Preparation: It's The Secret Ingredient

[fieryprophet]

Something that a lot of Huddlers may still be concerned about with our new quarterback is the nagging suspicion that maybe he really is just going on his athletic ability and will eventually be "found" out by opposing defenses, and eventually become merely an average QB.

Don't. This isn't a fluke. I will give you a stream of tidbits showing Newton's dedication to mastering the quarterback position and leading our team to wins for years to come. Enjoy :)

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/10/04/the-first-fifteen-week-five

George Whitfield, Cam Newton's QB coach during the pre-draft process, told me last week that Newton spent two 90-minute sessions this summer studying NFC South defenses. Whitfield would start the tape of Josh Freeman against the Saints' defense or Drew Brees vs. the Bucs and pause it pre-snap. Newton then would have to look at the formation, look at the defense, draw it up on the whiteboard and predict what the safeties will do, where the pressure is coming from and also what the offensive play would be. It's that kind of preparation that has Newton ranked among the NFL's leading passers, third with 1,386 yards behind Tom Brady and Brees. The Saints might be surprised at how good he is. Last year's game in Charlotte turned ugly fast and ended up 34-3, Saints. This game, however, could be the shootout of the weekend. Newton diced up the Bears and though he made some poor throws, he also is the best rookie in the NFL by a mile. And the losing is killing him, too. The Panthers won't have many answers for Brees and the Saints' offense, but the Saints might not have many for Newton, either.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-farmer-nfl-20111004,0,4110163.column?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fsports+%28L.A.+Times+-+Sports%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Carolina's 1-3 record doesn't do justice to the spectacular play of Newton, who has pumped life, energy and hope back into that franchise. The rookie has practically been attached at the hip to quarterbacks coach Mike Shula, and it shows. Newton looks completely comfortable with that offense, and his linemen love that he hangs in the pocket and doesn't bail out at the first hint of trouble. "There are some quarterbacks who, as soon as they see color, they're out of the pocket and running away," said Carolina center Ryan Kalil, referring to the color of an opposing jersey starting to break through the protection. "He doesn't do that. And then when it does break down, he waits until the very last second to get his butt out of there. That helps us."

http://thegoodpoint.com/2011/05/cam-newton-jamarcus-russell/

“Being a great quarterback in the NFL comes down to throwing accuracy from the pocket, preparation and your ability to work with coaches and teammates,” he said. “Newton has all the talent in the world to be successful if he dedicates himself to these things … For all the allegations regarding him at Auburn, a poor work-ethic isn’t one of them. The most important thing will be patience and a willingness on the Panthers’ coaching staff to really find the best way to bring him along.”

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82270a88/article/newton-more-impressive-in-first-two-games-than-any-rookie-qb

When I saw Newton in training camp, he made his share of mistakes. But what really stood out was when a drill ended, he would lead the charge to the next one. We're talking about the first overall pick in the draft. That's what you look for to see how a guy is going to be.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/04/10/mmqb/index.html

"The first day here [in the offseason] they were all lifting, going after it hard. When it was over, they all thought it was done. But Cam, who doesn't even know these guys yet, says, 'I'm gonna be out there throwing if anyone wants to come.' Five or six go out. The next day, 10 or 15 are out with him. He comes in and says to me, 'Coach, you got five or six pass plays from our playbook you could draw up? We're going out there and we want to run some of our plays.' I said, "Wooooooo.' Then, later in the week, I see him out there running the stadium stairs, and a couple days later, he's got a bunch of guys out there with him. A natural leader, a strong, strong leader. Charismatic.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1190635/2/index.htm

Newton's IMG stay included not only daily physical training (throwing, lifting, drills) but also long classroom sessions during which Weinke taught Newton the Carolina offense and then schooled him in videotape study. On one of their first days together Weinke challenged Newton

. . .

After Newton had studied the Carolina playbook for a few days, Weinke sent him to a whiteboard and asked him to repeat, and draw up, the following play: Deuce right (formation), Nasty fly (motion), Scat right (protection), Spray 834 (the route tree, in the Coryell "digit" system), Y pivot (tagging the Y receiver with an additional move), H swing M (also tagging the H-back).

According to Weinke, Newton repeated the play flawlessly and drew it cleanly on the board. "I wanted to see what he was capable of learning," says Weinke. "And there was no question that he had studied that playbook. It was unbelievable. I had seen the Gruden thing, so I was shocked at what he could actually do—pleasantly so."

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/7969661-419/cam-newton-looks-to-rodgers-brady-and-brees-in-quest-to-be-best.html

‘‘The way he’s maintained his composure and poise in the pocket is tremendous,’’ Rivera said. ‘‘We always felt he’d be able to handle pressure situations. But as well as he’s done, that’s the thing that gets us — he’s a tremendous worker. He does the extra things we’ve asked. He comes in on Monday and watches tape and then comes in on Tuesday on his day off and visits with the coaches. He’s a rookie who really wants to be good.’’

. . .

‘‘I think success comes if you yearn to be good,’’ Newton said. ‘‘Do you want to be average? Do you want to be good? Or do you want to be great? I think that’s what separates the Tom Bradys and Aaron Rodgers from other quarterbacks in this league.

‘‘There’s [always] something bigger and better you want. You can’t get complacent and say, ‘I’m done,’ and keep riding that boat until it wears off. The great ones are on to the next thing that can get those guys remembered.’’

[Mr. Scot]

Whitfield would start the tape of Josh Freeman against the Saints' defense or Drew Brees vs. the Bucs and pause it pre-snap. Newton then would have to look at the formation, look at the defense, draw it up on the whiteboard and predict what the safeties will do, where the pressure is coming from and also what the offensive play would be.

That is some smart coaching.

[tiger7_88]

Quote:

‘‘There’s [always] something bigger and better you want. You can’t get complacent and say, ‘I’m done,’ and keep riding that boat until it wears off. The great ones are on to the next thing that can get those guys remembered.’’

This is neither here nor there to the subject of the post, but I have to say that it absolutely cracks me up the way he often mixes his metaphors.

:lol:

Gotta love the kid. :D

[Lout]

This is neither here nor there to the subject of the post, but I have to say that it absolutely cracks me up the way he often mixes his metaphors.

:lol:

Gotta love the kid. :D

Cam doesn't mix his metaphors. We have been saying them wrong this whole time.

[Mr. Scot]

:lol:

On a related note, Newton's start has probably won George Whitfield some more business.

[RevJ]

Cam has been a very pleasant surprise. Knowledge, poise, desire to compete - and he is only getting started. I have actually been surprised by the number of analysts who have admitted that they were wrong. it's easy to say we had them on tape putting him down, but in today's world even that proof doesn't seem to matter.

[Marguide]

This is neither here nor there to the subject of the post, but I have to say that it absolutely cracks me up the way he often mixes his metaphors.

:lol:

Gotta love the kid. :D

I enjoy those as well. Given enough time, he is going to give us some memorable Yogi Berra type quotes.

[fieryprophet]

This is neither here nor there to the subject of the post, but I have to say that it absolutely cracks me up the way he often mixes his metaphors.

:lol:

Gotta love the kid. :D

I sure "Camisms" will soon become a topic of conversation around here :)

I will say he's obviously still not comfortable around the media, which may feed a little into it since he's so distracted by trying to make sure he doesn't say anything that could be a distraction.

[Tarheels23]

This is neither here nor there to the subject of the post, but I have to say that it absolutely cracks me up the way he often mixes his metaphors.

:lol:

Gotta love the kid. :D

You don't know what you talking about dude, and that's just "Plan and Simple". :D

[j2sgam]

[Jackofalltrades]

He always says something that sounds really stupid, but as long as he keeps doing what he's doing I couldn't care less.

[bleys]

You don't know what you talking about dude, and that's just "Plan and Simple". :D

Simple and plain is just a phrase that was switched around and now commonly used today..

well commonly used by younger generations.. it's the wrong usage to those old dirty bastards who might want to argue about things are a-changin yet again..

[bleys]

You don't know what you talking about dude, and that's just "Plan and Simple". :D

Simple and plain is just a phrase that was switched around and now commonly used today..

well commonly used by younger generations..