Inside the Play: Cam Newton to Steve Smith

[redbuddha]

Very nice analysis. I wish I could see the game like this.

[CLG]

Some good points were made, nice write up. Says sumn about Smittys explosiveness too. He got to the ball in a hurry!

[Catweisers]

Very informative keep up the good work.

[ItsPantone278]

Some good points were made, nice write up. Says sumn about Smittys explosiveness too. He got to the ball in a hurry!

Don't you you mean ?

[edromeo]

http://www.fieryprophet.com/commentary/inside-the-play-cam-newton-to-steve-smith/5/

Out freakin standing breakdown.

Very, very good.

Cam makes a few passes every games that are kinda 'wow' throws.

This pass is an example of the outstanding coaching/gameplan/play design/teaching form Chudz and staff.

It shows the staffs confidence in Cam.

It shows Cam's confidence in his arm, the coaching behind the called play, Steve Smith and his fearlessness as a passer to make a throw into a tight window and of course it shows of his elite velocity.

[fieryprophet]

Out freakin standing breakdown.

Very, very good.

Cam makes a few passes every games that are kinda 'wow' throws.

This pass is an example of the outstanding coaching/gameplan/play design/teaching form Chudz and staff.

It shows the staffs confidence in Cam.

It shows Cam's confidence in his arm, the coaching behind the called play, Steve Smith and his fearlessness as a passer to make a throw into a tight window and of course it shows of his elite velocity.

Thanks, I wanted to point out a throw that wasn't one of his deep bombs that, while great plays, also have an element of randomness to them unlike the more surgical darts typical of a Manning or a Brees.

And everytime I see a throw like this I go back to the draft scouting reports and wonder where the hell they got so far off on him.

[Achilles]

This post does have excellent analysis, but I do have one issue with it...

Was this really the smartest play for Cam to attempt on that snap? Smitty was triple covered.. Yes...the throw and catch beat the coverage and it was an amazing play (having seen it live on TV), but come on! Shouldn't that mean that there was another reciever open. If Cam had pumped faked on that play and checked down to LaFell on the under route, they still would have picked up 10 yards and it wouldn't have been as risky of a play. What if the throw had not been perfect or what if Smitty had tipped the ball up instead of catching it. In both cases it is a sure interception. In fact most of Cam's INTs have come on similar plays. Its a tight window and the ball gets tipped.

I give Cam and Smitty credit for making the play...and to you for the great breakdown...but in my opinion it also reveals that Cam likes to force plays when there are more efficient (admittedly less flashy) options. I think this not only illustrates his tremendous skill, but also his inexperience.

[Floppin]

This post does have excellent analysis, but I do have one issue with it...

Was this really the smartest play for Cam to attempt on that snap? Smitty was triple covered.. Yes...the throw and catch beat the coverage and it was an amazing play (having seen it live on TV), but come on! Shouldn't that mean that there was another reciever open. If Cam had pumped faked on that play and checked down to LaFell on the under route, they still would have picked up 10 yards and it wouldn't have been as risky of a play. What if the throw had not been perfect or what if Smitty had tipped the ball up instead of catching it. In both cases it is a sure interception. In fact most of Cam's INTs have come on similar plays. Its a tight window and the ball gets tipped.

I give Cam and Smitty credit for making the play...and to you for the great breakdown...but in my opinion it also reveals that Cam likes to force plays when there are more efficient (admittedly less flashy) options. I think this not only illustrates his tremendous skill, but also his inexperience.

He wasn't so much triple covered as there was just three defenders in the area. Cam threw the ball to a hole in the zone where he knew the route was heading. I'll take that decision making every day of the week.

[ed bell]

There is nothing forced about having a wide open passing lane and throwing a ball only Smith could catch unless it turns into a tip drill:

Looks like great field vision and anticipation of route development to me. No way Smith bobbles that pass...It's exactly the type of throw he thrives on: keeps his stride and nearly splits defenders for an even larger gain despite their angle advantages.

[fieryprophet]

This post does have excellent analysis, but I do have one issue with it...

Was this really the smartest play for Cam to attempt on that snap? Smitty was triple covered.. Yes...the throw and catch beat the coverage and it was an amazing play (having seen it live on TV), but come on! Shouldn't that mean that there was another reciever open. If Cam had pumped faked on that play and checked down to LaFell on the under route, they still would have picked up 10 yards and it wouldn't have been as risky of a play. What if the throw had not been perfect or what if Smitty had tipped the ball up instead of catching it. In both cases it is a sure interception. In fact most of Cam's INTs have come on similar plays. Its a tight window and the ball gets tipped.

I give Cam and Smitty credit for making the play...and to you for the great breakdown...but in my opinion it also reveals that Cam likes to force plays when there are more efficient (admittedly less flashy) options. I think this not only illustrates his tremendous skill, but also his inexperience.

I'm not going to say whether that was the correct play to make in that situation or not (although the coaches obviously trust him to make that throw because they called the play) but good quarterbacks must be able to make those kinds of passes a few times every game.

And realistically, the play looks closer than it really was because the pass was, quite frankly, perfectly thrown. As long as Smith stayed with his route and caught it, the defense had no chance at it, and were completely caught out of position to tackle Smitty because of it.

I would rather that Cam trusted his arm on those kinds of throws and worked on his execution rather than avoiding them altogether and stunting his development and confidence. I've watched every one of his interceptions and only a few were outright terrible throws or decisions (he's had particularly bad luck on balls hitting receivers in the hands and getting tipped rather than caught.)

The sheer fact that he can make this throw with regularity and without hesitation is simply remarkable.

[ed bell]

<snip>I would rather that Cam trusted his arm on those kinds of throws and worked on his execution rather than avoiding them altogether and stunting his development and confidence. I've watched every one of his interceptions and only a few were outright terrible throws or decisions (he's had particularly bad luck on balls hitting receivers in the hands and getting tipped rather than caught.)<snip>

Right on...I'd love to see every INT placed back-to-back just for the comparison value. A ball tipped up in the air off of a receiver's hands isn't always an INT resulting from a poor decision by the QB. Cam has had his share of those this year.

[edromeo]

This post does have excellent analysis, but I do have one issue with it...

Was this really the smartest play for Cam to attempt on that snap? Smitty was triple covered.. Yes...the throw and catch beat the coverage and it was an amazing play (having seen it live on TV), but come on! Shouldn't that mean that there was another reciever open. If Cam had pumped faked on that play and checked down to LaFell on the under route, they still would have picked up 10 yards and it wouldn't have been as risky of a play. What if the throw had not been perfect or what if Smitty had tipped the ball up instead of catching it. In both cases it is a sure interception. In fact most of Cam's INTs have come on similar plays. Its a tight window and the ball gets tipped.

I give Cam and Smitty credit for making the play...and to you for the great breakdown...but in my opinion it also reveals that Cam likes to force plays when there are more efficient (admittedly less flashy) options. I think this not only illustrates his tremendous skill, but also his inexperience.

I would bet dollars to doughnuts that the read for the first progression is the OLB lined up over LaFell that OLB was breaking towards Lafell's flat route @ the :07 second mark in the youtube clip and those false steps were all the space Cam needed to make the throw.

A good throw will beat a defender changing direction everytime.

Further I think Lafell would have been tackled short as his momentum is more parrallel then upfield and he would already have the OLB closing and the corner on that side coming down the sideline for the stop.

[Achilles]

Well of course those are all good points. I see what people mean about it not being triple coverage. I actually agree that I would rather Cam take those chances and learn how to beat teams rather than just take what's given like a Clausen or a Weinke. Just being devils advocate and pointing out that that same kind of situation is how Cam has gotten a lot of turnovers. I'd say at least half of his INTs were tipped passes. Also, I understnd that the LaFell option was not ideal and probably would not have yielded yardage. Plus, it was a good call by Chud to go for a big chunk there and it almost turned into a TD. Actually that play reminds me of the X clown TD in the Rams game from 2003-04 playoffs. Smitty is the man! Will Cam surpass Delhomme as the best Panthers QB ever?