There are a lot of people who believe in Cam Newton‘s chances for success with the New England Patriots in 2020, but don’t count retired offensive lineman TJ Lang among them.
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TJ Lang: “What Has Cam Done Lately?”
The former Green Bay Packer and Super Bowl Champion didn’t mince words when he spoke about Newton’s recent stats and QB record. On Twitter, Lang said:
People want to live in the past when it comes to Cam Newton. Hasn’t thrown a TD pass since week 13 in 2018. Last 8 games as a starter? 0-8 record, 9TDs 10INTs. Not saying he can’t rebound, I really hope he does.. but don’t forget it’s about what have you done lately league.
The comments from Lang didn’t go unaddressed. In fact, Detroit Lions running back, Kerryon Johnson came to Newton’s defense in a reply to Lang’s tweet.
Come on man…he basically didn’t play all last year and didn’t play the 2 final games of 2018? You know those losses are not fully on him i don’t believe this statement at all. 4 of those picks were one game
In response to a fan’s tweet, that was in the same conversation thread, Lang said:
“If teams felt that he was back to 100% healthy, he wouldn’t have signed for $1M.”
Unpacking Lang’s Criticism of Cam Newton
There’s obvious truth in what Lang is saying about Newton. Even Newton admitted in a recent conversation with former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, the Atlanta Falcons’ Todd Gurley, and the Cleveland Browns’ Odell Beckham Jr., he hadn’t “put the best film out there.”
That said, to look at Newton’s performances over the past two seasons in a vacuum probably isn’t fair. He’s been banged up in a variety of ways, and he needed an opportunity to heal. Judging Newton’s play while he was less than 100 percent isn’t wise.
Because he’s just 31 years old, there is no reason to believe he can’t recover from the injuries he’s suffered. To Lang’s point, a good reason he didn’t sign for more than the minimum was that teams didn’t know if he was healthy.
However, I contend, and Newton made reference to this as well, it was impossible for him to visit teams to work out for them due to the pandemic and the restrictions on such activities, so there was no way for him to prove he was in great condition. Lang neglected to mention that piece of information during his criticism.
He does say, he’s not ruling Newton’s bounceback out, but the vast majority of his spiel was negative. So many may wonder why Newton is heading into 2020 with a chip on his shoulder. Well, it’s because there are a lot of people in the cam with Lang.
There’s only one way for Newton to prove them all wrong. If he can do it, the Patriots are headed for one heck of a season.
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Super Bowl Champion Slams Cam Newton, ‘What Have You Done Lately?’