Bill Belichick praises Cam Newton’s ‘tremendous leadership’
By SDS Staff
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Since the New England Patriots signed Cam Newton, plenty of critics – media members and fans alike – openly questioned if the former Auburn standout would fit in with the team’s culture and be able to work with coach Bill Belichick.
While Newton, in his 10th NFL season, isn’t on track to be in the MVP conversation, the “experiment” in Foxboro seems to be working. The Patriots are 2-1 with the only blemish a 35-30 loss to a Seattle Seahawks team likely to make the postseason.
On Friday, Belichick had high praise for Newton speaking to reporters.
“Cam does a great job of connecting with everybody, whether it’s his teammates, his receivers, guys on defense, other people in the organization,” Belichick, per CBS Sports. “Again, I think the captain voting – not that that’s the ultimate or final determination of leadership – but I think the fact that he has been here a pretty short amount of time and earned that type of respect and support from his teammates is pretty impressive.
“But, I think it’s across the board. It’s the offensive line, it’s the receivers, it’s all the offensive players and coaches and it extends into other areas, as well – special teams and defense and other people in the organization. I think that we’ve all seen that and it’s impressive. It’s impressive. He’s here a lot, he’s in the building and he’s visible, he’s in sight and is connecting with people as much as any player. He’s in the building more than any player on the team, but he spends a lot of time talking and connecting and building relationships with those people. I mean, he has tremendous leadership, so it’s very impressive.”
Newton and the Patriots face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
