ESPN on Cam Newton making Football Fun Again

[FootballMaestro]

3 hours ago, Kakarot said:

I like Cam's dad. He reminds me of my dad in a lot of ways. What he said about showing Cam the type of man he should be, and his Christian views, remind me of something my pop would say. 

Great read!

His dad's always been a good guy (unlike RG3'd dad for example) during Cam's tenure, displaying excellent values.

Problem is; media never cared to listen or understand him due to the "alleged" peddling at Auburn. It's almost like they hide him in a corner, then bring him out when ever it's suitable after the previous silent periods over. Okay. I digress.

Remember, when Cam went through the entire towel, suggestion box, pouting escapades?

Cam's father came on Charlotte radio, and gave Cam tough love (talking about how he always wanted to win so bad from whence a kid), instead of criticizing the media. Basically, he said: Cam always got mad, and had a hard time dealing with losing from the earliest of ages, and how he always teased him about that. He seemed to get that fatherly "I told you so son". But "he'll work it out" kinda chuckle when discussing it on the air. He was not defensive to the media or questions at all. He believed in Cam improving, though you could argue his "pouting" was being exaggerated. But he didn't. He kinda agreed with it. But had confidence in this son that he would improve.

He could have also criticized Rivera during those early years (he blew several games)` when Cam got blamed for the Panthers losing record. But he never did (though Cam did his part, while we can argue Rivera and his teammates were the ones that needed to catch up to Cam).

In a nutshell: Papa Newton, was the total opposite of RG3's dad and his meddling for example. Neither Cam or he, ever publicly criticized or questioned his teammates, coaching or ownership.

And this is part of the reason, why the Panthers are where they are now as a franchise.

[Moorgan]

11 minutes ago, Kakarot said:

I like Cam's dad. He reminds me of my dad in a lot of ways. What he said about showing Cam the type of man he should be, and his Christian views, remind me of something my pop would say. 

Great read!

I met him a little while ago and he looks like Jim Brown to me. I thought he was maybe 6'1" or 6'2" and thick like Jim Brown. Very cool old guy and when I complimented Joe Webb about his play, Cam's dad said "and he can spin it with the best of them". His dad had a drink in his hand and Joe Webb asked him what he was drinking and called him pops. It was fruit juice. Just thought I'd share that.

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

Quote

We shouldn't have lost

I'm imagining the room getting darker with the sound of thunder in the background as Cam's voice increases in volume each time he says it.

I may be over dramatizing it a smidge...

[Wundrbread33]

5 hours ago, UpstatePanther said:

That may well be the best article I've ever read about Cam. Holy crap... gotta bookmark that for rereading later. There were so many great points and quotes. But the thing that stood out to me the most was the depth. This writer took his time and gave Cam due diligence. It's not some typical ESPN hottake. I'm actually surprised it wasn't made an Insider story. 

Random acts of journalism still happen I guess... lol. 

I second everything you said here. The piece is fantastic.

[jdpanther5]

"Bradford's play" certainly wasn't the cause for the rookie scale. There was only one year to go on, and with it he won rookie of the year. 

It also wasn't just on Russell either, although he was the biggest flop there were many examples of rookies not living up to their contracts. Well, there still are, but now the rooks aren't usually making as much veteran counterparts. 

Of course, they had to wait until the CBA expired to make any major changes, which just so happened to fall between the Bradford and Newton drafts. 

[Woodie]

7 hours ago, FootballMaestro said:

Yeah. I noticed it right away.

It was a decent article (I Know we usually expect hit jobs when Cam's involved).

I've read better. Though I felt the author presented some good facts and conversations. He also tried to play up the "black QB" angle a bit. So he took some liberties-such as this- (IMO) in order to be "edgy", and play up the controversial angle with Cam.

So why make Jamarcus the scapegoat for Rookie Contracts (as a Black QB), instead of Sam Bradford who was the last straw. Obviously, if Jamarcus Russell was the guy, they would have changed the structure after him.

Now, saying Jamarcus may have made some NFL teams more leery regarding drafting black QB's high or #1 may have had more merit. But his statement about the Rookie contracts was just a flat out lie.

So you actually ending doing black QB's more of a disservice with that type of statement, instead of helping the( an an article like this may pretend to shed light on a situation).

Not really.  Sam Bradford just happened to be the last QB picked and signed to a ridiculous contract before the CBA expired.  At the time, Jamarcus was the poster boy for being a high-pick bust (it particularly hurt the cause because it was well known that he became lazy and didn't have any interest in doing what it took to be successful once he got the money).  Bradford just finished his rookie year (in which he won rookie of the year), and wasn't yet considered a bust.  The biggest reason for the choice of Russell as the writers reference point was that he was pointing out Jamarcus' failure was something else Cam unfairly had to overcome as a black QB. 

As for the rookie contracts only, there was a history of players not living up the contracts and them hamstringing team's salary cap, and a rookie scale had been blowing in the wind for awhile.  Jamarcus just epitomized what was wrong with paying someone that much money before ever stepping on the field in an NFL uniform.  And he just happened to flame out as the CBA was expiring.  But he was far from the only reason for the rookie scale, just an easy example.     

[Clicheking]

Finally got a chance to read the article and I must say it's amazing. One part stood out above all else for me , it goes a follows

"As the news conference wound down, Newton was asked what he will remember from the 2015 regular season. It was a softball, light and fluffy and lobbed over the heart of the plate.

Newton paused, and his smile vanished.

"We shouldn't have lost," he said, his voice trailing. "We shouldn't have lost."

That's it? After 15 wins and 35 touchdown passes and countless dances and all those unnamed Euro-step/jump shots, he will remember the loss? The one loss? "

That's what I love about Cam and this regime, the fact that their not afraid to be great. Sure beats John Fox and his "if we can win 2 out of these next 4 games we'll be in good shape". I'm extremely confident we'll win a ring with guys like Luke, Cam, and Rivera behind the wheel.

[Clicheking]

Before he put Newton in front of the classroom, Whitfield told him, "I know you know what you're supposed to do, but that's not enough: You need to bring them with you on this."

Mission accomplished