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Panthers staying in Newton's 'hip pocket'


teeray

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As the Cam Newton saga continues to play out, I can’t help but think of this item written back in February in which ESPN draft guru Todd McShay shared a quote from an NFL general manager.

McShay said the general manager told him if his team was in the market for a quarterback and was considering taking Newton that he would "be in the kid’s hip pocket every day between now and the end of the draft."

Looks like that’s exactly what the Carolina Panthers are doing just that. One day after coach Ron Rivera and several members of the Carolina staff attended Newton’s pro day at Auburn University, there's a report that the Panthers will have a private visit with the quarterback. That part’s no surprise at all.

The Panthers have made it clear they’re looking to solidify their quarterback position and knowing the way general manager Marty Hurney operates, I’m sure they’re looking at all their options. Newton certainly is one of the options on the table. He and Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert are considered the top two quarterbacks in the draft.

Newton has tremendous upside, but there are some questions in his background that I’m sure Hurney and his staff are looking into very seriously and a private visit is the next logical step in that process.

But don’t assume the Panthers are already locked in on Newton. Like I said, Hurney is methodical. I’m sure the Panthers also will schedule a visit with Gabbert. I’m not sure I’m sold on either quarterback and I’ve been saying all along the Panthers should get their quarterback in a trade or via free agency and use the top draft pick on a defensive lineman or maybe even cornerback Patrick Peterson.

Some of what is in there

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LOL it says we shouldn't take Newton and SHOULD take a DT or Peterson.

Well then here is the rest

I’m not so sure Hurney and Rivera are feeling that way and I’m starting to at least be more open minded to the possibility of them drafting a quarterback. I talked to Scouts Inc.’s Matt Williamson on Wednesday afternoon for another draft-related story I’m working on for Friday and he made a good point.

“They have to take a quarterback,’’ Williamson said. “You don’t get the No. 1 pick in the draft very often. When that window opens and you need a quarterback, you have to take one.’’

That said, Williamson said he’d take Gabbert over Newton. We’ll have more of Williamson’s thoughts Friday, but it sure looks like Hurney and Rivera are staying in Newton’s hip pocket so far.

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The Panthers are in his hip pocket because the huggers are in the front pockets. SLUUUURP!!!

Seriously, THanks Teeray. I want all the Panther news I can get. Keep it up.

If I were a Scam fan, I would be a bit nervous if I thought he were the frontrunner on March 9. Six weeks from now, things will be different. Maybe not with us, but things change a lot.

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There is so much Cam stuff going on right now I almost didn't post this. But fug it. Driving the Cam bus :driving:

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/38300/panthers-staying-in-newtons-hip-pocket

Gotta cut Pat some slack after the superb blog entry on the relevance of the Panthers, but this article was not his best effort. I kept thinking he was building up to some profound point, but it never came.

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Gotta cut Pat some slack after the superb blog entry on the relevance of the Panthers, but this article was not his best effort. I kept thinking he was building up to some profound point, but it never came.

Sort of, "Breaking News! There's no news today!" More at 11.

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I don't know anymore. I am a broken man. I just posted bc it was Panthers and Cam related.

[ATTACH]34428[/ATTACH]

You gotta stay strong!!! If you weren't here then the non believers would over run the nut huggers.

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