Bill Belichick: Cam Newton “does a great job of connecting with everybody”

[KC Wolf]

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The Patriots got one of the best bargains in football history when signing former MVP Cam Newton to a low-dollar deal. The bargain extends well beyond his on-field abilities.

“Cam does a great job of connecting with everybody, whether it’s his teammates, his receivers, guys on defense, other people in the organization,” coach Bill Belichick told reporters on Friday. “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.”

It’s as impressive as what Cam Newton does on the field, and he’s already done plenty. The biggest challenge of the season so far (and arguably the biggest test on the entire schedule) comes Sunday at Kansas City, where the challenge for the Patriots won’t be to shut down the Chiefs Offense but to find a way to outscore it.