Did Cam do enough?

[jtnc]

ESPN is actually saying, that he's favorable for starter. And Clausen hasn't shown anything in the pre-season for the coaching staff to start him over Cam/

Did Cam Newton do enough to win the starting quarterback job in Thursday night’s exhibition at Cincinnati?

Under normal circumstances, probably not. But the Carolina Panthers aren’t in normal circumstances. The deck has been stacked in Newton's favor all along and it's probably best not to shuffle now. The Panthers used the first overall draft pick on Newton, have been preparing the last two weeks as if he’ll be the starter and don’t really have another attractive option.

Besides, the bar for judging Newton was pretty low. The Panthers pretty much said before the game that all Newton had to do was go into Cincinnati and not have any major disasters. He didn’t, unless you count a horrible performance by the entire defense and the offensive line against Newton.

He was by no means great or anything close to it. In fact, Newton’s accuracy is a big concern after he completed just 6 of 19 passes for 75 yards while playing deep into the third quarter. But Cincinnati’s defensive pressure might have had a lot to do with that because Newton was under attack all night.

He did throw a few nice passes to tight ends Greg Olsen and Jeremy Shockey and a potential touchdown throw to Steve Smith was on target, but the receiver couldn’t quite make the catch in bounds. He also had his third straight game without an interception. Perhaps the best thing Newton did all night was lead the Panthers on a touchdown drive on the same series in which he had the near miss with Smith.

Faced with a third-and-11 from Cincinnati’s 16-yard line, Newton dropped back, saw heavy pressure coming fast and tucked the ball and ran for a touchdown. It was the first touchdown the Panthers have produced with Newton at quarterback this preseason. That alone might prompt Ron Rivera to decide on Newton as his starter.

Newton’s running ability is one of his strengths and that may be another reason to start him over Jimmy Clausen. If Carolina’s offensive line is going to play this way in the regular season, the Panthers will need a quarterback who can run. Newton ran four times for 49 yards with a 26-yard run in addition to his touchdown.

Newton hasn’t "wowed" anybody in his three preseason games, but he has had some stunning moments in practice. Clausen hasn’t wowed anybody since his days at Notre Dame, maybe even since his high school days.

Newton has a ton of upside. If he can just get a little help from his teammates, he might have a chance. Besides, the Panthers really have no other choice.

Also a vid on ESPN's page

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/24143/did-cam-newton-do-enough

[Dex]

:jc:

[Jangler]

I definitely want to see Cam play against the Steelers...

[Mother Grabber]

I guess if throwing wobbly passes all over the place is enough, he's got it locked up.

[footballisasport]

ESPN is actually saying, that he's favorable for starter. And Clausen hasn't shown anything in the pre-season for the coaching staff to start him over Cam/

Also a vid on ESPN's page

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/24143/did-cam-newton-do-enough

I read that article and was like putting down Cam while backhanding Jimmy...typical ESPN fools.

The sad reality is, both Cam and Jimmy are stuck with bad O and D lines.

[Jackofalltrades]

Has he done enough?

Hell no.

Does it really matter?

Hell no.

[Tarheels23]

I'm now of the belief that the outside media, wants Newton to fail, and therefore would like to see him start and fall on his face, whether he's ready, or the people around him is ready.

I've always wanted Newton to be the Day 1 starter, but from what I've seen from the proven veterans around him, I've now changed my mind. We already threw Clausen under the bus last year, and we would be doing the same to Newton if we were to start him.

[rico6]

To play in this poor offense? No he has not done enough.

If the offense were to play like they should be playing, I wouldn't be afraid of him starting.

I don't want Cam to be a damaged good.

[Marguide]

You know, ironically, as poor as Cam has played at times, he still may represent our best chance to win. He hasn't turned the ball over, and he is about the only running game we have right now.

Jimmy's gonna get killed behind this line, and throw a good number of pick 6's in the process.

I think I would name DA the starter for now, take a bit of the pressure off the young guys, and then slowly work Cam in once the rest of the team remembers how to play football.

[Double34Trouble28]

When there's no acceptable alternate, hell yes he has.

[footballisasport]

I'm now of the belief that the outside media, wants Newton to fail, and therefore would like to see him start and fall on his face, whether he's ready, or the people around him is ready.

I've always wanted Newton to be the Day 1 starter, but from what I've seen from the proven veterans around him, I've now changed my mind. We already threw Clausen under the bus last year, and we would be doing the same to Newton if we were to start him.

U just figured that out...They wanted him to fail from the day he announced his draft. Many of them are out to prove that he doesn't belong that is why they sit and pick him apart.

Anyway, I agree with u but is the answer sitting Cam? It's clear there is no blue-print to a perfect QB but there are ways to ruining them. It's up to Rivera to intuitively know what will work best for Cam.

Many of these so called pundits act like they know what's best for Cam based on their "after the fact" comparison of the pro QBs but let's be real....

Some QBs work well being thrown into the fire and others need to sit. Cam future depends on Rivera or whomever making the right move with him and not getcaught up in the "sky is falling" mentallity that seems to be the norm of our media.

[rico6]

Wold love to see DA play around 3-6 games, then for Cam to take the reigns for the rest.

But as of now, the offense is just not clicking enough for a rookie to come in.

[jtnc]

Wold love to see DA play around 3-6 games, then for Cam to take the reigns for the rest.

But as of now, the offense is just not clicking enough for a rookie to come in.

I'd rather Clausen over Anderson.

[Tarheels23]

At lease PFT has it right, unlike TRD, which by the way didn't even watch the game, and others.

1. On a list of problems for the Panthers, Cam Newton’s quarterback play is fairly low. Their defense was steamrolled by the Bengals and the offensive line couldn’t protect Newton, who did have some impressive runs.

2. Teams are going to run on Carolina’s questionable front seven until they stop someone.