Cam Newton Struggles After Best Day Of Practice; Mac Jones Bounces Back
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tuesday was a magnificent day for Cam Newton in full pads on the practice field. Wednesday, not so much.
For Mac Jones, Wednesday wasn't perfect, but it was nevertheless a step forward for the rookie QB.
And so continues the back-and-forth seesawing that is the Patriots' quarterback position this summer.
After an unquestionably strong showing on Tuesday, Newton was not sharp when team drills began on Wednesday. The Patriots were in shells -- shoulder pads and helmets -- as opposed to full pads.
Cam Newton was INT'd twice in three throws over two periods. Adrian Colbert undercut Hunter Henry on a ball that wasn't led far enough in 11-on-11s. Then in 7-on-7s, Newton locked in on a blanketed Jakobi Meyers, and J.C. Jackson got the INT. Jackson almost INT'd next pass, too.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 4, 2021
Newton's next pass was similar. Jackson, who had solid coverage on Meyers, batted the ball away. Rough start for Newton today.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) August 4, 2021
Rough 7-on-7 series for Cam Newton. His first pass was intercepted by J.C. Jackson. His second was broken up by Jackson. A few plays later, he overthrew Nelson Agholor deep.
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 4, 2021
One of Newton's best completions could have been another interception. Another completion required tremendous effort by the receiver.
N'Keal Harry bailed Cam Newton out with an amazing diving catch on an inaccurate throw. He might've saved a pick there. Great effort.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) August 4, 2021
Back-to-back eye-popping catches by Kendrick Bourne and N'Keal Harry, both vs. J.C. Jackson on throws from Cam Newton.
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 4, 2021
Bourne's was a leaping contested grab along the sideline, Harry's a full-extension slant.
Jones' day would be considered more up-and-down, as he made some good plays and a handful of not-so-good plays.
Late in practice, Mac Jones takes 16 straight reps, 8 with the ones and 8 with the twos. Had a rough stretch in the middle, getting intercepted on back to back throws, then having the next toss broken up. I caution that while these reps were competitive they weren't all in IMO.
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) August 4, 2021
Couple of competitive periods toward the end of today's practice. One 7-on-7. On 11-on-11.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) August 4, 2021
Numbers from those…
Cam Newton: 3-for-8, with a pick by JC Jackson and a drop by Michel.
Mac Jones: 19-for-24 with two drops (J. Smith's led to a pick, Stevenson) and a pick by D. Ross.
Cam Newton struggled with accuracy today and was 7 of 13 (one drop) with 2 INTs. He's now got 5 INTs in camp.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 4, 2021
Mac Jones was sharp throughout and was 17 of 23 (three drops, one incompletion when Henry tripped) with an INT on a dropped ball. He's got 2 INTs in camp.
Day 7: Mac Jones got most of the reps and was better than Cam Newton with his arm, but had one noteworthy valley in 11-on-11s. Not a particularly crisp day for the offense. Slower pace than yesterday all around.
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) August 4, 2021
Play of the day, so far, has been a Mac Jones deep ball to Gunner Olszewski for about 46 yards. It was caught with Myles Bryant and Cody Davis in coverage. It was a very nice throw and catch.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) August 4, 2021
Shorter practice today. Mac Jones closed out the morning with 16 straight reps, going 10-for-14 in that span with one INT and one near-INT. He was 13-of-18 overall in 11-on-11s and 4-of-5 in 7-on-7s.
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 4, 2021
Cam Newton went 5-for-7 in 11s and 2-for-6 in 7s.
Hoyer 4/6
Dolegala 3/3
Mac Jones was intercepted a period later when he tried to hit Jonnu Smith up the left seam. Ball was thrown over Kyle Dugger's coverage but Smith dropped it into Devin McCourty's grasp. Started a stretch of three drops over nine throws for Jones.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 4, 2021
11v11s
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) August 4, 2021
Newton: 5/7, INT
Jones: 13/18, INT (drops- Smith, Nixon and Stevenson)
7v7s
Newton: 2/6, INT (drop- Michel)
Jones: 4/5
Mac was the better QB today. Cam struggled after a great practice yesterday. Of course, pads were off.
Jones got in some extra work after the practice, too.
Mac Jones getting some extra work in right now with a handful of receivers, tight ends and backs. Josh McDaniels directing.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) August 4, 2021
After practice, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels spoke about Newton.
"He just knows much more about what we're doing," McDaniels said. "It's less new learning and more repetition of things he already understands. That would be true for any player or coach in the second year in our system. … There were things I would tell him to do last year that he wouldn't quite understand, and he was trying to do everything I said. Now he understands the why on most things and that's the goal for the quarterback. ... If you don't understand why we're doing something or why you're supposed to do something, it's a difficult position to play."
Obviously, there's still a long way to go for both quarterbacks in this offense. And Wednesday's swing away from Newton won't be the last shift in the competition under center.
But with a week to go before the preseason opener, there's still quite a bit of work to do at the most important position on the field.