In just a couple of months in New England, Cam Newton not only became the Patriots starting quarterback but also a team captain.
Riding high after New England's 21-11 win over the Dolphins on opening day -- a game in which Newton set a franchise record with 15 rushing attempts on his way to a game-high 75 yards rushing with a pair of scores – Newton talked about what leadership means to him during a Wednesday evening video call with reporters.
"It's just holding yourself accountable," Newton said. "That's what I try to do, whether it's via words or via actions. I have to make sure that I'm not being selfish and not thinking about the team, and knowing that I am putting the team first in a lot of things that I do. So, like I said, whether it's leading by example or just giving a pep talk. We all can lead. But in order to be a great leader you have to also be a great follower. And there's a lot of guys on this team that I follow and see from afar and just get little nuggets of how they prepare and just work on a day-to-day basis. That's just…I'm trying to put in my repertoire of living each and every day."
Clearly what Newton is doing has worked. Not only was he selected as a captain, but he's drawn rave reviews from tough-to-please Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
"Cam's been great for us. He's a very, very unselfish player. He's a great teammate," Belichick said following Sunday's win over Miami. "He's earned everybody's respect, really, daily. He just continues to do everything that he can to help our team and that's really all you can ask from anyone and he continually does that, puts himself last and puts the team first.
So, I think he's done a tremendous job there"
