Cam Newton Blames JaMarcus Russell And Vince Young For The Disrespect He Gets

[whatever]

you're the one that's reaching by saying things like Cam had to leave to rehab his image. he *chose* to leave after The Golden Calf of Bristol chose to stay. he and his dad decided that a Jr College in a small town like Blinn would be a humbling experience and a place that he could focus on getting backing on track. it seems like they made the right choices. not sure why you're trying to spin this into something negative......unless you're Urban Meyer or Dan Mullen.

Yeah, right, a bar fight where nothing happened in it, the only accounts seem to indicate that somebody else attacked his brother, he tried to talk them down before anything happened, surely is the same as being arrested, having a huge problem at a school, having to leave in disgrace from it to rehab his image etc. It's much easier to "explain away" something that wasn't charged and barely made a report because of his minor it was than what happened with Cam. Sure you can "explain' a lot of this stuff, such as the explanations for Mallett's issues too, but ultimately depending on what it is you need much more explaining.

How are these things remotely similar? Stop reaching, Tee. Cam had a tough early start to his college career and turned it around.

[whatever]

how in the world is buying a stolen laptop supposed to be as bad or worse than getting into a fight? you make it sound like Cam Newton was one of the UF players that was carrying uzis or using a dead girl's credit card or something.

Weren't Cam's charges dropped because he participated in a pre-trial intervention?

Obviously once he got to Auburn he turned things around, but that's why you actually look into things, to make sure he did.

FYI, I had thought the place the "bar fight" happened was actually a pizza place, and again, he was defending his brother. When the worst thing a guy does in school is: 1) have a beer underage, and 2) defend his brother in a fight, I don't think you're worried about him.

Not like you might be when a guy gets brought up on charges... even if they are dropped. So you look into what happened with both guys perhaps, but they aren't even close to the same.

Cam made mistakes. Everyone does, but some make worse mistakes than others. Some of those mistakes bear a bit more investigation than others. Why is this an issue?

[g5jamz]

There's a reason Josh Freeman did not have negative comparisons made to him. Right Tee?

[teeray]

There's a reason Josh Freeman did not have negative comparisons made to him. Right Tee?

There were a few draft publications that questioned whether he would be able to learn how to read an NFL defense and learn NFL offenses despite the fact that he scored a 28 on the wonderlic. Same as Peyton Manning.

[mav1234]

how in the world is buying a stolen laptop supposed to be as bad or worse than getting into a fight? you make it sound like Cam Newton was one of the UF players that was carrying uzis or using a dead girl's credit card or something.

Cam bought a laptop he knew was stolen, the proceeded to try to get rid of it when campus police came to find him. It was a mistake he admits to and has learned from. This is on top of other allegations that may or may not be true, but the reality is there were more questions swirling about Cam that beared investigating than many other prospects. Still, I think Ryan Mallett got the worst of the pure character assassination, though Cam did get it bad from NN.

Having someone push your brother around in a bathroom because he is pissing, having that group continue to harass your brother and then start throwing blows so you defend him, is a bit different. Gabbert's "issue" was undoubtedly investigated, though it wasn't brought up in the media perhaps because there's just nothing much to say.

g5jamz brings up Freeman, who had other concerns that perhaps were bogus but they were nothing like what Cam had to deal with. If Cam's were racially motivated, why didn't people go after Freeman that way? The reality is, Cam's WEREN'T motivated primarily by racial bias, racism, or any of that. Not doubting that there was not some amount of that going on amongst fans bitching about him but by and large a lot of the media swirl around Cam was much more complicated than that.

[mav1234]

re: that Freeman thing, I think a lot of that concern was before the wonderlic, but I may be wrong there.

[g5jamz]

There were a few draft publications that questioned whether he would be able to learn how to read an NFL defense and learn NFL offenses despite the fact that he scored a 28 on the wonderlic. Same as Peyton Manning.

Nothing on the level that Cam received. Josh wasn't considered a top overall pick either, but the fact remains that one's actions in college can have a detrimental impact on how people view a player. A team is about to spend millions on you as a player...don't give them an opportunity to question your character.

[Fiz]

There's a reason Josh Freeman did not have negative comparisons made to him. Right Tee?

Partly because no one knew anything about him.

He was definitely accused of being a system qb and combine riser and the Bucs were crucified for taking him.

Also Vince pretty clearly had clinical depression, like Ricky Williams, and if anyone in your life has ever been effected you know it can wreck your poo.

[teeray]

Cam bought a laptop he knew was stolen, the proceeded to try to get rid of it when campus police came to find him. It was a mistake he admits to and has learned from. This is on top of other allegations that may or may not be true, but the reality is there were more questions swirling about Cam that beared investigating than many other prospects. Still, I think Ryan Mallett got the worst of the pure character assassination, though Cam did get it bad from NN.

Having someone push your brother around in a bathroom because he is pissing, having that group continue to harass your brother and then start throwing blows so you defend him, is a bit different. Gabbert's "issue" was undoubtedly investigated, though it wasn't brought up in the media perhaps because there's just nothing much to say.

g5jamz brings up Freeman, who had other concerns that perhaps were bogus but they were nothing like what Cam had to deal with. If Cam's were racially motivated, why didn't people go after Freeman that way? The reality is, Cam's WEREN'T motivated primarily by racial bias, racism, or any of that. Not doubting that there was not some amount of that going on amongst fans bitching about him but by and large a lot of the media swirl around Cam was much more complicated than that.

I don't necessarily think Cam's character questions were a product of racial bias. But for whatever reason there was clearly a propensity to magnify his flaws and play down his achievements. Especially his actual football abilities.

It is the exact opposite of what is happening this year. Every time someone points out a flaw with Andrew Luck media types and draftniks are falling over themselves to defend him. Remember when Phil Simms suggested that Andrew Luck can't make certain throws with the RPMs he will need at the NFL level?? All of ESPN came raining down on him. Like this article:

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/51879/simms-wide-right-on-luck-comments

I like what Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay had to say in response to the recent comments by Phil Simms regarding Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

As someone who has seen every Luck throw this season, I disagree with Simms on both fronts.

This smacks of Simms going against the grain for the sake of going against the grain. You can say Luck won't be able to handle the pressure at the next level. Or that he won't be able to read defenses as well as he does in college. And then Simms might be right. We just don't know. Lots of great college quarterbacks have flopped at the next level. For Luck, it's still to be determined.

But commenting on things we already know to be true strikes me as chatter for the sake of chatter.

First, the arm strength issue, which I think is a non-issue. McShay nails it when he says arm strength is overrated. Couldn't agree more.

But if you need examples, look at last week's game against USC, on the Wildcat throw, Luck released the ball from the Stanford 16 and the ball traveled to the USC 29 before Ty Montgomery made the reception. That's 55 yards in the air. There aren't many NFL plays that have enough time to let a 55-yard route develop. Or even at the college level. That's why that play was run out of the Wildcat, because it gave Montgomery time to run that long of a route.

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Plus, Luck was coming across his body when he received the pitch. He took two shuffle steps to reset his feet and then let the ball rip. It wasn't a five-step drop where he has a chance to step into the throw for momentum.

For another example, look at Luck's touchdown pass to Coby Fleener against UCLA -- the infamous one-handed Fleener catch. It's in the books as an 18-yard pass, but Luck threw it from the 25 and it was a missile that Fleener caught 1 yard deep in the end zone. Granted, the throw was a bit high and Fleener made perhaps the catch of the season to ****** it out of the air. But in terms of arm strength, it was a legitimate NFL throw.

The point is, Luck can make the throws if and when he has to. Is he going to be Brett Favre? No. That's not his game. But as far as "big time NFL throws," he can make them all. More than once this year we've seen Luck throw 30 yards across his body and hit his target in the numbers, or place a ball where only his receivers can get it. Those are "big time" throws.

At the next level, arm strength becomes less important as reading defenses and making the right throw, not the hardest throw.

Regarding the "hype" issue, Luck is aware it's out there. But he ignores it. When roommate Griff Whalen is watching TV and Luck pops up, he'll change the channel. Luck is treating this season like a sequestered juror.

Now, you can argue the media (cough, of which I am a member, cough) has built Luck up to a level he can't possibly match. Maybe. But it's not just us. Head coach David Shaw constantly refers to Luck as "a different type of human being" and references other NFL quarterbacks he's worked with and how Luck's talent and potential exceeds them. His coach hypes him as much as we do, which is fuel for the Luck-hype machine. But that's what makes covering Luck so much fun. He just doesn't care.

So much is going to depend on where he gets drafted. What kind of system he's in. What his offensive line looks like. What kind of receivers he will throw to. Who his offensive coordinator will be. The data isn't available yet to make any realistic statements about what he's going to do at the next level or how long it will take him to do it.

Simms knows more about quarterbacking than I could learn in a dozen lifetimes. But I feel pretty confident saying he missed the mark on this one.

When Malzhan said Cam was different than any other QB and would be a good NFL QB it was dismissed by the media and draft world as "what did you expect him to say". This year it is proof positive.

When you pointed out certain big time throws Cam made it was "easy 1 read offense" (also not true).

KC Joyner cherry picked three throws out of @270 to try and prove Cam wasn't even worth a first round pick. For Luck they cherry pick three throws to try and prove that Simms is wrong and Luck is consistent with certain throws.

[MWCarolina]

whoever compared those two (Newton and Russell) was WAY off base. i KNEW he would never be that. Newton has better speed and a better arm, Vince Young was a decent comparison except with the arm which Newton has better throwing mechanics than Young, but he's right, Young's attitude and the fact that it's taking a while to turn him into a pocket passer did hurt Newton.

[mav1234]

I don't necessarily think Cam's character questions were a product of racial bias. But for whatever reason there was clearly a propensity to magnify his flaws and play down his achievements. Especially his actual football abilities.

It is the exact opposite of what is happening this year. Every time someone points out a flaw with Andrew Luck media types and draftniks are falling over themselves to defend him. Remember when Phil Simms suggested that Andrew Luck can't make certain throws with the RPMs he will need at the NFL level?? All of ESPN came raining down on him. Like this article:

....

KC Joyner cherry picked three throws out of @270 to try and prove Cam wasn't even worth a first round pick. For Luck they cherry pick three throws to try and prove that Simms is wrong and Luck is consistent with certain throws.

I agree with the first. I think that had to do with the fact people just thought he was a "one hit wonder." The stats he put up were incredible, and in many ways seemingly beyond belief.

I also agree that Luck's good things are being ridiculously amplified. I'm not sure what to make of it. I do think he is a great prospect but I can't compare him as far back as some of these guys did. But I know even Peyton Manning had questions coming out of the draft, and people are acting like Luck has none at all.

As to Joyner, I used to respect him, but more and more he is basically just cherry picking extremely small things to try to make a point while often missing the large issue. All that being said... I do not see why people think arm strength is an issue of Luck's. It may not be a "super cannon" but it seems more than adequate enough for the NFL.

[teeray]

I agree with the first. I think that had to do with the fact people just thought he was a "one hit wonder." The stats he put up were incredible, and in many ways seemingly beyond belief.

I also agree that Luck's good things are being ridiculously amplified. I'm not sure what to make of it. I do think he is a great prospect but I can't compare him as far back as some of these guys did. But I know even Peyton Manning had questions coming out of the draft, and people are acting like Luck has none at all.

As to Joyner, I used to respect him, but more and more he is basically just cherry picking extremely small things to try to make a point while often missing the large issue. All that being said... I do not see why people think arm strength is an issue of Luck's. It may not be a "super cannon" but it seems more than adequate enough for the NFL.

The way I see it, Luck is the best QB prospect to come out since Cam Newton :p:p

[mav1234]

The way I see it, Luck is the best QB prospect to come out since Cam Newton :p:p

haha, well, excluding him where would you put him? :p

[teeray]

haha, well, excluding him where would you put him? :p

For me personally I think he is the best prospect since Eli Manning. Although Eli wasn't even the consensus #1 QB in that draft I loved Eli coming out of college.

I'm still not convinced Luck is a slam dunk though.