Many people have recently been raving about Cam Newton and his "media workout", which was a brilliant choice by the big dude. Having a bunch of sports reporters out to watch him play catch with no defense at all makes him look like a light-footed version of Peyton Manning (note to self: He is no Peyton Manning). Brilliant, yes, because with the media singing his praises from the mountain tops, he has all but guaranteed himself a top-10 draft selection. He'll be drafted in the top-10, then just like JaMarcus Russell after a handful of despicable years, he will be hated by fans and subsequently released.
That's no knock to his college career, which was great....but quite brief. After riding the bench behind Tim Tebow for two years at the University of Florida, he transferred to Auburn University (after a certain issue with Mississippi St.), where he sat out a year. Then he proceeded to have one of the best college football seasons in the history of the glorious game, leading the Tigers to a National Championship win over the University of Oregon in Glendale, AZ. Yes, he piled up amazing numbers in the SEC, but I'm not convinced he's any good based on a media workout/funday.
There were numerous occasions in the title game in which Newton missed wide open receivers by a lot when he was pressured by the Ducks defense. And that's okay, it happens all the time, but what it shows me is that when a fast defensive front 7 gets in his face and there is no running lane, he rushes his throws, causing inaccuracy. I'm sure which ever organization drafts him will work on speeding up his release and progression, but it won't do much good. Don't get me wrong, if my favorite team got the chance to draft him, I might be okay with that....in the 4th round. Why not, at least they didn't waste our first round pick and possibly 3-5 years of mediocrity and pissed off fans on him. If it works out, they are geniuses, and if not, no big deal.
Many quarterbacks have had outstanding college careers that don't translate well to the NFL, so if and when this happens to Mr. Newton, nobody should be surprised. When you look at those who failed in the League after torching college defenses to ashes, it opens your eyes to the difference in college and pro athletes. Tim Couch was a top overall selection, and while he wasn't terrible, he never lived up to his draft status. Most of you should know who Matt Leinart is. National Champ at USC, number 10 overall choice by Arizona, so far an NFL dud. Don't get me wrong, I'm not basing my opinion of Newton on the failure of quarterbacks past, but I feel that his game is too unproven. When he hits the field in the NFL he will be shocked at the speed and power he witnesses. He will no longer be able to run through every arm tackle and the little 5'-9" 170 pound corner coming on a blitz.
In closing, as this is my first post, I would like to thank you for reading. I hope you found it interesting, and feel free to follow me and come back. I'm just gettin' started here on the Express
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