The final case for Cam Newton

[Verge]

Fine, KT is being a douche.

IMO

[CarolinaKat]

Just reading over the last couple pages shows me the Obama affect drafting Cam Newton has on the Huddle. Most blacks and some whites really hope Cam is the answer. Yet some people will say and do whatever it takes to rip him down. Not because he's a bad person/player, He"s just not a good ole boy like "they" want. Newton is a better prospect then any other player in this draft. He alone could change the whole out look of Panther football. And that scares alot of people. Mostly white people. So hating KT for his racism only proves him right more often than not. The people claiming Gabbert is just as good or better than Newton have nothing but personal opinion to back up that nonsense. The stats dont say that. QB is clearly the greatest need

Draft Newton......Stop hating.....We need a change.

[Millions]

Exactly playing it safe got us nowhere why continue the same trend Newton will be the pick if he isn't I'll be surprised.

[Kurb]

I often butt heads with SMF's opinions. This thread however is spot on and he is kicking ass and taking names.

[TruCatzFan]

CarolinaKat.... If I had pie... I'd give you at least 10 pieces... You just summed everything up in a matter of sentences! Whether we pick him or not you are %100 correct!!

[Highlandfire]

The last time we had the #1 overall pick, the year was 1995. The expansion Panthers had beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars in a coin flip and had the rights to the top pick in the draft. A draft with future megastars like Steve McNair, Tony Boselli, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and Kevin Carter. But the Panthers didn't have any interest in those guys. They had their minds made up that they were going to draft Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins and acquire additional picks in the process. So they traded down to #5 overall and went with Collins who quit the team just 3 years later. The conservative mentality of Bill Polian and Mike McCormack cost the Panthers dearly.

Why didn't they go with McNair? They wanted to go with the safer Collins and didn't want to roll the dice with McNair. Here's what a Steve McNair bio after his death said about that time:

"Steve—by this time dubbed “Air McNair”—was big and strong, could run faster than most running backs and receivers, and had a cannon for an arm.

Some wondered, however, whether the pro game might be too complex for him. Steve was facing unsophisticated defenses almost every game, and he always had the out of running if he didn’t spot a receiver in the clear. In the NFL, by contrast, every down was like solving a math problem."

Sound familiar?

The decision to go with safe Kerry Collins over Steve McNair was one that we couldn't get out of until Jacob Christopher Delhomme led us to a Super Bowl appearance 8 years later.

If Jerry Richardson and this team AGAIN go with the safe option rather than the quarterback with a huge ceiling and AGAIN that person turns out to be a flop, it could set us back ANOTHER 8 years.

Cam Newton has it all. He's smart. He's a leader. He's a winner. He's accurate. He has a great arm. He's extremely difficult to bring down. He is not someone defenders want to see in the open field. He shredded the defenses of the vaunted SEC. He's a bona fide SUPERSTAR, something Charlotte has NEVER had in any sport (except...NASCAR).

He has the potential to be the best player in this entire draft at a position where we need help most. Unless you have a can't-miss prospect at a non-quarterback position that you know is going to dominate like Ndamukong Suh, the quarterback position is the default spot for the #1 overall pick. No other position has NEARLY the impact on the team that the quarterback does. A defensive tackle that never put up impressive stats in college certainly isn't worth a #1 overall pick. And neither is a cornerback. No cornerback has ever been drafted #TWO in the modern era, much less #1. They simply don't have enough impact on a game. The past 3 superstar cornerbacks (Revis, Asomugha, Champ Bailey) haven't sniffed Super Bowl wins. You can't say the same about the best 3 superstar quarterbacks. Peyton, Brady, and Brees have 5 Super Bowl wins between them.

Friends, we are entering the final week before the team we love makes its most important decision since they traded down for Kerry Collins. I hope they don't make the same playing-it-safe mistake that they did before that cost them so dearly.

Cam Newton for the #1 pick.

Case Against Cam Newton...

McNair 4 year starter

Newton 1 Hit wonder

McNair No red flags for off the field issue

Newton Several Red Flags (stealing, cheating etc)

McNair Exceptionally intellegent football wise

Newton Completely lost with Gruden, couldn't even break down 'Play 36'

Bottom line: Newton Fans are comparing apples to oranges and continuing to pathetically reach for a guy that will further set this franchise back.

Do NOT draft Cam Newton

[ncbobcat]

Just reading over the last couple pages shows me the Obama affect drafting Cam Newton has on the Huddle. Most blacks and some whites really hope Cam is the answer. Yet some people will say and do whatever it takes to rip him down. Not because he's a bad person/player, He"s just not a good ole boy like "they" want. Newton is a better prospect then any other player in this draft. He alone could change the whole out look of Panther football. And that scares alot of people. Mostly white people. So hating KT for his racism only proves him right more often than not. The people claiming Gabbert is just as good or better than Newton have nothing but personal opinion to back up that nonsense. The stats dont say that. QB is clearly the greatest need

Draft Newton......Stop hating.....We need a change.

Wow...what a freaking reach. Football has nothing to our government or Obama. What you should have said--without some long, reaching tale is some people are racists. That goes for black and white people. Others just tend to want people of their own color to do well, though don't dislike other people unlike themselves. Then there's other that don't care what color people are.

That's life.

[ncbobcat]

All I know is many of these people either insinuating or plain out call people racists have only be posting here since Newton declared or started being dicussed as a possible #1 prospect. It's not to hard to tell by the post counts and join dates.

[Snake]

I have full faith in that if we draft Newton he will not be a bust. If chud can make Derek Anderson look good then he can make Cam look great.

[PanthersGM305]

Just saw the Gruden QB camp video , Cam can't even run a huddle from his response "ah, you put me on the spot here" He mite have all the talent, but his isn't worth a 1st rd pick with no knowledge of running a pro style offense. Panthers new OC would have to simplify his 900+ offensive play book & terminology due to Cam's inexperience in understanding the language in the NFL , there called signal caller's for a reason. Cam's "Set go " approach ins't going to fit our new system. IMHO, trade down don't listen to all the hype.

[psyburn21]

I have a question for everyone.

Why does everyone think a QB has to be successful the first year in the NFL? I do remember Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning having started games their rookie years and having terrible records. Honestly, QBs like Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco (who are successful first year and onwards) are very rare. If Cam is the pick, I think its asking too much to want him or any QB (even if Andrew Luck came out this year) to be lights out at the start. Any QB has gotta learn to play in the NFL.

Now the argument of can Cam Newton can learn an NFL offense is a valid one. I feel he can, but there are others that aren't so sure to don't think he can.

[panthers55]

Just saw the Gruden QB camp video , Cam can't even run a huddle from his response "ah, you put me on the spot here" He mite have all the talent, but his isn't worth a 1st rd pick with no knowledge of running a pro style offense. Panthers new OC would have to simplify his 900+ offensive play book & terminology due to Cam's inexperience in understanding the language in the NFL , there called signal caller's for a reason. Cam's "Set go " approach ins't going to fit our new system. IMHO, trade down don't listen to all the hype.

I think Clausem demonstrated last year that being pro-ready isn't worth a hill of beans. He came out as the supposedly most pro-ready guy and was described by most analysts even at the end of the season as scared, lost , and totally confused.

So to assume anyone can come in here and know how to run the offense right away is ridiculous,. Whatever rookie we draft will be a project just like they all are. The biggest factor is whether the QB coach and OC can devise packages and simplify the offense to allow the guys to run it well until they master it all. Bradford didn't have a complete handle on the Ram offense last year but was effective because of what they put in for him to run.

I think there are packages which would let Newton be very effective as well. The whole it is going to take 2 or 3 years to learn the offense are way over exaggerated. He can be effective by the late part of this year and definitely by next year. After all he has shown the ability to pick up systems fast with the caveat that they were indeed simple. Still the learning curve is steep for any QB as it will be for any Panther QB given it is a new system for everyone.

[theyhateme45]

Exactly playing it safe got us nowhere why continue the same trend Newton will be the pick if he isn't I'll be surprised.

Playing safe got us no where???? Buffalo has been no where recently, The lions have been nowhere, the chiefs have been nowhere.... We were within a kickoff of winning a superbowl, gotten to a few NFC championship games, Some division titles, and first round bye. Comparing our past 10 years to others I would not say that is nowhere...

People are saying that because it sounds good, but really it is not true.

[Cavscout]

People's jobs are on the line...of course they are going to play it safe...they are not going to take the greater chance just for chance's sake or just because they have never taken a chance...they will do what it takes to keep their job...play it safe!