Cam Newton looking better and better!

[mav1234]

I find it interesting that a first year player in the Auburn system is now a bust because he only threw for 265 yards and 2 TDS against an previously undefeated Oregon team who shut out Luck in the second half of their game earlier in the year. But Luck is a can't miss guy.

just curious. do you watch how luck plays compared to how cam newton plays, or do you just go by the numbers? They are very, very, VERY different types of players at this point in time. Few of us are outright saying Cam Newton is going to suck forever, just that he isn't worth a high first rounder... because he isn't. He's the most unpolished QB in the top half of the draft, and he utilizes a simple (but yes, effective) passing offense that does not really emphasize or demonstrate strong NFL passing ability.

[CarolinaHustla]

Just not a fan of that style of QB.

[mav1234]

Oh well, I've learned my lesson. Never spend time doing analysis of a player because it'll get lost in the other posts about how awesomes he is

nah there's plenty of "Cam Newton didn't look like an NFL QB" tonight.

[TheRealDeal]

This game showed his footwork is terrible, his accuracy is questionable at best, and his quickness was no where near what some people make it out to be. Right now I would say he's not even worth a first rounder unless someone reaches for him like they did The Golden Calf of Bristol.

Edit:

I only broke this game down because hopefully most people watched it and finally saw him for the first time for what he really is, instead of looking at stats and having ESPN tell you how good he is.

[MWCarolina]

Wasted my time huh?

hahaha, no, he just wanted it to be moved here to keep the Newton threads smaller

I just skipped to your summary and agree 100%

i read some of what you said and i agree too, Newton has lots of work to do.

What an objective analysis from a guy with no ax to grind who has posting negative posts about Newton for months. More garbage from the same pile you have been pulling it from weeks. Saying it repeatedly doesn't make it so.

well, saying he's great doesnt make it so. the fact is, the poster is saying what all the cons on Newton are and he had more cons than pros in this game.

[Snake]

I started jotting down notes during the game last night watching it in real time to post here. I have to say, somewhere in the second half I had to stop because my girl came home and I got distracted. This doesn't include handoffs to RBs but only plays he's involved in. Each - indicates a new play, I didn't get down and distance for each, just my thoughts, comments on the play itself.

1st Drive:

2nd down - Sloppy footwork leads to having to reset before throw making it late, resulting in a sack/fumble

3rd Down - Overthrown wide open guy (accuracy issues)

2nd Drive:

-Run for no gain

-Lazy Drop, looks to first read, overthrown, interception

3rd Drive:

-Swing Pass

-Looked to be second read, Good pass good for first down

-Felt pressure, looked to run, results in sack (I think this is the play that it showed from the second angle that the middle opened up and he saw it and looked to take off immediately instead of go through progressions. The hole closed up and he got sacked)

4th Drive:

-Slow roll to right, complete to first read

-Swing pass. Commentators quote "Basically a run play" which becomes a theme of his passing game

-No drop back, good pass, first read

-Slipped on drop back, keeps balance, completes pass. Shows amazing athleticism to keep balance.

-Overthrown ball, almost interecepted (great play by defender to come off other route). Shows again his accuracy issues throwing downfield

-Pump to swing pass they've been running, defender bites, throw behind coverage to wide open receiver, TD

I want to make a note here that Oregon's TD at this point in the game came off basically the same play design as whitehurst and Cam in the Bama game, roll right, get coverage flowing, and throw back

5th Drive:

-Screen Hitch to WR

-Play action pass into coverage, 1st down

-Quick pass to curl, 1st down

-Swing pass

-Runs for first down on 3rd and short, bulls over defender

-Looks to first read, MAYBE second read, runs

-Screen pass dropped

-3 yard run, 1st down

-Swing pass

-Handoff. I only note this because he NEVER carries out fakes after he hands it off. NEVER.

-Stuffed on 3rd and GL from 2

-4th and GL from 1 - Terrible throw to wide open back in endzone. Threw it off his back foot.

6th Drive:

-Play action dump off pass due to pressure

-Swing pass

-Lazy/No drop, Makes 1 guy miss, Hits wide open receiver down sideline for TD.

7th Drive:

-No drop, Off coverage due to end of half near, Good pass on the numbers to first read

-Can't escape rush, throw away

-Hail Mary

Halftime

8th Drive:

-3 straight runs for him

-Great pass to wide open TE down the sideline (almost identical play design as 2nd TD, they kept picking on that poor flat defender with wheel routes)

-Swing Pass, incomplete

-Throws really high over receivers head, incomplete (Accuracy?)

FG

9th Drive:

-Tackled for loss

-Overthrown again on 3rd down (Theme?)

10th Drive:

-Nice scramble, shows athleticism and escape ability

-Bad pass on 3rd down

This is where I had to stop. More notes that I didn't jot down but remember from the game.

After he had about a 15yd run, the safety put a good hit on him and you could see him wince. After that, he ran very tentatively and slid/fell down before contact. I thought with his body he could run over linebackers and not get hurt? In the NFL, that hit from a safety, a bigger, faster safety, puts him in real pain and he's probably out.

The FF by Mathews highlighted his ball security issues and also his quickness. He takes time to get going, allowing Mathews to catch up from behind and force the fumble. Please stop the Vick comparisons, Vick is through that hole and gone by then.

If you haven't seen him play before, you'd have come away unimpressed. If you have, it was a typical game for him minus any big runs. He throws a lot of short, quick passes (sound familiar) and hit the wide open guys but missed a ton of throws throughout the game.

I would love to see a breakdown from Urrymonster like he did for Clausen each week on throws <0, 0-9, 10-19, 20+ to see that breakdown.

Thoughts?

Dude you bash him in everything you have said here and some of that is just your opinion. The ducks went in to shut newton down and they did. What they didnt do was stop what Newton causes, opening up the run game. He did have snaps where he didnt look so well and did over throw WRs but his WRs also drop balls and he found them with good accuracy. It was a mixed performance and also a run heavy game. The Ducks shut down one player but left others open and they burnt them.

and that slow footwork you talk about is because he is running a option and has to read the D, then choose to hand off, run, or pass, on almost every down. When they just used him as a drop back QB(not very often) He had very good footwork. He also took 2 plays under center with the hurry up and was flawless with his footwork. The only problem was the ducks defenders were in the backfield on one of those plays.

[panthers55]

Please, tell me where I am wrong? Just because it's negative doesn't mean it's false.

It isn't about being wrong or right. It is your analysis which is based on what you already believe to be the case. First of all you aren't a professional scout so your opinion about footwork or other issues are your opinion which has no validity. Plus any analyst worth his salt will tell you without coaches tape, your analysis of what you saw on TV is not close to what may have been actually going on. You only see a narrow view of the field and don't know what play was called only what happened. So your analysis of reads or other issues are again your opinion not necessarily reality. Third you went in looking for the negative and you found it which is hardly newsworthy.

If you ever said something positive then it might smack of authenticity. But given this is just more of the same negative opinion you have been spouting, it hardly engenders a reason to pay attention or take it seriously.

[TheRealDeal]

well, saying he's great doesnt make it so. the fact is, the poster is saying what all the cons on Newton are and he had more cons than pros in this game.

I did include the pros when he made good throws and when he ran over defenders. To me he did nothing special in this game and made a lot of mistakes. The two TD passes he threw, Jimmy could throw.

[Snake]

Oh well, I've learned my lesson. Never spend time doing analysis of a player because it'll get lost in the other posts about how awesomes he is

Your just on the other side of the fence on this and bash him when you review him. He has good and bad parts to his game. Just like every other player.

[TheRealDeal]

It isn't about being wrong or right. It is your analysis which is based on what you already believe to be the case. First of all you aren't a professional scout so your opinion about footwork or other issues are your opinion which has no validity. Plus any analyst worth his salt will tell you without coaches tape, your analysis of what you saw on TV is not close to what may have been actually going on. You only see a narrow view of the field and don't know what play was called only what happened. So your analysis of reads or other issues are again your opinion not necessarily reality. Third you went in looking for the negative and you found it which is hardly newsworthy.

If you ever said something positive then it might smack of authenticity. But given this is just more of the same negative opinion you have been spouting, it hardly engenders a reason to pay attention or take it seriously.

So what you are saying is he had good footwork and didn't overthrow wide open receivers?

[MWCarolina]

just curious. do you watch how luck plays compared to how cam newton plays, or do you just go by the numbers? They are very, very, VERY different types of players at this point in time. Few of us are outright saying Cam Newton is going to suck forever, just that he isn't worth a high first rounder... because he isn't. He's the most unpolished QB in the top half of the draft, and he utilizes a simple (but yes, effective) passing offense that does not really emphasize or demonstrate strong NFL passing ability.

i agree mav and honestly, i think that's what people look at. they look at the potential and the numbers, but dont watch how un ready he looks for the pros. i am not saying he will suck, but he's not ready for the NFL. he ran too much and got hit hard and looked hurt, in the pros those hits happen more and if he gets hurt, he's likely not going to continue playing, add to it, he missed alot of wide open players and the offense that he's in wont work in the pros.

[panthers55]

well, saying he's great doesnt make it so. the fact is, the poster is saying what all the cons on Newton are and he had more cons than pros in this game.

Where did anyone say he did great? I am just saying he did as well as Luck did against Oregon and to call Newton a 3 year project while slobbing on Luck who struggled against Oregon as well suggests a double standard and someone with an agenda.

Truth is he has the biggest pro of all which is he won. Isn't that the point of the game? And he showed great leadership and toughness playing hurt. That surely overshadows sloppy footwork or a bad throw on a few plays. It was nitpicking a few issues and missing the much larger points based on an agenda.

[Ranucci's Big Butt BBQ]

I thought he might have been a good pick up in this years draft until I saw him last night. He does not look comfortable in the pocket at all and he missed a lot of easy passes when he did have the time to throw. It might be fun to watch him run around when he can't throw it and might even sell a few more tickets but no way is he a #1 pick and I will hate if the panthers take him.

[TheRealDeal]

Where did anyone say he did great? I am just saying he did as well as Luck did against Oregon and to call Newton a 3 year project while slobbing on Luck who struggled against Oregon as well suggests a double standard and someone with an agenda.

Truth is he has the biggest pro of all which is he won. Isn't that the point of the game? And he showed great leadership and toughness playing hurt. That surely overshadows sloppy footwork or a bad throw on a few plays. It was nitpicking a few issues and missing the much larger points based on an agenda.

Footwork and bad accuracy are not nitpicking a few issues and missing larger points. Winning in college means nothing. Absolutely nothing. Do I have to start posting pictures again? It's about what he brings to the NFL talent wise and he's not close, I'm sorry.

Anyone without an agenda would agree