Game Notes - Week Three

[Mr. Scot]

The biggest thing was ZERO turnovers, though a few throws could have been picked off.

Cam in his first 2 games stalled out on the game winning/tying drives at the end of the game. Yesterday he showed us his mental toughness and perseverance to get it done. Many people say this was a bad game for him... but I'll take zero turnovers and a gaming winning drive any day.

I wouldn't call it a great game, but as I've said before, winning ugly isn't a problem for me.

Like I said to Rayzor, I don't want the coaches to try and reign in his 'full speed ahead' approach to the game. That said, like other 'gunslinger' types, Newton does occasionally need to be settled down a little. Long time ago, that job used to fall to Rodney Peete, and later Mike McCoy. These days, if it's done on the sidelines, you'd have to figure it's Shula.

I think, however, that their preferred method for settling Newton down may not be so much to talk to him, but rather to switch the playcalling up to favor the types of throws he seems most comfortable with (medium outside passes to the backs and TEs and quick screens to the flat).

You gotta figure at some point, opposing defenses will be ready for that, but by that time Newton should be overall more versatile in his repertoire.

[footballisasport]

Wow...can't believe u spent 12 paragraph disecting every move Cam made in the same game u're saying Blaine played "solid" for a rookie in except for a few mistakes and that was due to the rain...And u folks really don't feel ur being unrealistically critical of Cam simply because.....

The Game was ugly good. Those are the kinds of games that separate the boys from the men. Every game isn't going to be Panthers taking the lead. A team needs to know now to win with a lead, without a lead, and in the third and fourth quarter.

Matt Stafford and the Lions seem to have a knack for coming from behind and winning. So it must take him awhile to get settled into a game. I really doubt anyone is complaining or criticizing him for that.

I'm not for putting Cam up on a pedlestal but the other extreme is the feeling that everyone has to be such a critic and pick apart everything he does. Funny that when he played well there was only like two paragraphs for him but as soon as he isn't "perfect" everythig it pick-a-part. In the meantime the most criticism Blaine gets is that he had wet hands...REALLY???

[Fiz]

Wow...can't believe u spent 12 paragraph disceting every move Cam made and critiquing it while sayint that Blaine played "solid" for a rookie except for a few mistakes and that was due to the rain...And u folks really don't feel ur being unrealistically critical of Cam simply because.....

Scot had an aneurysm after the Panthers drafted Cam and didn't post for like three months.

Also his posts are laced with that "I'm not racist i have a black friend" bullshit. If it's a Mr. Scot post, ignore everything except what he c/ps from wikipedia/panthers.com.

[Tarheels23]

Wow...can't believe u spent 12 paragraph disceting every move Cam made and critiquing it while sayint that Blaine played "solid" for a rookie except for a few mistakes and that was due to the rain...And u folks really don't feel ur being unrealistically critical of Cam simply because.....

So if Cam had played like Blaine, u'd be okay with his game? I could have sworn Cam actually played better considering what they both had to deal with.

Yeah I peeped that too!

Not to mention Cam only fumbled one snap in 3 games, and that ended up being a completed pass, and Blaine fumbled 4 in one game.

Mr Scott, you got some explaining to do about that one.

1TD, 1 INT, 1 safety, 4 fumbled snaps, and he lost..... Solid? Really?

[Mr. Scot]

Wow...can't believe u spent 12 paragraph disceting every move Cam made and critiquing it while sayint that Blaine played "solid" for a rookie except for a few mistakes and that was due to the rain...And u folks really don't feel ur being unrealistically critical of Cam simply because.....

So if Cam had played like Blaine, u'd be okay with his game? I could have sworn Cam actually played better considering what they both had to deal with.

In most cases, I probably wouldn't talk about the opposing QB at all. In this case though, there's a link between the two because of their respective draft prospects.

And frankly, a paragraph was about as much as was warranted on Gabbert. He looked yesterday pretty much like what I though he'd be as a pro. Decent, but nothing special, and not really a game changer.

[lightsout]

I expected Cam's game yesterday to come at least once this season. I just didn't expect it yesterday. I'm not mad at him though, he is a rookie. The whole point of giving him so many chances to throw is so he CAN make the mistakes and go through the struggles he did yesterday. I'd much rather see this in week 3 than in week 17. There is time to fix it. The arching the back and firing the ball thing is concerning, because he's always done it, and the result so far has been about 50/50. But when he steps into his throws and has a good release, you'd be hard pressed to find a better thrown ball (see the 60 yard bomb last week to Smith).

Good write up, Mr. Scot. As usual.

[lightsout]

I will add that Gabbert did not impress me. Made some throws, but overall didn't look like anything special. Possible starter for a season, maybe leading a team to a wild card chase? Sure. But at best, he'll be a game manager. Of course, this is based off the kid's first start in the NFL, but still. Cam has set the bar damn high for rookie QBs for years to come (although, clearly, Cam is exceptional for a rookie).

[Mr. Scot]

I will add that Gabbert did not impress me. Made some throws, but overall didn't look like anything special. Possible starter for a season, maybe leading a team to a wild card chase? Sure. But at best, he'll be a game manager. Of course, this is based off the kid's first start in the NFL, but still. Cam has set the bar damn high for rookie QBs for years to come (although, clearly, Cam is exceptional for a rookie).

Gabbert would probably be an ideal John Fox quarterback. Rivera seems to prefer someone a little more dangerous.

Might be a bit of a double-edged sword sometimes, but Brett Favre won a lot of games playing that style.

[lightsout]

Gabbert would probably be an ideal John Fox quarterback. Rivera seems to prefer someone a little more dangerous.

Might be a bit of a double-edged sword sometimes, but Brett Favre won a lot of games playing that style.

I agree.

[Mr. Scot]

I agree.

Fox passed on him, of course. He thought he already had his ideal guy in Kyle Orton :lol:

I like the approach they're taking to building Newton as a pro. Might take that to a separate thread though.

[Cat'sGrowl]

Somebody say tommy jone?

[Mr. Scot]

(aaaah, screw the separate thread; I'll just do it here)

Chudzinski and Shula have so far struck a great balance between sticking to what Newton is most comfortable with and challenging him to do a little more. People expected Chudzinski to primarily tailor the playcalls and the offensive calls to what Newton could do and shove the rest aside. I don't see that. I think they're not afraid to challenge him some. And if it results in mistakes, then they can go back to the stuff he knows well to settle him down.

Building the offense around him was what people suggested needed to be done with Vick, and with Newton as well. Some analysts even suggested essentially reworking his college offense at the pro level. What bothers me about that approach (besides the fact that it's just plain a bad idea) is that there's an implied limitation to it, i.e. "this is what he can do and this is what he can't". Maybe that is true with Vick because he's never come off as exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but from what I can see, the staff doesn't think Newton is limited in that regard.

I think he can be, and will be, asked to do things that are outside of his comfort zone. They'll keep the "training wheels" handy for those times when he might wobble a little, but I think the time will come when he's ready to go full motocross.

That day probably won't happen this year, but I believe it will happen. And when it does, the fun will be just beginning :D