Cam Released

[zydecochris]

I think “teach” is probably too strong a word, but I think it’s entirely possible Mac was showing Cam how certain plays (plays McDaniels probably didn’t have Cam run last year because Cam didn’t have the skill set) worked.

I agree, I just see too many ways that Cam simply asking Mac a question about a play or two could be blown out of proportion by ESPN, controversy sells, they make their money from clicks or eyes after all.

As an example, although I do more research, I still teach and have for over two decades, I’m the “veteran” professor. We have new “rookie” assistant professors come in all the time. So: is the information flow about teaching from me to them only? Of course not! I’m always trying to get better and learn new things and I CONSTANTLY pepper them with questions about new teaching ideas they learned at their previous universities, new teaching software, etc., and I try to incorporate new wrinkles in my classes every year to keep them fresh.

The ESPN storyline would be: “rookies have to school vet professor on how to teach”

If Newton asked questions of Mac to pick his brain on plays then that would not be a negative in my book, it would show he was trying to get better.

 

[Redman443]

Been watching this team for a long time. I know Bill’s tendencies and it’s always about the team, cam has a huge personality and I think that’s what factored in Bill’s decision to release him. After training camp and the 3 preseason games, it was clear that Mac was the better fit and bill made the decision to release cam instead of making him a backup out of respect for him and because he didn’t want any distractions going forward.

 

[zydecochris]

Been watching this team for a long time. I know Bill’s tendencies and it’s always about the team, cam has a huge personality and I think that’s what factored in Bill’s decision to release him. After training camp and the 3 preseason games, it was clear that Mac was the better fit and bill made the decision to release cam instead of making him a backup out of respect for him and because he didn’t want any distractions going forward.

I listened to Lombardi’s podcast during a morning walk and what he said was remarkably similar to what Cam said: “you can’t demote a 4 star general to corporal in the locker room" (where Cam is clearly respected), he has too much cache (Cam called it aura) with the players. Lombardi said: if he comes in as a corporal at another team, that could be different.

 

[venecol]

Looks like the story here is that Pats blessed Cam's trip to leave NE for a medical appt but didn't tell him he would have to sit out 5 days upon his return, which they should have known.

If that's true, it makes me think someone was definitely trying to paint Cam in a poor light to justify his release. They leaked to media that people were livid inside the organization about his missing practice. Wow, that's pretty sleazy. WTF is going on in that building?

 

[Robdude]

It kills me that some ESPN employees criticize the Patriots based on an article written by someone in ESPN. This is why I never watch ESPN or read anything by them.
Is it possible they generated a controversy just to spend to talking about the made up story? hmmmmm

 

[mike_usagisan]

Looks like the story here is that Pats blessed Cam's trip to leave NE for a medical appt but didn't tell him he would have to sit out 5 days upon his return, which they should have known.

If that's true, it makes me think someone was definitely trying to paint Cam in a poor light to justify his release. They leaked to media that people were livid inside the organization about his missing practice. Wow, that's pretty sleazy. WTF is going on in that building?

Okay, but Bill said it didn’t factor into the decision. And now Cam did too. I have no doubt some people were upset in the building and justifiably so, though maybe they didn’t know who was to blame.

 

[PScottman]

I don't know whether I buy it, I just know Cam is the last person whose word I would take on the issue

Cam himself admitted he did not have all the protection calls down because he'd never had to do that before (that fell to the Center in Carolina). So why would his word (the one who is being called out for the issue) be suspect if he's clarifying that there were indeed parts of the playbook he had trouble with?

For the Patriots, those protection calls are indeed part of the playbook. Hence not knowing even a portion of the playbook is construed as not knowing the entirety of it which is an exaggeration. But we'll continue to blow it up - even after Cam himself has clarified that it was only one portion of the playbook - and use this to bludgeon whatever target we don't personally like.

There have been ZERO official statements of a negative nature aimed at Cam Newton by the Patriots and we can GUESS all we want, but until we hear otherwise Ninkovich's source is UNNAMED which carries little to no weight for me in verifying its validity in part or whole as that "narrative" being truly a position of the Patriots organization. It could as much be a janitor emptying the QB room refuse seeing Cam and Mac huddled together talking about favorite restaurants as it could be anyone else in the organization looking to sabotage a guy that ISN'T EVEN WITH THE TEAM ANYMORE! (again, what is the end state of such a tactic that favors the Patriots? None - it ONLY favors the media itself. That is the only party in this whole thing that benefits (Cui Bono) - not Cam, not the Patriots, not Mac Jones - just the media.)

So another statement is taken by someone (in this case Ninkovich) without context, the vagueness kept intact by the media (by not asking basic follow up questions to gain clarity), and now polarized across multiple agendas most of them only negative or with negative consequences for the team.



(I know I said I don't care about non-Patriot QBs anymore as a fan of the team, but this is now turning into a disparage the Patriots narrative)

 

[venecol]

Okay, but Bill said it didn’t factor into the decision. And now Cam did too. I have no doubt some people were upset in the building and justifiably so, though maybe they didn’t know who was to blame.

Huh? Then why did they leak to media they were livid with Cam's absence. Cam is saying the team gave him the go ahead to leave NE but didn't say anything about consequences of him doing so. If that is true, then they set him up.

This was over him wanting to get a 2nd opinion from his Dr. over what Patriots personnel were saying. Didn't Gronk have an issue with trusting Patriots medical personnel opinions also?

This isn't a debate over whether Cam should've been released or not. This goes to the sleazy way some people are operating in that building.

 

[Ryan]

Pretty much everything surrounding Cam's release has been one big desperate attempt to create a story and controversy. It's as simple as this: QB who isn't very good anymore lost a QB competition and got released. That's about it.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Huh? Then why did they leak to media they were livid with Cam's absence. Cam is saying the team gave him the go ahead to leave NE but didn't say anything about consequences of him doing so. If that is true, then they set him up.

This was over him wanting to get a 2nd opinion from his Dr. over what Patriots personnel were saying. Didn't Gronk have an issue with trusting Patriots medical personnel opinions also?

This isn't a debate over whether Cam should've been released or not. This goes to the sleazy way some people are operating in that building.

Right, but I’m wondering what people. Bill said it didn’t have an effect on his decision. The official statement said it was a misunderstanding. So the leaks could be anyone... and probably someone who didn’t know how the situation happened.

There’s this real effort to blame the Patriots for unnamed media reports. And it’s fine to believe there’s some truth to them or there are people in the organization who said the things the media says, but it’s also healthy to view them with some skepticism.

 

[Robdude]

.

I have no problem with anything he talks about. I still respect him as a person.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

If Cam doesn't sign soon I have the feeling that the racial angle will continue to fester. Yesterday Shannon Sharpe said Cam had too much charisma to be a Patriot in good standing, isn't that saying Cam was too black?

Cam's video chat today adds gasoline to the fire. Not a good look for Boston, whether it's fair or not.

Cam is saying basically it was set up, he was getting minimal reps the whole time when he thinks about it, Mac would play 2nd team but then go take 1st team snaps at the end every day. Also that the team told him it was OK to go get his lisfranc checked out and never mentioned whatever test he took wasn't per protocol so missing 5 days was a surprise given he did what the Patriots staff authorized.

This is going to look worse and worse, not only Ninkovich being a jack-ss and also whatever POS source was saying this internally.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Huh? Then why did they leak to media they were livid with Cam's absence. Cam is saying the team gave him the go ahead to leave NE but didn't say anything about consequences of him doing so. If that is true, then they set him up.

This was over him wanting to get a 2nd opinion from his Dr. over what Patriots personnel were saying. Didn't Gronk have an issue with trusting Patriots medical personnel opinions also?

This isn't a debate over whether Cam should've been released or not. This goes to the sleazy way some people are operating in that building.

Hmmm, where have I heard the word SLEAZY being associated before, oh that's right, entire Bronco fan websites dedicated to Fire Josh McDaniels. Hmmm... sounds on brand.

 

[venecol]

Right, but I’m wondering what people. Bill said it didn’t have an effect on his decision. The official statement said it was a misunderstanding. So the leaks could be anyone... and probably someone who didn’t know how the situation happened.

There’s this real effort to blame the Patriots for unnamed media reports. And it’s fine to believe there’s some truth to them or there are people in the organization who said the things the media says, but it’s also healthy to view them with some skepticism.

It's just not typical for these types of media leaks to be coming out of that building. Thus, a valid conclusion is that someone has an agenda to allow them to happen. It's hard to believe the upper echelon didn't know about them.

1. Team statement: there was a misunderstanding, Cam didn't break any team rules.
2. Media leak: people in organization are livid Cam missed practice;
3. Cam: team blessed this, knew rules & didn't tell me.

Once media leak happened, the damage was done. Cam was cooked. It was all over the media. And he was blamed for it. It was discussed here on several threads. Everyone blamed Cam (even though he was being tested daily as negative).

It was both expected and simple for Bill to deny release had nothing to do with covid (see Meyer).

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

We should definitely keep pretending Cam was done dirty here.

 

[mike_usagisan]

It's just not typical for these types of media leaks to be coming out of that building. Thus, a valid conclusion is that someone has an agenda to allow them to happen. It's hard to believe the upper echelon didn't know about them.

1. Team statement: there was a misunderstanding, Cam didn't break any team rules.
2. Media leak: people in organization are livid Cam missed practice;
3. Cam: team blessed this, knew rules & didn't tell me.

Once media leak happened, the damage was done. Cam was cooked. It was all over the media. And he was blamed for it. It was discussed here on several threads. Everyone blamed Cam (even though he was being tested daily as negative).

It was both expected and simple for Bill to deny release had nothing to do with covid (see Meyer).

Right, but look at 1 and 3. The Patriots said the correct thing, as did Cam. #2 is some leak and the media running with their assumptions... which never happens in a town with too many media people trying to get noticed. I just think you’re ascribing the leak to a high-placed source when there is no evidence of that whatsoever. As far as we know it could be the Gatorade guy.

 

[sambam94]

just watch Cam on youtube, all I can say is he is one unique dude.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Here are some notes on what he said (copied from a Facebook page for Pats fans)

Said he was "absolutely" surprised by his release at the time it happened.

Says the Patriots will win a lot of games with Mac at QB. Says "He did do what he came to do. He proved that he can be productive, and he WILL be productive"

He believes he would have been released regardless of whether he was away from the team for 5 days because of Covid protocols or not. But he said that it helped "ease the decision"

He said he was NOT released because of this vaccination status, but he felt "bamboozled" by the NFL's Covid protocols because he was given permission to go see his doctor regarding a follow up on his Lisfranc (foot) recovery/rehab. He says if he knew he would have to sit out for multiple days, he never would have gone.

Matt Patricia and Bill Belichick were both in the room when Cam was told he was being released. Says he was confused and didn't understand what was happening. And that it was "uncomfortable for everyone"

He says he started to understand that Mac was winning the job because for every 2 reps he received, Mac received 10. He believes the Patriots "disguised" that they were planning to go with Mac by having Cam start every practice and preseason game.

He believes ultimately he was cut because he would have been a distraction because of his "aura".

When asked if he would have stayed on as the backup QB, he says he absolutely would have. But that it would have created an uncomfortable situation for Mac Jones.

When asked about Rob Ninkovich saying that Mac was teaching him the playbook, he said that both QB's were helping each other.

He also said he's never been in a system where the QB had to identify the middle linebacker and set the protection for the offensive line. Says he believes that is the responsibility of the center. (For Patriots fans who have watched Tom Brady for years, this is obviously not the case in the Patriots system)

He said he does not believe that Mac beat him out. Just that he would have been a distraction if he stayed on the roster.

 

[zydecochris]

When asked about Rob Ninkovich saying that Mac was teaching him the playbook, he said that both QB's were helping each other.

This would not surprise me at all, I think this particular story was really blown out of proportion. Wouldn't it be normal for two team mates that are "all about the team" (which by all accounts was the case with both of them) to try to help each other? It sounds like he tried to help Mac, and I would expect that he would listen to what Mac had to say also. What was he supposed to do? Refuse to hear anything from Mac because he was a mere rookie? This sounds like an ESPN exaggerated story to generate controversy and clicks.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Overall this was not too negative toward the Patriots. The only hint of "done wrong" there was saying that he believes the Patriots settled on Mac a while ago and "disguised" that decision by starting Cam in preseason games. In other words, they didn't really let him know where he stood, to the extent he would have liked, earlier.

But Cam didn't really burn bridges here.