Perhaps no soccer team has made better use of the “Us vs. the World” mindset than the Patriots.
Despite winning six Super Bowls in an 18-season span, Bill Belichick’s team can find the motivation anywhere, either as a underdog towards the start of their dynasty or as a villain in more recent seasons.
And an NFL analyst believes Cam Newton will fit that mindset perfectly.
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In a recent episode of “Good Morning Football” on the NFL Network, Nate Burleson discussed how Newton’s evolution from MVP and fan favorite to an unsigned player languishing in the free-agent market will benefit the Patriots’ new QB.
“When Cam first came to the league, he was like a kid during his first audition. He wanted to surprise everyone. He was smiling, dancing. He was doing everything he could to make everyone happy,” Burleson said. “Not only his team, but every time he scored, he took the ball and gave it to a boy. Cam was that guy. Suddenly, he started to hesitate and people began to wonder if he could still do it. Suddenly, you you realize that the world will love you, but as soon as it turns, they will hate you even faster. Now Cam has become a little bit bad. When you realize that you can be the bad guy and still kick ass in the NFL, it’s empowering. “
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How exactly will Newton benefit Foxboro? For that, Burleson drew on a line from the end of the movie “The Dark Knight.”
“I mean, what have we seen in the superhero movies? Or do you die as a hero or do you live long enough to become a villain? And that’s what it is; you’ve played long enough for people to dismiss it, and that’s great. Because the Patriots “They thrive by taking that kind of pain, applying it to the soccer field, and then showing everyone that you can still do it. An excellent example of that is Randy Moss … (people) dismissed him after he went to a couple of teams and then he went with the Patriots and retired. “
Patriots fans can only hope that Newton can enjoy the kind of professional revival Moss showed at Foxboro. After averaging more than 1,260 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns per season during his first eight seasons, Moss was coming off his worst year as a professional: 42 catches, 553 receiving yards and just three touchdowns, when Oakland traded him to New England in 2007.
Everything Moss did in his first season as Patriot set an NFL record with 23 touchdowns received to accompany 98 sacks and nearly 1,500 receiving yards.
Can Newton take advantage of that same motivation, hunger and more important production in 2020? He’s already talking, saying “they’ve never seen this Cam … the forgotten Cam … the tired of being sick and tired Cam” in an Instagram video recently. And Burleson thinks that mindset can take Newton to unprecedented heights with the Patriots this season.
“I feel like Cam Newton is in a space right now where he should stay. Don’t get old Cam where you try to impress everyone. Forget that guy, bury that guy. Put that guy in a coffin. Right now. Live in this space, because this kind of motivation will take you to places you’ve never been before and that place is possibly a Super Bowl champion. If you do that, Cam, everyone will shut up. “
So while Newton could still celebrate like he’s Superman, he may have lived long enough to be the villain and more like another DC Comics superhero at this point in his career: Batman.
