Cam Newton comes to Mac Jones' defense against bitter former head coach

Despite the apparent obstacles placed before him that directly impacted his development and performance on the field, Mac Jones was scrutinized about nearly everything last year. That continued throughout this past offseason, with most sticking to their belief that the quarterback was not the right guy for the job in New England.

Much of that argument was mentioned again since the Patriots lost their week one matchup to the Eagles on Sunday, with a lot of the negativity being placed on the shoulders of Jones. Although the team collectively played much better than most of what was seen from them last season, most conversations about their performance didn't credit them for the strides they've made in one year.

But the biggest takeaway from the media's reaction to the game? The continued shots were taken at Jones for absolutely no reason. It's something former Patriots quarterback Cam Newton noticed this week, prompting him to discuss the matter on his new YouTube show "4th & 1."

In the clip making waves on Twitter that Newton posted to his account, he points out that the idea that players need to take accountability for their actions should also be a concept the media is subjected to.

It's a fair and reasonable point that most fans and players in the NFL would probably agree with, especially when those in the media decide to make things personal rather than sticking with the topic at hand, which is always the game of football.

He then correlates that to a comment made by former Jets coach Rex Ryan, who attempted to make a subtle jab directed at Jones when discussing the game earlier this week.

It's moments like this that call the media into question about their seriousness and bias that shouldn't be apparent when discussing a game.

Of course, most of those who cover the NFL are either former players or coaches or were fans of the sport when growing up, so they have favorites and ones they don't care for as much. All of this is fine, but when it becomes part of their schtick when they're supposed to analyze a game or a player's performance, it's unnecessary and boiled down to wanting clicks and views.

Newton's point about accountability comes into play in a situation like this because if a player or coach ever comments to a media personality directly, it is plastered everywhere, and they are considered to be problematic. But for some reason, analysts and reporters are not held to the same standard.

Besides that, it is nice to see Newton still defend his former teammate and call out those putting Jones down, mainly since there were rumored issues between the pair after Jones got the starting job over him in 2021.

There's clearly no truth to that, and despite the unfavorable experience Newton had during his time in New England, he still respects the players and takes time out to defend them when needed, something not many former players, especially ones in his position, would do.