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Cam Newton: If he's good, I'll eat crow

Sean Salisbury Written by Sean Salisbury, Monday June 20 2011
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Playing in the NFL is tough for a veteran, even tougher for a rookie and even tougher for a rookie without a playbook or off-season training with the team that drafted him.  

And to top it off, Cam Newton happens to be a QB – the toughest position in all of sports to play.

I am one of those who weren’t sold on Newton and wouldn’t have drafted him first, anyway. I believe whenever there are that many “ifs” that surround a particular QB, you can’t take him first. When you draft a QB first, you expect him to be a franchise QB. I don’t believe Newton is that guy, although I do believe the young man has some gifts: size, speed, confidence and a lot to prove.  

Here’s the biggest problem. With the lockout still in effect, not only is he not signed, he has not had the opportunity to get all of the off-season work that even a veteran needs to be successful in the NFL.  Imagine how far all rookies are going to be behind if and when the season starts; then, add in the pressure on the first pick of the draft and a QB who mechanically has a long way to go to be considered a player in this league.

Once the lockout ends, the Carolina Panthers will be staring at the start of the regular season and won’t have time to focus on the important things necessary to play the position for their present and future QB, regardless of how much work he’s had away from the Panthers. It’s just not the same.  

I expect rookies to make very little impact in the 2011 season and QBs maybe even less.  I root for Cam Newton, even if I would have taken four QBs in front of him.  We will find out a lot about the young man and his poise and ability to deal with failure, because Carolina is not real good and they drafted Newton for a reason – one of them is to start ASAP.

Let me put it this way.  The Panthers will be choosing very high in the 2012 draft as well.

If Newton is able to start and be successful in 2011, then many of us will stand up and eat crow.  But I don’t think I will be eating much of that for dinner in 2011.

 

Sean Salisbury, former NFL quarterback and NFL analyst for ESPN, covers sports for www.playerpress.com. Follow him on Twitter @SeanUnfiltered.


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1 comment


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Larry TLarry T, 8 months ago said:

Looks like you may eating crow on this one.