I debated posting anything this weekend, when all of our friends from North Carolina to the North East are under a deluge of rain and wind from Hurricane Irene. I figured though some of you out there could use a distraction. Here’s hoping that all of everyone dries out quickly. I’ve been watching and reading recent comments on Carolina Panther QB Cam Newton. I’m neither a Cam Newton fan nor an Auburn fan.
I don’t live that far from the Carolina Panther’s home of Charlotte, NC. I’ll root for them somewhat by default, but I actually care more about what my fantasy players do than the Panthers, and Cam Newton is not one of my fantasy players. I have no particular interest on whether Cam Newton succeeds or fails, but one thing is getting under my skin a little.
Cam Newton hasn’t even finished the pre-season, and he’s only played a handful of quarters, and already people already criticizing Netwon like he’s been in the NFL 4 years. One NFL scouted is quoted as saying “If this weren’t Cam Newton, you’d say this guy has no business being on field” after Newton had a rough outing in the Panther’s third pre-season game.
Now I’m not a NFL Scout, but I’m pretty sure after it’s a bit early to criticize Newton in this way. Yahoo Sports wrote “It’s going to be a rough 2011 For Cam Newton” What a revelation! Most NFL Rookie quarterbacks struggle. Sam Bradford a 1st round pick in 2010, and largely considered a far more polished quarterback than Newton, threw 15 interceptions last year with a 76.5 passer rating. That’s hardly Hall of Fame numbers, but I guarantee Bradford is a pro-bowler within 3 years. Peyton Manning was even worse as a rookie. He had 28 interceptions and 71.2 passer rating.
Rookie Quarterbacks in the NFL struggle that’s what they do.
What I can say about Newton is he’s infused some energy into a Carolina Panther franchise that has had none in recent years. At the moment that’s enough. Newton is an athletic 6-5 248 lbs pound quarterback that has a lot to work on, but that’s understandable. All Newton needs to do for the time being is gradually get better.
3 pings
bginsc says:
August 29, 2011 at 12:17 pm (UTC -5)
The scouts and media are piling on because they can’t stand to be wrong. So many of them pretty much demanded the Panthers draft Newton with the #1 pick, and came close to electing him to the Hall Of Fame before draft day. How dare he not live up to the hype that they created? Something is wrong, and since the scouts and media are infallible – we all know that – then it’s obviously Newton’s fault.
This is not to say that Newton’s play isn’t suspect. Along with rookie-type play, he’s regressing as he goes – and starting to fall back on the things that worked in college – but they aren’t going to work in the NFL. Still, the guy has shown some leadership, character, and a willingness to work hard – so I’ve reversed field and am holding out hope that he’ll succeed. Time will tell – and as a Panther fan, my fingers are crossed… because they sure can’t afford two draft busts in two years at the quarterback position.
Jfann says:
August 29, 2011 at 5:45 pm (UTC -5)
Totally agree here…
No question Newton has struggled a bit and it makes sense that he would fall back on things that made him succeed in College. I’m just saying, he deserves more time to prove himself. Some media piles on too much and too fast.
Hey NFL don’t go changing running quarterbacks. » All Sports Discussion says:
August 28, 2011 at 4:51 pm (UTC -5)
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