Would the New England Patriots be undefeated if they had Cam Newton at quarterback instead of Mac Jones?
No, but don’t tell that to Shannon Sharpe.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer-turned-hot take specialist unleashed a doozy Monday morning, claiming the Patriots would be 3-0 if they had rolled with Newton instead of their current starting quarterback. Of course, New England released the veteran after the preseason and handed the keys to Jones, the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
“I feel very comfortable in saying had Cam Newton been their starting quarterback, they’d be 3-0,” Sharpe said during Monday’s episode of FS1’s “Undisputed” episode. ” … They for sure woulda beat the Dolphins. And they won the last game, they beat the Jets. Hell, everybody’s gonna beat the Jets — that’s not saying anything.
” .., How bout this: They’re no worse than 2-1.”
Sharpe either is being intentionally obtuse or hasn’t watched the games. Either way, he’s wrong.
Perhaps Newton would have led New England over Miami in Week 1. Maybe he would’ve turned one field goal drive into a touchdown, or something. But it would not have mattered who was at quarterback Sunday afternoon when the Patriots were embarrassed by the New Orleans Saints.
Quarterback performance — and Jones has been really good, by the way — is not why this team is 1-2. Awful offensive line play, bad situational defense, poor special teams execution and an overall lack of offensive cohesion are to blame. To boil New England’s struggles down to “Cam Newton or Mac Jones” is nothing more than talk show fodder.
The Patriots must improve in all three phases before Sunday night’s game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — their season might depend on it.
