Peter King's Comments on SI.com

[Anybodyhome]

I think Jimmy Clausen might not be really happy with Ron Rivera's quotes from the combine. Rivera was very high on Cam Newton in his meeting with the media Thursday, and the Panthers clearly are considering taking Newton to lead what Rivera wants to be an offense that can make deep strikes downfield. Rivera:"He [Newton] has natural size and can run and has a tremendous arm. The young man has tremendous talent. I think he's well on his way. Look at the quarterbacks that have been drafted high. They're all big men. Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco. Cam has got a lot of those physical attributes.''

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/02/25/labor-combine/index.html#ixzz1FFnp0kCC

[pantherfan81]

What he told me last night:

RT @Pantherfan81: How should Panthers fans feel about Cam meeting twice with Rivera after today's 11-21 performance?.....I've talked with Rivera. He's high on Cam.

Anxious to see how high Rivera is on him after his Pro day. I won't be surprised if he cools off on him a bit.

[Catalyst]

I seriously doubt it'll change anything. Listening to Billick talk about how little most scouts/coaches think of combine passing drills tells me it probably changes nothing. He is a former head coach, afterall, and would know these things.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

Oh my. I certainly hope Clausen's not offended!

[Zod]

Ask peter if Rivera would be talking about Cam Newton if he wasn't being asked about him constantly.

[countryboi]

all the booing from the fans and pressure from his teammates and this is what clausen is offended by?

[Catalyst]

Ask peter if Rivera would be talking about Cam Newton if he wasn't being asked about him constantly.

Would that somehow change his opinion of him? :confused:

[unicar15]

Please realize this is a mind game and if we want to trade out of the #1 spot then there NEEDS to be a QB worth taking at #1. If nobody else thinks we are taking Cam Newton then nobody will trade to that spot if THEY want him...they'd wait till he falls.

[carpanfan96]

Please realize this is a mind game and if we want to trade out of the #1 spot then there NEEDS to be a QB worth taking at #1. If nobody else thinks we are taking Cam Newton then nobody will trade to that spot if THEY want him...they'd wait till he falls.

Ummmm, then why do you talk up the 2nd best QB prospect and not the best?????????

Gabbert is widely considered the best QB in this draft.... Heck some places don't even have Cam ranked in the top 25 draft prospects.. (ESPN/SCOUT)

So I don't get why you would talk up Cam and not Gabbert, doesn't sound much like a mind game to me.....

[csx]

Ask peter if Rivera would be talking about Cam Newton if he wasn't being asked about him constantly.

I'm sure he didn't meet with him twice just becuase people were asking him questions.

[pantherfan81]

http://bit.ly/g7Kp9K

i heard positive reports over the weekend about his quick reactions in meeting rooms when he was put on the board and asked to dissect why he made a certain read or throw. He threw for 30 touchdowns and ran for 20 last fall at auburn, but nfl teams will want to curtail his running. Last fall, he threw 280 passes and ran 264 times. That's 19 runs a game, on average. The nfl doesn't want to staple him to the pocket, but i can't imagine a team that's going to draft newton will instruct him to run eight or 10 times a game. Try four to six, on average. It's just too dangerous for a quarterback to leave the pocket as often as newton did in college.

Newton, 6-5 and 248 pounds, looked to be in perfect shape for his on- and off-field job interviews here. One nfc gm, watching him being weighed and measured, said, "i was hoping carolina wasn't in the room. I want that guy in the afc.''

he ran a speedy (for a quarterback) 4.58 40-yard dash but was off-target while adjusting to some newness, like taking snaps from center and dropping back and throwing. In his passing session, he completed 11 of 21 throws. To be clear on this, that's not good. But he'll have another chance to show his pro-style game next tuesday at auburn (march 8). And i've never heard any gm on draft day say, "yeah, we downgraded that quarterback because he threw poorly at the combine.'' teams interested in newton will dissect his game and work him out before the draft.

mmqb

[teeray]

Sounds about right.

[Snake]

He showed at this combine that he is still a work in progress. Still Gabbert hiding the fact he has poor accuracy and who knows what else is still a bigger risk. At least Cam came out and said "look what I can and can not do" what you see is what you get.

[Edward Teach]

I just heard it said that most first round QBs didn't throw at the combine. They waited until their pro day. JS.