Bill Belichick Doesn't Say Much When Asked To Evaluate Cam Newton, Mac Jones In Preseason Opener
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The way things typically go in Foxboro is that there's not too much in the way of public evaluation from the head coach in the immediate aftermath of a football game. Most often, Bill Belichick will say that he needs to watch the film before giving any in-depth answers on how certain players performed.
But if you were looking for an in-depth breakdown of the play from starting quarterback Cam Newton and rookie quarterback Mac Jones from the Patriots' preseason win on Thursday night, Belichick didn't offer it on Friday morning.
The first question in Belichick's day-after video conference was about Jones' performance.
"Yeah, I mean, I think really it's pretty much the same for everybody. Some good things, some things we need to, just in general, we need to play faster and react faster. That's every position across the board. You know, practice is practice, but things happen at game speed and that's something that I would say everyone needs to improve on," Belichick said. "Certainly the quarterback position, but every other position too."
On Jones, Belichick said rookies often need preseason games to acclimate to game speed.
"We haven't had the live game exposure until last night, so it's good opportunity for us to recognize how fast things are gonna happen and have to match that speed," Belichick said. "So I think the speed of the game for all the players was a little bit different certainly than anything we've been able to practice."
On Newton, Belichick was asked if the veteran QB has made a "second-year jump" in year two in the Patriots' system. Belichick answered in the affirmative but didn't offer much in the way of evaluation to the media.
"Well definitely [Newton is] way ahead of where we were at this time last year," Belichick said. "But yeah, again, as I said, I think it's the same for everybody. Just practice and fundamentals and then taking that to the execution that we need to have at game speed -- again, for all of us. Players, coaches, everybody. Last night was the first step but we have a long way to go, and we all need to improve in those areas."
Newton completed four of his seven passes for 49 yards in his two series running the offense. One of his incompletions was a throwaway when Jonnu Smith was covered in the flat, and another was a near-fumble when Chase Young burned past Isaiah Wynn to lay a hit on Newton as he was releasing a pass. The team punted on his first possession and scored a field goal on the second, after a holding penalty negated a run that moved the ball inside Washington's 5-yard line.
Jones completed 13 of his 19 passes for 87 yards. He ran five series -- plus a kneeldown -- leading the team on two separate field goal drives, which went for a combined 96 yards on 23 plays. In the other three series, the Patriots gained a combined 25 yards on 20 plays.