OP-ED: Cam Newton and the Patriots

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Erin McIntyre

All things have to come to an end, and sadly this year had to be one of them. After 20 amazing seasons Tom Brady decided to leave the New England Patriots and go play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The hopes of finding a quarterback to replace him were crushed, no one knew who or what was going to happen, until Cam Newton came along. He has very high expectations for this season and is failing horribly at them.

The excitement that everyone got on their faces when they heard he was going to be our quarterback was hope and dreams. Then I didn’t really know that much about him or how he plays so I was just happy we had a quarterback. All excited I sat down to watch the first game with my family and was very impressed with how he was playing, obviously no Tom Brady but still good. The next game I thought was going to be better, nope, it was worse. Every week I kept thinking, it will get better but it most certainly hasn’t.

Each week his progress declines. There have been so many streaks broken because of him messing up. His statistics prove me correct. He takes too long to throw the ball causing many sacks. This was highlighted on October 18, 2020. The only thing that has gotten a little bit better is his yards gained by passing, which he doesn’t even cause. It is the offensive players realizing they will have to carry the team and make everything happen because he can’t. His pass completion has been under 70% since the first game. That first game really gave me hope that he could do something good.

His quarterback rating is all over the place. First it was 100.8, then in a matter of 3 games dropped to 39.7. This is a very drastic drop in a matter of a few games, progression may decrease slightly each week but not this drastically and not this fast. I got a point of view from Trace Trant, a 2019 TMHS graduate and defensive lineman at UMASS Amherst. He stated “ He hyped himself up over the summer over social media so there was a very high expectation of him from New England fans. The first game he performed very well and everyone thought he was going to be amazing and then from week 2 until now he has been a disgrace to the team.” I agree completely with Trace on this topic. I hope that we find another quarterback next year.

The expectation that Cam Newton would be able to do everything Tom Brady can was crushed after the 2nd game. The only thing good about him is that he has scored a lot of touchdowns and can run the ball, but he only runs the ball because he can’t get the ball off soon enough before the defense of the other team comes charging at him. He is a very stylish man though, his game day outfits are something you wouldn’t see walking down the street. He underwent surgery last season on his foot, is this why he is playing so bad? No one will ever know, but the Panthers were smart in not signing him again. Newton has most certainly disappointed the fans of the Patriots and definitely me. Let’s hope that next year they find a new quarterback or he learns how to play football and become the good quarterback he was on the Carolina Panthers.