As new Patriots quarterback Cam Newton apparently takes a crash course in the New England playbook, the plays he’s studying may not be the plays the Patriots ran with Tom Brady was running the offense.
A league source points out that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels developed in 2010 an offense to be run by Tim Tebow, a player McDaniels drafted in the first round while serving as head coach of the Broncos. The attack, per the source, features quarterback runs that are difficult to defend and opens up the passing game. Also, if the blocking is executed correctly, the quarterback isn’t placed in harm’s way.
Throw in the fact that Cam has much greater overall skills than Tebow (especially when it comes to throwing the ball), and the modified Patriots attack as influenced by McDaniels’ dalliance with Tim Tebow could be highly effective.
The wild card could be the relationship between Newton and McDaniels. If they can work well together, the offense will be much more likely to operate at a high level.
Then again, Brady and McDaniels worked well together, and that didn’t stop Brady from yelling and screaming and otherwise carrying on with McDaniels on occasion. If/when Newton flashes frustration or anger toward McDaniels, let’s be ready to roll the footage of Brady doing the same thing, if not worse.