So, Cam Newton
Is The Patriots Starter Now.
This Just Might Make Sense.
By Sterling Pingree
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I should have seen this coming. 2020 has been blacked out, peeing in the dish washer level drunk for 3 months.
Nothing that happens between now and December 31
st
should surprise me.
Global pandemic? Tom Brady leaves New England? Murder hornets? Sure, pile it on. Like Mike Tyson after he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear off (23 years ago yesterday) nothing should surprise me about 2020.
Masks, NBA games in an Orlando bubble (Moores vs Moops) and spending a Saturday night watching a Garth Brooks concert laid out in the bed of my truck. The new normal has become more normal.
Then the Patriots signed Cam Newton. Like the ending to The Sopranos,
it makes all the sense in the world and absolutely none at the exact same time.
Absolutely no sense at all:
- There have never been two more diametrically opposed forces in the universe than the respective post-game interviews of Cam Newton and Bill Belichick. Newton dresses like he shops at Willy Wonka’s Big & Tall shop and deeply pontificates about whatever scribes volley towards him. Belichick wears one of his 3 Columbia button ups and swats reporters’ questions back at their face like he’s Dikembe Mutombo. (While I haven’t seen him actually wag his finger at a reporter, I should probably confirm that with Chris Price or Mike Reiss before making such a proclamation.)
Hey, that’s fine. I wouldn’t expect a coach approaching his 70’s and an NFL quarterback to have the same media personas, but golly, how is this going to work?
- Cam Newton has been one of the most athletic quarterbacks in NFL history, full stop. Newton can run, he can leap over the pile and (even with a huge wind up) can flat out throw a football……I think. It was troubling to see Newton throws to start the 2019 season that saw him only play 2 games. Cam denied a shoulder injury all off season, but in the first two games there was no denying what was right there on the tape. This was not the same quarterback who won an MVP just 4 years earlier.
- However, if we know anything about Bill Belichick it is that if something isn’t working, he is not afraid to pull the plug. If things don’t work out with Cam Newton in training camp and his arm isn’t back to 100%, I think (not knowing what the guaranteed money is) that Bill would go back to the original plan and roll the dice with Stidham. For the small money they are reportedly giving Newton, it’s not even a gamble. It’s a flyer on a former MVP that may or may not work. If it works out, great! You could still win the division. If it doesn’t work, Newton is off the books in January.
All the sense in the world:
- The Patriots were going to seemingly go into the 2020 season (we’re having it, we’re having football. They’re going to play games and wear uniforms and you can gamble on it and everything, WE’RE HAVING A SEASON YOU HEAR ME!!!!!!)
Were the Patriots going to go into the season with Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer as the only quarterbacks on the roster? One a second year guy who threw more touchdowns to the New York Jets than Luke Falk or Trevor Siemian (3 starts, 0 touchdowns, 3 picks- Stidham threw a pick-6 to Jamal Adams) and the other is Brian Hoyer.
Could the Patriots start a season hoping that Stidham won the job from Hoyer and if not, begin an NFL season (with uniforms and everything) with Brian Hoyer under center? They would look like they were tanking for Trevor Lawrence (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and as we have heard from the past 4 months; “Bill Belichick will not tank!” One year deal, $7.5 million for a former league MVP who just turned 31-years old? Why wouldn’t you do that?
- It should not be lost on anybody during these tumultuous times that the Patriots will begin the season with a black starting quarterback for the first time in team history. This is a huge moment for the New England Patriots.
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WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE PATS SIGNING CAM NEWTON?
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IT'S OK. HE COULD BE THE ANSWER AT QB
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WORTH A SHOT BUT DOUBT IT WILL WORK
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A MAJOR WASTE OF TIME. HE'LL NEVER MAKE THE TEAM
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LAST WEEK WE ASKED:
Do you think there will be any college football games played in Maine, at any level, this fall?
NO: 68%
YES: 32%
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Pats Fans Should
Love The Cam Newton Signing
By Ryan McLaughlin
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A not-so-blissful off-season for the New England Patriots got a shade better on Sunday night.
ESPN's Adam Scheffter reported that former league MVP Cam Newton is heading to Foxboro on a one-year, incentive-laden deal.
While I was never the biggest fan of the former Heisman Trophy winner - primarily because of the shady behavior exhibited by Newton's father during his time at Auburn - this is a signing that makes sense for the Pats, especially football wise.
New England's quarterback depth heading into training camp? Second-year man Jarrett Stidham and career backup Brian Hoyer. Not exactly the firepower needed to win track meets against Baltimore and Kansas City.
When he's healthy, Newton is one of the best quarterbacks in the game.
Not only is he big, he's athletic, has a gun for an arm, and has super pocket mobility.
And the Patriots need the presence of a former league MVP in their quarterback room, whether Newton is the starter come September or not.
Newton turned around a downtrodden Carolina Panthers franchise after he was drafted in 2011, and led the Panthers to a 15-1 season en route to Super Bowl 50 in 2015. You could argue that if that season's AFC Championship Game was in Foxboro instead of Denver, the Panthers and Patriots could've played a high-scoring shootout.
You can say what you want about his attitude, but Bill Belichick has shaped up guys like Corey Dillion and Randy Moss, the latter you could argue is the most talented receiver to ever play the game.
Is Stidham the Pats' QB of the future? Probably. Does he need competition in camp and this season to continue his development? Absolutely. And this low-risk, high-reward move will allow that to happen.
Either way, the AFC East remains the Patriots to lose. If Newton can stay healthy and take care of the ball, the Patriots can certainly win 12 games again. A healthy offensive line in front of him is not a bad thing, either.
If you're a Patriots fan, embrace this signing. Newton has always been a high-class guy who did remarkable things in Charlotte on and off the field. Injuries have been his bug-a-boo the last few years. He's an intelligent guy who should grasp the complicated Pats playbook rather quickly.
Stidham will be better because of this too, having gotten a chance to work with the Greatest Of All Time last season and with a former MVP this season.
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The Return of Pro Sports Is A Circus
Fourth And Goal With The Bam
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Pro sports is allegedly on the cusp of returning. Returning in various forms of gimmickry, ridiculousness and absurdity that is.
The
NBA continues, in my eyes , to be the biggest joke of them all.
They are picking a state with the highest daily rate of Corona cases in the country and putting 22 teams all in one city. Then, once they have them in that city, or bubble as they call it, mandating that they not leave it.
Good luck with that.
After all pro athletes historically have been so good at following simple rules, this should be a piece of cake.
Their format is clownish. An 8 game " sprint" to the finish, then playoffs? This circus won't conclude until the time the 2020 -2021 season is supposed to start.
So what becomes of next season? The NBA should have just taken the top 8 teams in the entire league, by record, started a playoff format and called it good. Whomever wins the " title" won't be viewed as legitimate due to this nonsense anyway, so what difference does the format make.
The same could be said for the NHL. It won't be legitimate, but at least the NHL is a little less egregious than the NBA.
The NHL plans to go straight to the playoffs and use 2 cities to host games. I only have a few issues with that. All of the cities mentioned as hosts are in the western half of North America. Theres not a single city that could be considered " East" by he weakest minded geography person.
There are multiple reports that due to high numbers of positive Covid 19 tests, a lot of players do not want to even start up again. An unidentified player was adamant that there be a player vote on whether or not to return. This is a clear indication there is a substantial amount of guys who aren't comfortable with playing again this season.
The NHL owners and commissioner could be headed for a big fight with the players as they attempt to move forward.
So, I recommend , again, scrap 2020 and focus energy on what needs to be done to start next year on time.
Finally we come to baseball.
The crown jewel of all sports in my opinion. A league that could have easily gotten started over a month ago, but due to lack of leadership in the Commissioners office, they took an extra month to finally figure it out.
Even now they haven't really figured it out. Somehow, inexplicably, starting the season now includes a universal DH . Why did starting the season have to require this rule change?
Then, the absolute worst decision in the history of baseball becomes part of the season. Extra inning games will begin the 10th inning with a runner on second base. Are you serious right now? Why on earth does starting a season at the end of July have to include a backwoods 8 year old little league rule?
This is without a doubt the most ridiculous thing I have ever witnessed in 50 years of watching baseball.
It's just a stupid gimmick to further push the commissioners agenda on shortening the game. As if the moronic rule of pitchers having to face a minimum of 3 batters wasn't bad enough, now comes this!
Why does Rob Manfred continue to try and fix something that simply isn't broken. Just mind numbing lunacy. At least baseball got the schedule right. Well, as right as they could. They will play a shortened season and finish at the usual date on the calendar. It will be an exciting product to watch as we march towards a potential college football season.
Here is to hoping that every game goes 15 innings, just to watch the commissioners head explode.
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Celtics Irregular 8 Game
"Regular" Season
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Friday, July 31 vs. Bucks, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN, NBCSB)
Sunday, Aug. 2 vs. Trail Blazers, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC, NBCSB)
Tuesday, Aug. 4 vs. Heat, 6:30 p.m. ET (TNT, NBCSB)
Wednesday, Aug. 5 vs. Nets, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN, NBCSB)
Friday, Aug. 7 vs. Raptors, 9 p.m. ET (TNT, NBCSB)
Sunday, Aug. 9 vs. Magic, 5 p.m. ET (NBCSB)
Tuesday, Aug. 11 vs. Grizzlies, 6:30 p.m. ET (TNT, NBCSB)
Thursday, Aug. 13 vs. Wizards, TBD (NBCSB)
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A 2020 Season Benefits The Sox
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By
Avery Hamel
from Girlatthegame.com
It’s official,
MLB baseball in 2020 is finally going to be a reality
. With a plan now in place, players are looking to report to Training Camp on July 1st. The development of this season is the best possible outcome for the Boston Red Sox for a couple of reasons.
A Chance for Newly-Signed Players
Over the offseason, the Red Sox had to look for cheap replacements for new starting staff members, outfielders, and catchers. For all of these signed players, their deals consisted of only one year in Boston. This will allow these new Boston players an opportunity to possibly become long-term figures at Fenway. These cheap signings were very well thought out by Bloom, and it’s a good thing we will be able to see their value on the diamond this year.
Former Astros arm Collin McHugh is looking to rebound from injury and potentially become a fixture in the Sox starting rotation or bullpen, as is former Minnesota Twins pitcher Martín Pérez. Along with these bigger names, other lesser-known Sox additions have a chance to prove themselves and find a home in Boston, including younger players looking to jumpstart their careers, like Alex Verdugo and minor leaguer Jeter Downs.
Young Players Can Continue to Develop
After breakout seasons from players like Rafael Devers and Eduardo Rodriguez, a chance to continue their upward momentum in 2020 could be vital for them.
Although the cancellation of the 2020 season wouldn’t necessarily be a prime year lost for them, it could possibly stunt their growing success. With Sale out for the year and Price and Porcello gone, this season is ERod’s chance to be the number-one starter in a seriously-depleted Sox rotation. The lefty, who upped the usage of his lethal changeup, will have a chance to prove his future value. He will be able to show if he can sustain his increased groundball rate and changeup deployment %.
These two things are key features, and may directly coordinate with his future success in the majors. This year will be crucial for him and his continued development.
For Devers and other young players like Andrew Benintendi, this season gives them the same opportunity. Devers had a breakout year in 2019, Benintendi struggled. But with this shortened season, both Devers and Benintendi will have chances to continue their development against division opponents, with little actual pressure to win or even reach the postseason.
Devers can continue to refine himself both at third base and at the plate; his errors decreased significantly as the 2019 season went on, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Benintendi is likely to be back in the leadoff spot now that Mookie Betts is gone, and hopefully, he’ll be able to improve from his dismal performance in the top spot last season. And it’s not just an opportunity for the young Sox, but for their future teammates as well.
Minor League Player Advantages
With expanded rosters come expanded opportunities for up-and-coming minor leaguers. This is especially true for the Sox, who have a chance to showcase higher-level prospects, like
Bobby Dalbec
. With a barebones starting rotation, Dustin Pedroia still out of the game, Brock Holt on the Brewers, and Mitch Moreland closer to 40 than 30, it was a foregone conclusion long before the pandemic that the Sox were going to spend time this year testing out long-term replacements from their farm system for multiple positions. Dalbec, who already had an estimated time of arrival of mid-2020, may be Major League-ready, at least by 2020 standards, and this could be his first step in becoming a permanent fixture.
The Ghosts of Luxury Tax Past
But this trade may have been for naught if the 2020 season isn’t played. With a serious spike in COVID-19 cases around the country, it’s still possible that the season ends up canceled, and if so,
the CBT will not reset
. If this comes to be, the Red Sox will be a Third-Time CBT Payor in 2021, having exceeded the threshold in both 2018 and 2019.
Hopefully, the Red Sox won’t have to face this reality and be superfluously penalized next season. For this reason alone, playing ball in 2020 would set Boston up for a potentially epic offseason that could be filled with big signings from new Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom. A homecoming for Mookie, perhaps?
In the end, the Sox, and the rest of the league, are lucky that constant disagreement between the MLBPA and the owners didn’t block an MLB season from being conceived. But for Boston, the reset for their luxury tax payments is a crucial development that will be a significant determining factor in the club’s near and distant future.
With a new front office culture and the ability to use this truncated 2020 season as a time for development, the Sox’ future could be better than ever, and it may just lead to them being contenders sooner than expected.
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Lots of opinions from our bloggers again this week. As always they are just that, their opinions, and not necessarily shared by Jeff Solari and The Sports Chowdah, or our sponsors. We also from time to time share articles from other publications and websites. Obviously sharing links is very common today but we also like to share great content in its entirety. The authors' opinions and content belong to them, not the Sports Chowdah or Rock Lobster Media LLC.
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Who Is This Jeff Solari Guy Anyway?
Jeff Solari is the President and owner of Rock Lobster Media and The Sports Chowdah. Jeff is also a former co-host of The Drive on 92.9FM The Ticket in Bangor and The Shootaround on WZON.
He has been in sports media since he was 17. He is not shy with his opinions or unique perspective on the world of sports.
Jeff is a graduate of Mount Desert Island High School and the University of Southern Maine.
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THE SPORTS CHOWDAH IS A PROPERTY OF
ROCK LOBSTER MEDIA LLC
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Jeff Solari | Sports Chowdah | (207) 735-7323 | jeff@sportschowdah.com
| www.jeffsolari.com
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