I've been watching a lot of All-22 in attempt to get hyped for the Super Bowl (it's not working) and I've started to notice a lot of similarities between Cam Newton and 2013 Colin Kaepernick.
In 2013 Jim Harbaugh did a phenomenal job of building a system and scheme that protected Kaepernicks deficiencies. Kaepernick was not great at reading defenses and relied heavily on a scheme designed to get one or two guys open rather than forcing Kaepernick to read and react to the defense. It worked well, largely due to the threat of Kaepernick running. This was easily apparent on film, Kaepernick for all intents and purposes was a one read QB, who relied heavily on his running ability and play action to succeed. Once defenses figured out how to contain Colin and take away his first read he was no longer a truly dynamic QB.
I see a lot of that in Cam Newton. Cam is better than Colin at reading the defense, but his scheme is seemingly designed to protect him as a passer. Cam in much the same was as Kaepernick struggles when his first read isn't open, this is masked however by a scheme that is so well designed that Cam is almost never forced to make more than one or two reads. Carolina has such a bevy of running plays that are so diverse and expertly crafted that most defense get so confused, that play action absolutely torches them. Throw in the read option and the threat of Cam running and you have an offense that is nearly unstoppable.
For Kaepernick you can obviously point to the 2013 NFC Championship as the end of his dominance, he went up against a team that had a front 7 that could stop the run, pressure, and contain him. A HOF secondary that blanketed his first two reads, and forced him to read the defense and be the pocket passer he wasn't. Kaepernick couldn't, and he has never been able to achieve the same amount of success that he had leading up to that game.
Cam Newton faces a similar test on Sunday. I think Denver has the defense to stop the run and contain Newton, they have the secondary to force him to his 3rd and 4th reads, and the pressure to force him to make quick decisions. If Newton can overcome that, he is worthy of all the hype we've seen thus far. If not I'll have a hard time seeing him as anything more than a better version of Kaepernick, the guy who just two years ago was also lauded as the next best QB.
In 2013 Jim Harbaugh did a phenomenal job of building a system and scheme that protected Kaepernicks deficiencies. Kaepernick was not great at reading defenses and relied heavily on a scheme designed to get one or two guys open rather than forcing Kaepernick to read and react to the defense. It worked well, largely due to the threat of Kaepernick running. This was easily apparent on film, Kaepernick for all intents and purposes was a one read QB, who relied heavily on his running ability and play action to succeed. Once defenses figured out how to contain Colin and take away his first read he was no longer a truly dynamic QB.
I see a lot of that in Cam Newton. Cam is better than Colin at reading the defense, but his scheme is seemingly designed to protect him as a passer. Cam in much the same was as Kaepernick struggles when his first read isn't open, this is masked however by a scheme that is so well designed that Cam is almost never forced to make more than one or two reads. Carolina has such a bevy of running plays that are so diverse and expertly crafted that most defense get so confused, that play action absolutely torches them. Throw in the read option and the threat of Cam running and you have an offense that is nearly unstoppable.
For Kaepernick you can obviously point to the 2013 NFC Championship as the end of his dominance, he went up against a team that had a front 7 that could stop the run, pressure, and contain him. A HOF secondary that blanketed his first two reads, and forced him to read the defense and be the pocket passer he wasn't. Kaepernick couldn't, and he has never been able to achieve the same amount of success that he had leading up to that game.
Cam Newton faces a similar test on Sunday. I think Denver has the defense to stop the run and contain Newton, they have the secondary to force him to his 3rd and 4th reads, and the pressure to force him to make quick decisions. If Newton can overcome that, he is worthy of all the hype we've seen thus far. If not I'll have a hard time seeing him as anything more than a better version of Kaepernick, the guy who just two years ago was also lauded as the next best QB.
