Bill Simmons' thoughts on the game/Cam

[Kramerica]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7404371/breaking-week-17

Panthers (+7.5) over SAINTS

My prediction for this one: The Saints go hard for a half and get everyone lathered up for the "Brees vs. Cam!" second-half showdown … but with the Niners trouncing the Rams at the same time, New Orleans comes to its senses, resigns itself to the no. 3 seed and rests everyone in the second half. Good news for Cam's "Rookie of the Year" campaign, good news for Panthers +7.5, bad news for what could have been a fantastic game.

That reminds me …

1. Sorry, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers … I will remember the 2011 season for Cam and The Golden Calf of Bristol before anyone else. How great was Cam? He single-handedly made a forgettable/lousy franchise relevant/decent, swung about five million fantasy leagues,4 cruised to Rookie of the Year, revived Steve Smith's career, made those Wired for Sound NFL Films spots about 15.4 percent better and gave the NFL a young megastar with NBA-level charisma (wouldn't you put him up there with Durant, Rose and Griffin?). The best thing you could say about Cam: If you were watching football at a sports bar with tons of televisions, or visiting someone's house who had multiple TVs, Cam always seemed to end up on one of the prominent TVs no matter who he was playing. I love watching that guy.

Simmons has thrown that "Cam on the prominent TV in the house" comment before. Pretty clear that people outside the Carolinas want to see more Cam. And they'll (hopefully) get it in the form of multiple primetime games next season.

[CarolinaCatBrigade]

Cam, the blackforest ham.

[rayzor]

why wouldn't you want to watch him? the dude actually plays the whole game.

for The Golden Calf of Bristol on the weeks he doesn't suck the whole game he only shows up for like 3 minutes at the end. sure, it might be an exciting 3 minutes, but it's still only 3 minutes.

that panther offense overall has become really fun to watch. the little gimmick plays they run for time to time have made panther games even more of a must watch.

[Jesse]

Cam is the most exciting player in the NFL, all homerism aside.

[PhillyB]

gone are the days of being under the radar.

[CarolinaCatBrigade]

gone are the days of being under the radar.

Cam is too big for smoking the screen :lol:

[rayzor]

gone are the days of being under the radar.

hallelujah.

[Gazi]

He's been loving Cam all year long.

[2jakefansinva]

gone are the days of being under the radar.

thank goodness.

I always hated that quote.

[Chaos]

Next year, there will be ridiculous expectations from fans and media unrivaled. It will be interesting to see how this team responds to what certainly will be more exposure - which goes hand-in-hand with more scrutiny.

[Car123]

[ed bell]

Next year, there will be ridiculous expectations from fans and media unrivaled. It will be interesting to see how this team responds to what certainly will be more exposure - which goes hand-in-hand with more scrutiny.

Agreed...the good thing is there are compelling, talented and worthy personalities on this team who deserve the extra attention. This added level of attention and scrutiny is a necessary step in the direction all fans want out of this franchise. I hope all our players respond by giving the entire NFL world a reason to do a double-take when they see the improvements in the culture here.

[Gazi]

I remember the year after that magical '96 season the expectations were so high that Collins was booed on a play in preseason right after he broke his jaw.

[TheGreatestOfAllTimeCam]

On his lone podcast this week he said he's "a signature guy" in the league and has been a great edition to the NFL