Interesting article by NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell about Cam Newton

[teeray]

Disagree. There is middle ground between what Newton is now as a passer and being a "perfect precision passer". Myself, and I  believe most people, don't expect or demand Newton to be Brady or Rodgers level accurate. But expecting him to be consistently around the 62-64  completion percentage is fair , and he hasn't done that yet.  

Obviously he's young, and has not had some advantages other Qbs have. I have confidence he can improve it. But as others who have paid attention to his game have said, a notable part it is he's simply not a consistently accurate Qb right now.

 

Take the worder "perfect" out of my post and the point is still the same.  

I don't really care about completion percentage as much in our offense.  Andrew Luck has a low career completion percentage so far and is still doing a good job for the Colts.

Cam needs to be more accurate, but that wasn't the whole point.  The point is when evaluating Cam Newton you have to account for the value of his rare abilities as much as you discount his shortcomings.  And at the end of the day they pretty much even each other out.  If they didn't he would be virtually unstoppable.  Hopefully as he gains experience that eventually will be the case.

 

[rayzor]

You have to evaluate Cam on the whole.  

Think about it.  If Cam was a perfect precision passer he would literally be unstoppable and the greatest QB the world has ever seen when you factor in his arm strength and running ability.

 But he does miss some throws here and there (as do most QBs).  But when you evaluate him, you have to take into account also the things he CAN do that other NFL QBs CAN'T.

And those things even out some of the bad things (like missing certain throws occasionally).

You can't say "look at this throw, only 4 or 5 people can make that throw and is one of the best scramblers/runners we have ever seen" and then say "he misses, therefore he is frustrating"

It is like saying Cam is frustrating because he isn't the best QB you can ever imagine.  A precision passer, with a cannon for an arm, amazing scrambling ability, with amazing strength.

It isn't frustrating, it is God's way of keeping it fair for the rest of the football world.

​elements of his game are frustrating, though. but the same is true with other top ones. the very elite, tho, have fewer than most, which make them elite. or, in some cases, the system they are in are designed to showcase more of the best points of their play and minimalize the situations that gives them problems. eg, peyton's fast throwing is there to hide the fact that 1) his OL isn't that great and 2) he's as old as dirt and has very little mobility.

you are right, though. we need to base our opinion on the entire package. i do think that cam, more than anyone, knows what areas he needs to improve on and, from what i've seen, he works like a dog to improve those areas and has improved in some capacities every year.

i think we are doing a better job of creating the right offense to fit his particular skillset, taking advantage of what he does best while limiting the situations that cause him the most problems....at least until he gets a bit better control of them.

that brings something to mind that i realize i also disagreed with cosell on...us playing a college offense. talking about noticing certain elelents and judging on the big picture. i think there are undeniably some elements in the offense that are right from college playbooks (although i really believe the line between what we know as prostyle offense and spread offenses is blurring beyond recongnition as both are evolving to become what we see in the modern NFL). we are, though, running a coryell offense and we have most of the elements needed to make it successful.

1) big tall receivers who can stretch the field and fight for possession

2) power running game that keeps defenses distracted (we just happen to have a QB that contributes to that run game)

3) power FB who can take the role of a lead blocker in the run game and assist in pass pro

4) solid pass catching TE who can take advantage of attention needed for the big wideouts on the field

5) a solid OL that can give the QB the time he needs to make the deep passes and big plays that make the system work

that last one is the biggest work in progress, but we have the interior set and i think RT is in really good shape and i have faith in oher, but LT is still the biggest question mark.

like i said, we run a coryell offense, but one that that has elements of the option offense cam came from and was so succesful with. the coryell and cam is a perfect fit, imo. adding in the option makes it better and more lethal.

i think we see cam being a better passer this year because he is healthier and he has definitely made this his offense. he will be better also because of the additions of benjamin and funchess and the bringing back of ginn.

the point of all this is we will see less of the frustrating elements of his play. those frustrating elements will still be there, but they will be overshadowed by his development (and better health) and the way things have developed around him allowing him to play his game.

[micnificent28]

Most of what he said ia he doesn't know. I wouldn't champion a for an analysis of not knowing.

[pantherking15]

Disagree on some of it, he really does make receivers better, he is going to end up in the upper echelon of the qbs, and he can carry a team. Otherwise, the article is fairly spot on.

I agree. Cam at his maximum potential is a consensus top 3 QB IMO. ​In 5 years or so, a LOT of the current top 12 QBs will retire like Brady, Peyton, Brees, Romo, Roethlisberger, Rivers, Eli. Cam will definitely keep working hard and will continue his progression as a passer, while Gman will build the offense around Cam and surround him with talent that maximizes his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses. I think once Cam polishes his game up a bit and becomes consistent, he will rank above Wilson, Flacco, Stafford, etc. because of his natural talent. Only Rodgers and Luck will be hard to overtake.

[gorillamilitia13]

I agree with most of it but I have to disagree with him when he says Cam can't carry a team. Thats some bs. We've seen him do that time and time again. The defense and great players need him. Without Cam we wouldn't be back to back NFC South champs.

[csx]

I agree with most of it but I have to disagree with him when he says Cam can't carry a team. Thats some bs. We've seen him do that time and time again. The defense and great players need him. Without Cam we wouldn't be back to back NFC South champs.

Does he carry the team or does the defense or both? I think it's both. The team only wins when both he and the D are on their game. 

[pstall]

Cam does need to improve footwork and making the dump off passes or in the flat a little more. That always comes with time. I just hope he improves on avoiding the sack on 3rd and short or the sack that takes the team out of fg range. Those are the only gripes i have overall.

[arbnranger]

The Favre comparison is somewhat valid passing wise, but it doesn't hold up much when you account for Newton's scrambling/running ability.

​Agree.

That's what makes Cam, Cam.

[nctarheel0619]

Cam is a bigger strong faster version of Brett Favre. Not a terrible player to be.

 

We all HOPE his touch and accuracy improve. Early otas tell us this may be a thing, but shorts/hats/ect

It's crazy but I thought Cosell would get torched in here after reading the article. Every bit of analysis he stated is spot on though. Kurbs a great guy too.

[Mr. Scot]

It's crazy but I thought Cosell would get torched in here after reading the article. Every bit of analysis he stated is spot on though. Kurbs a great guy too.

Cosell's been undeservedly ripped here before.

[shreddingdefense]

Does he carry the team or does the defense or both? I think it's both. The team only wins when both he and the D are on their game. 

​I don't think cam needs an all pro number one ranked defense to win. Offense was good his rookie year, would have won a hell lot of more games if our d hadn't gave up long pass plays. Seriously, they step onto the field and 2 minutes later td. I can remember cam mulitiple times getting the  offense into the endzone only for that to happen again the next drive.

[tiger7_88]

In my Auburn forum, we call Cam 'Chocolate Gatsby' lol.

[thefuzz]

Cam is a bigger strong faster version of Brett Favre. Not a terrible player to be.

 

We all HOPE his touch and accuracy improve. Early otas tell us this may be a thing, but shorts/hats/ect

​I say the comparison is closer to John Elway, been saying it since he was drafted, but that's just me.

Elway never became a "precision passer" but was obviously good enough to get to the dance.  Only when they got a good running game did he take that last step.

Cam is good enough to win with, that's what I care about.

[Mr. Scot]

​I say the comparison is closer to John Elway, been saying it since he was drafted, but that's just me.

Elway never became a "precision passer" but was obviously good enough to get to the dance.  Only when they got a good running game did he take that last step.

Cam is good enough to win with, that's what I care about.

Elway and Favre were pretty similar players.