When you think of some of the greatest years in Auburn’s football history, you think of 2010. That season was led by none other than Cam Newton himself.
The Patriots find themselves in an interesting position with the decision between new signee Newton and one-year veteran Jarrett Stidham, but Netwon is the obvious pick between the two. Newton has four years of professional play under his belt before Stidham even started his NCAA career.
Let’s break it down chronologically.
Newton transferred and started playing for Auburn in 2010 after playing back up to Heisman winner Tim Tebow at the University of Florida. Newton started the first game and began to lead one of the best seasons for Auburn. The Tigers remained undefeated under the leadership of Newton. He took them all the way to the BSC National Championship where the Tigers defeated Oregon 22-19.
Newton had a 66% completion rate during this season passing for 2,854 yards. This performance earned him the Heisman Trophy and the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft. The Carolina Panthers picked up Newton to start his professional career.
Newton was assigned the starting position almost immediately and opened for the Panthers going 24-37 on his first game. Newton’s rookie season only resulted in six wins, but it showed the endurance of a young quarterback and the potential he could bring to his team.
Over the next two seasons, Newton improved enough to lead the Panthers to their first playoff game in 2013. The season featured an eight-game winning streak and a 64% completion rate from Netwon. As the season ended, Netwon had plans for a small surgery that had the consequence of a four-month recovery.
That surgery and another hairline fracture from the preseason didn’t slow Netwon down. He took the Panthers even further into the post-season despite breaking his starting streak on the opening game.
Newton had proved who he was as a player in college and in the NFL by 2015. This was also the year Stidham started his career as a back-up quarterback at Baylor University. Just by this comparison alone, it shows how much more ready Netwon is to take the starting spot for the Patriots this fall.
Past 2015 Newton slowed down due to injuries but still led his team into the postseason. All the while Stidham was just up and coming to the college football world.
This last season speaks volumes of the two quarterbacks. Newton, coming off of a shoulder surgery, played in two games passing 572 yards. Stidham played back-up to Tom Brady but was put in three games passing just 14 yards.
Looking forward to the Patriots fall season, they have a lot to prove. They have to prove they can still be a winning team without Brady. Newton has the criteria and experience to fill those shoes. Ultimately, Stidham just isn’t seasoned to take on a role this large. Stidham continuing as a back-up to Netwon will give him a greater insight as to what a NFL quarterback is.
Patriots fans should plan on seeing Netwon’s name under center.
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Original Post: https://www.theplainsman.com/article/2020/07/column-making-a-case-for-cam-newton-as-the-patriots-starter
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