Since Cam Newton’s arrival in New England, Patriots coach Bill Belichick and others have praised the quarterback’s ethics.
Matthew Slater is witnessing this weekend.
According to Slater, Newton spent the entire Patriots flight to Seattle, with his nose buried in the New England playbook, which he still dominates after signing with them in July.
Newton almost staged a tom Brady comeback on Sunday night, leading two touchdowns in the last quarter and a third fall in yard 1 when time ran out of a 35-30 loss to the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.
“This guy is a competitor,” Slater said of his patriots co-captain after the game. “Obviously, I’m still getting to know Cam, and I enjoy being his teammate, but this guy is a competitor. I’ll tell you what I care about. You see what happened (Sunday), but that’s what you don’t see, that’s how it works.
“I’m sitting next to this guy on the plane and he’s reading his playbook for the whole six-hour flight here. This is the last type on site. This is the first type on site. He does the little things, from what I’ve seen, that gives him the chance to pass out and compete like he did (on Sunday).
After throwing the ball just 19 times last week on his Patriots debut, Newton produced one of the most productive pass performances of his NFL career against Seattle His 397-yard air, in 30 of 44 passes, were the third in his career and overall in a bachelor game since his rookie season in 2011.
Newton also contributed 3 of the Patriots’ 4 landings, pitching one to back Jakob Johnson and running for two. The 31-year-old led New England with yards on the court in his first two games with the team (47 of 11 runs). Sunday night) and is tied with former Carolina Panthers teammate Christian McCaffrey for the NFL lead in landing runs with 4.
“It’s not by accident, ” said Slater. ” This league is too complicated for the boys to stand out and succeed, especially to play in this position. He’s a pro, he’s a competitor and we’re lucky enough to have him as a quarterback. “and one of the leaders of this team. “
Miniature photo by Joe Nicholson / USA TODAY Sports Images