Newton driven by will to win

[teeray]

16 minutes ago

http://www.panthers.com/news/article-2/Newton-driven-by-will-to-win/6bd96860-7bab-46bf-b9dd-6c1cf3e632e3

When the much anticipated NFL Draft kicks off April 28, it will mark the one-year anniversary of a not-nearly-as-momentous occasion.

On April 28, 2010, Auburn announced that junior college transfer Cam Newton would be its starting quarterback for the season to come.

Now, a Heisman Trophy and BCS National Championship later, Newton is poised to possibly be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.

In rising from an unknown to far and away the draft's hottest topic, Newton appears to have somehow hit college football's version of the lottery.

Newton didn't, however, simply punch a ticket to greatness.

He punched a clock.

*note please substitute Newton for Gabbert in the following text provided by Scot :D

It was last January when I noticed (and posted) that then Panthers.com scribe Andrew Mason had penned three different articles in short order, all saying the same thing. That thing being "Jake Delhomme struggled last year, but Matt Moore looked pretty good."

I took this as a preview of coming attractions, but resident irritant 'Gman was Right' argued trollfully that there was no way the Panthers would bench Delhomme for Moore. That particular debate ended with his user name no longer being appropriate (not that it had been before).

As I recall, Meat was the only one who took it a step further to say that Delhomme might be gone. I wasn't ready to buy that notion, but it turned out he was correct. Within fairly short order, Delhomme was sent packing while Matt Moore was offered a high tender contract and slated to be the next season's starter.

The omen had indeed been a valid one.

Fast forward to today, and just over a week before the draft we have a front-page story on Blaine Gabbert.

It can be assumed that the material was gathered by new writer Brian Strickland during Gabbert's recent visit. The content of the story is interesting as it revolves around how effectively he can transfer from a college spread offense to the pros, and ends with him saying that in the process of doing so, he will "outwork everybody."

Interestingly, the article's title also contains a play on the QB's name. Why is that interesting? Because that sort of play on words has become a bit of a tradition with the site, dating back a ways. Articles with Brian Strickland's commentary are "Strickly Panthers" (replacing "Mason's Minutes") while PR man Charlie Dayton posts "Dayton Fliers". Delhomme pressers were encapsulated under "Cajun up with Jake" whereas Coach John Fox's non-answers came from "The Foxhole".

And now we have the "Gift of Gabbert".

So, remembering that the official site's prominent coverage of Matt Moore (and willingness to admit Delhomme's struggles, something rarely acknowledged prior) was a portent of the future last season, should we now take this article as meaningful toward next week's draft decision?

[mav1234]

scott scooped you, sorry tee

[Mr. Scot]

Already beat you to it :D

And now, the flipside

[teeray]