No one knows who will start as a quarterback for the New England Patriots in Week 1.
I went back to that phrase, because a year ago it would have been a wild read. There have been no quarterbacks festival in New England since 1992. Even in 2016, when Brady was suspended, it was assumed that Jimmy Garoppolo would start again with then-rookie Jacoby Brissett. When Brady fell with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2008, Matt Cassel relieved him and never stopped working.
Fortunately for the Patriots, they now have quarterback characteristics than they did 28 years ago when Hugh Millen, Scott Zolak, Tom Hodson and Jeff Carlson received a combined 2-14. (Zo has started more games that year. The Patriots went 2-2 with him).
Patriots have practiced only five times since January. Monday’s consultation was the first in blocks and in front of reporters, and did not do much to keep up the festival between Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer.
Hoyer took the first turn in virtual tours. Stidham won the first rounds in 7-on-7 and 11-11. Then Newton took the first corner later in 11-on-11. Stidham and Hoyer went to two separate pitches for a definitive two-minute full-speed workout. Then came Newton and rookie undrafted Brian Lewerke.
Newton is the favorite to start more games than Stidham or Hoyer. But it seems less like a safe bet now than yesterday. The paintings are on the line. It may not be 33.3 / 33.3 / 33.3, but it is also not 90/5/5 in favor of Newton.
Stidham, the most productive quarterback in the practice area on Monday, but only by a very small margin in a small sample. A passing camp does not necessarily accentuate Newton’s strengths. Unfortunately for the 2015 NFL MVP, this is the framework in which you will have to win the position.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Monday before practice that the Patriots would end up simulating game situations, but it’s not the same as a genuine pre-season game. Quarterbacks will wear red T-shirts on scrums. Every time Newton retires and runs, there will be persistent doubts about how many yards he may have accumulated in a genuine game. The shoulder and ankle will be marks of consultation.
Newton’s arm looked sharp on Monday, but for former Carolina Panthers quarterback, it’s more of a full package. Belichick stated Monday at WEEI that there will be projections related to this year’s lineup battles.
But at least Newton started an NFL game, 124 of them, in fact. Stidham looked wonderful in preseason and practice rehearsals last summer, however, he pitched four regular-season passes and one of them knocked down Rex Burkhead and crossed the New York Jets. This type of pattern length means nothing, but it also confirms how large the question mark that would constitute leading the Patriots’ offensive.
No offense to Hoyer, however, the shrewd veteran couple is the worst-case scenario at QB this season. If Newton has injury or acclimatization problems, and Stidham is obviously not ready, then the Patriots can still depend on Hoyer, who has played intermittently in the formula since 2009. But it is what it is. And on Monday, he got 3 out of 6 at the festival’s training, while Stidham five out of five and Newton five out of six.
“All the quarterbacks have been good,” Belichick told ESPN before practice. “Brian Hoyer enjoys all of our changes to our system to the fullest. Jarrett Stidham is here right now. He had a perfect year last year in terms of learning and technical and non-public progression in the position.”
“And Cam is a backward addition, but it brought a lot of power and obviously a joy of play in our living room. For him, it’s about catching up on the details of the Patriots system, terminology, etc. worked very hard. Brian Lewerke is a loose officer quarterback from the school who is also in the room and is a progressive player. They’re a smart bunch. Array..
“They’ve all been great. I’d say, Cam, I just don’t like running with Cam. But he works incredibly hard. He puts a lot of emphasis on that, just like Jarrett and Brian. So it’s a very competitive and tough group. »
It is an unenviable task to appoint a headline in such a short time with a truncated educational camp without pre-season or spring training. If Stidham had a chance to shine in the team’s activities and in the mini-camp, then perhaps the Patriots would probably not accept Newton.
But it should be noted that what the Patriots did was take a plane to Newton. It earned $1.75 million for a maximum price of $7.5 million. He guaranteed only $550,000. Its roof is $1.1375 million. If the Patriots thought of Newton as a starter, they would have signed him in March and occupied more area than his special teammate Brandon King ($1,276,666).
It remains a mystery when the Patriots call their rookie quarterback. So far, if anything has been decided, the Patriots are stuck to their chests.