Yas: Mixed reviews on Cam Newton's Debut

[CRA]

also, it is the first day of practice and it sounds like him and Jimmy have comparable areas to work on.....but Cam has and shows tremedous upside and positive plays through the bad. That should answer who should be starting......

[PantherFan52]

The game Freeman threw all those picks he did look fairly decent.

[razaki]

After getting back from camp tonight, he's without a doubt noticably bigger than Clausen and Pike...he and Pike are about the same height, but Pike's a beanpole and Newton's built.

The article's pretty spot on, at least from what I could see. When I could see him, I was practically only watching Newton...he and Clausen played at about the same level most of the time, but Newton's greatest moments had a bigger "wow" factor than Jimmy's. If the fans had anything to say about it, Clausen wouldn't have a chance...he couldn't buy a round of applause, but Newton going under center made everyone start making noise and paying attention. He's at least won over a lot of the fans already, it looks like.

At the end of the day, I'm damned excited for this season.

[Mr ocho nueve]

As long as we win games, I could care less about who is under center. Sure I think jimmy deserves another year, but what do I know I just dont like throwing rookie qbs to the dogs unless it is necessary.

[beastson]

Lol, Cam laugh more than D.Will

[w280sax]

one thing I like about Cam is that he seems like he won't lose his confidence if he struggles a bit in his earlier outings. I think Clausen had confidence issues last season and I hope (but am not sure) if he has overcome them yet. Whether its deserved yet or not, I think Cam has supreme confidence in his ability.

[rico6]

Epic fuging picture btw.

[frash.exe]

Ok first off can we grow up and not say 'haters'? Unless you are still in HS, the term is immature as hell.

Second, the guy has a ton to overcome. Dual threat college QB's don't pan out 99% of the time in the NFL. Picking one first overall, normally, is a stupid thing to do. That said, I hope to God he does EXACTLY what you hope he will too.

Steve Young, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair immediately come to mind

now you name 297 guys that failed when they were given the opportunity to start

[OnlyPantherFaninMaine]

Love how he rocks the visor, just like college.

[OnlyPantherFaninMaine]

By the way, anyone not supportive of this draft pick now?

[rdog157h]

Here are some training camp pictures I took on saturday, enjoy http://s585.photobucket.com/albums/ss300/rdog157h/

[mav1234]

I've been supporting him since the pick was made, but I still want to see him against live NFL defenses before I go as gaga over him as some of you guys (and yes, I know he's a rookie and will make mistakes - I'm not going to think he's a failure after his first pick). He's doing everything right and I don't expect that to change, but he's still got a lot to work on.

As to if I think we should have made a different draft choice, I haven't bothered to think about it since the draft but at that point I wanted a DT or CB. Don't really care now, he's on the team and he's got my full support.

[Delhommey]

Second, the guy has a ton to overcome. Dual threat college QB's don't pan out 99% of the time in the NFL. Picking one first overall, normally, is a stupid thing to do. That said, I hope to God he does EXACTLY what you hope he will too.

Oh dear. Throwing in some statistics are we? OK. Let's look at the starters in the NFL that are considered "duel threat" QB's and see how they're doing. Keep in mind, due to age, smarts or both, several of these use their legs mainly to escape trouble/buy time in the pocket:

Top 10 Level:

Michael Vick: Kinda had a good year. The most pure runner taking snaps in the NFL, he's also (for the same reason) one of the most oft injured. Injury being probably the biggest reason you don't want your QB running past the line of scrimmage. That being said, Cam is both bigger and slower than Vick.

Ben Roethlisberger: His feet are mainly for buying time, and is the big goal line runner with an arm everyone hopes Cam can turn into.

Aaron Rodgers: Forgot about the Super Bowl MVP did we? His 356 yards on the ground last year show he's not afraid to pull up, run and not slide.

Mid Tier:

Tony Romo: Again, another "buy time" guy. Certainly slipping as of late.

Josh Freeman: You'll probably accept Freeman over Rodgers as a "running QB." You'll probably not realize that he only rushed for 8 more yards than Rodgers last year. There's a reason for that. Freeman could become big time this year.

Donovan McNabb: Who I think Cam projects towards, good and bad. He certainly keeps to that pocket more now with age. On the decline for sure.

OK. You'll do:

Ryan Fitzpatrick: But...he went to Harvard! He can't be a "mobile QB!"

Colt McCoy: Brittle as dinosaur bones regardless of whether he stays in the pocket, rolls out or darts forward.

The Golden Calf of Bristol: May or may not win the starting job but it's his to lose right now. One of the most pure "runners" on the list.

So, in the end, with the assumption that Cam and Jesus, Jr. take the reigns this year, that's 31.25% of the league that's considered "mobile QB's" who will start. Of those, arguably 3, undeniably 2 are elite status right now. That's not even looking back at previous years.

So, to rehash, 99% you say?

[Delhommey]

And by the way, Shamu Russell only had one positive year rushing in college. Averaged 2.7 yards for 142 total his senior year.

BUT HE IS BLACK! HE MUST BE MOBILE!