Contrasting styles of Cam Newton and Jarrett Stidham give Patriots options

FOXBORO – The difference between Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer has been obvious at training camp this week. You have one veteran in Hoyer, who’s been steady and shows off a big arm with a nice deep ball. You have a former MVP in Newton, who has designed run plays and a cannon for an arm. Then you have the younger guy in Stidham, who’s made some mistakes, but also shows his potential and above average accuracy.

For the Patriots offense and defense, [...]

FOXBORO – The difference between Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer has been obvious at training camp this week. You have one veteran in Hoyer, who’s been steady and shows off a big arm with a nice deep ball. You have a former MVP in Newton, who has designed run plays and a cannon for an arm. Then you have the younger guy in Stidham, who’s made some mistakes, but also shows his potential and above average accuracy.

For the Patriots offense and defense, life has been different in 2020 without Tom Brady. At this point, following Wednesday’s third practice, there’s no real leader in the clubhouse when it comes to the quarterback position. It certainly wouldn’t be shocking to see Newton win the job considering his track record. You also can’t discount Stidham and the future he might have in the NFL.

On Wednesday morning, however, Bill Belichick said he wouldn’t completely dismiss the idea of using a platoon situation in regards to the quarterback situation. That certainly would be surprising.

"Yeah, it might (benefit the team to use two quarterbacks)," Belichick said. "Look, I always say I’ll do what I think is best for the team, what gives us the best chance to win. Whatever that is, I would certainly consider that. If it’s run an unbalanced line or double-unbalanced line or 23 personnel or whatever it is. If it helps us win, then I would consider anything."

In practice this week, the contrasting styles of quarterback play has been evident. Take Tuesday, for example.

At the end of practice, the Patriots were working on goal-line drills. Hoyer was under center and for two plays in a row, he handed off to Rex Burkhead who scored up the middle. On the third and four snaps, Newton took over. You could tell the defense was thinking run as the offense was on the 1-yard line. Instead, Newton faked the handoff to Damien Harris and threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Devin Asiasi.

With Newton, the defense always has to be on their toes. That’s been seen throughout camp. There have been a couple of moments where the veteran holds the ball too long, but instead of taking the sack or throwing the ball away, he usually finishes the play by running. We’ve also seen designed runs for Newton, but not for Stidham or Hoyer.

On Wednesday, we saw quarterbacks switch in and out after one snap. The change when Newton on the field was obvious. One highlight play was a fake jet sweep run by Gunner Olszewski. Instead of handing the ball off, Newton kept it and scrambled up the middle for a big gain. These certainly aren’t typical plays for a Patriots practice and Josh McDaniels usually wasn’t dialing up designed run plays for Brady.

"I think coach McDaniels does a great job of being creative and dialing up new things to the strength of the players that he has," said James White when asked about the quarterbacks. "It doesn’t matter what year it is, we always add new things to the offense and try to help us do our best out there and try to perform the best each and every week. Sometimes it can be for a certain opponent or for a certain player on our offense. He does a great job. He’s a creative mind and each year we’re gonna add new things that’s gonna help us succeed."

Can you imagine if the Patriots used Stidham on one drive, but replaced him for Newton when the Patriots got in the red zone?

On one hand, it would drive the opposing defense crazy by swapping out quarterbacks with different styles. On the other, it might hurt someone like Stidham who doesn’t have a lot of experience and needs reps in order to develop. It’s a crazy thought and it would be surprising if that happened.

Of course, the contrasting styles in practice has been a benefit to the Patriots defense. Right now, they’re getting looks at three different quarterbacks with different styles. That’ll only help them when the regular season comes in September.

"Well, I would say it definitely helps," said defesnive end Deatrich Wise. "We have three great quarterbacks, with all different styles of play. That definitely helps us. We have to look out for all of their attributes, whether it’s their throwing ability, quick release, their quick agility, whatever it is, it definitely helps us become a better team."

mdaniels@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ