Cam newton

[Uncle Si]

A top 10 QB in yards, TDs, Completions, QBR? He's never been on any of those lists. I feel like these stats tell a significant part of the story, no? It's better than supposition. Such as: he's already in the Pro Bowl. Through week 7? He was an alternate his first year by the way.

I don't buy the "Cam has had more than his fair share"... how do you know? You can't be certain what's happening with other QBs.

Wins are wins. But, you know, Dilfer won a Super Bowl.

All I see is a good QB. Not here to bash him. He may very well become one of the better QBs in the league when some of the others move on.

 

[DavidSeven]

So what exactly is he doing that's better, besides winning games? Because statistically he looks to be regressing.

Cam has the worst receiving group in the league, an unspectacular OL and teams are keying in on Olsen and Stewart, so naturally, his efficiency numbers are going to dip. But what I see is a guy who's just doing whatever it takes to make a play, whether that's scampering for a few yards or giving a receiver a chance. So far, his receivers haven't helped him much, but the important thing is that he's remaining aggressive and avoiding negative plays. He's taken just 13 sacks compared to Wilson's 31. Some of that is OL, but some is the QB being willing to throw incompletions and/or running earlier in the play to avoid a loss.

Personally, I don't think Russell Wilson has played particularly well this season even though his efficiency numbers are all at or near career highs. That shows you the danger of relying too heavily on stats. When you watch Russ play, you see that he's leaving plays on the field, taking bad sacks when he could've thrown the ball away, missing opportunities to run, etc. This doesn't really show up on the stat sheet because his overly conservative style often preserves his numbers. He rarely challenges a secondary unless he's got a man wide-open, so he doesn't take as many incompletions. I have advocated for Russell to let his stats dip some so he can make more plays.

It is only within the last couple games where it feels like Russell is letting it rip a little bit and taking good runs when they're available. It might surprise you that Russ's passer rating over the last two games were the worst he's had this season. But if you ask me, these have been two of his better games.

 

[Zebulon Dak]

I'm not a huge fan of his showboating but he's not doing it for me, he's doing it for his fans, and they love it. So I ain't mad at the kid.

 

[OkieHawk]

Cam is a good, not great QB. His career stats indicate as such. People are waiting for him to take the next step, whatever that may be. I don't get the hype, to be honest.

If he had actual receivers he'd be better. He has reigned in his tendency to run so much, which is good. His arm is phenominal, but his accuracy could be better.

 

[drrew]

and teams are keying in on Olsen

Unfortunately not on every play.

 

[WilsonMVP]

Cam is a good, not great QB. His career stats indicate as such. People are waiting for him to take the next step, whatever that may be. I don't get the hype, to be honest.

You know whats funny is that Newton, Luck AND Flacco have the same exact QB rating for their careers now.... 84.7 which is tied for 14th among active QBs who qualify (1500 passes, wilson needs 14 more to technically be on the list but I added him in)

Wilson right now is at 98 QB rating ONLY behind Aaron Rodgers in QB rating for his career

 

[JSeahawks]

In my opinion he's nowhere near a top 10 passer. But he is a top 10 QB. I just wish he'd learn to act like a QB. I dont mind showboating WR's, or db's or d'line, or basically anybody on the field... except QBs. Maybe i'm old school, or just old, but i want my QB to make the play and go back to the huddle, like every play is just another play on the job.

 

[hawkfan68]

Cam's not a top 10 QB. He has 54.2% completion pct. TJack had a better comp pct than that. His completion pct would be worse if he didn't have Olsen there to bail him out. He acts like a getting first down in first quarter of a game is cause for an elaborate celebration.

 

[Ramfan128]

It's another classic case of looking at what's around him, throwing the stats out the window and just watching HIM.

I don't think he's close to a top 10 QB, because there's easily 10 QBs in the NFL I'd take over him.

 

[Uncle Si]

So what exactly is he doing that's better, besides winning games? Because statistically he looks to be regressing.

Cam has the worst receiving group in the league, an unspectacular OL and teams are keying in on Olsen and Stewart, so naturally, his efficiency numbers are going to dip. But what I see is a guy who's just doing whatever it takes to make a play, whether that's scampering for a few yards or giving a receiver a chance. So far, his receivers haven't helped him much, but the important thing is that he's remaining aggressive and avoiding negative plays. He's taken just 13 sacks compared to Wilson's 31. Some of that is OL, but some is the QB being willing to throw incompletions and/or running earlier in the play to avoid a loss.

Personally, I don't think Russell Wilson has played particularly well this season even though his efficiency numbers are all at or near career highs. That shows you the danger of relying too heavily on stats. When you watch Russ play, you see that he's leaving plays on the field, taking bad sacks when he could've thrown the ball away, missing opportunities to run, etc. This doesn't really show up on the stat sheet because his overly conservative style often preserves his numbers. He rarely challenges a secondary unless he's got a man wide-open, so he doesn't take as many incompletions. I have advocated for Russell to let his stats dip some so he can make more plays.

It is only within the last couple games where it feels like Russell is letting it rip a little bit and taking good runs when they're available. It might surprise you that Russ's passer rating over the last two games were the worst he's had this season. But if you ask me, these have been two of his better games.

Fair enough.. and I am all for including intangibles.

I do think stats play a significant role in determining a player's effectiveness, especially at the QB position. But in the end, its about wins, and Cam (and Wilson last season, and to a point the last two games) are winning.

 

[kearly]

I think Cam is a good QB with some accuracy problems, which is why I am so surprised by his success this year without Benjamin who is a catch radius monster.

As far as 2015 performance, I don't think Newton is actually all that great this year, he's just been way more clutch than in the past and I think it's probably more of a blip than a trend with him. Its very very similar to Andrew Luck pre-2015 how he'd play ugly but still win tons of close games. Then the carriage turned into a pumpkin a bit with Luck this year, while the opposite happened for Newton.

That said, I've always felt that Newton has it within him to be one of the best QBs in the NFL if he refines his game just a little more and maybe gets some better pieces around him. For years I've felt like he's a half step in development away from being a 100+ passer rating QB.

I do think the Panthers are extremely fortunate to be leading the NFC, to go from 4-12 type projections to a #1 seed type season without a breakout new player and without some kind of fluky defensive swing is just about unprecedented. They are the same team, if a little worse, than the team that barely got 7 wins last year. It's crazy. But also kind of fun to see.

Actually, there is a new breakout contributor for Carolina but it's a near invisible one- the OL. The panthers OL was one of the worst in the NFL last season but when Carolina played Seattle a couple weeks ago they won in the trenches against a very good DL. I'm not sure what happened but they are getting some career years out of several OL who were crummy before 2015.

As far as Newton's personality, I like it. I don't think he is a true narcissist, I just think he has a 'me me' persona like some pro wrestlers do and he runs with it because its fun. I think Cam is all about positive energy and playing the game like he's a kid. I think that's pretty cool, I like the occasional athlete that reminds us it's all a kids game played by grownups.

 

[ctrcat]

^ Not bad, a few thoughts.

Cam is healthy this year. Since training camp the physical pep in his step has been miles better than in 2014. That alone about offsets the loss of Benjamin.

As for the OL, as mentioned before, Gettleman quietly got two bonafide studs at the guard position in 2014 that are in their second year. He values "football players" from big schools (LSU and Ohio State in this case) over SPARQ warriors. Many forget RT Daryl Williams (Oklahoma) has been out since week 1, and he was PFF's best OT in the entire league in the preseason.

You have to mention the secondary too. Josh Norman goes from the doghouse to the midseason DPOY and a guy that teams (including the Hawks) don't even dare test. Kurt Coleman and Charles Tillman are huge Gettleman value signings.

Kawann Short highlights a slew of other players 1-53 on the roster that are flat out better than a year ago. A year ago he was a very good, solid, promising young second year 2nd round pick. Now he's the October DPOM and perhaps best DT in the game.

The Panthers are miles better than they were in the middle of the 2014 season, buoyed by Cam's growth and the growth of other young players that had just lost Smith, Gross, et al from 12+ months ago.