With Cam Newton struggling over the past couple of games, there have been questions surrounding whether the quarterback should start the rest of the season. Coach Bill Belichick has indicated that he will stick with Newton for the rest of the way, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has indicated that Newton has been the team’s best quarterback all season.
McDaniels comments comes on the heels of a performance from Newton which did not get the job done. He went nine-of-16 on the evening, throwing for 119 yards and an interception. In what was a difficult night, the Rams defensive line had a field day with Newton. Sacked four times, Newton had difficulty getting any time to throw.
Despite Thursday night’s difficult performance, McDaniels still believes in Newton, and indicates the Patriots quarterback has been their best option.
“Cam has certainly, he certainly has been the best option for us all year long since he earned the opportunity in training camp,” McDaniels said. “And look, whenever the offense struggles, I know the attention is always going to get turned to that position. Me personally, it’s my responsibility to put us in a position to be more productive than we were last night. Every time we struggle offensively and don’t score enough points to win the game, I know I need to do a better job.
“Quarterback play is dependent on a lot of things to be done right and execute properly. The quarterback has to do his job, but there are a lot of other people that go into doing that same thing and being a productive offensive unit. Cam works hard. Cam knows what we want to try and do to win. Right now, I think there’s a lot of things we all can do better. We have to work hard and try and come back and have a good week of preparation in practice and see if we can play better as a unit down in Miami and get this thing back on track.”
Newton will have another opportunity to prove can still be an effective quarterback. In what has been a difficult season for Newton, the extra time off may prove to be beneficial.
