New England Patriots
Former Panthers on Cam Newton
Now that the dust has settled, some folks who spent some time around Patriots quarterback Cam Newton while with the Panthers have spoken out. Those guys, former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera and longtime tight end Greg Olsen, see some good times en route for Newton and the Pats.
“The one thing I’ve always said is don’t bet against Cam, especially when he has something to prove,” Rivera said last week. “I think he has something to prove. I think he’s going to prove something. I like the fact that coach (Bill) Belichick and what they want to do offensively, I think that’s going to suit (Cam). I think Josh McDaniels is creative enough to use Cam’s skill set to the best of his abilities. I’ll watch them. I’ll be excited to watch them.”
Olsen’s thoughts were on Newton and the “Patriot way,” that highly-touted culture that Pats head coach Bill Belichick has grown over the past two decades. Olsen sees a fit.
“The one thing (Belichick) is going to learn about Cam is no one wants to win more than him, nobody’s gonna come every day and practice harder and train harder and prepare better. The things that Cam does so well are pretty much that whole ‘Patriot Way’ of everything is about winning. Cam is going to check all those boxes, so I don’t think they’re going to have any issues on that front,” Olsen said.
The Bills are certainly going to have something to say about Newton’s successes at least twice next season. The QB’s skills are there and even Buffalo can’t question that, but issue isn’t about his drive or talents though, it’s about him staying healthy.