Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Eight reasons why Colts should call Cam Newton immediately about backup QB job

Cam Newton is not perfect, but he is an upgrade. If he was perfect, Bill Belichick would not have cut him!

Bill Belichick has made his decision.  Mac Jones is in as starting quarterback and Cam Newton is out – way out – as in no longer employed by the New England Patriots.

The Indianapolis Colts have a starting quarterback on the Reserve/COVID-19 list who is still recovering from an unanticipated foot surgery, a back-up QB who has never dressed for an NFL regular season game, and another backup who will be out for several weeks with a knee sprain.

Hole, meet plug!

Here are the top 10 reasons the Colts should call Cam Newton’s agent immediately to negotiate a deal to make Newton a cheap solution to an almost inevitable problem:

8 – Newton is cheap!  His base salary with the Patriots was scheduled to be $1.5M.  That’s a hell of a bargain for a guy who has done what Newton has.  Even his performance last year, while a negative step compared to his early years justifies that kind of bread.

7 – Win NOW! If Wentz goes down as he has in the past – or is lost to the NFL’s Covid protocols as he is right now – the Colts need a quarterback who can win them a game or two.  This isn’t some developmental program; the Colts need to be about winning in 2021!  Is Newton the best option available?  Sign him!

6 – Cam still has wheels – Last season, Newton ran for 592 yards to lift his career total to 5,398.  If Wentz stays healthy and Newton is only deployed as an occasional wildcat and sneak guy, Newton is a headache for defensive coordinators – and a bargain.

5 – 75-63-1 – Newton’s career won/loss record is 12 games over .500.  Last year, on a bad Patriots team (to which he certainly contributed), his record as a starter was 7-8.  In Indy, Newton would start only under duress, but could contribute as a part-time QB.

4 – Carson Wentz is unvaccinated – That means he will be subject to a five-day quarantine for any close contact with someone who tests positive – just as he is until Thursday of this week.  With the protocol ready to pounce at any moment on the Colts chances to win, they need to address the backup QB situation.

3 – Newton is similar in size and athleticism to Wentz – the offense and blocking wouldn’t need to change much if Newton was thrown into the breach for a week or two.

2 – Super Bowl L – Newton has been to where the Colts want to go, and that is the Super Bowl.  He’s not the player he was five years ago, and lost the Super Bowl he played in, but he has been there.

1 – Newton is better than Eason – Newton may be a quirky and self-immersed guy who’s not the player he was in 2015, but he still projects as better able to win this season than the thoroughly untested Eason.  If the idea is to put the best 53 guys on the roster, Newton certainly fits on the Colts.

Colts Carson Wentz, Ryan Kelly, and Zach Pascal all added to the Reserve/COVID-19 list

Carson Wentz refused to answer whether he had been vaccinated, but that doesn’t mean we should assume is isn’t vaccinated or tested positive.

No way around talking vaccines now, is there?

I’ve tried, but with Carson Wentz, Ryan Kelly, and Zach Pascal going on the Reserve/Covid-19 list today, there is no avoiding virology as we discuss football.

Full disclosure – there are two reasons I got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  The first is that epidemiologists told me getting the vaccine is the quickest way to return to some semblance of a normal life, and I was also told it was the best way possible for me to help keep those I love safe.  More disclosure – I took the J&J vaccine because it was one shot instead of two.  I’m not a fan of shots, so I took the single dose.

One weakness I happily admit to is that I am not an epidemiologist, and I cannot pretend to know more than those who have spent a lifetime studying the behavior of viruses.  When I need legal advice, I don’t read online posts offering judicial counsel, and when I need advice on viruses, I don’t google “Covid” and read until I stumble upon research that agrees with what my gut tells me.

I find experts and quiz them.

As far as the Colts are concerned, we don’t know whether those who are on the Covid List are there due to a positive test or contract tracing.  We also don’t know whether these three players – each essential to the success or failure of the team during their season opener September 12 – has been vaccinated or has not been vaccinated.  We have a pretty good idea because of who wears a mask during team activities, but that’s not a sure thing, so let’s not even go there.

The Colts can’t tell us about positive tests or vaccination status because of HIPPA rules that make private the health standing of all Americans.  Guess if you like, but I will refrain.

We do know that the Colts are among the least vaccinated teams in the NFL.  Frank Reich told us that his roster’s vaccination rate was approaching 75%.  League wide, the vaccination rate has been reported by the NFL to be at 93%.  There are roughly 200 NFL players yet to be vaccinated, and the Colts account for roughly 10%.

Why there is a reluctance on the Colts roster when – again, according to the NFL – vaccinated players have tested positive at a rate of 0.3 percent, while unvaccinated players tested positive at a rate seven times higher (2.2 percent)?  Add psychologist and sociologist to the list of things I am not, so I don’t know.

But I do know this – teammates and fans have every right to be hot, if because of NFL protocols, a team loses a regular season game as the result of a player or players not being vaccinated.  This is the kind of thing that can divide a team and that team’s fans.

The decision to distrust the government and media has been proven a wise one from time to time.  We are lied to with such maddening repetition that being skeptical of a vaccine or gene therapy is a natural reflex for many.  Denying information and insight from a preponderance of medical professionals is a different issue.

Putting those around you at risk because of your pessimism is like driving your family car 135 miles an hour while they sleep.  If you are a really good driver, the odds are reasonably good everyone arrives safe and sound, but dismissing the increased risk is wildly irresponsible.

Penalizing teammates, staff, coaches, and fans because of a personal aversion to modern medicine and those who advise us on such serious matters is a dereliction of responsibility to a collective, and it should be viewed through that lens.

I hope Wentz, Kelly, and Pascal are either contract tracing victims or asymptomatic.  If not, I hope they recover quickly.  More than anything, I want them on the field September 12th because that is their job – and they are paid exceptionally well to do it.  Season ticket holders pay a hefty price for their tickets, and players skipping a game instead of getting a shot shows a troubling indifference to a wide array of collectives.

Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton down with a neck injury – others must step up so he is not missed

TY Hilton has enjoyed a long and lucrative career for a plucky third rounder out of Florida International.

Don’t sweat the loss of Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton.

There comes a time when an athlete’s popularity and fame eclipse productivity, and that time has come for Hilton – a four-time Pro Bowler.  The Colts announced yesterday that Hilton will miss significant time with a disc injury in his neck that coach Frank Reich described as “complicated.”  Reich was unsure about how many games Hilton will miss, “He will miss some games. We don’t know exactly how many. We’re optimistic it’s not season ending.”

Hilton’s final gasp of elite play came in 2018 when he caught 76 Andrew Luck passes for 1,270 yards, despite playing only 14 games.  Since then, Hilton has posted exactly one 100-yard receiving game.  Last year, Hilton was clearly on a pitch count to save him for a playoff run that ended early after being worn down in 2019.

If Hilton’s neck causes him to be IR’ed, that will free up a roster spot, which is a good thing given the glut of good receivers the Colts have on their 80-man roster.  There has been considerable debate about who among Michael Strachan, Dezmon Patmon, and Ashton Dulin would be waived to get the Colts under the 53-player limit by tomorrow’s 4 p.m. deadline.  If the Colts keep six receivers, they are already home if Hilton goes on the IR.

Hilton has always been a popular guy in the locker room and community, but his importance on the field has waned as the Colts have evolved into a run first offense.  If Hilton never plays again, the effect on the Colts record will be negligible.

General manager Chris Ballard’s job is to build depth should aging players decline, and Ballard has.  The Colts offensive scheme is to spread the ball among nine receivers, so with Michael Pittman, Parris Campbell, Zach Pascal, Jack Doyle, Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson, Nyheim Hines, Strachan, Patmon and/or Dulin, quarterback Carson Wentz should have plenty of targets to move the chains and score points.

It’s sad for Hilton that the end may have come for him.  It’s sad for fans too, just as it was with Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, and every other receiver who enjoyed fleeting greatness.  Hell, it even became sad to watch Jerry Rice, the greatest of all-time.  Ask not for whom the bell tolls, right.  It tolls for us all eventually.

But don’t confuse your sadness over Hilton’s decline with a reason to believe the Colts will fail to return to the playoffs this year.  If the Colts fail to qualify for the postseason, Hilton’s absence will not be on the first page of reasons for it.