The OFFICIAL draft Cam Newton Thread!!!

[footsteps_falco]

[video=youtube;dWztPwFOxiY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWztPwFOxiY&feature=channel[/video]

 

[Mr. Magoo]

The fact of the matter is, you're going to find at least one cautionary tale with every single QB that comes out of the Draft...from here to forever. Every single one.

Despite the Akili Smith comparisons, I agree.

You can limit your risks if you follow certain prototypes and look to past players and situations to see how it worked out, but at the end of the day there's no substitute for being able to judge talent... and to be able to look at someone, spend time with them, and figure out what kind of person they are.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

Based upon rookie QB success between now and the late-90s/early-00s, I get the distinct impression that the vast majority of OC's and QB coaches know how to better coach young QB's. They know how to properly coddle them and play upon their strengths when they're young. I think the implementation of more Spread principles in the NFL game might have something to do with it. Difficult to say. But, I also think Newton's athleticism limits a lot of the risk of losing a young QB. He won't be able to rely on his legs, and he doesn't try to now. But, he will make big plays with his legs, and D's will simplify their coverages and be more attentive to their rush lanes (slowing their pass rush) because of his legs. People talk about the risk/reward with young QB's, but there have been very few first-round busts over the last few years.

Matt Ryan
Joe Flacco
Matt Stafford
Mark Sanchez
Josh Freeman
Sam Bradford
Tim Tebow (wtf?)

I don't count Tebow . . . but he isn't a bust yet . . .

Those are the first round QB's over the last 3 drafts. So far, so good

Before that, you had a stretch of guys with poor intelligence and poor work ethic, or guys who just weren't very good (Brady Quinn).

J. Russell
B. Quinn
V. Young
M. Leinart
J. Cutler (who is enjoying some success despite himself)

. . .

But, judging these QB's and how they've panned out: most QB's won't be drafted in the 1st RD if they don't have the necessary physical skills. Newton has more than necessary. Intelligence and work ethic are the common factors in the successful RD 1 QB's. If you're a smart kid and willing to work hard, they'll help you succeed in today's NFL.

I don't remember A. Smith as a prospect well at all. I remember hearing he was amazing. That's it. But, from what I read now, he was intelligent, and he seemed to have the necessary work ethic (again, correct me if I'm wrong). If those factors are true, I think that if A. Smith were a 2011 draft prospect, his chances of succeeding would be greater.

 

[JCane]

somebody tried to tell me earlier that cam newtons college career record was 25-1....

Well if you count Blinn College, it was 25-1.

 

[hoops]

One thing I remember about Akili Smith was his fabled 38 on the wonderlic.

so much for that...

 

[hoops]

I don't know about that. Akili Smith is one of the most talented quarterback prospects I've ever seen. He probably wasn't as mobile as Newton but he had an absolute cannon, along with a quick release and good accuracy. Plus, he came out of a pro style attack. I was still in high school when he came out but there are some throws of his I'll never forget.

For instance:

[video=youtube;aQa7gRaW-j0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQa7gRaW-j0[/video]

wow...his quick feet in his drop were pretty damn impressive...like someone sped up the tape or something...and that was a hell of a throw

i get your point

 

[hoops]

I remember Akili Smith too... tell me how Cam Newton is a much better prospect.

i think i misspoke with that...i should have said that back when akili smith was coming out i wouldn't have bought the dual threat qb for anything...i was all about an oak tree 6 ft 4 230 lb guy with a rocket arm who would have 5 behemoths protecting him who would make plays from the pocket...heck even when michael vick came out i told my friends (and i watched mike vick all thru his va tech career being in va and all the damn mike vick hype) that a dual threat qb who wasn't a polished passer would never work in the pros...you could say i was stuck in my ways...up until a few years ago i would have never even drafted one too much fail factor for me

but you know what...the game has changed...my thinking over time and probably some stubbornness has evolved...sure if i had it my way a guy like peyton manning or a tom brady is absolutely the way to go the guy who stands in makes all kind of presnap reads and sees the field reads coverage in a nanosecond makes quick decisions with the football possesses uncanny accuracy and anticipation but you know what those guys like manning and brady come around once a damn decade pretty much...i can wait around for that kinda guy which i believe andrew luck is next year peyton manning type intelligence with aaron rodgers legs and hope like hell that we are in position to take him or i can figure out another way to win

for instance ben roethlisberger who has a top 5 defense year in and year out and has been to 3 damn superbowls already...who here wants to tell me that one of big bens biggest strengths is reading coverage and making quick decisions with the football??? imo roethlisbergers biggest asset by far is his ability to continue to keep his eye level down field when flushed or under pressure and to make plays/keep plays alive with his legs...i don't think he's a guy that is gonna find his 4th read very often...he scrambles til someone comes open but he does see the field really well...but why can't cam newton develop into that kind of pro with better wheels??? anybody got an answer...i watched ben tonight...he eye bangs his #1 read an awful lot...he comes off to crossing routes underneath and to his te or looks for the home run with mike wallace...i've seen cam newton come off his initial look to crossing routes more times than i can mention and while the te wasn't a big part of the auburn spread why can't he learn to make it one of his progressions provided we give him one worth looking at down field lol??? and when cams flushed he maintains his eye discipline down the field looking for throwing options an awful lot like roethlisberger...cams built like adonis has got solid touch and accuracy over the top or underneath and a freaking cannon arm

i just for the life of me can't understand why guys don't think cam newton the football player isn't a worthy top 20 pick option in todays nfl...he may fail but you know what i don't give a damn...he's got more upside than anyone we have in the building and he's got ben roethlisberger with better wheels type franchise potential

wtf...take the chance

 

[Roman529]

If we draft TWO QB's in this draft then this front office is completely retarded. We have to many holes on this team to be DRAFTING two QB's trying to hit on ONE. That's bad business practice.

Learning a complex NFL system is a bunch of crap? Are NFL offensive systems simple or complex? Dan Marino wasn't exactly Einstein, true. But again, let's not use the 1% rule to defend your love for Newton. There are plenty of guys who have scored poorly and flopped in the NFL.

What I say about Newton, how is that any different than what you say about those two "stiffs" in Locker and Mallett? Ryan Mallett "could flat out play" so what's wrong with him? Not saying I want Locker or Mallett because I don't. Personally, I wouldn't gamble on any of these QB's in this draft.

Well if Pennington and Thigpen are gone next year, and I think they BOTH could be gone, than we have to replace them...either by drafting two rookies, or by bringing in a vet and drafting one....I can't see us bringing in two vets. I think the likely route is drafting Newton, or possibly a guy like Kaepernick in Round Two (if we trade down). I think Orton would be a nice fit and would rather have him over Vince Young, Kolb or McNabb. I would love having Henne, Orton and Newton and it would not force Newton into learning our system right away.

I know most college teams don't run offenses that are anywhere close to most pro style offenses, but there are offenses like the Wildcat that would be ideal for Cam Newton. Ronnie Brown has had reasonable success running the Wildcat and I think Cam Newton would do twice the job running it. I think Cam is more accurate than people give him credit for and teams would have to worry about not only his arm but his running ability. I don't think the Wildcat would be a "gimmick" if you had the right person running it, and we wouldn't have to run it all the time.

I just think Cam would give us more flexibility and he has more of an upside potential than Mallett or Locker. Mallett has a great arm but he is very slow. Locker is really mobile but he is pretty inaccurate. I don't know about you but I am tired of our boring vanilla offense. Newton can be our Michael Vick on a bigger scale.

 

[JCane]

First off, the Wildcat is not a gimmick and I'll argue with anyone who wants to say otherwise lol. Second, the Wildcat is done. It's over for the Wildcat. You knew it would come to this. Teams have figured it out. It's not as reliable anymore. You can run it here and there but it can't be our bread and butter.

We have to have a leader at the QB position who can beat teams with his arm. Newton can be our Michael Vick? What is Vick? A running QB who never won anything. Vick dominated the league early in his career and then teams got more and more film on him and forced him to throw the football a little more. He comes back in the NFL and he dominates Green Bay early this season, and then he looks below average against Green Bay in the playoffs and in Philadelphia. Teams got more and more film on him as the year went on and figured him and the Eagles out.

 

[Roman529]

its not good when the first thing you say abouta qb is that hes "6'6" and 250+ and very fast and tough to bring down" were not talking about a wr or rb were talking about the guy whose supposed to win with his arm

Remember Steve Young? He won not just with his arm, but also with his legs and the ability to scramble and run for first downs. Aaron Rodgers wins the same way...Rodgers has an accurate arm but he also can run when he doesn't have open receivers. I know most successful QB's in the NFL are pocket passers like Manning and Brady, but there are also ways to win with mobile QB's (Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers, Michael Vick, etc.).

 

[TheBow305]

Here is Cam Newton's PASSING against Georgia.

http://youtu.be/ykzlReEscog

That's an unlisted link so you won't be able to find it by searching YouTube.

Looked pretty good to me. I'm a HUGE fan and would be psyched if we took him at 15!

 

[Roman529]

First off, the Wildcat is not a gimmick and I'll argue with anyone who wants to say otherwise lol. Second, the Wildcat is done. It's over for the Wildcat. You knew it would come to this. Teams have figured it out. It's not as reliable anymore. You can run it here and there but it can't be our bread and butter.

We have to have a leader at the QB position who can beat teams with his arm. Newton can be our Michael Vick? What is Vick? A running QB who never won anything. Vick dominated the league early in his career and then teams got more and more film on him and forced him to throw the football a little more. He comes back in the NFL and he dominates Green Bay early this season, and then he looks below average against Green Bay in the playoffs and in Philadelphia. Teams got more and more film on him as the year went on and figured him and the Eagles out.

Besides the upcoming Combine, the Phins have to sit down with Newton and give him a lengthy private workout. See if he can throw the 15 yard sideline slant; try as best as possible to gauge his work ethic (I think this is one thing that is impossible to measure as some guys turn into JaMarcus Russell because of money); and get an overall feel for him.

Just because someone didn't run a pro style offense doesn't mean that they aren't capable of doing so, or learning it. If the guy was willing to go play for a Juco school in the middle of nowhere and not complain about this, then I think the guy has some motivation to do what it takes to succeed. I know there is always a risk Newton could turn into Akili Smith or any of the 10+ QB's we have drafted/brought in since Marino retired, but what the heck do we have to lose at this point? If he sucks than we stick with Henne until we find our franchise QB. You can't win in the NFL without a franchise QB and that's all I want. Maybe drafting a guy like Newton will light a fire under Henne's azz, and make him realize he needs to figure things out and get better, or he is done.

 

[JCane]

Drafting a QB isn't going to change anything about Chad Henne. Chad Henne is who he is.

 

[Canadi-Phin]

Really?

That's the system working. Malhzan's system works. It always has. His system makes QB's and WR's unstoppable. 99% of the time they're open. That's why Cam locks onto his receivers as soon as the ball is snapped. It has little to do with him reading defenses. The majority of reading defenses is done pre-snap anyway.

When did I bring up Cam's size lol? I've said time and time again that Cam is very physically gifted and has all of the physical tools he needs at the next level. And I never said that he wouldn't make plays with his feet either because he will. He's going to have to. But he's not going to run all over defenses in the NFL they way he does in college. The same thing was said about Vince Young coming out of college. And there have been times when Vince makes plays with his feet but he's not beating anyone in the league with his feet. The league is too good for that. You want to make some plays with your feet or do you want to win a Super Bowl? Running QB's aren't winning Super Bowls...look around. Mike Vick is the greatest running QB in the history of the league and he's not winning anyone a Super Bowl.

It's not about what is to lose...it's about what is to gain. Henne is terrible. No question. So obviously we'd improve with Cam Newton, but I don't think we improve to the point that we can go out and beat the top teams in the league in the playoffs and that is where we need to be.

Do you believe Tom Brady is an elite QB? or is it the system? Does he have a bunch of world beating Receivers? Nope. Everything is about the system. Is Brady as good if he is in another system, most likely not. Damn Joe Montana isn't as good if he's not in that system. Stop quoting the system, every QB every year comes form a great system. Bradford did with elite talent. Newton is not like Akili SMith because Akili put great num bers up against the weakest defenses in the nation back then, Pac_10 D sucked.

Also running QBs, what justifies a running QB to you? Rodgers just won the SB, Big Ben was there. Sanchez, Vick, Cassel all were in the Playoffs. Having a mobile QB now is more important than ever. Unless of course you play in a great system.

 

[Canadi-Phin]

I'm all for picking a QB, but I don't think this guy is what we need. He's not very good at reading defenses and he's not going to outrun anybody in the NFL, except maybe Channing Crowder..Lol. He was on a great team at Auburn which made him look a lot better than he really is. I think Ireland and Sparano will try to trade down to get the 2nd rd pick back (Safe move), but if they can't do that they will make the safe pick. OL, LB, DL, DB. They will approach the draft like they approach the games, play not to lose and don't take any risks on a QB or skill position.

If they pick a QB, then they just signed their walking papers because if he doesn't work out they're fired, Sparano is anyway. This management team doesn't have the guts to pull the trigger on a QB in Rd 1, and without a good QB Sparano will get canned after next year anyway. We'll see..

He had a great team?? Are you kidding? They started the year Ranked 23rd. That means no one else thought they were that great. Most of the time a team does not climb all the way to the top. Newton was the X factor. The year before they finished outside the top 25 I believe on the rankings