Bill Belichick got his first real up-close look at Cam Newton this week, and it seems like the New England Patriots head coach has been impressed with what little he has seen.
Belichick, who is typically hesitant to praise players early in the year, shared some of his thoughts on Newton with reporters on Friday. While he didn’t go into specifics, Belichick said Newton is a “hard-working kid” who has absorbed a lot of information already.
“A lot of information has been transferred to all the players, and he’s worked very hard, I’d say as all of our players have,” Belichick said, via Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com. “We have a hard-working group. Those guys are ready to go. We’ve put in some long days, and they’ve been very attentive throughout the process.”
Belichick praised all of the quarterbacks on the Patriots’ roster and said they have been “locked in” during an unusual offseason.
“When they all get in the huddle, everybody has a lot of confidence in what they’re able to do and the information they have to give to the team — play-calling, adjustments, audibles, protection adjustments, things like that. That’s all gone pretty well. But again, we haven’t played at anywhere near the speed that we’re going to be playing at, so we’ll see how it comes together at that point.
“But Cam’s a hard-working kid. He really is.”
Newton is easily the favorite to win the starting job out of training camp, especially with all the promising reports we have heard about his health. The former NFL MVP is playing under an incentive-laden contract and extremely motivated to prove he can still be an elite starter. He’ll have to earn everything under Belichick, however, and one former Patriot questions if the two will be a good fit.
Assuming good health, Newton’s success in New England will come down to how firm of a grasp he can get on the offense in a challenging offseason. He seems to be doing all the right things thus far.
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