Patriots: Cam Newton’s accuracy issues are showing up in practice
By Mike Luciano
The New England Patriots were apparently not convinced by Mac Jones’ solid display in his first preseason action.
Cam Newton is still listed as the starting quarterback for Bill Belichick, and Jones will remain rooted to the bench until Belichick is convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt he is ready.
Newton is making it hard to keep to that particular ideology.
In addition to the fact that Jones looked further along in his development than anyone anticipated, Newton didn’t do much in their preseason opener to convince the team that the MVP we saw in Carolina is back.
Join practices against the Philadelphia Eagles could’ve provided an opportunity for Cam to get back on the right track. Unfortunately, Newton appears to have fallen at the first hurdle and had the wind knocked out of him when his sternum collided with the track. His performance against Philly, per Mike Girardi, was not inspiring.
Newton reportedly struggled with accuracy all day long, with Giardi claiming the ball didn’t come out of his hands quickly. Two of his poorer throws included a red zone pass that went right behind Devin Asiasi and a follow-up attempt that was intercepted by Eric Wilson.
Main takeaway from a #Patriots perspective...Cam Newton was riding the struggle bus all practice long. Ball not coming out quickly and issues with accuracy. Showed up in red zone work, with a ball behind Asiasi followed by an interception the next play from LB Eric Wilson.
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) August 16, 2021
Cam Newton hasn’t looked very sharp for the Patriots.
Newton had some solid moments for New England last year, but it’s hard to spin a season in which he had more interceptions than touchdowns as anything but a failure, and he doesn’t seem to be shutting up all of the haters just yet.
Jones wasn’t exactly prime Tom Brady in this practice. In fact, some reporters declared that Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was the best passer on the field today. Looks like whatever momentum that New England picked up after the Washington game has been totally sandblasted away.
Patriots lost on both sides of the ball this morning. Jalen Hurts was the best QB on the field.
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) August 16, 2021
Consider the fact that not only are Newton and Jones struggling in practice, but they are doing so against a team coached by a rookie coach in Nick Sirianni that many people questioned at first. This is the sort of team that Newton and Belichick should feast against.
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was only an assistant defensive backs coach as recently as the 2017 season, but he appears to have totally befuddled Newton and the Patriots. Leadership is a fine quality to have, but that by itself won’t be enough to keep Cam on this roster.
While bad practices like this happen multiple times every year for every player, the fact that Newton’s accuracy is starting to fail him should be very concerning for this coaching staff. If these persist, the inevitable Jones transfer may have to happen sooner than later.
