Cam Newton helping Patriots move on from ‘dour’ Tom Brady

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Who said the Patriots would miss Tom Brady? That may change once they actually play a game without one of the best quarterbacks of all time, but their honeymoon phase with Cam Newton appears to still be going strong as they enter the first week of the season. “I think, honestly, it’s been a match …

Who said the Patriots would miss Tom Brady?

That may change once they actually play a game without one of the best quarterbacks of all time, but their honeymoon phase with Cam Newton appears to still be going strong as they enter the first week of the season.

“I think, honestly, it’s been a match made in heaven for me, just knowing that I’m at a place where everything is pulling in the same direction and everything is geared toward winning,” Newton said Monday on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.”

Bill Belichick named Newton the Patriots’ starting quarterback last week, less than two months after the former MVP signed in New England for the minimum salary.

Newton’s giant task remains filling the shoes of Brady, who left for Tampa Bay to chase a Super Bowl on his own at 43 years old. But by the end of his 20 years with the Patriots, Brady’s “dour” demeanor seems to have rubbed some of his teammates the wrong way, according to a report.

“And I will admit to you that from what I’ve heard since Tom Brady departed, the Patriots did need a vibe change in the locker room because a dour Brady, which started to crop up at the end of 2018, took its toll on the Patriots last season,” Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard wrote in a column Saturday. “It was so bad that some of his teammates have admittedly privately that it was better for all involved that Brady moved on if he was going to have the same attitude this season.”

Brady won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, but his relationship with Belichick had reportedly strained by the end of their run together. He also made it known that he wasn’t completely happy last season despite the Patriots continuing to win, at one point telling NBC he was “the most miserable 8-0 quarterback in the NFL.”

Now, Brady seems rejuvenated in Tampa Bay while Newton has brought an upbeat attitude to New England — at least before any games have been played.

“Honestly it’s been so overwhelming at times that I just haven’t been able to grasp it from a whole totality standpoint,” Newton told the radio show. “I was in Carolina, and had given everything to that organization that I possibly can, and I will always have a place in my heart for Carolina. But as a professional, you go where you’re summoned to go, and what’s best for your career. Just as it will be what’s best for the organization. I’ve just been loving myself and loving this opportunity I’ve had, coming into this position.”