Patriots
play the defending champs.
Quarterback switch
Without Newton, Hoyer is expected to start against the Chiefs. Why Hoyer? Experience. He knows the offense. It’s as simple as that.
Maybe Bill Belichick pulls a rabbit out of his hat, and goes with second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham. It’s just not the likely scenario.
No matter who it is, Newton is a tough act to follow.
In three games this season, he’s completed a career-high 68.1% of his passes for 714 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also rushed 35 times for 149 yards and a league-best four touchdowns.
The offense completely revolves around him, and what he does best. So the Chiefs defense won’t have to worry about anywhere near the variables that Newton brings to the table.
It’s going to be a tall order for Hoyer to come on in relief, and outpoint Mahomes and the Chiefs offense, even with his experience and comfort level in the offense.
Offense adjustment
Assuming its Hoyer, Josh Mcdaniels will once again have to tweak the offense, and do it on the fly.
It’s not like the Patriots offensive coordinator hasn’t had to go through hoops before. He had to make adjustments in 2008 when Tom Brady went down for the year and Matt Cassel had to take over. He also had to tinker with the offense when Brady served his four-game suspension in 2016, first for Jimmy Garoppolo, who played a game and a half, and then Jacoby Brissett.
In Brissett’s case, he only had a few days to adapt plays that were more suitable to the quarterback, and Mcdaniels made it work. After installing the game plan and working on it all week with Newton, he now has to flip it for Hoyer and get everyone on the same page in two days. And do it without use of the facility at Gillette Stadium with teams having to clear out.
Hoyer is the polar opposite of Newton in terms of
mobility, not to mention he’s not a read-option style quarterback.
No doubt, the Patriots will fall back into a more classic style of offense with a drop-back quarterback. They’ll continue to run the football, but without all the bells and whistles Newton provides. It’s also possible Mcdaniels could employ Stidham for some of the Newton-based plays but the smart money says it’s Hoyer, working the old Brady offense.
No matter which way you slice it, still not the best scenario.
Player uncertainty
Even though no one outside of Newton has tested positive, it’s possible some players will feel uncomfortable traveling so soon after a positive test to a prominent player was revealed. As a quarterback, Newton had lots of interaction with players and members of the coaching staff.
Even with negative tests, players might still not want to jump on that plane. Maybe it’s one or two players opting out, maybe more, or possibly none.
This is another unknown, and another possi
ble monkey wrench for Belichick and the coaching staff to deal with.
Perhaps players won’t want to take the risk — completely understandable — and potentially get the virus, and potentially bring it back to their homes and their families when they get back.
The Belichick Factor
Switching the game plan on the fly? Losing the starting quarterback two days before the game? Having no access to the facility during the weekend?
Piece of cake, right? Let’s just say when Belichick is involved, he’s an X-factor whether he’s operating with perfect circumstances, or if everything gets blown up and turned upside down.
The Hoodie has always had a steady hand on the wheel. He’s always been great at adjustments and dealing with adversity. No one is going to be throwing a pity party for the Patriots.
No doubt, Belichick will have his players believing their Plan B or Plan C is good enough to beat the Chiefs.
Whether it gets the job done, remains to be seen.