Debate This

If Teddy plays well, I think we have a decent shot at going 3-2.

 

Teddy has a decent contract for a #1 quarterback, and while he has an injury history, he appears to be past it and ready to go. Cam was making what Teddy will be, and has been injured twice in two years, to the point where he sucked in his limited starts in 2019. So it made sense to move on from Cam.

There was no way we could afford two $20m quarterbacks on the roster, which is why Cam had to go. If he's healthy, I think he would have been the day one starter in Carolina. To be plain, I think he's the better Quarterback. But the risk was too great--either he's injured and we don't win a game under Grier, or he's not injured and we win too many to draft his replacement.

So now you get Cam as a Free Agent. In a normal year he would have been scooped up right away but the injury question is too much for most teams. Enter the Patriots, who give him a Vet Minimum contract loaded with incentives. If he balls out, he's going to get a massive payday and the Patriots look like geniuses. If he doesn't, they invested nothing.

I think the events that played out made sense for all involved.

 

Bridgewater fits Rhule's offense better than Newton; that's the one and only reason they made the change. I actually suggested in 2014 that the Panthers trade Cam for a huge amount of draft picks and take Bridgewater in the first round, so I do like Teddy, but over time I have come to appreciate what Cam meant to the team and the community. This whole thing will be judged on how Matt Rhule does. If he can be successful within three years then people will forgive him for running Cam off, but making this unpopular move puts a lot of pressure on him to turn things around quickly. Personally, I would have stuck with Cam because I don't think there is enough talent on the rest of the roster to make the playoffs with a quarterback who is just solid.

 

Bridgewater may already know it, but Cam would be dominant in Brady's system. All those quick reads with his mobility and power?

 

Good stuff Collin, I hear that
However, I think his shoulder must be a bigger deal than has been reported. Why did essentially every team pass on him? Wouldn’t just be the $ issue . .. plenty of teams have/had much more cap room and equal need of pats.
I have a similar dominant shoulder issue and now whenever i throw anything a little too hard there is pain and weakness that follows for days. If that’s the case with cam he will never make it through another entire season.
Cyber, I don’t see cam as a “quick read” guy at all. When has he proven good at that?
You could argue Auburn I guess, when all he had was maybe a couple of reads and he just did what the giant pre-snap poster boards on the sideline told him to do. I also don’t see him having the same power and burst he had when he was younger. ..with or without the lisfranc. Carolina used him up then dropped him on the curb.

 

Rake, check these out:

 

Nice. Thanks for those. That first one is especially good and has excellent analysis. Yeah the success cam had under turner that year is indisputable. However I will contend that it was not cam newton being “a genius” quick reader and great decision maker. He would never get anywhere near Brady-like command at reads and progressions. Norv made things simple and clear for cam (minus the sideline poster boards). At that time there was plenty of discussion on all the single reads cam utilized. If there was a favorable coverage look initially then he would just rocket to that primary route. He has always been most suited as a passer at just immediately firing to a hot route. I don’t doubt that they will absolutely try and set him up for success in that way in NE. Once again the problem I see is the mans shoulder holding up. The second issue is newton taking shots once he IS utilized as a runner. Hopefully for cams sake they will use that very rarely. .. like only in the most dire short-yardage situation.