Bedard: When Cam Newton returns, Bill Belichick shouldn't give him his job back

FOXBOROUGH — There were two proud NFL franchises on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, the New England Patriots and New York Giants.

Both were led by quarterbacks that were first-round picks.

Only one team knows they have the makings of a franchise quarterback.

And it wasn't the Giants.

It may not have been the most challenging practice of training camp (I was more impressed with his work against the Patriots' defense on Monday and Tuesday), but Mac Jones basically threw a no-hitter against the Giants' defense, which is supposed to be the strength of their team (does 19th in defensive DVOA and 22nd against the pass really qualify?) It was not a perfect game — there were some operational issues at the line of scrimmage and a few completions that would have been sacks — but it was damn impressive.

I mean, 18 of 22 with two touchdowns (and two sacks ... the New York press would argue there were a few more sacks) in competitive, situational 11 on 11 drills against another NFL team is 18 of 22 (81.8 percent).

Were there a ton of deep shots and challenging passes? No, not really. But since when is the Patriots' true passing offense the Greatest Show on Turf? It's sideline to sideline in a 20-yard box.

And Jones aced that.

And in his one deep shot of practice — right when I was saying to myself, 'Would be nice to see them go deep once or twice,' — Jones and Jakobi Meyers hooked up on a perfect post-corner route against the two-man defense the Giants played almost the entire practice for about 40 yards.

Of course, it doesn't matter what a bunch of reporters or fans see at practice. We don't really know what we're looking at, and the context. The only thing that matters is what Bill Belichick thinks.

I just know this, after watching this entire training camp and how Jones didn't shy away from the chance Cam Newton basically handed Jones the past three days of practice — and, in fact, went after the opportunity like a shark with chum in the water — I don't see any football reason why Jones shouldn't be the Patriots' starting quarterback tomorrow when/if Newton returns, and into the regular season.

I mean, let's go to Belichick's checklist for a quarterback, passed on by NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah:

• “#1 is to make good decisions — then arm, size, physically tough, leadership, guys look up to and have confidence in, a real competitor.”

Jones clearly embraces all of these qualities. Just listen to some of his teammates, who celebrate more than Jones does after his exploits, after today's practice.

Deatrich Wise was asked why he went out of his way to give Jones a fist bump.

"Did you see the period?

I did.

"I gave him a fist pound. I think he looks pretty good."

James White hauled in a back-shoulder pass from Jones where he threw it before White even knew the ball was there, a crucial conversion in the two-minute drill.

"It was perfect timing, but a perfect throw and a big play in the two-minute drive," White said.

"I’d say he continues to get more confidence. The more you’re out there and the more you keep getting those repetitions, the more confidence you get."

Said Kendrick Bourne: "I think Mac is doing a good job, taking leadership, controlling everybody, having everybody in the right place and stuff like that – making the team be a real team. So doing a real great job of it.”

• Accurate rather than a guy with a cannon.

Jones' accuracy has been his best on-field attribute. If the throw isn't in the perfect place, it's off by 6 inches. I have never seen a young quarterback with his subtle accuracy. He never leads guys into danger (ask Matt LaCosse about Newton). 

• Emphasis on our game will be on decision, timing, accuracy — guy needs to be confident, intelligence is important but not as much so as field awareness & judgment. 

Jones embodies all of those attributes, certainly moreso than Newton. 

• Can’t be sloppy fundamentally unsound guy w/ ball handling, tech’s, etc. Footwork, drops, release, etc. — QB has to be able to throw the ball with accuracy.

Again, Jones and Zach Wilson of the Jets may be the most fundamentally sound quarterbacks to come into this league since Andrew Luck (you could make convincing arguments for Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert).

Daniel Jones, who was the sixth overall pick in 2019, couldn't hold a candle to Mac Jones on Wednesday.

Giants GM Dave Gettleman and owner John Mara both watched this practice from the end zone and must have been saying on the way out, "Holy hell, our guy is terrible compared to who the Patriots have." And Joe Judge was probably thinking the same thing. They couldn't get Jones off the field.

There were times where you wondered how much of this could be the Giants are not good, and both teams were running simplified schemes. But that also happened in Philly, and the Patriots, including their quarterbacks, were not good. And here's the other thing, that sort of swayed me driving home and thinking about the practice:

Is there any way on God's green Earth that Newton would have done as well or better than what Jones did today? There is no way.

This is what Belichick has to be asking himself.

There's no way Belichick can watch what just happened over the past three days in totality, factor in what Newton just put the team through and will likely do so again, and believe that Newton gives the Patriots a better chance to win any games more than Jones.

And Jones has shown all of us on a daily basis this summer that the more data and reps you feed into Mac The Supercomputer, the better he is going to play.

The only reason Belichick could give (of course he won't ... We did what's in the best interest of the team, I think I covered that Tom) of sticking with Newton is not believing Jones will make it through the season healthy (he seemed to add a sleeve to his left knee brace today). Call it the Burrow effect.

(Even if Newton gets starter reps tomorrow in his return, I don't think it will tell us anything; they could just want to catch him up and give Jones a rest after throwing about 200 passes the past three days.)

But here's my counter to that: 

• You are spending $32 million on your offensive line, which includes a first-round pick that will get a fifth-year option next year, and the second year of a rookie deal (Mike Onwenu).
• You signed two tight ends for a combined $25 million.
• You signed two receivers, the more expensive of which (Nelson Agholor) can't stay on the field.
• You re-signed veteran third-down back James White to catch passes and provide sound blocking.

This ain't the Bengals. Belichick has literally positioned this offense, with a very good defense to keep every game close, to be the perfect vehicle for an advanced rookie quarterback to take the ball and run with it.

Just give the kid the ball, Bill. He's literally the quarterback you've drawn up going back decades. He's shown he's no wilting flower. Whatever happens, he'll roll with it.

Jones took ownership of this team the past three days, and the team embraced him.

What more does Jones have left to prove?