Does Peter King know something we don't?

[Guest Super_Freak]

I thought about seeing if I could buy some pot from them.

loud or reggie?

[Vampire the buffet slayer]

ummmm..... something NOT laced with pcp.

[PanthersBigD]

Cam Newton is a crappy leader, if he's a leader at all at this point. He's a kid in his twenties, and he's got a lot of maturing to do. He needs people to take cues from along the way, which he doesn't seem to have. I'm not going to expect a sophomore player to carry the team on his back talent-wise AND emotionally. He's got great potential, but it's going to take time to see it fully formed.

Eli Manning struggled to become a leader as well, and look at him now. It takes time, and in the meantime, haters gon' hate.

[TonyN]

Sorry, but a leader doesn't talk with his head down at press conferences and refuse to make eye contact with anyone all while spewing disegenious drivel and asking for a "suggestion box" about how to improve.

Remember: the ONLY thing HE can control, is Cameron Newton.

[Mr. Scot]

I feel bad for anyone who is not on board with Cam, hes going to be here for the next 10 years. When was the last time a team let go of a young franchise QB?

Hate to tell ya, but while that may be more than likely, it isn't guaranteed.

If you don't think new GMs and/or new coaches are willing to part with highly drafted quarterbacks, you might wanna chat with Jay Cutler.

[King Taharqa]

Cam Newton is a crappy leader, if he's a leader at all at this point. He's a kid in his twenties, and he's got a lot of maturing to do. He needs people to take cues from along the way, which he doesn't seem to have. I'm not going to expect a sophomore player to carry the team on his back talent-wise AND emotionally. He's got great potential, but it's going to take time to see it fully formed.

Eli Manning struggled to become a leader as well, and look at him now. It takes time, and in the meantime, haters gon' hate.

Cam is the biggest leader in the locker room right now. Which is unfortunate because guys who've been here almost 10 years arent. Some of us mistake professional losers (meaning guys who accept losing, but are professional about it) with leadership. There's no one in that locker room that displays leadership on the field week to week like Cameron. There's no one in that locker room who is held accountable for their play the way Cameron is. Thats why I expect a lot of those guys to be gone in the offseason. We're undergoing a cultural change, and part of that change is ridding ourselves of professional nice guys that accept losing. That is not LEADERSHIP, that is complacency.

[Guest Super_Freak]

Brilliant comparison !!! I had forgotten about Prince Jeff.

Newton is certainly way more talented than Leaf and probably doesn't posses the same amount of baggage, but the maturity and leadership comparison I think is valid. And they are both surly, albeit in different ways....

Cam still has time to mature and live up to he billing but like George i see coach killer written all over him at this point in his career.

[Guest Super_Freak]

Mr Scot FTW!!

[rayzor]

Its hard to motivate guys over 30 who've been on losing teams most of their careers and are feasting off Marty Hurney's contracts.

no offense, but that's a cop-out. he doesn't need to worry about those guys. there's only a couple of them there. the rest of the team, tho, is young and quite capable of being molded into something better.

i've said it quite a few times. cam has one of the most infectious personalities i've seen. we've all seen the positive effect that he can have on people. he's known for being able to walk into a room and win it over with just his smile. with blinn and auburn he was primarily responsible for those two team's national championships and if you watched him at auburn you essentially saw him will his team back from pretty significant deficits because he knew what everyone there was capable of.

he walked into those situations and ended up owning them. he got those teams fired up in a big way and he could do the very same thing here...but he's not buying it himself yet. i'm sure he gets frustrated at what others do, but i think he gets more frustrated at what he does...the mistakes he makes and he can't shake it off. that feeling of "oh crap. here it goes again" comes from him as much as any and as soon as people on the team see him feeling defeated, the rest of the team will become infected with the same doubt he feels.

if he can somehow rise above his situation he'll be able to get the others to do the same. once he pulls that off, this team is going to start winning consistently and there's not any bad coaching that would keep that from happening. there's no 30+ year old with a loser complex is going to be able to get in his way.

if he can get his mindset back to where it was at blinn and auburn, he can get this team's mindset back where it needs to be.

should all that be on his shoulders? probably not, but it is.

[TonyN]

Dont pay attention to them King, I think they are huffing glue.

I thought about seeing if I could buy some pot from them.

I have a recommedation for the use of medical cannabis from the State of California, but I don't think I am allowed to sell it to users in the Carolinas. Shame.

[King Taharqa]

Sorry, but a leader doesn't talk with his head down at press conferences and refuse to make eye contact with anyone all while spewing disegenious drivel and asking for a "suggestion box" about how to improve.

Remember: the ONLY thing HE can control, is Cameron Newton.

Sorry, leaders dont hide while their young QB takes all the criticism PUBLICLY. Kalil boasted in the preseason about us going to the Super Bowl, where is he or the other O linemen right now? They are hiding. In Flacco's first few years in Baltimore, Ray Lewis took on the role as LEADER. He didnt hide from the media, he didnt let the media dart his QB to death so he didnt have to be accountable, he stepped up and led in the locker room and ON THE FIELD OF PLAY. Half our captains and leaders dont do that. They are guys who are used to losing, but are professional about it. A leader would not accept his team losing 30+ games over a 3 year span, but our "leaders" have done just that. You guys want rah rah guys, and think thats the be all end all to leadership. Tell you what, make those guys you think are that coaches and stop wasting roster spots on guys who cant play anymore, but are locker room "faves".

[King Taharqa]

In the offseason Jon Beason displayed LEADERSHIP when he defended his young QB from a shitty statement Alex Smith made. Beason IS a leader, unfortunately because of his injuries and the fact we've already drafted his replacement, he hasnt had much of an effect on our team during the Rivera Era.

[PanthersBigD]

Cam is the biggest leader in the locker room right now. Which is unfortunate because guys who've been here almost 10 years arent. Some of us mistake professional losers (meaning guys who accept losing, but are professional about it) with leadership. There's no one in that locker room that displays leadership on the field week to week like Cameron. There's no one in that locker room who is held accountable for their play the way Cameron is. Thats why I expect a lot of those guys to be gone in the offseason. We're undergoing a cultural change, and part of that change is ridding ourselves of professional nice guys that accept losing. That is not LEADERSHIP, that is complacency.

To actually be a leader, you have to have someone willing to follow. I don't see anyone lining up or rallying behind Newton, for more than the sake of appearances. He's a young, unpolished player, with HUGE potential, but he's not a leader of men yet. Whether he will be or not remains to be seen. He does pout too much, and he does respond to criticism with too much sarcasm. He needs to harness his emotions better as a leader. I'm not saying I could do it, but I'm not getting paid millions of dollars and I don't have multiple championships as my personal goal like he does.

You don't have to be humble or unassuming to be a good leader, you just have to be doing something worth others following your lead. If he were a wide receiver or a defensive end, this leadership mantle wouldn't be thrust upon him like it is, but that's life.

I hope he's got it in him. I feel like if he just does a little growing up emotionally, that he can be the guy to take us to a championship. He's got the physical tools.

[King Taharqa]

no offense, but that's a cop-out. he doesn't need to worry about those guys. there's only a couple of them there. the rest of the team, tho, is young and quite capable of being molded into something better.

i've said it quite a few times. cam has one of the most infectious personalities i've seen. we've all seen the positive effect that he can have on people. he's known for being able to walk into a room and win it over with just his smile. with blinn and auburn he was primarily responsible for those two team's national championships and if you watched him at auburn you essentially saw him will his team back from pretty significant deficits because he knew what everyone there was capable of.

he walked into those situations and ended up owning them. he got those teams fired up in a big way and he could do the very same thing here...but he's not buying it himself yet. i'm sure he gets frustrated at what others do, but i think he gets more frustrated at what he does...the mistakes he makes and he can't shake it off. that feeling of "oh crap. here it goes again" comes from him as much as any and as soon as people on the team see him feeling defeated, the rest of the team will become infected with the same doubt he feels.

if he can somehow rise above his situation he'll be able to get the others to do the same. once he pulls that off, this team is going to start winning consistently and there's not any bad coaching that would keep that from happening. there's no 30+ year old with a loser complex is going to be able to get in his way.

if he can get his mindset back to where it was at blinn and auburn, he can get this team's mindset back where it needs to be.

should all that be on his shoulders? probably not, but it is.

His mindset is the same as it was at Blinn and Auburn. Losing will not be tolerated. Unfortunately this organization and players have a mindset that losing is OK, just be a professional about it. Might explain why we've lost so many games the past few years. There is no leadership from the front office on down in Panthers organization, yet our 23 year old QB is supposed to be a PERFECT EXAMPLE of leadership.