The 3 No's to Newton

[CarolinaCatBrigade]

Why on earth people are chanting for Newton is beyond me. I leave this board for a week and it gets invaded by people who have been drinking that "cam cam juice". Here are my 3 reasons why Newton should not be taken.

1. Significant Off the Field Red Flags

Newton faced felony larceny and felony obstruction of justice charges in 2008 while he was still at the University of Florida. He was arrested and suspended from the team. Newton completed a diversion program so that the charges would be dropped. However if Newton faces another legal incident, he's likely to be treated much more harshly.

The NCAA investigated Newton on a pay-for-play scheme during 2010. Although the NCAA did not suspend him, there's a significant difference between being found innocent and not being charged for a lack of evidence. With two major red flags in his collegiate career, Newton will have to answer questions about them constantly before the draft. Any minor lie, changing his story, or giving a poor answer will impact his draft stock significantly.

2. Transition to the NFL

Auburn's offensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn, designed a scheme that was relatively simple for Newton to run. He took a majority of his snaps out of the shotgun and made only 1 or 2 reads before running. Defensive coordinators did not run multiple or very complicated blitz packages at Newton.

Newton also played significant time only in his single year at Auburn, raising concerns that he may be a 1 season wonder.

3. Short and Intermediate Accuracy

Although Newton throws an excellent deep ball, he frequently misfires on short and intermediate passes. He needs to develop a better sense of touch and learn when to throw softly. Newton also has issues with his throwing mechanics when he's moving. He tends to overcome his problems with sheer arm strength instead of proper fundamentals, leading to concerns about his longevity and the possibility of arm strain.

Opinion

Like the Texas Longhorns' Vince Young in the 2006 NFL draft or the Florida Gators' The Golden Calf of Bristol in the 2010 NFL draft, Cam Newton sparks a lot of debate about his draft position. So far I've seen Newton predicted to be the 1st overall pick and mock drafts in which he's slid late into the 2nd round.

To me, if a team invests a 1st round pick into a quarterback, the player is expected to be the face of the franchise. For most of the successful teams in the NFL, even casual fans can name the quarterback. In an ideal world, a 1st round quarterback should be someone who can carry a team to the playoffs on a regular basis. But such a player also needs to be a leader for the franchise and the community. He's going to be an icon for the market that the team plays in. This is part of the reason why I have a difficult time seeing Cam Newton as one of the top-10 picks of the 2011 NFL draft. While Newton has top-10 talent, he's going to face a significant transition period. The drafting team also has to sell Newton as the face of the franchise, despite the fact that he faced felony charges at the University of Florida and he may or may not have been guilty in a pay-for-play scheme. Most fans are going to have strong opinions about the pay-for-play issue in particular.

Now while Newton could still be drafted in the top-10, I see his best value being in the middle or late in the 1st round. While he's incredibly talented, he has too many red flags to be at the top of the draft.

[mav1234]

Couldn't this go in one of the other million threads about Cam newton?

seriously, why the hell do we need 5 about him. :(

[rico6]

Revolutionary thread, I applaud you.

[Urrymonster]

To be fair it's his negatives summed up in very concise detail for those people who haven't looked into him beyond the media hype.

There are more, such as plodding footwork in the pocket, but these are the big ones which people should be aware of.

[mav1234]

They are, but those are also plastered in every major Cam Newton thread in some form. I'm just tired of so many threads about him. For a bit, we had 3 concurrent threads going during his workout stuff with literally the same things being said by the same people. It's part of why I avoid them now as best I can, and I would rather we condense the debate on him into a single thread so it's easier to either get back into or ignore... >.> but just me.

that being said I guess there is some value to having a "Positives" thread and a "negatives" thread for easy access :P

[Sandy Claws]

Couldn't this go in one of the other million threads about Cam newton?

seriously, why the hell do we need 5 about him. :(

People still read them and post in them.

[mav1234]

People still read them and post in them.

true enough, and I don't blame people for being interested in the topic, I just think it's a bit excessive to have quite so many, s'all :) Either way, so far, this thread hasn't been like the others I guess!

but oh well, someone will be in here soon to defend Cam's honor and it will be just like the other threads :D

[blackcatgrowl]

Why on earth people are chanting for Newton is beyond me. I leave this board for a week and it gets invaded by people who have been drinking that "cam cam juice". Here are my 3 reasons why Newton should not be taken.

1. Significant Off the Field Red Flags

Newton faced felony larceny and felony obstruction of justice charges in 2008 while he was still at the University of Florida. He was arrested and suspended from the team. Newton completed a diversion program so that the charges would be dropped. However if Newton faces another legal incident, he's likely to be treated much more harshly.

OMG, at 19, he bought a laptop he knew was stolen. OH NOES!

We have had players with DUIs on our team that continued to play and got another DUI. We've had fist fights at practice. We've had guys doping up for games.

Got anything else?

If a person's fate is decided because of something this minor he did when he was in his teens, then we live a sad society.

The NCAA investigated Newton on a pay-for-play scheme during 2010. Although the NCAA did not suspend him, there's a significant difference between being found innocent and not being charged for a lack of evidence. With two major red flags in his collegiate career, Newton will have to answer questions about them constantly before the draft. Any minor lie, changing his story, or giving a poor answer will impact his draft stock significantly.

NFL =/= An amatuer institutionalized sport.

I don't care if he stole the Heisman, and robbed the BCS title. If he comes and plays for us and wins a bunch of games, he gets my OK.

2. Transition to the NFL

This is true no matter what offense type a player comes from. Jimmy Clausen came from a "pro" offense. Didn't help him much.

This is also true no matter what POSITION you draft someone for.

Either you take a chance or you don't. People who never risk big, never win big.

3. Short and Intermediate Accuracy

Although Newton throws an excellent deep ball, he frequently misfires on short and intermediate passes. He needs to develop a better sense of touch and learn when to throw softly. Newton also has issues with his throwing mechanics when he's moving. He tends to overcome his problems with sheer arm strength instead of proper fundamentals, leading to concerns about his longevity and the possibility of arm strain.

When Warren Moon and Trent Dilfer are saying he is a gifted passer, I'm going to read something like this and lol.

Opinion

Like the Texas Longhorns' Vince Young in the 2006 NFL draft or the Florida Gators' The Golden Calf of Bristol in the 2010 NFL draft, Cam Newton sparks a lot of debate about his draft position. So far I've seen Newton predicted to be the 1st overall pick and mock drafts in which he's slid late into the 2nd round.

To me, if a team invests a 1st round pick into a quarterback, the player is expected to be the face of the franchise. For most of the successful teams in the NFL, even casual fans can name the quarterback. In an ideal world, a 1st round quarterback should be someone who can carry a team to the playoffs on a regular basis. But such a player also needs to be a leader for the franchise and the community. He's going to be an icon for the market that the team plays in. This is part of the reason why I have a difficult time seeing Cam Newton as one of the top-10 picks of the 2011 NFL draft. While Newton has top-10 talent, he's going to face a significant transition period. The drafting team also has to sell Newton as the face of the franchise, despite the fact that he faced felony charges at the University of Florida and he may or may not have been guilty in a pay-for-play scheme. Most fans are going to have strong opinions about the pay-for-play issue in particular.

Now while Newton could still be drafted in the top-10, I see his best value being in the middle or late in the 1st round. While he's incredibly talented, he has too many red flags to be at the top of the draft.

Well opinions are like .... something else... everyone has one.

Here's a counter opinion:

At 6'6", 250 lb., and capable of running a 40 in 4.5 seconds, and a sharp and strong arm, Newton is an athletic phenom. He is gifted with talent that is RARE. His college accomplishments and stats show that. He's a highlight reel a minute. He is a dedicated worker, and someone people rally around according to his coaches and former teammates.

We had the worst QB play in franchise history. Fixing that is going to take something amazing. Newton looks like he could be that something amazing.

We either take a chance, or we continue to flounder.

[Jangler]

we need a pro Cam thread...and a con Cam thread...that way I don't need to open either one.

[jtnc]

OMFG! why can't we get this damn draft over with?

[grateflday]

Goodness...here we go again..... so the original poster is saying Cam is a top 10 talent but wants to pass at looking at the guy for a team in desperate need of a QB... I love it and just continue to not get this mindset.

[CarolinaKat]

I cant understand the Cam hate. Everyone agree's the Panthers need a QB. Newton has the best upside of all draftable QB's. Seriously? I'll take the QB that beat 8 ranked teams, had the highest passing % in NCAA single season history and won every game.

[panthers55]

I am looking forward to the combine and hope he throws and does all the drills. Let him compete and show what he's got. I understand the logic but would be disappointed if he doesn't throw the ball like some have reported. The kind of guy we need is someone who doesn't shy from a challenge and puts things out there and let the chips fall where they may. In the end the footwork and other discussions which dominate the Newton threads pale to the real issues. I want a proven winner who has the confidence and natural leadership skills to lead our team and show the intangibles that have been missing for the past few years. What is between his ears far outweighs the other things that people wax so eloquently for pages on end. The interviews, the wonderlic and the individual workouts will determine whether he is the pick for us or we need to go in a different direction. The rest is not important in the long run.

[countryboi]

man i am so sick of people talking about cam and that damn stole laptop.....can someone ever do something dumb in there youth learn from it and move on? i am sure some of yall have more than a few "red flags" in your past