Newton Fails to Justify Panthers #1 Pick at Combine

cam will be the #1 overall pick. aj green is slower and less explosive than expected, and nick fairley is injured. nick fairley has trouble getting off blockers because he’s not as powerful or as good with his hands as suh or warren sapp respectively. but fairley won’t be fully recovered before the draft, and if there is a lockout, we won’t even be able to monitor his rehab. so aj green and fairley are out, IMO. that only leaves gabbert, bowers and peterson. i don’t think we’d pick a DB #1 when you can just throw to other side, especially as much as we need a QB, and as much as Rivera talks about QBs, and Newton in particular. Bowers won’t be our pick because Johnson hasn’t reached his potential, and we still gotta see about the other DEs, including E. Brown, who cost us a 1st rd pick. So that leaves Gabbert and Newton. I guarantee you that Newton’s passing wil be phenomenal in his pro day because he knows he needs to make up for today. he didn’t look bad, but not great either. and when he comes to carolina, that will be his fourth display of his skills including the media day. there’s been no mention of gabbert being invited to carolina, and i think he only gets invited if newton fails to impress at his pro day. newton will throw a lot better at his pro day and run a faster 40. fairley will still be hurt, and aj green will still be slower than edwards, gettis and smitty.

if we don’t pick newton, it will be because we think another QB is better, and we get that guy (maybe gabbert) or we trade the pick, end up with gabbert a little later, and get a 2nd rounder.

If you got two shut down corners which side do you throw to? Still say peterson is in the mix. There is no tru number 1 qb this year and both gabbert and newton wouldn’t go in the first in the last couple of drafts the media is tying so desperately to get a qb go number one cause of the story line that everyone seems to look past the obviously bad mechanics of both qbs and instead riding the hype train I say bring in a vet and ride clausen for a few games shore up our defense this draft where all the talent is this year then if need be grab one of the better qb prospects next year I just don’t want to see us reach for a qb this year but I will trust in our front office to do their job whether I agree or not. Go PANTHERS!!!! In Hurney I trust

Forgot to finish. ride clausen to see if anything is there and if nothing is there start the vet and prepare for next years draft

It isn’t even close between those two at this point. Gabbert was the first player the team interviewed, I believe, and I can’t see anything derailing his progress over the next two months. Gabbert is Golden.

Lifelong Panthers fan here (NC native who is a graduate student living in AL). Cam’s combine results should (in no way) dissuade us. This season I watched all but three home games at Jordan-Hare, viewed Cam’s numerous post-game interviews, observed Chizik and Malzahn’s critique of him as a player and a person.

First, Cam has an intellectual capability that exceeds almost all previously made QB comparisons. We’re not talking about JaMarcus Russell here. The Vick and Young comparisons also are unfounded. Cam is smarter that all of them. He will adapt to the NFL game, the reads, the playbook, the speed/decision-making. Although I expect his Wonderlic to be better than average…I think we all know the criticism with that test (in the event of a lower than expected score).

Second, Rivera and Co. will see that this guy is ready and willing to work . Cam did everything that was asked while he was at Auburn. Chizik is reliable and accurate about his assessment of players. Sure, Cam was his guy. But he’ll backup any criticism about Cam’s work ethic. Even if drafted No. 1, the guaranteed money won’t impair his desire to be better, or to make the Panthers better.

I certainly understand the concerns – (limited body of work throwing the ball and arrogance/overconfidence). Whatever. I was devastated when Luck decided to go back to Stanford, but we’ll regret not drafting Newton. Billick – “I just can’t recall a player of Cam’s make-up that was ever successful in the NFL.” We’ll….6’6, 245, OLB build with solid QB skill-set. Those guys don’t come around too often.

I think what cam has done in the combine has elevated his stock. Passing drills with receivers you haven’t worked with is a big difference than throwing to a teammate. You practice and play with a teammate and are familure with how he makes his cuts and what his top speed is running a skinny post. His performance in the drills showcased how atheletic he is. His performance in front of the press was better than I expected. His mechanics can be coached up…not a problem. What still impresses me is how many games this past season that his team was down 2 or 3 scores and he led them back(the Alabama game was one and there were others against good teams). Yes he ran a lot and played from the shotgun… but he also threw a lot and hit clutch passes as well as bombs down field. The kid impresses me and although I’d like to see us go for Luck next year if Clausen doesn’t step it up(it makes sense for us to get a FA QB), I will support RonRon’s and Hurndogs decision if they select Cam with the first pick(I still want Nick Flair).

The following is lifted from PFT, so I can’t attest, first-hand, to its being verbatim quotes…but assuming it is, it raises big warning flags to me, that are totally unrelated to allegations of cheating, or of his ability to read defenses:

“"I underestimated the timing aspect of playing quarterback," Newton told NFL Network. "You had receivers from the SEC, the SWAC, the MAC. . . . I was somewhat frustrated, but at the same time, I was having fun out there."

In the same NFL Network appearance, Marshall Faulk needled Newton about his infamous "entertainer and icon" comment, and Newton tried his best to put that comment in perspective.

"My response [to Sport Illustrated‘s Peter King] was, I view myself as that due to the fact that I’m not only going to just be selling football cleats, I’m going to be selling lifestyle apparel — everything else," he said. "I could have picked way more [different] words to express what I really wanted to say. I want to personally apologize to everybody who was offended about it.""

1) the timing aspects of playing QB shouldn’t be coming as any ‘surprise’ to a #1 pick in the draft. If he didn’t know that was important before this, it scares the hell out of me.

2) his comment about where the WRs came from is tantamount to throwing them under the bus, as if it’s all their fault he either overthrew them, or waited too long to release the ball. It’s not the leadership you want from your #1 pick to shrug off responsibility. He should have kept his mouth shut, and quietly vowed to do better in the future.

3) apologizing to “everybody” isn’t personal. It’s that tired old apology we’ve all gotten, “sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

4) and most importantly, the crack, “I’m going to be selling lifestyle apparel.” Damn, that makes it all okay to him, doesn’t it? Like, hawking more than just shoes makes him an icon. Maybe your #1 pick should think that winning for your team might be more important than his endorsement contracts, huh?

We need a franchise QB, like Rivera said – but it better not be this budding diva.

Newton fails to solidify himself as the Panthers #1 pick!!!