Cam Newton = next Vince Young?
 

Don Banks of sportsillustrated brings up a very good point regarding Cam Newton:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...ton/index.html

He likens Cam to a modern day Vince Young: tons of success on the college level, winning a national championship, winning a Heisman, early success in the NFL (both Young and Newton had "breakout" rookie years), and now, after defensive coordinators begin to figure them out, they come down to earth and begin to show some immaturity issues.

I think it's particularly apt. Newton could easily follow Young's career path. What do you guys think?

Cam has a better arm and mechanics than Vince Young could've dreamed of, isn't half as a ******** and looks comfortable standing in the pocket. So other than being black, athletic QBs that won the heisman, I don't see much similarity at all.

They both have had immaturity issues throughout their college and early pro careers.

Both achieved a high level of success in college (Heisman AND National Title) before entering the NFL draft, a level of success that might have gone to their heads.

They both have had excellent rookie seasons. Young struggled in his sophomore season, and Cam seems to also be struggling in his sophomore season. These struggles featured questions of immaturity surrounding both QBs.

Wait, what has Cam done that has been immature in the NFL? Mope on the sidelines? Big deal. I don't recall Cam throwing his head coach under the bus, getting into a brawl at a nightclub, or disappearing for a couple of days. They're two different people. Just because they're athletic quarterbacks that happen to be black, doesn't mean they'll follow the same path. Weird how Josh Freeman isn't also in this discussion. I wonder why he isn't being linked. He looked good in his second year and hasn't looked the same since. Or JaMarcus Russell. He was big, black, had maturity issues, and flopped.

This really comes off as the media wanting a storyline to happen a certain way, so they're trying their hardest to make it come true. Integrity as a writer be damned.

Too early to call it. We should wait until his rookie contract expires. I prefer 4 or 5 years to back up for comparison craps. Any less than 4 is raw.

He does stupid stuff like the "Superman" dance in the endzone when his team is getting blown out by the Giants, and then sulks on the sidelines and refuses to talk to his teammates.

Immaturity has been a constant theme with Cam this year. If you remember, Mike Mayock was questioning his immaturity during the TNF game, and after the latest loss, some people have questioned his maturity after the postgame interview in which he refused to take responsibility for the loss.

The #1 thing that is most similar with these guys is the fact that a.) they had a TON of success in college and b.) subsequently do not know how to handle losing

Yea just no. Vince young's rookie year he barely completed 50 percent. Vince never threw for more than 2500 in a season. One player's success or failure has absolutely nothing to do with another player. Come on Thumper

Why not compare him to Leinart? Or Bolt Crennan? they were successful in college too ;)

Oh wow two tall black qbs that can run getting direct comparisons each other based on skin color, I've never seen this before.

It's more about their college backgrounds (no adversity, tons of winning, tons of accolades) and their subsequent transition into the tougher NFL (no matter how good you are, you are going to lose alot of games early in your career) than anything else.

How can Cam handle losing? That's the question. If you play the race card, you're totally uninspired.

Cam had no adversity in college? You know he started at Florida right?

When I see Cam play I can't help but think how much he reminds me of Richard Pryor

Wait til later. I'm going to dig up back to 2011 when I made this comparison and stuck by it and many called me "unintelligent". Cam doesn't scare defenses with his arm. They gameplan to take away his running ability bc he doesn't read defenses too well and isn't very accurate.

This.

Not to mention that Cam's work ethic is 10 bajillion times better Young.

Other than them both being black quarterbacks who are struggling in their sophomore years, there really isn't anything about them that's similar.

Vince coming out was very unconventional but people thought despite some limitations he could still get it done because he was a winner. Anyone who has seen these two play knows that Cam as a passer is on a different level than Vince ever was, and I was as big of a Vince fan that there was but he was just a headcase. Not saying he was a bad person he just has some issues I think. Cam comes off as a doucher to some people but he will be able to bounce back from adversity and take his lumps unlike Young.

Am I wrong in saying Newton has had two good games, two bad games, and one meh game? Vince young at this point his sophomore year hadnt even thrown for 200 yards yet

Everybody is panicking because he got shut down by the Giants and the Seahawks. Last time I checked those 2 teams are capable of shutting down anyone in a given game. Newton is the most physically gifted QB in the NFL who has proven that he's a capable pocket passer. His work ethic is by all accounts good, and I don't think a couple of bad games in his 2nd season is really all that much to panic about.

Maturity be damned. Cutler, Rivers, and Roethisburger are all immature. It doesn't stop them from being good QB's in the NFL.

Cam Newton is either Vince young 2.0 or Josh Freeman 2.0. Take your pick? Lol

And the bucs.

Some of that I think Newton gets a raw deal for. Because he isn't playing the "little angel" the public wants him to be, he's suddenly the bad guy. No one was saying this last year when the Panthers offense looked good, but now that he's struggling along with the team folks want to say his persona is part of the problem. Why can't he be a young player that is simply struggling in his second season and still has a lot of learning to due about the nuances of the game at the pro level? If Newton was smiling on the sidelines even when the Panthers were losing, would that be better? I think Jay Cutler kind of gets this stupid rap too sometimes from the media. Hopefully these players don't give a **** about the garbage being pushed by the media.

The maturity issues aren't even similar, Cam's kinda douchey, whereas Vince Young just has the mind of a child. So dissimilar tools and playing styles, dissimilar off the field issues, dissimilar college careers outside of their last years, and dissimilar NFL careers so far. SO what exactly makes them actually similar to each other other than their looks?

Vince Young - Tall black quarterback that can run, no accuracy doesn't understand the passing game very well, didn't do anything overly impressive his rookie year besides really manage the game. Has zero confidence and when he faces adversity he hides or quits on his team.

Cam Newton - Tall black quarterback that can run, decent accuracy, very powerful arm, threw for a **** load of yards. Had hardly anything around him his first year and took a team with the #1 pick on to win 6 games. Extremely confident in himself and what he can do and hates losing.

Don't really see much besides they are tall black qbs and can run.

Is it possible to bring up questions about two players' collegiate production, winning records, and possible inability to cope with losing (and adversity in general, after not having faced any in their college careers) without EVERYONE bringing up the race card?

Seriously, try to focus on something other than blatant racist sentiment of "they are both black, those are the only similarities I can see! you are a moron for even comparing the two!"

Narrative.

Because their playing style isn't all that much similar. Everything about Newton's game translates better to the pro's than Young's including his running style. Pretty much every QB who's entered the league was used to winning far more games than not. It's an adjustment that every young QB has to make. Again nobody was questioning his ability to handle losing when he was playing well for a 6 win team. Now that they're losing games and he's not playing well suddenly he can't handle losing? It's a terrible argument.

Cam Newton has the ability to come out of his "funk" and be a very productive QB. Vince Young was basically done in the NFL after his rookie year. The two are nothing alike.

And please show me one QB who doesn't mind losing in the NFL. I don't give a **** if he mopes on the sideline. Losing sucks, especially when there is a ton of pressure on you to be the very best, like no one ever was. (yeah I went there)

Maybe he could handle it a little better, but there are immaturity issues after losing and then there is Vince Young level headcase issues. Two completely different things.