By Brandon Simmons
Cam Review
Cam Newton had the honor of kicking off the post-Tom Brady era for the New England Patriots by taking on the position of the new starting QB. It was a long road for Newton who has not played a regular season game since the middle of last year before being sidelined with a shoulder injury. Things looked even bleaker during the offseason. When the Carolina Panthers cut Newton, it was well into free agency and he wasn’t signed by the Patriots until a short time before training camp. Fast forward to this past Sunday, Newton showed every bit of why he should’ve been picked up by a team earlier than when he was.
So what was the verdict on Cam Newton’s performance? The former Panthers QB finished with 15/19 passing for 155 yards in addition to 15 rushes for 75 yards and rushing TD’s. It was a great display of seeing that Newton had not lost any of his skillset, despite the injuries he has suffered in recent years. The Patriots utilized him on a few designed runs as well as some RPO’s. Newton even scrambled for those 2 TD’s himself near when the offense got down to goal line situations. They opened the 2nd half with some pass plays for him, in which he delivered on most of his targets to wide receiver Julian Edelman. Even though they played the Dolphins, this was a good game for Cam to make his Patriots debut. He did’nt have to do too much on his first game back from injury.
Brady Review
While the Patriots were basking in their season opening W, their former franchise QB did not have such a good day. Tom Brady and New England split ways this offseason and the former Foxboro signal caller signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He quickly became a fixture with the fans as the Bucs faithful anticipated the Tompa Bay era. Brady found himself joining a team with the deep threat wideouts Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. In addition to that, he brought Rob Gronkowski out of retirement to reunite with him and play alongside O.J. Howard. It wouldn’t be long before Brady got a chance to put his weapons to the test.
So what was the verdict on Tom Brady’s first game as a Buccaneer? Quite simply, he got a rude awakening. He threw 23/39 for 236 yards, 2 touchdowns as well as 2 interceptions, including a pick 6, and was sacked 3 times. If anything, it was more of a letdown considering all the weapons that he has at his disposal, which was a whole arsenal of offense that can compete with a high powered team like the New Orleans Saints. If he had this offense in the AFC East, going against a division rival, it’s an automatic W. Instead, he found out that the world is a lot different outside of the AFC East, especially in the NFC South. The NFC South has 2 other competitive veteran QB’s who have been in the division for at least 10 years, just as much firepower as Brady. Therefore, it won’t even be as easy to make it to the top of his division as it has been for the previous 20 seasons. It’s only week one of Brady being a Buccaneer, so there’s a whole lot more sailing to go.
NFL’s Social Justice Stance/Show
As promised, the NFL rolled out its social justice messaging/show through opening weekend. Across the league, there were endzones with messages urging to “End Racism” while players wore the names of victims who died of police brutality. Pregame rituals included the Negro National Anthem, We Shall Overcome, and the players standing or kneeling for the other American national anthem. The one thing that stood out from the Week 1 festivities, was the Chiefs fans booing their players and the Texans when both teams met up in the middle of the field to show a gesture of unity, something both clubs agreed upon before the game. When I think of all these things that happened around the league, I can’t help but feel that we should enjoy this now because this is all the NFL is going to do as far as their messaging goes. Everybody remembers the Kaepernick situation and how it played out, as well as the aftermath amongst the players and the owners. It was a valiant effort for the league, but the players are going to have to carry the messaging initiative. Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry wore a whole suit that had the names of black victims from police brutality and racial violence, A whole suit probably wouldn’t be needed every week, but a shirt, mask, etc. could probably do. The NFL has made it clear how far it’s willing to spread its anti-racism message so the players might have to carry the load on making these issues heard.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey for his Manu Ginobili impression of a flop. In the 4th quarter of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, Rasey was covering Dallas wide receiver Michael Gallup, who slightly extended his arm but nothing noticeable. However, the attention from the refs came when Ramsey sold the push off a little more than needed and drew an offensive pass interference call. As the blame went around for the Cowboys’ loss, this particular play came up in the discussion. The Rams held on for a 20-17 victory.
Shut out to Fox Sports Undisputed’s Skip Bayless and his comments on Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. Last week, Prescott revealed in an interview about the depression he had at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bayless suggested that Prescott’s revelation made him appear weak since he was the franchise QB of the Cowboys and it could make him appear weak to opponents. Skip is coming from an old school perspective, but some of those ideals come across outdated, especially in this era. There is too much information being disseminated out about mental illness and mental health for him to make a statement like that. Then again, this is the same guy over the last 17 years that has tried to make Lebron James look like Mugsy Bogues so no surprise he would say something so outrageous in this case.
Now that everyone has seen what their teams have been doing without preseason, expectations have been set going forward. The Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys are both coming off of losses but will put their early deficiencies to the test. The New England Patriots get their first of many tests when they visit the Seattle Seahawks for Sunday Night Football. But until then…I’ll holla.
by 