Patriots: Cam Newton thinks Bill Belichick ‘fit’ questions are getting ‘disrespectful’
By Adam Weinrib
Patriots QB Cam Newton is sick of the Bill Belichick questions, and so are we.
It already felt tired to ask Cam Newton questions about his ability to coexist with Bill Belichick two months ago, just after he arrived in New England. So why, three sterling games into his first regular season with the Patriots, are we still doing this?
Newton, now 2-1 and a goal-line stand away from an undefeated record, has three contests under his belt, all of which have featured offense he’s been in complete control over under duress. When the lights have shown brightest and the team has needed a big play, Newton has delivered either a series of quick strikes or has taken the air out of the ball with the run.
He’s also been repeatedly praised by Bill Belichick as the hardest worker the legendary coach has ever encountered.
So when Newton fielded yet another query about his “fit” with a group of people he’s already fitting in with, he was forced to pause things and make it clear exactly where he stands on such foolishness.
Newton nailed it again here.
For all intents and purposes, Tom Brady really did have a relationship with Belichick that was somewhat fractured in his later years in New England. So why didn’t we hear about that week in and week out? Why was that accurate speculation saved for big, year-end columns?
Meanwhile, all Newton does is perform and take command of Belichick’s roster, and all Belichick does is praise his QB’s effort.
Prior to the season even beginning, Belichick’s effusive praise for Newton was almost comically exaggerated:
"“I can see why he had the kind of success he had at Auburn and at Carolina,” Belichick said. “In talking to people that were with him there, the things that they said about him at Auburn and at Carolina from a decade ago or two, three years ago, or even last year, it was all the same, and it showed up here. He’s an extremely hard worker. Nobody works harder than Cam does. He’s here early. He stays late and he works very hard."
Does that sound like someone whose fit needs to be questioned?
Nobody in the AFC East is as consistent as the Patriots, and no Patriot is as consistent as Cam Newton.
It’s time we officially outlaw this funny business: Not only should Newton no longer have to address his fit with Bill Belichick, but every writer should have to acknowledge that he may be the most perfect fit on the roster.
Almost as if the “guys in the locker room” that make up his receiving corps were tailored to his exact strengths and leadership qualities.
We knew it the second he got off the plane.