FOXBOROUGH — Everyone is eager for the Patriots' quarterback competition to decide a winner, let alone waiting for the competition to really begin.
I get it. It's been almost 30 years since the Patriots had a real quarterback competition. Don't even bring up last year. There might have been, if Jarrett Stidham didn't go down and never make a move about three days in (Stidham is reportedly out at least 12 weeks now after a back injury sustained before training camp). So this is the first QB competition for the Patriots since 1992, when I graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury — and I'm old now. Hell, Scott Zolak battled it out with Hugh Millen and Tommy Hodson before Dick MacPherson's final season, thankfully. 'Sup Zo!
So, let's be honest, you all are out of practice when it comes to QB competitions. No wonder you're salivating over "stats" that lack context and want a scorecard when the team hasn't even started competing yet. There hasn't even been a real 7-on-7 period. Take a breath. This is going to take a while.
Thankfully, due to the post-Dan Marino era with the Dolphins, yours truly has suffered through way too many crappy QB competitions (too early to say if this one is in the same realm, but we'll see if there's a Cleo Lemon ... I'd be happy with Jay Fielder, the Dartmouth Dagger). Let me guide you a bit.
1. The competition will be decided by two-minute drills, third-down work, joint practices and preseason games ... and PADS.
Even Bill Belichick said the other day that the team is just working on spring stuff, and the competition doesn't start until there are pads on.
"The competition starts and padded practices, preseason games, joint practices and things like that so ... still kind of in a build up mode (now) as the league has set it up, so just trying to make the most of it," he said.
Listen to the man.
Right now, the Patriots are playing glorified flag football. You can certainly lose a spot with how you play now (ahem, Devin Ross) but you're not going to win anything.
Coaches love the situational stuff with pads cracking. The QBs can't be touched, so the contact doesn't affect them, but the speed will ramp up big time when the pads go on. The QBs can feel it and react to it. That's the first mile marker, and it's coming next week.
2. The Patriots are strategically giving Cam Newton and Mac Jones the exact same reps.
I've never seen this before, but I've got to say, it's pretty smart.
In all three practices so far, there will be periods where the reps are a bit different. Drills that work on certain techniques. But when it comes to really teaching the Patriots' situational offense, the Patriots are giving Newton and Jones the exact same plays.
Newton will go three or four plays. Then Jones goes. The same offensive plays, down to motion and alignment. Same defensive setup and pressures. Now, people react differently and the personnel is not the same — Newton has a huge advantage working with the 1s to this point — so they can look a little different, but they are the same.
Newton throws a screen on the first play. Jones throws a screen on his first play. There are some alerts and audibles to slightly change things, but when you see Newton have a miscue throwing to Nelson Agholor over the top like he did Friday, and then Jones makes the right read and barely misses Kristian Wilkerson (who?), it's the same play.
The Patriots are doing this for two reasons. One, they're teaching both of them the exact same thing because there WILL be a real competition. Two, it gives them a direct side-by-side comparison, which is good for grading but also teaching.
One other disadvantage for Jones with this: the Patriots' defenders are really smart. They're not idiots. They know Jones is going to run the same play Newton just did so they defend it differently, and usually better.
So with those stats that you love ... one QB might check down and take the safe play, but the other might make a quicker decision and be right despite an incompletion. Jones' quick decision-making is showing up there. His snap-to-throw times are better in these periods.
"My whole thing is whatever the play tells you to do, do it," Jones said about his quick decisions. "I’m trying to get there. I’m getting better. I don’t feel like I’m lost out there, but you gotta be able to throw the ball to the right guy based on the coverage, based on the problem. That’s a ball that’s supposed to be thrown quick to your first lead and get it out. If not, just make it a process to where you’re sticking to it. It’s not, ‘Oh, I think it’s this,’ or, ‘Let me try this,’ it’s, ‘I see this. Let me do this.'"
Here's what Newton told reporters about some his slow decision-making:
“That’s what training camp’s all about," he said. "Of course, we have this mental and our head that, in the classroom or when we're meeting, coach asks a question -- boom, that’s where we’re supposed to go with the ball. OK, now you’ve got Devin McCourty showing something, Kyle Duggers showing something. Then all of a sudden, [Dont’a] Hightower jumps over here and all of a sudden, it’s like ‘What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? It’s just taking the brain a little longer at times. But hopefully with a lot of repetitions, it'll be good.”
3. Patriots haven't done jack yet.
New England has worked methodically going from low red, mid red and high red zone. They've done a lot of deceptive plays. It's a lot of refreshing what they quickly went over in the spring. They just started throwing deep on Friday, and Jones was better there.
Said Brian Hoyer: "Look, it is still early. We’re down here in the red area. Bill is always going to make it hard on us in the beginning of training camp, minicamp, whatever it is. … There’s tight windows. The defense is doing a lot of stuff, so each day just going out trying to execute what we’ve got against a tough defensive scheme and defensive players. Everybody is just coming around. It’s just stacking those bricks right now."
Said Newton: "See, the thing is, you guys must understand. We're still in training camp and this is probably the only time that we've had -- this is the first time we've had the access to do certain things. OTAs, it’s just OTAs and you can't really let it rip like you want to," Newton said. "Coach is doing a great job with monitoring certain focuses each and every day. The ability for us to just throw the ball past 20, 30 yards was the first time we've done this in months outside of me and individually. But now you’ve got a line. Now you’ve got to step up in the pocket. Now you have many distractions. Nelly [Nelson Agholor] is here to do one thing and multiple things, of course. We try to put guys in position, or Josh [McDaniels] tries to put your guys in position to make plays and do things that they're comfortable in. Having days like this, you find out what guys are comfortable at and that's what you want to attack.”
4. The most important practice reps are when entire units get to drive the field.
The Patriots will get to the point, I'm guessing not for about 10 more days, where they're putting the ball on 25 and give each QB a chance to drive the field. I'm sure Newton will get the 1s at least for a couple days, but at some point, depending on how he navigates the backups, Jones will get a shot directing the 1s. How he looks in those circumstances compared to Newton — with the adjustments and decision WAY more important than a "completion" in camp — will determine whether he gets a chance to drive the bus for a while.
These were huge not only in Miami, but also in Green Bay. These are usually the most important drills in all of camp. Mono a mono. 1s vs. 1s. 2s vs. 2s. The Patriots will also do both in the joint practices with the Eagles and Giants. I will not be surprised if Newton and Jones split those practices as the starter: Newton vs. Eagles, and Jones against the Giants when Belichick can request old friends Joe Judge and Patrick Graham to throw some surprise looks at the rookie. I also will not be surprised if that Giants padded practice is the final decider heading into the opener, if it gets that far.
Other notes: Jones and Hoyer are text buddies.
No surprise here, Jones is peppering Hoyer with questions.
“I said this in the spring, it’s not easy playing quarterback in the NFL. It’s not easy to play it here," Hoyer said. "He works his butt off and he cares a lot. I am just there if he has a question, or if I see something that I can bring up with my past experiences and help him out because like I said, we’re starting in the toughest part of the field against what I would call arguably the toughest red-area defense in the league. It’s not going to be easy. You’re not going to go out there and go 9-for-10. Working one day at a time and you can see how much he puts into it. I get text messages from him at 6 a.m. He’s doing a great job.”
Harry addresses trade request
N'Keal Harry largely deflected questions about the trade request made by his agent, but he was asked if he would be happy here if he's still on the team at the end of camp.
"Absolutely," Harry said.
Why?
"Because I just feel like I can really help this team win," he said. "And I feel like I can have a big role within this team."
Uh, ok.
