Is Cam Newton Done

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, prissythecat said:

After 2015 ,  Cam has had 2 bad seasons and 1 "ok"  season.   Injury  and loss of key players (Josh Norman cough cough) may be cited as reasons for  the sub par succeeding seasons.   But after last night's loss in which Cam often missed easy throws to open receivers and couldn't  gain positive yardage on carries, one wonders if Cam has any way to adjust to a game after his physical abilities may have gone into a steep decline.  More traditional pocket QBs can compensate as they age / decline because they know how to read a defense and can use their remaining physical abilities to their fullest.

 

 

 

I am am not going to go one way or the other yet.  

 

Just last year there was a was a wonderful thread about Luck being done.  No arm strength - issues with accuracy - etc. - then he goes out after a few weeks and has a great season getting his team to the playoffs and destroying the Bills.

 

I think Cam is in that same place.  After the surgery - his arm looks dead and he ha not adjusted to the new normal for him.  I think he has more in the tank, but he will need to adjust and I am not sure he has that in him. 

 

Getting older and banged up is hard and and these guys need to adjust to a different commitment level both in season and after the season to get their body back in playing shape.  

 

What I love about Josh is he went and spent the off-season working on mechanics and learning to get better.  You could see it in the game - his foot work was light years ahead of early last season and that takes stress off you arms and shoulders for throws.  

 

Cam needed to do more of that early in his career and then he would be better prepared at this point in his career to handle these injuries.  Cam has always been the best athlete and that ability has served him well, but now he needs to become a smarter, better player or else I think he will be done.

Edited September 13, 2019 by Rochesterfan

[John from Riverside]

You know....this guy went for years with no weapons and was productive

 

Now that it appears they finally have some....he is struggling

[Captain Hindsight]

1 hour ago, All_Pro_Bills said:

His theatrics, such as those strange hats, make me wonder if his head is in the game 24x7 and if he sees himself more as an entertainer than a professional QB committed to bringing his best every Sunday.  My advice, drop all the nonsense and get to work or give it up. 

If you have Amazon prime, I suggest watching the all or nothing about the panthers last. Made me see Newton in a different light

[blacklabel]

Tough to say after only two games, but after last night, one starts to wonder what he has left in the tank. Dude missed open guys all night, his mechanics looked clunky, seemed like it didn't even cross his mind to scramble or run even if the opportunity was there. On top of that, his body language and general facial expression gave off a vibe of disinterest. My guess is he's much further away from being 100% (or, probably like 90% since players are always dealing with/playing through some type of pain) than we know.

[Seven-N-Nine]

I think it has a lot to do with his mental state.  Physically, no he's not IMO, mentally, he could be yeah.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

1 hour ago, prissythecat said:

After 2015 ,  Cam has had 2 bad seasons and 1 "ok"  season.   Injury  and loss of key players (Josh Norman cough cough) may be cited as reasons for  the sub par succeeding seasons.   But after last night's loss in which Cam often missed easy throws to open receivers and couldn't  gain positive yardage on carries, one wonders if Cam has any way to adjust to a game after his physical abilities may have gone into a steep decline.  More traditional pocket QBs can compensate as they age / decline because they know how to read a defense and can use their remaining physical abilities to their fullest.

 

 

honestly the guy cant read defenses, so he's done if he's not willing to run.

 

 

[prissythecat]

20 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

 

 

You're right that Doug Williams "didnt" take the Skins to the SB that year. He QB'd them very successfully in the playoffs, but that's it.

 

Williams didn't "take them" to the Super Bowl. During the season that year he started two games. Very questionable if they'd have made the SB with Williams at QB all year. Like  Hostetler's Giants, if Simms doesn't get them to the SB, we probably wouldn't even know Hostetler's name.

 

During the season that year, Jay Schroeder went 8-3, someone I don't even remember named Ed Rubbert went 3-0 and Doug Williams went 0-2.

 

You have to give Cam credit for QBing them to the SB.

 

 

 

 

From the NFL site,     for the 2015 season the Carolina defense was ranked 6th for total defense.  In contrast ,   Carolina  was only ranked 11th for total offense and  just 24th for passing offense.       Cam was very efficient for sure that year and that is why he got the votes for MVP.   But I think people downplay the fact that there was a  perfect storm for team effort that year.

[Buffalo Boy]

3 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

If you have Amazon prime, I suggest watching the all or nothing about the panthers last. Made me see Newton in a different light

    Cam is the only thing that has made this O go for years. He is a leader on this team. That isn’t even a question in Carolina.

    

 

[Rob's House]

1 hour ago, GoBills808 said:

People really go out of the way to make up their own narratives when Newton’s involved for some reason. He doesn’t bad mouth his teammates or club but for some reason he get the ‘bad attitude/teammate’ label...it’s weird how sensitive people are about Cam.

I think he may be a victim of his own supporters.

 

I recall a few years back there was some criticism about his first down celebrations. Valid or not, it was a silly "get off my lawn" style criticism that probably wouldn't have gotten much traction, but his supporters went so over the top in defending him that it caused resentment. Criticizing anything Cam became unacceptable.

 

If you're told that you can't criticize someone, you naturally become inclined to view them through an even more critical eye.

[stosh64]

1 hour ago, All_Pro_Bills said:

His theatrics, such as those strange hats, make me wonder if his head is in the game 24x7 and if he sees himself more as an entertainer than a professional QB committed to bringing his best every Sunday.  My advice, drop all the nonsense and get to work or give it up. 

He is starting to look like my grandmother, maybe its time to retire.

[PlayoffsPlease]

Cam looked washed up last night. Eight losses as starting QB in  a row is pretty bad.   Based on the first two weeks if the  Panther tried to trade Newton, they would have to bundle at a first and third round pick with him in exchange for a 7th round pick to get someone to take his salary. He is now Brock Osweiler bad. 

[Mr. WEO]

He’s lost interest.  It was clear every time he and the offense came back on the field.  Plus he can’t throw.

 

 

[DuckyBoys]

15 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

 

I am am not going to go one way or the other yet.  

 

Just last year there was a was a wonderful thread about Luck being done.  No arm strength - issues with accuracy - etc. - then he goes out after a few weeks and has a great season getting his team to the playoffs and destroying the Bills.

 

I think Cam is in that same place.  After the surgery - his arm looks dead and he ha not adjusted to the new normal for him.  I think he has more in the tank, but he will need to adjust and I am not sure he has that in him. 

 

Getting older and banged up is hard and and these guys need to adjust to a different commitment level both in season and after the season to get their body back in playing shape.  

 

What I love about Josh is he went and spent the off-season working on mechanics and learning to get better.  You could see it in the game - his foot work was light years ahead of early last season and that takes stress off you arms and shoulders for throws.  

 

Cam needed to do more of that early in his career and then he would be better prepared at this point in his career to handle these injuries.  Cam has always been the best athlete and that ability has served him well, but now he needs to become a smarter, better player or else I think he will be done.

at age 30?  I don't see it  He is not going to suddenly morph into Chad Pennington and start beating teams with his brain and timing throws.  Without at least some rushing threat to his game he is done as a effective starter.  Not even sure his arm is even remotely close to what it was  It looked very very average yesterday, maybe even below average compared to the rifle he used to have

[GoBills808]

3 minutes ago, Rob's House said:

I think he may be a victim of his own supporters.

 

I recall a few years back there was some criticism about his first down celebrations. Valid or not, it was a silly "get off my lawn" style criticism that probably wouldn't have gotten much traction, but his supporters went so over the top in defending him that it caused resentment. Criticizing anything Cam became unacceptable.

 

If you're told that you can't criticize someone, you naturally become inclined to view them through an even more critical eye.

Yeh that’s true. I think it has a lot to do with how some people view the NFL in general, I’ve found w/ Newton specifically the ‘old school’ gridiron analysts/commentators/fans found his style objectionable, whereas me I view pro football as more entertainment than tradition and my take on him was he was great for the game...superior athlete (probably one of the greatest athletes ever at the position imo), made it fun, took some beatings that were pretty brutal and didn’t complain, celebrated TDs and first downs like crazy etc, played hurt...word out of Carolina is always that his guys love him pretty much to a man, for me that’s testament enough as far as his capacity as a leader and quarterback.

[DCofNC]

To recap what I have seen here as a lot of valid points:

 

He's been hit A LOT in a relatively short career, but 8 years of beatings are no joke.

 

He was never labled an elite passer, good at best.

 

He doesn't appear to have his legs under him right now.  If they are done, so is he.  If hes just getting back in shape because he missed a ton of time with the shoulder, he may be fine.

 

The shoulder... we aren't doctors, but is he full strength?

 

 

For me it comes down to seeing if he can get his legs back under him, if he can, he'll be ok.  If not, he is done.  How long it takes the Panthers to admit it/ be able to do anything about it are the real questions.  Rosen might be available ?

[ProcessAccepted]

He does look like a guy who's trying to figure out what he's going to do next so he can move on from what he's doing. He's lost that passion for football that led to the MVP season. Clearly from what he was wearing at the post game presser he's thinking about things other than football.

 

[cd1]

2 hours ago, All_Pro_Bills said:

His theatrics, such as those strange hats, make me wonder if his head is in the game 24x7 and if he sees himself more as an entertainer than a professional QB committed to bringing his best every Sunday.  My advice, drop all the nonsense and get to work or give it up. 

 

Spot on - Thank you!

 

He is acting like it is a big joke and everyone else is acting like ( "uncle Cam does not have a lampshade on his head" ) he is OK...

 

[Rob's House]

10 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Yeh that’s true. I think it has a lot to do with how some people view the NFL in general, I’ve found w/ Newton specifically the ‘old school’ gridiron analysts/commentators/fans found his style objectionable, whereas me I view pro football as more entertainment than tradition and my take on him was he was great for the game...superior athlete (probably one of the greatest athletes ever at the position imo), made it fun, took some beatings that were pretty brutal and didn’t complain, celebrated TDs and first downs like crazy etc, played hurt...word out of Carolina is always that his guys love him pretty much to a man, for me that’s testament enough as far as his capacity as a leader and quarterback.

I was kind of on the fence with the whole tradition thing, but he won me over with his "Donkey Kong Suh" presser.

[wppete]

could be....

23 minutes ago, stosh64 said:

He is starting to look like my grandmother, maybe its time to retire.

 

WTF!!!!!! Is this a recent photo? He's lost the plot! He should be evaluated, seriously....

 

 

[SoCal Deek]

Can you imagine coming into your boss’s office after blowing a meeting looking like that? Come on people! This is just plain dumb.