Getty Cam Newton
The New England Patriots‘ Cam Newton has had some ups and downs this season, but there is one issue that has bitten him in almost every game this year. He talked about this problem on Wednesday.
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Newton Talks Fundamentals on Bad Passes
COVID-19 rocked Newton’s season in Week 4, and quite honestly, things have trended in a negative way for the entire team since the 2015 NFL MVP tested positive. While he seems to be moving back toward the level of play that had everyone calling him the Comeback Player of the Year early on, there is one issue that keeps rearing its head periodically in all of Newton’s games.
It’s the penchant for low-trajectory passes or throws that land at his receiver’s feet. Newton was asked about this issue on Wednesday. As has been the case most of the season, Newton gave an honest and open answer.
Coach talks about it all the time, to have great fundamentals when you need it the most. Sometimes the ball just gets away from you … you just throw a bad pass. I just have to more contentious of those type of throws.
When Newton talks about fundamentals, he’s mostly referring to his footwork. At times, foot placement gets away from him, and that’s when his accuracy suffers. At least three of the four passes that the Houston Texans’ J.J. Watt batted down on Sunday were partially caused because Newton’s initial trajectory was too low. That’s been a relatively rare iteration of the low-pass issue. The more common occurrences have happened on short throws that have been more or less skipped to receivers.
It hasn’t happened enough to have effectively cost his team the game, but Newton clearly knows it’s an area he needs to clean up to be at his best.
Primed For a Big Day on Sunday
All that said, Newton seems primed for one of his best games of the season on Sunday. Newton threw the ball very well in the loss to the Texans as he eclipsed the 350-yard mark for the second time this season.
He’s also likely to benefit from a receiving corps that appears to be in as good of shape from a health and confidence standpoint as it has been in all season. They might still be without Julian Edelman, but the emergence of Jakobi Meyers and Damiere Byrd last week mixed in with something of a heartbeat shown from N’Keal Harry is encouraging.
If Newton can continue to perform the way he has over the last two weeks, the Patriots can establish the run game and their quarterback can use play-action as a real weapon against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards rank 17th in the NFL in passing yards allowed and they have been penalized more than every team in the NFL besides the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets on passing plays.
If things stick to the script, Newton and the Patriots will have opportunities in the passing game.
Beware of Budda
One of the Cardinals’ best defensive players is Budda Baker. The ball-hawking safety is a lurker who has shown a penchant for making big plays this season. He has two interceptions, a forced fumble, and two sacks from his safety spot this year.
Newton and the Patriots must be aware of where he is on the field at all times.