Cam Newton’s arrival in New England prompted some tweaks and changes within the Patriots.
For starters, the Patriots’ offense is going to look quite different with Newton under center. As we saw Sunday in New England’s 21-11 win over the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots won’t hesitate to utilize the dual-threat abilities of Newton, who carried the ball 15 times for 75 yards with two touchdowns in Week 1.
In addition to on-field alterations, Newton apparently has made his presence felt in New England’s locker room as well. The star signal-caller on Monday shared nicknames he’s coined for 15 of his Patriots teammates.
Newton himself has explained a few of these nicknames, like Julian Edelman’s “Highway 11” and N’Keal Harry’s “Doughboy,” while others like “Stiddy” (Jarrett Stidham) and “The Hoyster” (Brian Hoyer) are pretty easy to match. We feel as though these are pretty safe assumptions as well.
Dirty Dave: David Andrews
Smokin’ Joe: Joe Thuney
Winnie the Pooh: Isaiah Wynn
Burky: Rex Burkhead
Twin No. 1, Twin No. 2: Devin and Jason McCourty
Bent Dog: JaWhaun Bentley
Newton noted “Bo Diddly” and “Crazy Legs” both currently are on injured reserve, so those nicknames might belong to wide receiver Gunner Olszewski and running back Damien Harris. As for “Buzzo,” tight end Ryan Izzo would be our best guess.
We wouldn’t be surprised if Newton comes up with new nicknames for other Patriots teammates as the 2020 season unfolds.
Thumbnail photo via Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports Images
