Funny. I rewatched the game and was even more impressed by his performance...
1. The Pats have *nobody* who can stretch a defense. Defenses know this so every play is going to be a run, short-to-midrange pass or schemed play like a screen or end-around. The O is going to be tasked with precise execution to move the sticks, with little margin for error. We saw how Tom struggled with this late last year. Considering it was his first game after no preseason, Cam was very good working under these constraints.
2. Miami made the game's first adjustment by stacking the LOS once it was obvious the Pats wanted to run all day. Some QBs would have responded poorly. Cam seemed to revel in it, picking the Dolphins apart over the middle and with flare passes, particularly during the 3rd quarter with one TD drive and the Harry fumble drive. Great QBing coming out of the locker room after the half.
Cam had a very good debut, all things considered.
Regards,
Chris