GAME-CHANGER: CAM GIVES PATS THEIR SWAGGER BACK
Former MVP brings excitement back to the locker room in Foxboro
The Cam Newton news broke Sunday night, shortly before Devin and Jason McCourty were scheduled to go on the air with their “Double Coverage‘’ podcast.
Once they went live, opening with the big bombshell that the Patriots had reportedly signed the former NFL MVP, it was pretty obvious the McCourty brothers were pumped.
Granted, defensive captain Devin McCourty threw out the company line of Newton having to earn the job, but the reverence expressed when talking about the newest Patriots quarterback and the joy exhibited over Bill Belichick’s move by both brothers spoke volumes.
No offense to Jarrett Stidham, but it’s like the Patriots got their swagger back.
The players know it’s a whole new ballgame with Newton in the fold, and that’s just on star power alone. While many players had previously talked a good game with respect to Stidham, who had been the front-runner to be the Patriots starter at quarterback, they know Newton is different. He’s a potential game-changer.
If Newton is healthy, and recaptures his top form, he puts the Patriots back in the contending business. In that light, Devin McCourty said he wasn’t surprised by the move. “Everything we do is always in the thought process of trying to win, and trying to win championships,” he said.
As it was, life after Tom Brady was likely going to be a struggle. Stidham was an unknown. Perhaps he would develop into something special, but there were sure to be some growing pains along that route.
Now, with Newton, there are more possibilities just by having another stud in the stable. The Patriots’ ceiling is so much higher, even with the former Panthers quarterback essentially coming in as a roll of the dice.
They were looking at an 8 or 9 win sea
son. If Newton pans out, they could hit as many as 12 wins, once again rule the AFC East, and be one of the top seeds in the conference.
That’s what getting a bump up at the quarterback position does for the Patriots.
Of course, Newton is not Brady. Not even close. But people in NFL circles respect his talent. When he’s on, he’s been dominant. And given he was a force every time he faced New England, given how much trouble he was to defend, that’s what most remember.
“I think everyone, not just the quarterback room, but everyone on this team can benefit from him,” said Devin, “and I think that comes from him just being who he is.”
Bingo!
By bringing Newton in, Belichick has basically restored hope. And that’s even with the knowledge no one knows for sure which Newton will show up.
Given the former Panthers quarterback is at a crossroads, and will be motivated to resurrect his career with an aim towards his next contract, the belief is he’ll be more like MVP Cam than not.
That alone is enough to give the Patriots an immediate shot in the arm.
“Hope has been restored. That’s a lovely way of saying it,” said Patriots Hall of Fame safety Rodney Harrison, reached earlier in the week. “If you talk about it from the locker room standpoint, players aren’t going to say anything. They’re going to be focused on their own job. But at the end of the day, who gives you more hope, Jarrett Stidham, or freakin’ Cam Newton?
“I know I’d be pumped up, I’d be excited about Cam Newton if I’m a guy in that locker room, as opposed to having Jarrett Stidham because you just don’t know with him,” Harrison continued. “You don’t know if he’s going to need two years to develop, three years to develop, whatever it is.”
That kind of mystery doesn’t exist with Newton. He’s more of a proven talent, a known commodity.
He won a national championship and Heisman Trophy at Auburn. He was the first overall selection in the 2011 NFL draft. He was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. And he was the NFL MVP who took his team to the Super Bowl in 2015.
And, the last time he was healthy, the beginning of the 2018 season, he was lights out.
Granted, he hasn’t been a superstar every year, and injuries have plagued him, but he has an actual NFL resume and has achieved success, which is more than Stidham at this point.
The only questions revolve around his health. And judging by his video workouts, he looks pretty good.
“If I’m the McCourty brothers, think about the excitement, because you know you can win with Cam, you know he’s going to come in and galvanize and energize that locker room because that’s how he plays,” said Harrison. “Those veterans are like, ‘Are you freaking kidding me? We get Cam Newton?’ Man, they’re pumped.”
Going from a team that might have struggled to get in the playoffs and was in danger of losing its hold on the AFC East back to contender status should indeed recharge the locker room, and perhaps even put a little more bounce in Belichick’s step.
The only thing left is for Newton to deliver. Because right now, it’s just talk, even if Newton’s arrival does provide an initial spark for the team.
“He’s a high-profile guy, so there’ll be some talk (in the locker room),” said former Patriots offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer, who works for the NFL as an ambassador to Germany. “But they’ll let it play out. It’s one of those signings that has so much upside, but he still has to prove himself.”