to bad supporting casts. They stunk.
And to make things even worse, he contracted the coronavirus, which his critics seem to minimize in importance. That’s simply outlandish.
Newton will be set on making things right this season, and it says here he’ll get the job done. Let’s look at three of his top goals heading into the season.
Three top goals for New England Patriots Cam Newton in 2021
First, he has to earn the starting quarterback position.
Note: Of course, goal number two is actually the top goal, but if speaking about a Cam Newton role here, he has to start to make that happen for the team.
Other goals are not achievable if he’s not on the field. So the top individual goal for Newton will be to remain the Patriots’ starting quarterback.
That’s likely to be contested due to the arrival of a very, very good young quarterback, Mac Jones. And that’s a good thing. Jones is a special talent.
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That competition has to bring out the best in a top competitor like Cam Newton. He’s a former NFL MVP and if healthy, which he is likely to be, he can still play.
It’s all about being the best. This season, healthy and armed with some new weapons all over the offense, he’ll get a real chance.
That means a legitimate opportunity to excel with a legitimate offense, and it says here he will. This space has already sought to debunk his critics, so enough said here about that.
And, Mac Jones is good enough to push him to excel. That’s a real plus. This space is a big fan of the young Alabama product.
The second major goal (again, the first for the team) is obvious. It’s to win, make the playoffs, and more. Nothing else really matters when you wear a red, white, blue, and silver uniform.
You make the playoffs and go deep therein, or, you go home. That’s not going to be easy anymore in the AFC East as we saw last season.
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The Buffalo Bills team is really good and they may get better. The Miami Dolphins are also on the rise. They were both playoff caliber teams in 2020 and one has to be displaced.
Fortunately, Newton will not be alone in that quest. The head of Football Operations, Bill Belichick, his staff, and his top supporter, owner Robert Kraft will accept nothing less.
They spent a fortune and well in free agency. Check. They drafted well. Check. And, everyone on the squad, including the grizzled veterans will be well motivated to win and win some more.
A third major goal that Newton has to have, is to make all his teammates better by leading this squad as he did in 2020.
That’s the quarterback’s job, plain and simple. He has to galvanize the team, motivate them and keep them accountable in order to win. That’s a leader’s job, and Newton’s a true leader.
Cam came on the scene in 2020 and almost immediately became a captain. That’s respect. He then proceeded to take an inferior team almost to the playoffs, almost solely by his will alone.
Rather than criticized, he should have been applauded. He took the load of carrying the team to seven wins on himself, both literally and figuratively.
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He led the team in rushing touchdowns with 12 and no one else scored much at all. This season, he hopefully won’t be required to again do virtually everything himself.
So those are three top goals for Cam Newton in 2021. Hopefully, all are achieved and the New England Patriots will be back, as has been predicted. Don’t count them out, at all.