Newton hits the playbook to study Patriots’ ‘calculus’
As they have been for the last two decades, the New England Patriots will be one of the most interesting teams to watch this season.
But now they’re must-see TV for different reasons.
How will they survive without the great Tom Brady?
And will Cam Newton, who officially signed with the Patriots Wednesday, help a smooth transition from the loss of a legend?
Never before has a team both lost and added a former MVP in the same off-season. Newton has mostly struggled since winning his MVP award in 2015, but he’s been dealing with serious injuries. If healthy, it’s not absurd to think a 31-year-old Newton can be just as effective, if not better, than a 42-year-old Brady.
First, he’s going to have to learn a new system — without a normal off-season of preparation.
Newton posted a photo on Instagram showing himself studying the Josh Mcdaniels-bill Belichick playbook, adding Julian Edelman warned him of “this s--t calculus,” which by definition is the mathematical study of continuous change.
Edelman should be able to help him with that. A zigzagging water bug, the 34-year-old receiver is coming off his best season (1,117 receiving yards).
Speaking of numbers, Newton has become the Patriots’ first
No. 1 since 1987, not counting mascot Pat Patriot, who started wearing the digit in 2003 to commemorate the team’s first Super Bowl. The other New England players to wear No. 1 were kickers Tony Franklin (1984-87), Eric Schubert (one game in 1987) and John Smith (1974-83).
Newton wore No. 1 for nine years with the Carolina Panthers, who drafted him first overall in 2011. He wore No. 2 at Auburn University, where he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Tigers to a national title.
He’s going to have to win another championship this season to collect all the money the Patriots put on the table. After his $1.05-million base salary, the details of the incentive bonuses in his contract were revealed by Espn.com’s Field Yates.
The Coles Notes version of how he caps his 2020 earnings at $7.5 million: Newton will have to suit up for every game, play at least 90 per cent of all offensive snaps, lead the team to the playoffs, qualify for the Pro Bowl, be named an All-pro QB, plus win four playoff games in which he plays 50 per cent of the snaps.
SECOND AND LONG
Edelman, who is Jewish, posted a 140-second Instagram message directed at Eagles receiver Desean Jackson, who plunged into a small lake of hot water with anti-semitic remarks on social media this week. In the video, Edelman said he thinks there are a lot of similarities between the Black and Jewish communities, in “that they are both attacked by the ignorant and hateful.
“We need to listen, we need to learn, we need to act,” Edelman says. “We need to have those uncomfortable conversations if we’re gonna have real change. So to that end, Desean, let’s do a deal. How ’bout we go to D.C. and I take you to the Holocaust Museum, and then you take me to the Museum of African American History and Culture. Afterward, we grab some burgers, and we have those uncomfortable conversations.”
DOWN THE SIDELINES
Hard to imagine the 49ers can’t appease running back Raheem Mostert, whose agent says wants a trade after months of unproductive talks aimed at fairly adjusting his contract. A special-teams player for most of his career, Mostert emerged as the 49ers’ best ground threat in 2019, leading all NFL running backs in yards per carry and exploding in the 37-20 NFC championship win over the Packers with 29 carries for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Mostert, who last off-season re-signed with the 49ers on a three-year, $8.7-million deal, is looking for a hike that would see him make in the neighbourhood of the $4.55-million salary Tevin Coleman earns as San Francisco’s top-paid back … An NFL that makes full face shields mandatory will be an
NFL without J.J. Watt. At least that’s what the Houston Texans’ outstanding defensive lineman told Pro Football Talk Wednesday. While the league is studying the possibility of implementing an extension of the visor many players wear — along with a plastic barrier covering the inside of the face mask — Watt said he found out in his second year that wearing even the half visor that he first thought was “so cool” was not for him. “I had it on for about three periods of practice and I said, ‘Take this sucker off, I’m gonna die out here,’” Watt told Pro Football Talk. “So now you’re gonna put something around my mouth? You can keep that. If that comes into play, I don’t think you’re gonna see me on the field.”