USA Today article on Cam "Candid Cam"

[PanthersAlv]

Here is the link first off... http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/story/2012-08-07/Panthers-Cam-Newton-encore/57062358/1

Here are a couple quotes:

"One thing I didn't like about last season is that I wanted to go about it myself," he says. "I had the approach that I'm the only one this has happened to. Like I was the first one that people talked about or had doubts about. It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last time. So I had to get over it. For me to come out of it and be able to talk to people, veterans in this league — 'What would you have done?' — has been helpful to me."

Newton says he has sought advice from teammates, including Kalil, tackle Jordan Gross and much-targeted wide receiver Steve Smith.

He went outside the team for input, too, with his circle of influence including Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.

"For him to take time out of his day to talk, text and make himself available to me is unreal," Newton says. "People who know Ray know that if you give him five minutes of your life he can change it."

Since being drafted, Newton has become extremely tight with Smith, the 12-year veteran who revitalized his career last season. Smith caught 46 passes for 554 yards in 2010 and then rebounded with a 79-catch, 1,394-yard campaign with Newton.

During the lockout last year, they worked out together. And as they have gotten to know each other, they have had their share of fiery debates.

"He hates to lose and hates to be wrong," Smith says. "So there are some intriguing conversations between us, because I hate to be wrong, too."

Enjoy!

[Jackofalltrades]

Great read, thanks.

[rayzor]

very interesting...

Panthers owner Jerry Richardson remembers, too.

"There was so much controversy about whether we would draft him," Richardson says. "Someone gave me some research on the mock drafts that were out there. Can you believe that only 25% of those drafts had him going in the top 10?"

anyone arguing against or for certain picks because "the consensus of boards" have them at a certain spot need to know that these mockers don't have all the info that teams have and they don't know what teams are really thinking. sure, the teams might "leak" some info out to some of these draftniks, but even at that, i wouldn't expect those comments to be completely accurate.

not that any of the teams really pay attention to what the kiper's and the kiper wannabes are saying, but i'm very glad we have an owner that is willing to go against the grain.

[rayzor]

a lot of good stuff in this article.

"Now it's different," he says. "Instead of, 'I told you so,' those will be the same people waiting to say, 'I told you that rookie year was a fluke.' So I'm trying to beat people to the punch. But it's not only about those people. Those people would never have set the heights for me to go higher than the standards I have for myself. If I were to tell people what I'm expecting for myself, they'd say, 'That's unrealistic.' "

That would be going from unlikely to unrealistic after Newton's smashing debut season included NFL offensive rookie of the year honors and a rookie-record 4,051 passing yards.

i'll just say right here that newton blows away my standards of what is realistic. last year is proof that the sky is the limit with this kid.

[rayzor]

"How much better can he get?" second-year coach Ron Rivera says, sitting in a lounge during the lunch hour. "Much better. But as the case is with any franchise quarterback, we have to do our part to support him with protection, weapons, a running game. You can't expect him to rush for 80 yards and throw for 300 yards every game. We've got to make sure that it's not just about him."

totally agreed. seems some in here have been arguing against this idea.

[Cape Fear Cat]

I am constantly amazed at how grounded and realistic Cam is about what is expected of him and what is required to achieve it. It's one thing to come into the league as a rookie knowing that success will take hard work. It's something else to come in with the kind of success he enjoyed at the collegiate level, be drafted number one, and still not have any sense of entitlement. Instead he seems to have a hunger for success that feeds a work ethic that drives him to be the best at what he does. How cool is that?!

[rayzor]

"This time last year, I never thought anything would be given to me," he says. "I was ready to go. Like an animal in a cage, wanting to be unleashed. As soon as I got here, it was like, 'OK, who wants to get it?' Now having been around — it's only been 365 days or so — I've just seen a lot. I realize that in this league you just can't beat people with raw talent, because everybody's talented. You have to beat people with your skill and also from the neck up."

he gets it.

[rayzor]

I am constantly amazed at how grounded and realistic Cam is about what is expected of him and what is required to achieve it. It's one thing to come into the league as a rookie knowing that success will take hard work. It's something else to come in with the kind of success he enjoyed at the collegiate level, be drafted number one, and still not have any sense of entitlement. Instead he seems to have a hunger for success that feeds a work ethic that drives him to be the best at what he does. How cool is that?!

absolutely true. some would call this fluff, but it's just stating it how it is with newton. i can see the occasional coach comment one coach might say about some underachieving "star" or player on their team to make him look like he's doing better than what some might think, but i really don't believe this is the case.

when i was looking into him back in october/november of his year at auburn, i kept on seeing coaches and teammates saying just how hard of a worker he is and how dedicated he is to what he's doing. it was overwhelming and drastically different from outsider's opinions that he was...well... we all saw what his doubters were saying. someone wasn't getting it about him and it wasn't the people he worked with.

[SCP]

I can't believe people questioned Cam's smarts, attitude, and work ethic. This kid is wise beyond his years. Lock him up to a 20 year deal Hurney-dog.

[footballisasport]

very interesting...

anyone arguing against or for certain picks because "the consensus of boards" have them at a certain spot need to know that these mockers don't have all the info that teams have and they don't know what teams are really thinking. sure, the teams might "leak" some info out to some of these draftniks, but even at that, i wouldn't expect those comments to be completely accurate.

not that any of the teams really pay attention to what the kiper's and the kiper wannabes are saying, but i'm very glad we have an owner that is willing to go against the grain.

I always thought those mocker simply followed each other after awhile. It was clear NFLN and ESPN didn't want Cam in the top then and many of the so called Mock drafts were pushing the same. Not surprised.

[mwright350]

I enjoy articles like that where someone took the time to interview / write rather than just another camp fluff piece.

He appears to have all his ducks in a row and be a consummate professional. He's certainly eclipsed any expectations I ever had for a rookie (now 2nd year I guess) QB. Honestly he's eclipsed expectations I'd have for a lot of veterans too. Good for him.

[Frizzy350]

very interesting...

anyone arguing against or for certain picks because "the consensus of boards" have them at a certain spot need to know that these mockers don't have all the info that teams have and they don't know what teams are really thinking. sure, the teams might "leak" some info out to some of these draftniks, but even at that, i wouldn't expect those comments to be completely accurate.

not that any of the teams really pay attention to what the kiper's and the kiper wannabes are saying, but i'm very glad we have an owner that is willing to go against the grain.

i dont think any of the owners/gms/coaches (aka the person making draft day decisions) really listens to what the media has to say. i know some die-hard bills and broncos fans (and a few other fans of teams picking in that top ten range that year) and from what info they had been fed, their organizations would have been very likely to take cam had he fallen to them.

you got to remember just about everything that the media was saying about Cam is pretty easy to figure out with some basic investigating. Media says Cam isn't a hard worker - Gene Chizik says the exact opposite. Media says Cam isn't smart enough - Sit him down and ask him about the offense, suddenly you realize how coachable he is. Media claims he's a thug - meet with his family, Cam has good core values. Then you top it all off with his absurd potential and he suddenly seems to be a no brainer number 1 pick.

[Darth Biscuit]

For him to have sought out advice from vets like Smith and Lewis shows how mature he really is. Most kids his age don't want to hear what older guys that have "been around" have to say and insist upon learning it for themselves... usually the hard way.

[CRA]

well, no that it matters, but Ray Lewis reached out to Newton. Hope Newton took all his advice to heart.