The narrative that Cam finally learned how to play QB this season

[Mr. Scot]

Biggest transformation I've seen in Cam has been when he gets hot.

During his first two seasons, he'd come out like a house on fire for two - maybe two and a half - quarters, run up crazy stats, then tail off and we'd wind up losing the game.

Over the last two years, he switched to more of a traditional gunslinger mode.  He'd be fair to good early on and get stronger the deeper you went into the game.  He had his slip-ups for sure, but he always a threat to do a fourth quarter comeback if the Panthers were still in it in the last quarter.

This season I feel like he finally put it all together and became a complete game quarterback.

And frankly, it couldn't happen at a better time.

[teeray]

He has gained experience.  Many of us said for last 3 seasons that he was playing great and still learning.  We said once he gained experience and actually figured this thing out he would be hell on wheels.

What he did this season was never a question of if, but when.  Now we know.

[FootballMaestro]

17 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Biggest transformation I've seen in Cam has been when he gets hot.

During his first two seasons, he'd come out like a house on fire for two - maybe two and a half - quarters, run up crazy stats, then tail off and we'd wind up losing the game.

Over the last two years, he switched to more of a traditional gunslinger mode.  He'd be fair to good early on and get stronger the deeper you went into the game.  He had his slip-ups for sure, but he always a threat to do a fourth quarter comeback if the Panthers were still in it in the last quarter.

This season I feel like he finally put it all together and became a complete game quarterback.

And frankly, it couldn't happen at a better time.

Yup

I always used to compare Newton to Eli Manning.

This was not just due to their similar big armed style of Qbing. But also for the relative streakiness, as both could be extremely hot at on point, then simmer down (in Eli's case, he could have total meltdowns). This could happen in a stretch of games during the season; or a stretch during a game itself. But they were both streaky.

However, this year Newton has been super consistent (knock on wood), both throughout games, and throughout the season.

Yeah. "Couldn't happen at a better time (knock on wood)"

[panthers55]

Some of what they say is true. He was one of the most green quarterbacks to ever start in the NFL. He really couldn't read defenses and was thrown in the fire with no off season and little preseason experience. He had success but it was based on his athleticism and arm not understanding what he was doing or being a pocket passer. He has worked extremely hard and Shula has developed him into one of the best quarterbacks on the league bar none. What Cam has done in 5 years is truly remarkable but he had a lot of help and is very driven to be great. But don't delude yourself about how great he was when he started because by all knowledgeable folks he was a project when he got here. But nobody would have expected how fast he has mastered his position. Hell folks thought erroneously that he would need a year or two just to be a starter.

[UKPanther94]

Just imagine him when we get Benjamin back, good heavens

[FootballMaestro]

Some of us forget articles like this by REAL NFL SCOUTING, PERSONNEL EXECUTIVES, such as Gil Brandt way back in 2011

Quote

 

Newton more impressive in first two games than any rookie QB

• 
• By Gil Brandt NFL.com
• NFL Media senior analyst
• Published: Sept. 21, 2011 at 01:11 p.m.
• Updated: Aug. 31, 2012 at 02:29 p.m.
• 818 Likes  |  0 Comments

I've scouted thousands of players and wouldn't make this statement lightly: Through two games, Cam Newton is the most impressive rookie quarterback I've seen come into the league.

Obviously, it's a small sample size for Newton, but he followed up his 422-yard debut with 432 passing yards against the defending world champion Packers, which feature a defense that blitzes and tries to confuse QBs as much as any team.

It looks like Newton has everything that you want in a quarterback: Size, arm strength and work ethic. While the first two traits have obviously been on display so far, the biggest question about Newton coming into the league was his attitude.

When I saw Newton in training camp, he made his share of mistakes. But what really stood out was when a drill ended, he would lead the charge to the next one. We're talking about the first overall pick in the draft. That's what you look for to see how a guy is going to be.

Another example of Newton's work habits can be traced back to when he first transferred to Auburn. In early 2010, he texted several of his new teammates, saying he would be working out every weekend if anyone wanted to join him. Initially, four guys showed. After four or five weeks, there were 40 players working out. His commitment helped Auburn win a national title.

Coming out of college, I think most NFL people were convinced Newton was a talented guy who lacked experience. He really only played 14 games of quality competition. HOWEVER ANY DEBATE ABOUT WHETHER HE SHOULD GO NO.1 OVERALL ENDED AT AUBURN'S PRO DAY.

When it comes down to it, A LOT OF ISSUES PEOPLE HAD WITH NEWTON'S CHARACTER WERE PERCEPTION RATHER THAN REALITY. All the adversity that Newton faced at Auburn and leading up to the draft has made him mentally tough, and that's helping him do what he's doing now.

Newton's game reminds me of Ben Roethlisberger because of his size and strength. While Big Ben is no statue in the pocket, Newton has better movement. A lot of guys have a strong arm but don't know how to throw soft. If Newton needs to throw easy, he can. In scouting, prospects are graded by categories on one-to-nine scale, nine being outstanding and one being a reject. When it comes to accuracy, guys like Troy Aikman and Sam Bradford got a nine. While Newton isn't as accurate as those guys, he's still very good and would land in the seven range.

NOW, I DON'T THINK NEWTON WILL CONTINUE TO PUT UP THE SAME TYPE OF NUMBERS, BUT HE'S GOING TO BE A BIG FACTOR. The biggest thing he needs to work on is his recognition of where blitzes are coming from and understanding how defenses are going to try to confuse him with coverage. Coordinators will recognize he's a factor and teams are going to scheme for him.

As well as Newton's played, he still hasn't gotten a win. That could come this week with news that fellow rookie Blaine Gabbert will start for the Jaguars.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82270a88/article/newton-more-impressive-in-first-two-games-than-any-rookie-qb

 

I could have literally bolded the entire article (as it almost appeared). But notice how this REAL NFL guy talks about Newton, and it's not in any of the cliches or hyperbolic speculation that you see in normal media. Everything is just matter of fact, as if the boxes were already ticked, questions answered. And notice he's not being compared to Mike Vick or Kordell Stewart, but Ben Roethlisberger?

Brandt both talks about Cam's first two games. What he's doing in them, as well as talking about Cam's worth ethic (which he feels was the only question mark about Cam-if you had any, and that they were answered in both college and with the Panthers at training camp).

But for some reason, many of us here and in the national media, like to pedal this nonsense that Cam was this huge, super raw, reach pick that was some how drafted #1 cause Marty Hurney was so smart or lucky. It doesn't matter what media says or thinks about you in college. Once NFL people get their hands on you (with their combines, Pro days, interviews and background checks) they will determine where you place in the draft. As Brandt say, Newton at #1 was answered at his pro day by NFL people.

The guy was a legit prospect (minus peoples hate), and showed it his first season. It was called the "Greatest Rookie Season Ever In The NFL", not just because of his numbers. But many of us knew, it was because he stood in the pocket and made the downfield throws. Cam was never skittish or showed happy feet (though he still had to get better and wasn't perfect under center or dropping back), and stood there in the pocket and made throws.

There was even a video by "Mooch" titled, "The Growth Of Cam (after his 2nd game)", but I deleted it not to infringe with any NFL/Forum turf wars. So he was learning; stood in the pocket even back then. LOL

But its' clear Cam was always good. Was he always perfect; no. But neither was the team or Head coach, so that's expected. Nonetheless, some would want us to believe otherwise.

Newton's, just now fulfilling the almost limitless talent he showed NFL scouts like Brandt in college, and the glimpses he showed everyone else during and after his Rookie season in the NFL

[Ken]

HE's definitely improved but it;s not some massive leap that is currently being circle jerked across media outlets. 

[FootballMaestro]

This was the Observers quick take on Brandt (for those who didn't have time to read my previous post):

 

Quote

 

September 22, 2011

NFL analyst Gil Brandt says Cam Newton is the best rookie QB he's ever seen in NFL

More high praise has come Panthers quarterback Cam Newton's way. NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt -- a former Dallas Cowboys vice-president of player personnel -- writes in a column that Newton is the best rookie quarterback he's ever seen come into the league.

 

Brandt says he's impressed with Newton's work ethic and leadership skills, not to mention his arm strength and mobility, and likens him to Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger. -- David Scott

 

http://blogs.charlotte.com/panthers/2011/09/gil-brandt-cam-newton-best-rookie-qb-ive-ever-seen.html

 

 

There ya go!

[OneBadCat]

I agree OP. It's a bunch of bullshit. Cam has been top 15 since 2013 easily. The biggest difference this year is that he actually has a good oline. He's been a great QB for a while. I will say though his game has been nothing but exceptional this year.

[firstdayfan]

20 hours ago, GoobyPls said:

WTF did they even watch the panthers?

No.  

[tiger7_88]

1 hour ago, FootballMaestro said:

Some of us forget articles like this by REAL NFL SCOUTING, PERSONNEL EXECUTIVES, such as Gil Brandt way back in 2011

 

Dude, you can keep coming up with individual examples, but the occasional individual narrative in no way disproves the overall Newton Narrative of 2011-14 which was widely negative and unbelieving.

And, yes, most of us with any experience in this forum know and have long known that Gil Brandt has long been a proponent of Cam Newton.

[KendrickPanther]

1 hour ago, Ken said:

HE's definitely improved but it;s not some massive leap that is currently being circle jerked across media outlets. 

Yeah this isn't his first rodeo. He's made the playoffs before, he's won in the playoffs before. But small improvements pay big dividends when the difference between winning and losing is so small. He's been worth 4 wins easy this season.

[FootballMaestro]

1 hour ago, tiger7_88 said:

Dude, you can keep coming up with individual examples, but the occasional individual narrative in no way disproves the overall Newton Narrative of 2011-14 which was widely negative and unbelieving.

And, yes, most of us with any experience in this forum know and have long known that Gil Brandt has long been a proponent of Cam Newton.

Huh?

Not sure where you're going here.

If you notice, Brandt wasn't just speaking for himself. He said after Newton's NFL Pro Day, he was easily regarded the number one pick. That just wasn't his opinion.

As I said: I can't help it if some posters just read or listened to certain media sources (or what they wanted to hear). Not my problem.

If you read the article (the long one, not the short one) I posted earlier, it's not just Brandt's opinion on things. He also talked about the research that was done on Cam by teams and the NFL, and how any character concerns were dismissed. He's talking about NFL people; not TV people. I've brought this up in the past. It was NEVER AN ISSUE WITH NFL SCOUTS AND TEAMS, once they looked into it; which he reiterated.

This type of stuff happens all the time Pro sports (pre draft stigma's). NFL teams don't care what's said about a player before they enter the draft (or what's not said). Because, they will scout, research, interview, back ground check, and test players themselves to form their own opinion (while fans seemingly hang on to them). Nothing else matters. They don't care what you, I, Mel Kiper, or Adam Schein thinks. This is why players can be virtual unknowns before the draft, but get drafted high after combines, interviews, testing and background checks (while other alleged higher draft pics fall).

It's almost like you guys keep holding on to what was said about Newton while he was in college and entering the draft. I don't know. Maybe it's cause I was involved in Sports management, and scouting in Professional Team Sports myself. So it's not a big deal, I don't see it as weird.

Do really think a player could be the #1 pick, and be as bad a prospect as some of you want to believe Newton was? That's impossible. And no, the Panthers (or any other NFL team) would ever take that type of lark with the #1 pick, if it was so out of line with scouting (which many NFL teams use a pool service) as many here want to believe. That's not how it works. What many believe, to what happens behind the scenes is night and day.

As I said: I read the scouting reports and consensus myself. I'm just not going to sit here and try to find what I read, or find the actual scouting reports. However, Brandt's speaks to many of those reports and consensus in the long NFL.com article I posted. Even though he's been a Newton fan, he's not making stuff up. He's just reporting it. That's the difference.

I detailed earlier Newton's view after he cam into the NFL (since you mentioned 2011-2013) in another post and I'm not going to repeat that here. However, he did win Rookie Of The Year in 2011, and made the Probowl for the second time in 2013.

Just because certain people decided to rate RG3 above him at the time. So what!? Others didn't. More importantly, anyone with a modicum of sense could see RG3, Kaepernick and even Wilson had their weaknesses and weren't advanced as Cam. I've spoken about that often here. However, if those players have good years and their team wins, and Cam does not. Let's face it; they may get ranked ahead by certain people. That's Ok, and media. But it doesn't make them better players. That's like when the entire CBS NFL morning staff shouted down Boomer, when he said he would pick Wilson ahead of Newton to build around in 2014. But I bet you didn't see that (and other similar scenarios). More importantly: I don't pay attention to most knuckleheads in media when they give an opinion, unless they state their case why. It's as much entertainment as it is sports, and many can't judge NFL player basics. Other wise, listen to people who actually know what their talking about, or who watched the player (I'm talking about in the NFL now). 

I just think many on this site, love to read some more sensationalist Media people, and not actual NFL teams or former executives.

It is what it is. Shrugs.

Sorry for the long post.

 

[FootballMaestro]

3 hours ago, tiger7_88 said:

Dude, you can keep coming up with individual examples, but the occasional individual narrative in no way disproves the overall Newton Narrative of 2011-14 which was widely negative and unbelieving.

And, yes, most of us with any experience in this forum know and have long known that Gil Brandt has long been a proponent of Cam Newton.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Just follow me if you can/want to.

This is from USA today, April 18 2011

Quote

 

NFL mock draft: Cam Newton now consensus No. 1 pick

The momentum for Cam Newton to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft is building.

In the latest version of USA TODAY's mock draft, Newton IS PROJECTED BY ALL SIX OF OUR ANALYST as the top overall selection.

In the previous iteration, five of the six analysts projected QB Blaine Gabbert as the first overall pick.

 

Notice, it's says, "The momentum for Cam Newton to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft is building.. ?"

Why? Because, 6 out of 6 of their mock draft people picked Newton. Previously 5 out of 6 picked Blaine Gabbert (though they didn't say when that was).

What happened?...These folks had no clue what was going on early in the process, so they just reported what they thought (and subsequently, fans on websites like this echoed it, and took it as the gospel), so they chose Gabbert.

However (as  I said earlier), that's not the way the draft works. Opinions can change fast, once teams to research.

As I've always maintained here; as the NFL drew drew nearer, Cam Newton became the Consensus #1 pick with NFL people, and consensus/near consensus even with dumb/clueless media (later-such with USA today here), as they probably caught the scuttlebutt themselves.

Bottom line: Cam was never some extremely flawed reach of a #1 pick as many here want us believe (though you may have argued amongst yourselves on this site). If the Panthers didn't draft him, he would have been gone to Buffalo. He certainly wouldn't  have gone past the 3rd or 4th pick if either were that stupid.

Unfortunately, I don't have to find this stuff (if much of it's even available). But take the above as an example.

Funny: I can show you something with Mike Mayock, speaking as if he knows what the Panthers want/going to do that 2011 draft, and he's dead wrong (Note: that's not the link below)! Straight up!

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/04/nfl-mock-draft-cam-newton-now-consensus-no-1-pick-1/1#.VqQndU_y0jc