Wednesday, April 27, 2011

2011 NFL Draft - Cam Newton To Panthers? Auburn QB Will Do Well

The latest rumors have Auburn Quarterback Cam Newton going to The Carolina Panthers with the 2011 NFL Draft 1st Round Pick on Thursday, and even ESPN's Todd McShay, who's no fan of Newton, has that scenario to start his NFL Mock Draft.

Even the Twitter-verse is starting to heat-up with the rumor. And all of this, while some others, most notably former Washington Redskins Quarterback Joe Theisman, are quoted as "dissing" Newton.

This blogger can't remember a QB prospect who has endured as much character assassination as Cam Newton. And while this short blog post is not to reconstruct all of the things said about Newton, there is one observation that was gained from watching Newton with former Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden, and that's there seems to be some discomfort with Newton's style. Cam Newton reminds me of my good friend Keith Johnson, an engineering major at UTA, who would slowly consider what was said to him before reacting. But when pushed, Keith would and could aggressively show he was smart.

But it wasn't his style to do so.

Meanwhile Gruden's tossing complex play-calling terms at Newton was wrong-headed. He didn't do that to the other quarterbacks he talked to, like TCU's Andy Dalton, but he did it to Newton. It was as if Gruden was testing Newton's intelligence by using that age-old-stupid test: nomenclature. It didn't go over well with observers over at the blog SmartFootball. Coaches know all of that wordiness doesn't translate to a great football play.

This corner thinks Newton has the desire and skill to succeed at the NFL level, and he's a quick study. Newton's just not one to show what he knows.

Stay tuned.

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