Cam’wrong

Most of you probably don’t get that reference…that’s a YOU problem.

It’s something that sports fans always get caught up in. They always want to point out the exception to the rule, not the rule. Anyone who knows me or reads my stuff knows I’m not a big Sam Gagner fan, more so a fan of how he fits with the Oilers than the kid himself. But when I make my case of how he hasn’t progressed, people want to point out to me how the Sedin’s took a long time to progress. Well that’s all well and good, but they would be the exception to the rule. They fail to point out the hundreds of guys who have slowly progressed and never lived up to their billing. This leads me to Cam Newton.

Last year people were drooling over this kid. He was going to be the exception to the rule.  He was the future of the quarterback position. He has it all. 6’6, 240 pounds, big arm, mobile, charisma, there is nothing Cam can’t do. THIS is the what an NFL quarterback will look like going forward. Just about everyone in the media agreed once they saw him play. It’s not fair to the rest of the league that one player has this much talent, right?

When will the media learn? I fully admit while I wasn’t big on Newton going into last season, no doubt he made me a believer as the season went on. But when I say believer, I mean I believed Newton could be a franchise QB and a top 10-5 guy in the NFL. No way did I think the way a large majority of the media did! Some guys were saying things like “he has a chance to be the greatest ever”. WHAT?!?

I’m sorry, but in no way did I think a guy doing a Superman pose after every single TD he scores was going to be the greatest ever. No way did I think a guy who got kicked out of the University of Florida for stealing a lap top would have the maturity to be a great leader. There was all kinds of evidence while he played at Auburn that he his father was paid for Cam to attend Auburn, it just goes on and on and on with this kid.

The tipping point seemed to be in the Giants game earlier this season, with the Panthers getting destroyed, Cam scores their first TD of the game and you’re thinking watching the game “this is going to be one of those pissed off celebrations”. Nope. Cam does the Superman pose and acts like everything is cool.

Colin Cowherd (who you MAY have noticed I listen to his radio show daily….) always preaches how your QB is like the CEO of a major corporation. He has to be the leader, he has to be sharp, he has to be mature, and he has to have the work ethic. THIS is where Cam doesn’t have it. Don Banks made the comparison to Vince Young a few weeks ago and it’s a lot closer than a lot of people may recall.

Young was getting the same kind of reviews out of the gate. He had an amazing rookie season, he had charisma, he was exciting, and he was only going to get better….right? Young digressed dramatically after his 2nd season and now he isn’t even in the league. Newton is a MUCH better thrower than Young, but like Young he is way too immature and will need to do a LOT of growing up if he wants to be one of the greats.

The media gets much too worked up about finding the next big thing in sports and in football in particular. You know what works in the NFL? A pocket QB who can drop back and pick apart defenses while knowing the playbook inside and out and keeping his team focused. He is the most mature player on the team, the first one to the stadium and the last one to leave every day. It’s not the sexiest thing, but that kind of QB has won every Super Bowl. Every, single, Super Bowl.

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