Jets passing game coordinator Scott Turner has been around a lot of quarterbacks over his 14 years in the NFL as an assistant with six different teams.
So of the quarterbacks he’s been around, who was the most similar to his current QB, Justin Fields?
It didn’t take him long to blurt out an answer.
“Cam Newton,” Turner said.
Like Newton, Fields is a dynamic dual-threat QB who can hurt you as a runner and passer
“When I came into the league, I was a quality control coach and that was Cam’s rookie year and his second year in Carolina,” recalls Turner. “Then I went back (to Carolina) in ’18 and ’19, and I was the quarterback coach, so I was the quarterback coach for Cam in ’18 and ’19, but then he hurt his foot (’19) and was out for the season. But Cam was a guy who could do it all – running and throwing.”
Newton holds the record for most career rushing touchdowns for a QB with 75.
So Turner worked closely with a QB similar to Fields, who can hurt teams with both his arm and legs.
And that constant QB run threat can be a headache for opposing defenses.
“When your quarterback can run, and you don’t want to do it all the time because you don’t want to get him killed, it allows you to play 11 on 11 football,” Turner said.
And Turner added: “You don’t see it with every team.”
So Turner’s four years with Newton should come in handy as the Jets’ passing game coordinator, giving input to the team’s OC, Tanner Engstrand, on some of the concepts they used in Carolina.
****
Don’t forget to subscribe to Jets Confidential Magazine – great beach reading. To subscribe to the magazine, our online Whispers, or both, click an option below . . .
