Newton wants quick start against Dolphins
Cam Newton said he was mesmerized looking out his window Wednesday night watching the snow fall and the plow drivers trying to clear the streets.
The quarterback said he “almost felt like a kid at Christmas looking for Santa.”
The present Newton and teammates likely have at the top of their lists is a win in Miami Gardens — where the Heat Miser reigns — to keep their postseason chances alive. The keys, said Newton, are to get back to their quick-start ways and to protect the football against a team that has been downright Grinch-like when it comes to turnovers.
“That’s always our mentality,” Newton said. “Miami presents a problem for teams. They’re a very opportunistic team that leads the league in takeaways, I do believe [they’re actually tied for second at plus-10]. They try to get the quarterback in a bind, not necessarily in making mistakes, but probably second-guessing. They challenge an offensive group as a whole to execute. I think if wehave our mentality set to keep getting better and stay on a certain side of making plays and extending drives, I think we’ll be good to go.”
Newton wouldn’t bite when asked about the progress of receiver Julian Edelman, who returned to practice Wednesday and is affectionately called “Highway 11” by the quarterback.
“Well, as you know, I can’t speak about those roads — I’ll just keep it at that,” he said. “I did pass the road, and it’s just ... yeah, for what it’s worth.”
Pressed if it’s a scenic highway, Newton smiled.
“Never know, man. I’ve learned here quickly, the less you say, the better. So, let’s just keep it at that,” he said.
Offensive line shuffle: Jermaine Eluemunor, who has started the last three games at left tackle, was present but was classified as a “did not participate” at Thursday’s indoor practice as he deals with an ankle injury that also kept him limited Wednesday.
Eluemunor missed three games earlier this year also because of an ankle ailment. He started four of the first five games at right tackle, where rookie Mike Onwenu has started the last eight games.
Rookie Justin Herron, who has rotated in at left tackle the last three games, was limited at the workout, also with an ankle injury.
Harris limited: Damien Harris was a new addition to the report with an ankle injury that kept him limited. The running back was a full participant Wednesday, which was a mild surprise after his suffered a back injury late in Thursday’s loss to the Rams.
Harris joined fellow backs James White (foot) and J.J. Taylor (quadriceps) as limited. Also limited on offense were receiver Donte Moncrief (thigh) and right guard Shaq Mason (calf ). On defense, tackles Lawrence Guy (shoulder), Adam Butler (shoulder) and Byron Cowart (back), and corners J.C. Jackson (knee) and Jonathan Jones (neck) were limited. Specialists Matthew Slater (knee) and Nick Folk (back) also were limited.
Defensive tackle Carl Davis (concussion) was at practice and is nowdesignated to return from injured reserve.
Snow day: Josh Uche said coach Bill Belichick gave players the option to stay in a Patriot Place hotel on Wednesday night because of the snowstorm, and the rookie linebacker took the coach up on the offer. “I wasn’t going to roll the dice on that one,” said the Miami native (though he did play college football at Michigan).