Gil Brandt ranks Cam 7th best QB under 30

[rayzor]

I am surprised because isn't Cam and Gil tight? Gil like moon has been in his corner the last 2 years. I actually have thought that Gil and Moon are the guys Cam uses as his voice in the media to say he things he can't say (like most big time players have a person in the that does the dirty work for them).

i think he's just been expecting more. one of the elements that brandt raved about was his leadership and influence on the guys on the sidelines and it just hasn't been there like it was at auburn and like was expected. he's needed to be influenced rather than be an influence. he's having growing pains and he isn't at the level he should be and is capable of being yet.

numbers aside, he's been a little disappointing up until the last few games of the season. if he can start back at that level and maintain it, he'll be rising up those lists.

[FootballMaestro]

I am surprised because isn't Cam and Gil tight? Gil like moon has been in his corner the last 2 years. I actually have thought that Gil and Moon are the guys Cam uses as his voice in the media to say he things he can't say (like most big time players have a person in the that does the dirty work for them).

All true. But I guess we gotta remember 1), this is a current list, that's subject to change (and Brandt, said as much regarding Cam's first half/having him higher). 2) I guess he's trying to be fair (because of what you mentioned) and show perspective. This way, no one can call him a homer. I get it.

It's all good. I'm sure like Moon (when he was recently asked on WFNZ), he'd take Cam for the future (or argue he's just as good as Luck and Wilson).

The Kaepernick ranking, is the one outlyer to me. I mean, you hate to keep saying it: But career bust, Alex Smith put up a top 5 QB rating, and went to the Conference finals last year, with the same team, before his 2 yr back up started the last 9 games, bringing them into the Super Bowl.

[footballisasport]

A new or rookie QB can be a leader during their first year. However, its' not going to happen if the HC or team sucks. Cause when that happens there's no stability. And when there's no stability from the head coach you have no leaders, cause you have to get it from the coach first.

If you have a good team or a coach that's in charge: The players that he really likes, automatically become designated leaders, if not adopted ones (by his teammates).

That's why great QB's are almost always associated with Great Coaches, or at the very least, very good or competent coaches. They go hand in hand.

I agree that a young QB can have leadership qualties, which I do believe Cam has naturally, but to actually take on the whole leadership role literally right off the bat, I doubt it.

Not all QBs are natural leaders either and some are quite happy leading their team without actually being the leaders of the team. That is where a good strong coach, who is a natural leader and good at his job, comes in. All you have to do is look no further than the Ravens team to see that Flacco maybe the leader because he's the QB but as far as who is the real leader of the team, it's not him. John Harbaugh is the leader and so is Ray Lewis.

As I stated before, the whole Cam is "immature" because those at NFLN follow him with a camera and spin his actions into something negative is silly. The way they go out of their way to paint Luck as such "the leader of men" is just as nauseating as them going out of their way to show that Cam isn't "mature enough to be a team leader." I'm sure both Cam and Luck will make great team leaders one day if left alone to grow and mature but it's somewhat naive to assume one is better than the other as leaders base on the manipulation by our media.

Also, let's be real, the whole media packaged Andrew Luck story is getting quite boring. He didn't "save the Colts" and brought them back from a brink of anything. The team has been in the play-offs every season except 2011 because Peyton went down and they wanted the number one pick when the chance came to get Luck. The team simply didn't waste their chance at getting Luck @ 1 by investing time and energy training their back-up QBs to win games. Plus, the media was squarely behind the Colts tanking their season to get Luck. It was their fairy-tale story also.

[KillaCamNewton]

it must be real tough for kaepernick throwing to vernon davis, randy moss, or michael crabtree, as well as handing off to frank gore

[footballisasport]

i think he's just been expecting more. one of the elements that brandt raved about was his leadership and influence on the guys on the sidelines and it just hasn't been there like it was at auburn and like was expected. he's needed to be influenced rather than be an influence. he's having growing pains and he isn't at the level he should be and is capable of being yet.

numbers aside, he's been a little disappointing up until the last few games of the season. if he can start back at that level and maintain it, he'll be rising up those lists.

In all honesty, it sounds like you and those folks in the media, really need to grow up yourselves. You do seem to enjoy sharing in the media's warped reality of Cam, don't you? Yeah Cam carried Aubrun to their NC, why can't he do it with our team. We will simply ignore all of the other variables that makes up Auburn team vs. the Panthers.

Anyway, Brandt is paid by NFLN to say what they want him to say despite his feels for these athletes. He may like Cam but if TPTB at NFLN tells him to put Cam into a certain light, you bet your last dollar he will. Remember Brandt was the same guy who was rah-rah for Cam during the draft but did a 180 after Blaine Gabbert, the sports media chosen QB for the 2011 draft, stock started to dropped real fast after his private QB throwing day? He went from challenging the others like Mike "phoney" Mayock and Charlee "hypocrit" Casserly about Cam's game to pretending to be on the Blaine bangwagon to help push the argument that Blaine was better than Cam. As the psychology works, if you get someone who is back a player to then say that the other player is better, folks will automatically believe it despite the reality. Guess what, it worked.

When will you stop falling for the media's silly psychological games with Cam? Or is it that you enjoy them because you can then blame your own disappointment of the Panthers performances on him.

[rayzor]

In all honesty, it sounds like you and those folks in the media, really need to grow up yourselves. You do seem to enjoy sharing in the media's warped reality of Cam, don't you?

Yeah funny how folks like Brandt easilyy edit everything Cam does so they can use it to make their argument against. Yet none not one of them is asking any of the other players, especially the Vets, to change anything about their on field behavior or game to help their own team.

cam shared/s that same warped reality.

get over it.

[footballisasport]

cam shared/s that same warped reality.

get over it.

Is Cam in your head?

[rayzor]

Is Cam in your head?

lol, he agreed to it. said he was working on it. showed he had worked on it. those working with him said as much.

again, get over it.

he's not perfect. he's got room for growth as a player and a man....just like anyone on or off the field. he's been growing.

[rayzor]

can you believe what one guy actually had the GAUL to say about cam?

The big thing with him is he doesn't like losing. He doesn't handle it very well. I don't see anything wrong with that; it's OK not to like losing. You just can't show it as the leader of the football team.

You have to project optimism and calmness to the players around you. You can't be demoralized. He's not showing optimism. He's looking puzzled. He looks like a guy who doesn't have all the answers, and his teammates see that.

"The big thing with him is he doesn't like losing," Moon told Yahoo! Sports. "He doesn't handle it very well. I don't see anything wrong with that. It's OK not to like losing. You just can't show it as the leader of the football team.

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2012...uels-criticism/

"The big thing with him is he doesn't like losing," Moon told Yahoo! Sports. "He doesn't handle it very well. I don't see anything wrong with that. It's OK not to like losing. You just can't show it as the leader of the football team. "You have to project optimism and calmness to the players around you. You can't be demoralized. He's not showing optimism. He's looking puzzled. He looks like a guy who doesn't have all the answers, and his teammates see that."

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2012...uels-criticism/

"The big thing with him is he doesn't like losing," Moon told Yahoo! Sports. "He doesn't handle it very well. I don't see anything wrong with that. It's OK not to like losing. You just can't show it as the leader of the football team. "You have to project optimism and calmness to the players around you. You can't be demoralized. He's not showing optimism. He's looking puzzled. He looks like a guy who doesn't have all the answers, and his teammates see that."

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2012...uels-criticism/

"The big thing with him is he doesn't like losing," Moon told Yahoo! Sports. "He doesn't handle it very well. I don't see anything wrong with that. It's OK not to like losing. You just can't show it as the leader of the football team. "You have to project optimism and calmness to the players around you. You can't be demoralized. He's not showing optimism. He's looking puzzled. He looks like a guy who doesn't have all the answers, and his teammates see that."

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2012...uels-criticism/

Cam's an emotional player. He needs to learn to saddle that. If I was to talk to him – and I need to give him a call – I would tell him his demeanor's got to change in the face of adversity. It's more of a maturity thing; he's got to grow up in this area. He's got to get realistic that they're not a good football team right now and it's going to be tough to win as much as he thinks he should, until they get some more good players.

If you want to compare him to someone because of his demeanor, compare him to Jay Cutler. There are a lot of guys who whine and moan. Cam's not biting anybody's head off or pushing his linemen. He's just disgruntled, and not handling losing well, because, think about it, he basically didn't lose in college.

I don't think Cam's as bad as Cutler, because Cutler looks like he doesn't give a damn sometimes, or he's yelling and cussing at someone. Cam, he just looks down when they're losing.

He just doesn't like losing. Is that bad? No, but you can't show it – not in this era where there's so much television coverage. You can't have a bad moment on the sidelines anymore.

that guy's obviously a hater and is buying into that warped reality about cam.

[rayzor]

oh yeah...here's old cammy cam himself

"I was very immature. I'll be the first one to tell you, the pouting and the moping, I kind of overdid it. I know that. I was a bad teammate. I shut off to some people who gave unbelievable effort. ... That's where I have to mature."

" ... I put a lot on me to be able to respond. When things are going wrong, I wanted to have the ball in my hand, just like any warrior, any competitor who has played this game. When you don't get the results you want, I didn't go about it the right way."

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/29/3276572/carolina-panthers-qb-cam-newton.html#storylink=cpy

http://blogs.bettor.com/Carolina-Panthers-QB-Cam-Newton-says-he-wasnt-mature-last-season-NFL-News-a158633

[FootballMaestro]

oh yeah...here's old cammy cam himself

I don't disagree with what you're saying in principle. Of course there were things Cam could have done better or improved on. However, you gotta take those comments with a grain of salt, cause Cam always blames himself for every loss (no matter how bad everyone else was), and judges him self quite harshly and his need to improve.

As a matter of fact, I remember when he made those comments about dealing with losing/being a better teammate. And after he did, both Hurney and Rivera said publicly, 'that's how I want my quarterback to feel. I don't want My quarterback to sit well with losing. To be quite honest. We actually need more Cam Newtons on this team'. So they kinda poo poo-ed his statements at the time. And I remember that. It was just PR poo--coming from Cam, and both Rivera and Hurney didn't buy it, and made no apologies for Cam's 'difficulties with losing'.

Now, Cam later in the season, apologizing to each team unit, regarding his early season play and the Panther losses, and what he could have contributed; then getting better as the season progressed, was The REAL Deal!! And that was done in private and never addressed with the press (until the next upcoming interview/er who ask, of course).

Big Difference!

[rayzor]

I don't disagree with what you're saying in principle. Of course there were things Cam could have done better or improved on. However, you gotta take those comments, with a grain of salt, cause Cam always blames himself for every loss (no matter how bad everyone else was), and judges him self quite harshly and his need to improve.

As a matter of fact, I remember when he made those comments about dealing with losing/being a better teammate, Hurney and Rivera had said publicly, 'that's how I want my quarterback to feel. I don't want My quarterback to sit well with losing. To be quite honest. We actually need more Cam Newtons'. So they kinda poo poo-ed his statements at the time. I remember that. It was just PR poo, and both Rivera and Hurney didn't buy it.

Now, Cam later in the season, apologizing to each unit, regarding his early season play and the Panther losses, and what he could have contributed to it, then getting better as the season progress, was REAL!!

Big Difference!

does he not need to grow and improve? does he not need to bcecome more mature? do you thiknk that he doesn't actually feel that or that those feelings aren't warranted? that it's just him being hard on himself?

it's amazing to me how little he is allowed to be criticized, and i wouldn't even call this criticsm. it's truthful and honest observation about a young stud QB. it's reality.

the reality is that he has grown in those areas as well, is it not? at least that's what we're hoping because it sure looked like it. he needed to grow and he did. and he's not done yet. he's still got quite a ways to go and i'm sure he acknowledges that. why else do you think he's going back to school? why do that if everything is just fine the way it is?

he and others not blinded by his suped-up and imagined personna, realize that he has to grow. he has to mature. he has to improve. he has room for it, just like anyone.

i swear this is the dumbest conversation around and i'm done.

[FootballMaestro]

does he not need to grow and improve? does he not need to bcecome more mature? do you thiknk that he doesn't actually feel that or that those feelings aren't warranted? that it's just him being hard on himself?

it's amazing to me how little he is allowed to be criticized, and i wouldn't even call this criticsm. it's truthful and honest observation about a young stud QB. it's reality.

the reality is that he has grown in those areas as well, is it not? at least that's what we're hoping because it sure looked like it. he needed to grow and he did. and he's not done yet. he's still got quite a ways to go and i'm sure he acknowledges that. why else do you think he's going back to school? why do that if everything is just fine the way it is?

he and others not blinded by his suped-up and imagined personna, realize that he has to grow. he has to mature. he has to improve. he has room for it, just like anyone.

i swear this is the dumbest conversation around and i'm done.

I already addressed your questions, in what I wrote already.

All I was saying was: You're examples were innocuous/harmless, cause what Cam addressed was fluff--at the time, and both Rivera and Hurney said as much. It was a PR move or Cam taking too much/unnecessary responsibility on his shoulders. But nonetheless nice to hear.

Cam taking true ownership, during the middle of the 2012 season, was a better example. And that was self driven. So that should be seen as a positive for Cam, and he gets all the credit in the world for being proactive and doing that.

The issue is not what Cam can improve on. The real question is: What he's asked and being criticized on, more than other QB's who encounter many of the same things he does, who are allowed to have their own personalities--on and off the field, and not be unfairly criticized for it.

For example: I would say that Kaepernick, based off what I've seen, is more immature and fiery on the field than Cam. And obviously, he wasn't NFL ready when he came into the league. However, you rarely hear media criticize him or even address either component. That's what many Cam supporters have issues with. Warren Moon even addressed this (the unfair criticism portion). And I'm not sure if you know this: But Moon is a big supporter of Luck. Knows his father well (Oliver Luck was a back up to Moon in the NFL). And Moon recommended Cam's QB tutor--George Whitfield to Oliver Luck, who then recommended Whitfield to his son--Andrew. And the rest is history.

I have no issue with legitimate or Abnormal Cam Events Cam criticism. However, most of what I hear, is just normal/regular stuff that different personalities, QB's and players on losing teams experience all the time, that gets blown out of proportion with him. No one ever said, that Cam has nothing to learn or couldn't get better. Of course not!

[rayzor]

but moon said the same thing.

meh...never mind.

you're right. he was being disengenious when he said he needed to be a better teammate and he needed to grow, otherwise he's perfect.