PFW "Clobbers" Cam Newton

[Scott Wright]

Saw this blurb on Pro Football Talk ( http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...rs-cam-newton/ )

PFW Draft Guide Clobbers Cam Newton
Posted by Mike Florio on March 28, 2011, 9:16 PM EDT

The Pro Football Weekly draft preview, prepared each year by the late Joel Buschbaum’s successor, Nolan Nawrocki, is regarded as an indispensable source for comprehensive information regarding the many incoming players.

This year, Nawrocki takes aim at one of the biggest names in the draft pool.

Our corporate brother/cousin/colleague/potty-mouthed PFT Live guest Tom Curran points out that Nawrocki rips former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.

Under “negatives” for Newton, Nawrocki writes, “Very disingenuous — has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law — does not command respect from teammates and will always struggle to win a locker room . . . Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness — is not punctual, seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable.”

Wow, Nolan. Tell us how you really feel.

As Curran points out, each team will draw its own conclusions regarding Cam Newton. His talent and potential are undeniable; it only takes one team in the top 10 to be willing to take a chance on his character for Cam to be a top-10 pick.

Or, as the case may be, the top five.

Or, as the case may be, the top three.

Or, as the case may be, the top one.

Personally, I think Nolan is one of the very best in the business, right up there with Mel Kiper, Jr. and Mike Mayock. Apparently he has some of the same concerns that many of us do...

[Halsey]

It's hard not to be concerned about Newton's flaws, but man is he talented. Maybe he'll be a bust in the NFL or maybe he'll be a player who can perform on the field despite off field drama, kind of like Roethlisberger. The commments in the article seem a little overboard. It says "continually invites trouble", but I don't know of any trouble he's gotten into recently. He got in legal trouble at UF, but I don't know of any legal problems since. It's not really known how much fault he has in the pay-for-play drama.

[bitonti]

it's the NFL not the boy scouts. I don't know that a person needs to be worthy of marrying your daughter to lead a franchise. Look at Brett Favre.

[Scott Wright]

Originally Posted by bitonti

it's the NFL not the boy scouts. I don't know that a person needs to be worthy of marrying your daughter to lead a franchise. Look at Brett Favre.

I agree to a point, but quarterbacks need to be held to a much higher standard.

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

[njx9]

Originally Posted by bitonti

it's the NFL not the boy scouts. I don't know that a person needs to be worthy of marrying your daughter to lead a franchise. Look at Brett Favre.

and lawrence phillips.

i'm sure i can do this far longer than you can.

[FUNBUNCHER]

“Very disingenuous — has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law — does not command respect from teammates and will always struggle to win a locker room . . . Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness— is not punctual, seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable.”


Way over the top for someone who goes to the trouble of attempting to 'objectively' write up a report about an NFL prospect.

It's shocking to me how many draft analysts allow their personal feelings about a prospect to pollute their evaluation of a player.

Cam smiles ALL THE TIME, to the point that it can become annoying, but I wouldn't say it's fake. Does it mean he's happy to see you?? Not really. But it's almost reflexive, meaning that's how he expresses himself, but that still doesn't mean it's contrived or a hustle.

Warren Sapp is a guy who smiles a lot, doesn't mean he was a sweet heart on the football field.

Another BS critique is that Newton will struggle to win a lockerroom; Cam's strength as a player is and has always been from within the lockerroom, because of his competitiveness and his play on the field.
Auburn believed they were the best team whenever they stepped on the field because their QB believed that he was the best player on the field - confidence flows down from the top.

Auburn by any measure played over their heads last season, which is easy to do when a truly special talent at QB is able to elevate his team's level of play on both sides of the football.

Another lame Cam Newton evaluation that begins and ends at Florida and totally skips what Cam did after he left the Gators program.

[Halsey]

The team that drafts Newton should find him a professional mentor. Maybe a current QB, like McNabb, for him to sit behind a year, or maybe a QB coach who knows how to help Newton develop as a person and pro. What's Randall Cunningham up to these days? :D

[bitonti]

Originally Posted by njx9

and lawrence phillips.

i'm sure i can do this far longer than you can.

lawrence phillips drug his girlfriend down the stairs by her hair

cam newton ganked a laptop and may have taken money.

these are not comparable situations.

on 30 for 30 they showed eric dickerson took a trans-am from texas A&M did that make him a bad NFL running back?

[Scott Wright]

Hey Matt,

Here is the $64,000 Question:

"Would you risk your job, reputation and future of your franchise on Cam Newton?"

I certainly wouldn't.

[FUNBUNCHER]

I think having Chan Gailey as his HC would be the perfect situation for Cam.

IMO those guys speak the same language and would really go a long way towards furthering his development as a pro on and off the field.

Newton's biggest challenge as a pro won't be the football part, it's who he surrounds himself with when he's not wearing pads.

A small blue collar city like Buffalo playing for a former QB like Gailey who's coached similar athletes at the QB position before would be ideal for Cam.

[njx9]

Originally Posted by bitonti

lawrence phillips drug his girlfriend down the stairs by her hair

cam newton ganked a laptop and may have taken money.

these are not comparable situations.

on 30 for 30 they showed eric dickerson took a trans-am from texas A&M did that make him a bad NFL running back?

what does being a bad running back have to do with anything? if taking the car had led dickerson down a further path of embarrassing (we won't even get into illegal) activities, it could have severely hampered his ability to perform on the field. and that was an era BEFORE goodell was taking a hard line on nearly everything.

this is the issue with cam newton. does his behavior indicate a pattern that could cause him to miss playing time? a fair number of people seem to think it does. a fair number of people seem to think it doesn't. but crowing about 'zomg, player x was totally a piece of **** and he did fine!1' is meaningless, and further, sets up a false premise.

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

Newton's biggest challenge as a pro won't be the football part, it's who he surrounds himself with when he's not wearing pads.

absolutely agree, and i think he's got a lot of work to do on the football side. if he keeps people like his dad involved, i don't see how his career doesn't end up in an ultimate train wreck (and, in that case, through now fault of cam's, other than keeping someone so obviously incompetent running things for him).

[rawdawg]

In the end, talent wins out. Newton has got a ton of talent. Whether he reaches his potential or not is another thing, but like has been pointed out Roethlisberger, Vick, Favre, and others have had their serious character flaws overlooked as long as they were winning games. If Cam Newton wins games (which he did at Auburn, which he did in JC), then ultimately who cares if he wins the lockerroom. Jay Cutler is the obvious example of a QB that can be successful w/o being a team spokesperson or everyone's best friend. I don't see Brady hanging out with his teammates. Sure you can say, "lead by example", but the best example you can show is winning football games. Vick admitted to being the last one in and 1st one out of the building for practice, meetings and film session when he was young. Yet, he had no problems in Atlanta until he went to prison.

[Leon Sandcastle]

He just seems slimy to me. I'm very afraid my Bills take him at #3.

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

Another BS critique is that Newton will struggle to win a lockerroom; Cam's strength as a player is and has always been from within the lockerroom, because of his competitiveness and his play on the field.
Auburn believed they were the best team whenever they stepped on the field because their QB believed that he was the best player on the field - confidence flows down from the top.

The problem is though when Newton stepped on the field for Auburn he on almost all occassions was the best player on the field. That's not going to be the case in the NFL.

How will his perceived over confidence go over in the locker room after he has a 3 INT game in a terrible performance?

All his so called character issues will seem insignificant if he goes in, works hard and wins games. However if I'm picking high in the draft and I cant afford to miss on the pick Im not going to be overly confident he can do that.

[MI_Buckeye]

Look, I am as annoyed as almost anyone by Cam Newton, and I definitely think he has gotten too much of a pass for all his off-field situations, but I can't believe how irresponsible of a critique that was by Nawrocki. Like he can really sincere Cam is in his very limited encounters with him.

Also, to say he can't lead a locker room full of young men also doesn't seem to have any merit behind it. The guy has won two national championships as a starting QB, and his Auburn team won numerous close games in the fourth quarter this year.

In all, I have read and/or heard much of Nawrocki's insight through the years, and I have to say I vehemently disagree with Scott. I think this guy is cancerous to the draft community. I found a great deal of his critique highly ironic since he has often demonstrated himself to be a hyperbole machine whose main focus is not to deliver objective news or analysis but to draw attention to his own perceived genius. Seriously, I have no use for the guy.

[Halsey]

Originally Posted by rawdawg

In the end, talent wins out.

Oversimplification loses. JaMarcus Russell and many, many others prove that it takes more than just talent.

[SolidGold]

I have to agree with his assessment to a point. He does get a little scathing. Newton does come off as disingenuous to me and full of himself. He buys into his own hype. He is NOT a once in a generation talent. He is cut from the same ilk as many of the other mobile spread option QBs to come out in recent years. He played in a simplistic offense for one year. Physical talent is great but it only gets you so far, we will see if he can go through all his progressions and stand tough in the pocket. He was not even on the NFL Draft radar prior to this season.

NFL Defensive coaches/coordinators are going to confuse the hell out of him with different looks (can you imagine if he is put in the same conference with Bellicheck, Ryan and Mike Nolan?) and he will rely on his legs which will not get him as far they did in college. He will face adversity on the field to levels he has never experienced. Auburn did there best to hide Newton from the media and keep him from putting his foot in his mouth...this was not done on accident.

[Rashaan Salaam]

I have a hard time respecting the opinion of National Pundits who HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME...how can one past judgement?

PFW has progressively gotten worse since JB passed away

[Halsey]

Originally Posted by Rashaan Salaam

I have a hard time respecting the opinion of National Pundits who HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME...how can one past judgement?

PFW has progressively gotten worse since JB passed away

So, then how can you pass judgment on a member of the media if you've never worked in the media?

[Flyboy]

Mark Sanchez had the same damn aura around him leading up to the draft as well.

Hmmm....

[njx9]

Originally Posted by Rashaan Salaam

I have a hard time respecting the opinion of National Pundits who HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME...how can one past judgement?

PFW has progressively gotten worse since JB passed away

right? clearly trent dilfer is clearly far more qualified to offer his analysis as a scout. i mean, he played football.

then again, i have a hard time respecting the opinion of people who don't know the english language (*pass, not past, and it was the wrong homophone anyways, even if that were the correct tense to use).

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by Rashaan Salaam

I have a hard time respecting the opinion of National Pundits who HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME...how can one past judgement?

I agree so much with this statement. I clearly don't care how well an arguement or point is put across. If you didn't play in the NFL you clearly don't know squat. It's why former players like Emmitt Smith and Keyshawn Johnson have consistently been the best TV pundits around. But it's not just limited to the media. It's for the same reason that all the best scouts and coaches were also former players, and the better the player the better they are at their current job. I mean Mike Singletary clearly got screwed by a guy who never played the game because he was jealous of his awesomeness as a coach.

How Deion Sanders isn't a GM right now is beyond me

[Rashaan Salaam]

Originally Posted by njx9

right? clearly trent dilfer is clearly far more qualified to offer his analysis as a scout. i mean, he played football.

then again, i have a hard time respecting the opinion of people who don't know the english language (*pass, not past, and it was the wrong homophone anyways, even if that were the correct tense to use).

Have you ever played football? (HS, College, Pro, Semi-Pro).. My guess is that you're an English Professor..thus making you not qualified to speak on football.. But, you can continue to Koreck Mai Gramma

[Rashaan Salaam]

Originally Posted by AntoinCD

I agree so much with this statement. I clearly don't care how well an arguement or point is put across. If you didn't play in the NFL you clearly don't know squat. It's why former players like Emmitt Smith and Keyshawn Johnson have consistently been the best TV pundits around. But it's not just limited to the media. It's for the same reason that all the best scouts and coaches were also former players, and the better the player the better they are at their current job. I mean Mike Singletary clearly got screwed by a guy who never played the game because he was jealous of his awesomeness as a coach.

How Deion Sanders isn't a GM right now is beyond me

I like how you also ignore Marshall Faulk, Howie Long, Tom Jackson, Steve Young, Boomer Esiason, Dan Marino, Warren Sapp, Sterling Sharpe, Brian Baldinger...etc..

The people you listed may not be the Best Commentator or Analyst, but they KNOW the game...

[Rashaan Salaam]

Originally Posted by Halsey

So, then how can you pass judgment on a member of the media if you've never worked in the media?

I am the media...and also a former player..UL-Lafayette