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The New England Patriots’ Cam Newton had a question for a reporter who asked him about some of his struggles to throw short passes, and it created a bit of an awkward moment.
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Cam Newton: “Have You Ever Played Quarterback Before?”
ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss asked Newton about his struggles to throw short passes, especially considering he’s handled the longer throws more accurately. Reiss phrased the question about as kindly as possible, which is customary for the premier Patriots beat reporter in the land. Still, Newton seemed to be slightly irritated by the nature of the inquisition.
He responded: “Have you ever played quarterback before?”
Reiss said, “no Cam, I’d be more like the kicker or the coach.” Newton then said, “well, if you’re the coach, you’d have to have some knowledge of what you’re coaching, right?” Just before the moment got any more awkward, Newton explained, “I wanted to use an analogy.”
Essentially, Newton summed up his issues throwing the short passes to human error that can be related to anyone in any spot across sports. Kickers sometimes have bad kicks, basketball players sometimes have inaccurate shots. It’s just one of those things.
In Newton’s defense, it can at times be a little irritating when someone who likely doesn’t have the experience doing your job critiquing you. However, on the other hand, Reiss was simply doing his job, and the question wasn’t positioned in an insulting tone. When your answer to this sort of question begins with an inquiry about a person’s experience in the concept, the response doesn’t get off to the kindest start.
Accuracy Has Been Way Up
All that said, Newton has shown great improvement in his throwing accuracy over the past four weeks. He hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers. In fact, he has thrown 117 consecutive passes without an interception. Over that time, Newton has completed just under 69 percent of his throws.
Does he need to keep some of the short passes up so they aren’t batted down and don’t fall at the feet of his receivers? Of course, he does, but at this point, he’s been more than accurate enough to get the win.
Improvement is Likely On the Way
One thing is for sure, when Newton has had an issue this season, he has been quick to rectify it and to show improvement. I’m not expecting anything less than that for the remainder of this season.
Newton must make sure he doesn’t sail passes over his receivers and running backs’ heads in a move of over-compensation, but Patriots fans should feel confident some adjustments are on the way from their quarterback.
We should get an opportunity to see whatever he’s worked on Sunday when the team takes on the Arizona Cardinals in yet another must-win contest.
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