Cam Newton couldn’t help but notice one major difference after a lack of practice time

“That was the biggest discrepancy of not having practice.”

Even with two weeks to prepare, the New England Patriots had just two practices ahead of their matchup against the Denver Broncos. A COVID-19 outbreak kept the Patriots out of their facility at Gillette Stadium.

New England was on the practice field once in Week 5 for a full practice, and when the game got postponed a full week due to an influx of Patriots players moving onto the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team was back on the field just once in Week 6 for a walkthrough. Quarterback Cam Newton was only able to attend the walkthrough after testing positive for COVID-19 in early October.

“There was a lack there of of practice being evident and timing was off, and the anticipation was off. I think that was the biggest discrepancy of not having practice,” Newton said Monday during an appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “Usually you can throw it way before the receiver is looking for it and be on the money with it, but not having practice for as long as I have had [not] had practice just showed yesterday. Yet through it all, I am about moving forward. We will be moving forward from this point on and I just can’t wait.”

The evidence of poor timing showed up all over the Patriots’ stat sheet and game film. Newton took four sacks, taking 4.34, 2.64, 3.1 and 3.24 seconds to throw, per the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels. For the most part, quarterbacks need to get rid of the ball in about 2.7 seconds. And as Newton referenced, the problem seemed to be a lack of anticipation.

During the first quarter on a second-and-8, Newton had an open tight end, Devin Asiasi, in the flat, but Newton ended up holding the ball too long before taking a vicious sack. He should have known tight end Ryan Izzo was going to release a pass-rusher on the blindside. Newton should have known to get the ball out, but he was indecisive and took the loss.

There was another example — and perhaps the most important example. Newton showed a lack of anticipation on a pass to receiver N’Keal Harry on New England’s final throw of the game. The timing seemed OK. The accuracy was off. There has been some suggestion that Harry ran the wrong route, with the cornerback leveraging him outside, where Newton threw the ball. But the quarterback took the blame and chalked it up, in part, to the lack of practice.

“I would say more so a bad throw, but it goes back to anticipation,” he said. “I knew I was going to get hit. I knew what route he was running, but that is just a thing that I didn’t see all week in practice and knowing what he had, but him being faced with different circumstances of the coverage and the leverage of the coverage of the defender.

“I have to be better. I want to make that perfectly clear. I have to play better football for the New England Patriots and I will.”

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