Frank Scwhab: Cam Newton’s greatness is being overshadowed by a lot of needless criticism

[pepaw]

An objective article on Cam from Yahoo Shutdown Corner. <3

 

Link Here

 

Pick up a football preview magazine, or click on a Carolina Panthers team preview online, you're likely to see some variation of the same report on Cam Newton.

Immature. Disappointing second season. Didn't develop as hoped. Needs to turn his career back around this season.

 

Newton is one of the best players in the NFL, and could be on the verge of a special career. It's just a bit strange that the narrative surrounding him has gone in an entirely different direction.

 

Was Newton, who had arguably the best rookie season of all time in 2011, bad in 2012? Well, let's compare him to a couple of the NFL's brightest stars and find out:

Player A: 3,869 yards, 19 TD, 12 INT, 57.7 completion percentage, 8.0 yards per attempt, 86.2 rating
Player B: 4,374 yards, 23 TD, 18 INT, 54.1 completion percentage, 7.0 yards per attempt, 76.5 rating

 

Player A is obviously Newton. Player B is Andrew Luck, who has gotten a lot more pats on the back this offseason than Newton. Luck (who is great is his own right) had 142 more passing attempts, but Newton was much more efficient throwing the ball.

 

Newton is more than just a passer. So let's take a look at this rushing comparison:

Player A: 127 attempts, 741 yards, eight touchdowns
Player B: 120 attempts, 815 yards, seven touchdowns

 

Player B might have been a touch better, but it's pretty close. Player A is Cam Newton, Player B is Robert Griffin III. And we all know which of those two is getting more praise this offseason.

 

So last season Newton threw it better than Luck, was almost as productive running it as Griffin, and we're supposed to believe he took a major step back. Luck and Griffin took their teams to the playoffs, but as we already know, it's foolish to judge a quarterback simply on his record (and, the Panthers weren't that far off anyway, going a terribly unlucky 1-7 in games decided by less than a touchdown).

 

Does Newton need more work on his accuracy, and overall game? Sure. Here's the list of quarterbacks who needed a good amount of work after two NFL seasons: Every quarterback who has ever played. Newton is 24. He'll get better.

 

Newton did struggle for a bit last season, but if you think he had a bad 2012 you tuned out after seven Panthers games. Here's what he did his last nine games, and how that prorates out to a 16-game season:

Last nine games: 2,168 yards, 14 TD, 4 INT, 159-for-273 (58.2 percent), 94.7 rating, 76 rushes, 431 rushing yards, 5 rushing TD
Prorated for a full season: 3.854.2 yards, 24.9 TD, 7.1 INT, 135.1 rushes, 766.2 rushing yards, 8.9 rushing TD

 

That would be a heck of a season, especially for a 23-year-old second-year quarterback. The Panthers were 6-3 in those final nine games, for those interested in such things.

 

So Newton had what amounts to a seven-game sophomore slump. In the last nine games he had a better quarterback rating than players like Matt Schaub, Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning and Matthew Stafford had in 2012. Newton was a better passer over his last nine games than Flacco was last season, and Flacco just got a $120 million extension. And over the season Newton rushed for more touchdowns than Jamaal Charles, C.J. Spiller, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, LeSean McCoy and many, many others.

 

So, so disappointing.

 

Instead of the talk focusing on Newton's phenomenal first two seasons, we hear about how he's not a captain yet and how he needs better body language. He seems to rub people the wrong way, going all the way back to the NCAA investigation into his recruitment at Auburn. It's overshadowing his greatness.

 

The way people view Newton will change, and very soon. He's way too good for everyone to continue to nitpick on things like him smiling too much before games and his touchdowns celebrations. Don't miss out.

 

 

[pepaw]

Just saw the other post. Sorry. Mod's please delete.

[TANTRIC-NINJA]

You have the better Thread title. And i enjoy when the whole article is posted.. You win the award in my opinion.

[Miiikey]

We as Panther fans know this and agree, but until he/Panthers are relevant and competing it won't matter. Hopefully this year changes everything. Kaeper-who?

[therealmjl]

Im erect now

[Oldmanrivera]

fap material atlast

[countryboi]

doesnt really seem fair to compare a second year player to two rookies. cam is better than them both though

[KSpan]

doesnt really seem fair to compare a second year player to two rookies. cam is better than them both though

You're right. If the comparisons were to Cam's rookie season, where every stat of Cam's was 'better' except for picks and passer rating, the differences in media response would look even sillier.

[tiger7_88]

doesnt really seem fair to compare a second year player to two rookies. cam is better than them both though

 

Maybe not, but that's who every Cam-critic and his inbred brother compares him to.

 

So that's who this guy compared him to.

[OneBadCat]

Honestly the ignorance that spews from the media and Cam haters every where is flat out wanna be racism. I hate to pull a King Tahara but Im starting to believe it's true. They are trying to paint Cam as a no good black thug and as much as you objective Panther fan types here would like to objectively deny it, it does not take back the slanderous things that are said about Cam with no facts or evidence whatsoever.

[CelibatePimp]

Honestly the ignorance that spews from the media and Cam haters every where is flat out wanna be racism. I hate to pull a King Tahara but Im starting to believe it's true. They are trying to paint Cam as a no good black thug and as much as you objective Panther fan types here would like to objectively deny it, it does not take back the slanderous things that are said about Cam with no facts or evidence whatsoever.

 

Racism, maybe not. Envy, jealousy and hate, heck yeah. The fact is that, when it's all said and done, they would have to bow down to the GOAT that Cam will be.

[Doyle]

Honestly the ignorance that spews from the media and Cam haters every where is flat out wanna be racism. I hate to pull a King Tahara but Im starting to believe it's true. They are trying to paint Cam as a no good black thug and as much as you objective Panther fan types here would like to objectively deny it, it does not take back the slanderous things that are said about Cam with no facts or evidence whatsoever.

 

I don't see it as being racist at all.  They don't have the same negativity with RG3 and its all about attitude.  RG3 comes across as humble where Cam comes across as arrogant.  That's why he gets so much grief.  I'll still take Cam over RG3 any day.  He is just on another level in my opinion.

[OneBadCat]

I don't see it as being racist at all.  They don't have the same negativity with RG3 and its all about attitude.  RG3 comes across as humble where Cam comes across as arrogant.  That's why he gets so much grief.  I'll still take Cam over RG3 any day.  He is just on another level in my opinion.

 

I figured that someone would bring up RGIII but I think it kinda backs up what I said.. RGIII is their get out of jail free card. ~It's not racist because look at RGIII~. RGIII fits the media's mold of a nice QB and Cam doesn't. So therefore Cam has no leadership, is immature, steals laptops, runs a more complex offense than RGIII and Luck but is some how not as good or as intelligent as them.

 

Nothing but ignorant cheap shot BS

[Darth Biscuit]

Good article. Had Chud not forced the read-option so much in the first half, imagine what Cams #s would have been...