6/19 75 yards....

[Cyberjag]

I don't get it. Does anyone who feels that Cam should start on day one think that doing so will help him become a better QB, or that it will help us win more games?

If so, I'm interested in hearing why. If not, then why the resistance to starting someone else and letting Newton spend more time perfecting his new skills in practice before throwing him to the wolves?

The guy looks like he'll be an unbelievably good QB someday. Why mess with that chance for some short-term entertainment?

[MadHatter]

I can totally understand letting him sit a few weeks before he starts. But then again, he seems to shake bad plays off fairly quickly and even when the pocket collapses he is showing the awareness and football intelligence to either find a place to throw it or take off and make something happen. So, I'm not too concerned about him getting shellshocked long-term if he starts the season.

And if anyone else does start, I would prefer it be Anderson... As bad as he looked the last few years, he's still way ahead of Jimmy in not folding when he gets pressured.

I'm just of the mind that Cam will be fine even if he starts the season and see a lot of parallels with Freeman. And I think those stats from Freeman's rookie preseason show that Cam isn't doing as bad as people think, especially considering he's doing a lot of it against starting defenses whereas Freeman wasn't.

I still think we should've re-signed Moore and I would've loved to let him start and let Cam ease his way into being the starter after a few weeks. But, I think Cam is our best option if we're trying to win games and I don't think it will hurt his development long-term either.

I agree that he seems to be able to shake bad plays off.....

Problem is that he is following them up with more bad plays.

Cam is NOWHERE near ready to start in the NFL. To continue to make excuse after excuse for his below average play is ridiculous.

He does not need time to sit behind another QB and watch what they do.

He needs time with the coaches and in practice to actually improve his footwork and mechanics.

Start Anderson and see where Cam is about mid-way through the season. If his mechanics are improving in practice, put him in for the 2nd Half of the season.

[King Taharqa]

Check his stats.

Stafford is a damn good QB when he can stay on the field. Stafford's issue is not performance....it is beign injury prone.

If that were VY or Cam he'd be called a "bust" and "soft" for that. Its year 3 and dude aint had a winning season yet. I like Stafford but he's proof of the double standard. As long as he puts up passing stats he'll be considered good no matter how his team fares. Cam gotta put up stats to prove he's a QB and win! Stafford will never reach his potential because he's being told to just show up. And even so, he was hyped as a cant miss prospect just like Andrew Luck. Now im supposed to believe Luck is gonna be so much better than him, GTFOH.

[panthers55]

Oh fug off. Why is this kid untouchable in the eyes of certain posters?

He locked on to Smith. Just like rookie QBs tend to do. He then threw inaccurate passes to Smith (amongst others).

Why when Clausen does this is it his fault, but when Newton does this it's the game plan, or the O-line not giving him enough time, or the WRs being crap?

fuging ridiculous.

What is ridiculous si expecting him to play well to begin with. Clausen came in touted as the most pro ready quarterback in the draft. He came from a pro style offense under Weiss. He was reported to have great accuracy, great mechanics, and his only knock was personality issues.

Newton came in as an incredibly athletic project that most folks thought would take 2 or 3 years to develop before he would even see the field. He was widely criticized as not ready and having poor mechanics and couldn't read a defense at all.

So what is ridiculous is expecting him to do anything at all and to be ready to play. What ie ridiculous is criticizing his every mistake as if it shouldn't be there. What is ridulous is people like you coming on trashing everyone who makes excuses for him when they are only saying what every pundit said all offseason. He is a project. Give it a rest for crying out loud.

[rico6]

I don't get it. Does anyone who feels that Cam should start on day one think that doing so will help him become a better QB, or that it will help us win more games?

If so, I'm interested in hearing why. If not, then why the resistance to starting someone else and letting Newton spend more time perfecting his new skills in practice before throwing him to the wolves?

The guy looks like he'll be an unbelievably good QB someday. Why mess with that chance for some short-term entertainment?

I was on the bandwagon (somewhat still is) that Cam should start because of the talent we have on Offense, which in turn gives this team the best chances to win.

But looking back at last night as to how anemic the Offense has been looking (IE: RUNNING THE BALL) I'll quickly retract my statements on throwing a rookie out there.

Let DA start, and let Cam usurp the position when he's good and damned well ready.

[Cat]

Considering the amount of physical pressure on Cam I thought he handled it rather well. No sacks, no turn overs. His accuracy was poo but again it's hard to judge when a QB doesn't have time in the pocket.

[MadHatter]

If that were VY or Cam he'd be called a "bust" and "soft" for that. Its year 3 and dude aint had a winning season yet. I like Stafford but he's proof of the double standard. As long as he puts up passing stats he'll be considered good no matter how his team fares. Cam gotta put up stats to prove he's a QB and win! Stafford will never reach his potential because he's being told to just show up. And even so, he was hyped as a cant miss prospect just like Andrew Luck. Now im supposed to believe Luck is gonna be so much better than him, GTFOH.

No he would not.

Just like I am not calling Otah a bust or soft because he appears to be injury prone. Injuries are injuries.

But, Cam's performance has been God Awful so far.

I think he has the talent and work ethic to be good....very good. But he needs time and is nowhere near ready to be an NFL starter. Quite frankly, he is proving to be the least ready of any of the drafted QB's.....which was what many of us were saying before the draft.

Cam is a project with HUGE upside.

[Miaoww]

So start Clausen for a week or two, he gets concussed AGAIN. Then what? You believe Clausen can last 16 weeks in this league?

Clausen got a concussion because Talib threw a cheap shot.

[ncbobcat]

I was on the bandwagon (somewhat still is) that Cam should start because of the talent we have on Offense, which in turn gives this team the best chances to win.

But looking back at last night as to how anemic the Offense has been looking (IE: RUNNING THE BALL) I'll quickly retract my statements on throwing a rookie out there.

Let DA start, and let Cam usurp the position when he's good and damned well ready.

Agreed, but DA was the last damn person in mind when thinking of veterans who could groom Cam.

[rico6]

And one more thing..

I understand Cam hasn't looked world beater esque, but holy sh*t at some of you.

Guess we've been so spoiled by the recent success of other rooks, that we've held the highest expectations of a QB since Cam's been drafted.

It hasn't even officially been a whole month since the lockout's been lifted, and some of are you calling for his head.

lol at this fanbase sometimes.

Again, considering Cam had to literally retool his entire mindset, skillset, and playset to adjust to an entirely different level in what.. 2 weeks? He has done pretty well for himself.

Ultimately, this lockout is what has truly set this team back, months... LITERALLY.

[MadHatter]

Agreed, but DA was the last damn person in mind when thinking of veterans who could groom Cam.

Cam does not really need to be groomed by a vet. He actually appears to be making pretty good decisions on the field.

He needs work on his footwork, mechanics, etc.. And those are things that the coaching staff need to spend time with him on at practice.

[Smithers]

If Luck was here we wouldnt have these problems. Say what you want but Luck is a lot more accurate and he has better footwork. He may have stats that were more similar to Clausens but in the immortal words of John Fox, "It is what it is."

So you know for sure how good of a pro Luck is going to be? You should be a professional scout. Ask the chargers how good Ryan Leaf was going to be...what about David Carr...Danny Worful...Tim Couch...Matt Leinart...Joey Harrington...Akili Smith...Art Schlichter...etc....

Don't support your argument by stating what Luck might do in the future...all the while criticizing the play of a rookie QB with 7 quarters of experience .

[panthers55]

I don't get it. Does anyone who feels that Cam should start on day one think that doing so will help him become a better QB, or that it will help us win more games?

If so, I'm interested in hearing why. If not, then why the resistance to starting someone else and letting Newton spend more time perfecting his new skills in practice before throwing him to the wolves?

The guy looks like he'll be an unbelievably good QB someday. Why mess with that chance for some short-term entertainment?

We are not going to win that many games this year no matter who we play so we can put that to rest.

As for playing him now or later, here is my reasoning. If we had a competent starter who could show him the ropes, give him advice and help to develop him then by all means sit him. But with Clausen and Anderson as the other options he will learn virutally nothing constructive from them. Secondly if he were the second or third string quarterback he would get virtually no reps with the 1s and only 25% of the reps in practice each week as the starter gets most of the reps in preparing for the game. So it would take him much longe to develop simply because he gets very few reps from week to week. Third, what do you have to lose?

It isn't as if he gets hurt unless it a career ending injury he wouldn't be ready to play next year. If you sit him he wouldn't play until then anyway. After all the criticism he has endured do you really think he is emotionally frail and likely to develop into a David Carr junior?? He is mentally tough and a gym rat who gets better with experience, watching film and playing. Look at how he developed from the beginning of the year to the end at Auburn. Newton will get better watching film, gameplanning each week and then playing good or bad. Sitting on the bench will actully do little to develop him as long as the other options are Clausen and Anderson.

[MadHatter]

And one more thing..

I understand Cam hasn't looked world beater esque, but holy sh*t at some of you.

Guess we've been so spoiled by the recent success of other rooks, that we've held the highest expectations of a QB since Cam's been drafted.

It hasn't even officially been a whole month since the lockout's been lifted, and some of are you calling for his head.

lol at this fanbase sometimes.

Again, considering Cam had to literally retool his entire mindset, skillset, and playset to adjust to an entirely different level in what.. 2 weeks? He has done pretty well for himself.

Ultimately, this lockout is what has truly set this team back, months... LITERALLY.

Most of us are doing nothing more than pointing out exactly what you are saying. He does have to retool his entire game.....and it has only been 2 weeks.

I am saying nothing more than the fact that he is not ready to be a starting QB NOW. I think he WILL be good....very good. But, that will take some time. I am wanting to give him that time to develop.