Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:Originally posted by Otter:Originally posted by ninerlifer:Originally posted by valrod33:
I dont want Cam Newton near this team.
Fresh Meat.
I would love to know why?
When scouts are comparing your desire, work ethic, and attitude toward improving your football intelligence to Jamarcus Russel, I don't want you near the team.
The guy is an incredible athlete, but also appears to be an incredible project to transition him to the pro game. Based on the stories about his study habits, it does not appear to bode well for him. He could surprise, but I'm not sure we can afford the gamble after the last 6 seasons.
What REAL scouts are making those comparisons, and what credible evidence do they have, other than to compare one big, black, southern QB to another? I'm not saying we should pick him, but let's try and separate fact from internet speculation.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/don_banks/01/12/2011-nfl-draft/
Quote:
"People are going to have to do their homework on him,'' the scout said. "They'll probably overlook some of that stuff, but he could maybe fall in the interview process at the combine. What I've heard from some people is that Cam doesn't like to work on some of the stuff that a quarterback has to work on. Someone who knows him told me the only difference between Cam and JaMarcus Russell is that Cam has Cecil [his father] to keep him on track. But that's potentially a big difference.''
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5783051
Quote:
Newton again violated the university's honor code by putting his name on another student's paper and turning it in. Newton was caught after the instructor asked the real author of the paper why he had not turned in his work.
Newton turned in a second paper to the instructor, but that paper was later found to have been purchased off the Internet, according to FoxSports.com. He was to appear for a hearing in front of Florida's Student Conduct Committee during the spring semester of 2009 but instead transferred to Blinn College.
Quote:
The latest report by ESPN.com quoted "Mississippi State recruiters" who said Cam and his father, Cecil, were engaging in a "pay-for-play" recruitment.
I don't know any REAL scouts, so I can only go off of what I read when it comes to his character. It's easy to post statistics about his performance on the field, that is readily available in the average box score, and we can all see with our own eyes that he is an incredible athlete.
But as we know, playing QB in the NFL requires more than just superb athletic ability, it takes dedication, studying, it takes a good work ethic. The cheating scandals are red flags to me. They indicate that he may not be willing to put in the necessary work.
If you don't like the racial overtone of comparing him to Russell, then compare him to Marinovich or Leaf, neither of those guys wanted to put in the effort to be an NFL QB, although I don't think either one was the athlete that Newton is. Compare him to Steve Young if you'd like. Young seems like a bright guy, and put in the effort to change. I don't wish Newton ill, I hope he succeeds, but again in my opinion, and only my opinion, the cheating is a big concern, as it speaks to not just character but work/study habits.
As for fact vs speculation, all I can do is speculate, because it doesn't appear that anyone, Florida, Auburn, or the NCAA are overly concerned with investigating those things anymore. If there was one alleged incident you could probably ignore it, when they start to accumulate, you have to start to wonder about the validity of them.