One of the most intriguing storylines this season was how the New England Patriots would evolve offensively after the departure of Tom Brady. If Week 1 is any indication, Cam Newton will be a focal part of their new-look running game.
New England’s new quarterback played a huge role in the Patriots’ 21-11 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough. Newton threw for 155 yards on 15 of 19 passing, but his biggest contributions came on the ground. The former Carolina Panther ran the ball 15 times for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one of which was a throwback to Jacoby Brissett, when he saw a few starts for New England back in the 2016 season. That made Newton New England’s leading rusher on the afternoon.
Taking a look at a few of these plays highlights just how different the Patriots’ offense can be now with Newton’s athleticism, and how it might just make this offense a bit more difficult to defend.
We can start with this six-yard run from Newton on New England’s opening drive of the third quarter. Newton aligns in the shotgun with running back James White to his right:
New England runs a power read here with an option element for the quarterback:
White cuts in front of the quarterback, aiming for the left edge. Newton can give him the football, depending on his read (which we will get to in a moment) or he can keep the ball and attack north/south. If he chooses to keep the football, he has right guard Shaq Mason pulling in front of him as a lead blocker.
Newton reads the linebacker here, shaded in red. If that player crashes down to the edge in response to the movement of White, Newton will pull the football and follow Mason. If that backer crashes down inside, Newton will let White keep the ball around the end.
Here’s what happens:
The linebacker does track with White, creating enough of a crease for Newton to keep the football. Which he does, tracking behind Mason for a six-yard gain.
This is an element to the offense that the Patriots could not implement with Brady. This design puts the linebacker into conflict with two different running options, and whatever he does, the Patriots have a way to make him choose the wrong option.
One of the things that Josh McDaniels does so well is use pre-snap movement and motion to give his quarterback information. Usually it is to help in the passing game, but now with Newton there are ways to use movement before the snap to aid some of the option elements that are now in the playbook.
The Patriots love to start plays in an empty formation to see what the defense does against players like James White, and then move White back next to the quarterback. That is exactly what they do on this play, and watch how the defense responds to the pre-snap movement:
See what happens when White comes into the backfield? The defensive back trails him. In years past, McDaniels would use that to clue Brady into the fact that the defense is in man coverage.
Here, that motion tells Newton the same thing. But it also tells right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor who to aim for:
New England runs a speed option here, and if White is going to be available for the pitch, his defender needs to be taken out of the play. By using this movement before the snap, everyone knows that the secondary is in man coverage, and the right tackle knows who to go after. 2nd and 10 becomes 3rd and short in the blink of an eye.
Finally, on a critical fourth down late in the game, with the Patriots opting to forgo a short field goal, everyone knew that Newton was likely to run the football.
Yet the Dolphins could not stop it:
This is just QB power to the left side with Jakob Johnson as the lead blocker out of the backfield in front of the quarterback. Tight end Ryan Izzo climbs to the second level to take the nearest player aligned as a linebacker, while Johnson kicks out the end man on the line of scrimage. That is all Newton needs, as he puts his head down and picks up the first down and more.
The addition of Newton now means that the Patriots’ offense is no longer playing a man down in the running game. The threat of Newton and what he can do with the football in his hands requires the defense to account for him on every down. If you revisit the first play, perhaps in the future linebackers will stay home more in response to that action, worried about Newton potentially keeping the football. That will free up the Patriots’ running backs on those types of plays.
Newton’s legs make this a completely different Patriots ground game to defend. And a much more difficult one to boot.