Getty Bill Belichick
The New England Patriots‘ head coach, Bill Belichick has made his decision at starting quarterback, and while he didn’t sound definitive at first, he gave a more concrete answer to the question on Monday.
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Staying With Cam Newton
Belichick appeared on WEEI’s OMF on Monday morning, and he was asked why he was staying with Cam Newton as his starting quarterback. The legendary coach replied:
We’ve won three of our last four games. Hopefully, we can continue to play good football on offense, defense, and special teams and have a chance of being competitive this week and moving forward.
Clearly, the bottom line for the Patriots and Belichick is winning and losing. That said, subpar play does suggest there could be a shorter leash in a game that has gone off the rails.
Some are Calling For Newton to Be Benched
The Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard was merciless in his critique of Newton’s play on Sunday. The veteran sportswriter called for Belichick to go to Jarrett Stidham as his starting quarterback, despite the fact that the Patriots came away victorious, and have won three of their last four games.
Bedard wrote:
That was unacceptable. Or, at least it should be if Bill Belichick truly believes what he preaches to his players about every decision he makes: Belichick does what’s in the best interest of the team. If that’s the case, then he needs to have a serious discussion with Josh McDaniels and Jedd Fisch about possibly benching Newton for Jarrett Stidham. Newton was terrible on Sunday in the Patriots’ eventual 20-17 victory over the Cardinals that was basically done without any of Newton’s help — unless you want to count the gift personal foul penalty he drew to set up the game-winning field goal. What you saw on Sunday was a Patriots team trying to win despite having — insert god-awful NFL quarterback’s name here (Tim Tebow, Trevor Siemian, Ryan Finley, David Blough, Jeff Driskel, etc) — as their quarterback. Yes, it was that bad.
Bedard isn’t overstating Newton’s struggles on Sunday, but he is overreacting with his insistence for the Patriots to make a change at quarterback. Changing the starter in the midst of a 3-1 stretch simply makes no sense unless there is an injury.
Newton’s impact on the team goes far beyond a stat line. He is the consummate leader and has brought a layer of energy that I’m not sure another quarterback could have delivered. That can’t and shouldn’t be diminished.
Remaining Schedule for the Patriots
- Week 13 at Los Angeles Chargers – Sunday, December 6
- Week 14 at Los Angeles Rams – Thursday, December 10
- Week 15 at Miami Dolphins – Sunday, December 20
- Week 16 vs. Buffalo Bills – Monday, December 28
- Week 17 vs. New York Jets – Sunday, January 3
Newton and the Patriots take on the Chargers on Sunday, and he’ll have a chance to silence the doubters–at least for another week.