“Cam’s our starting quarterback,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick declared on the final day of July, shortly before his team’s fourth non-padded practice of training camp.
It was a simple statement that created much-debated reactions from many, the clear-cut words themselves simultaneously stating the obvious while also ignoring it.
Noting that veteran Cam Newton is New England’s “starter” was obvious to anyone who actually watched any of the first few days of camp, because No. 1 took the first reps in virtually every drill and practice segment involving quarterbacks. Essentially, he picked right up where he left off a year ago atop the summertime depth chart.
The obvious part that was left out of Belichick’s declaration, though, was two simple words – for now. Two words that can probably be mentally tacked on to any declaration by any football coach at any time of year, but are most certainly needed in this case.
It was a fascinating study in modern media and society that while Newton’s proponents pounced on Belichick’s words, and many national media pundit types did the same, few took the time to put them in perspective or find out the context of the statement. Nope, it was a movie-postering of Belichick’s message, cutting out the meat and oversimplifying it to the bone. A flashy headline and soundbite. It may not exactly have been fake news, but it was certainly exaggerated and misrepresented.
Because even now, days later, few realize that Newton’s anointment as the starter came literally seconds after Belichick had broken down, in detail, what goes into a quarterback competition and just as definitively had declared that he expected Newton and first-round rookie Mac Jones’ battle to come down to a “hard decision.”
“We'll take a look at the whole situation,” Belichick responded when asked about the first true open QB competition in New England since the pre-Drew Bledsoe days three decades ago. “I don't think you want to evaluate players at any position off of one or two plays, or maybe a day, so from a consistency standpoint that's always important and obviously production, so hopefully those things will be good and I'm sure it'll be a hard decision. We'll see how it goes. Let them play and try to do what we feel like is best for the team based on their performance.”
Wait. What did he say?
“It’ll be a hard decision.”
Meaning it hasn’t been made yet. Interesting, yet seemingly ignored by oh so many.
So let’s be quite clear, Cam Newton is indeed the Patriots starting quarterback for now. That’s true in the first week of non-padded training camp work and will probably still be true into preseason game action.
But at no point did Belichick declare that Cam Newton would start on Sept. 12 against the Dolphins in the season opener at Gillette Stadium.
If and until Belichick makes that announcement, an actually meaningful declaration, the reality is that there is indeed an open quarterback competition taking place on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium. In his words, Belichick is evaluating the “performance” and “production” of Newton and Jones. Those evaluations will ramp up this week when practice ramps up with full pads and contact action. It will build steam next week with preseason game action against Washington and then really get going with back-to-back weeks of joint practice against the Eagles and Giants.
If Newton practices and plays at an elite level, he’ll hold onto his job as the current placeholder. But while he’s been solid to open camp, he’s not run away with the job by any means.
If Jones falls on his face and isn’t up to the task of competing for the job right out of the gates to open his pro career, he won’t have a chance of unseating the former MVP who struggled mightily in his first season in Foxborough. Though not perfect, Jones has not yet wilted in the face of competition to date.
So there is competition. It is open. And will be decided in the coming days and weeks, as it should be. It could very well be a “hard decision.”
Then, and only then, will Belichick know and probably even announce who the starting quarterback for the Patriots will be on opening day against Miami.
He has not done that yet. He would not do that yet because it goes against everything he seems to believe in about football teams, football players, competition, reestablishing levels of production and doing what’s in the best interest of the football team.
So, yes, Cam Newton is the Patriots starting quarterback.
That’s obvious.
For now.
That’s also obvious.