The last time we asked and answered this question — Why won’t Bill Belichick just let Jarrett Stidham sink or swim? — in the wake of the loss to the Rams, the Patriots were technically still alive for a postseason berth.
And that, our sources told us at the time, was the answer.
Well now the Patriots are sitting at 6-8, officially eliminated and three games back in the loss column from the AFC party (ouch), yet Col. William S. Belichick still intends to send Lance Cpl. Cameron J. Newton into the barracks against the division champion Buffalo Bills tonight at Gillette Stadium (I guess that would make Jarrett Stidham, Pfc. Louden Downey? ... Cam! Cam! Cam!).
Again, we ask .. why?
Good luck getting an answer out of Belichick. He's gone full Jessep to the Daniel Kaffees of the local media since the Nov. 1st loss to the Bills that was the beginning of the end for the Patriots' playoff chances.
"Yeah I mean we’ve talked about that," Belichick told WEEI's Lou Merloni most recently. "We’ve talked about that question. It’s been several weeks and we continue to ask the same question. I’m done with it."
"How about if I let you know whether we're going to make a change?" Belichick snapped at Mike Reiss.
Let me translate that for you...
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to the mediots who rise and sleep under the blanket of the very income I provide — good luck covering the effing Jaguars, you nitwits — then questions the manner in which I provide it. I'd prefer you just said, 'Thank you,' and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a helmet and hit somebody. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to."
Ok, fair enough. I've actually been entertained by the whole thing. And, really, the man will go down as the greatest coach in football history and he's won six Lombardies with the Patriots and had a 20-year run that will be unmatched. He's entitled to one stinker.
But seriously, what the (expletive) is it with Newton?
Well, according to sources in and around the team, here is the latest on why Belichick refuses to start Stidham over Newton:
1. Stidham isn't any better.
You may have heard a few weeks back that now-departed QBs coach Jedd Fisch basically said Stidham hasn't had much of an opportunity to show what he can do in the Patriots' offense in practice. "He has a good amount of reps against our defense every week in regards to running the scout team. There’s not a lot of plays in a practice where the No. 2 quarterback gets to work on our offense," Fisch said at the time.
Some took that to mean Stidham isn't getting much of a chance. That would be incorrect.
For one thing, if Stidham did run this offense in the game, it wouldn't be the Newton-style of offense, so him stepping in and running some RPOs isn't going to do anything. But the most important thing is, even scout team reps are chances for quarterbacks with a future to shine. You're not a good QB some of the time, you're a good QB almost all of the time. And to this point, Stidham has not mounted any sort of charge to get meaningful playing time.
The Patriots know what Stidham is by now. He's at the end of his second professional season for a team that has practiced since August. That basically makes him a third-year QB at this point. The consensus internally? Stidham has shown he's only backup material to this point. Of course, that can change.
October 29, 2018 in Orchard Park, New York. New England beat Buffalo 25-6.
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While very mindful of the politics — you can pretend they don't matter or factor in, but they do — I would still start Stidham because you never know. Maybe he plays under the lights better than he practices and, seriously, he really can't be that much worse than Newton — at least he can pass without needing a 10-second lead time — and it would be helpful to have more (any?) real data on Stidham heading into this offseason.
But Jessep, obviously, doesn't care what we think.
"You effing people. You have no idea how to build a football culture. All you'd be doing was weakening a football team tonight, idiots. That's all you'd be doing. You put wins in danger. Sweet dreams, morons."