Seahawks will hold Cam Newton in check, like (almost) always, and win

The Seahawks face a familiar foe when the Patriots come in for the home opener. They haven’t seen the Pats for a while, but they know Cam Newton very well.

Yes, the Seahawks are very familiar with one of the key figures in Sunday’s big faceoff. No, I’m not talking about Belicheat or the Deflator. I’m talking about Cam Newton, who has faced Pete Carroll’s Hawks six times in the regular season. I’ll get to that playoff game, don’t worry. The thing is, you shouldn’t worry too much about Cam; he’s only 1-5 in those six games.

It’s not like he played well and just had bad luck, either. Newton completed 99 of 172 passes for 1,144 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions. That’s less than a 58 percent completion percentage. That’s a per-game average of 17-29 for 191 yards, one score, and one pick. You’re not going to win too many games with that stat line.

Yeah, you’re a smart cookie. You know he makes his living with his feet as much as his arm. Not against the Seahawks, he doesn’t. Newton has run the ball 42 times for 209 yards and one touchdown. Hey, I’m not arguing those aren’t good stats for a quarterback. But it still averages seven carries for 35 yards per game. He also fumbled three times and lost two of them. Any time an opponent fumbles twice as often as he scores, I’ll take it.