If I had to put Stephen McGee of 09 next to Mallett, I'd probably take McGee as my developmental QB. I'm not a fan of Mallett either. Mentally he's not "there" yet, and I don't think he will be anytime soon. IMO Freeman is much more mature than Newton IMO. The color of their skin is about all I see highly comparable. They can both run, but Freeman is an NFL QB first and foremost, where as Cam is presently a talented athlete playing well at QB imo. I'm not saying I don't think Cam will be good (he has all the tools). I think Cam will be as good as he dedicates himself to becoming, but at the NFL level I'm not sure if I see it anytime soon.
I think mechanically there would be some things that concern me about Newton. Terry Bradshaw was quoted in the Miami Herald talking about two of them. One already had me concerned, the other I hadn't noticed until I read Bradshaw's quote. Newton's foot placement while throwing is an obvious concern. According to Bradshaw he also uses his wrist too much in his throws. He says if you do those things you're not going to be accurate at the next level, FWIW.
I agree with the footwork thing. But Bradshaw is talking out of his wrist. Newton's terrifically accurate.
To be fair , you said the colour of their skin is all you see as highly comparable. Size , arm strength , and running ability are three. Not saying they are twins , but there are certainly similarities and comparables imo. He is further ahead than VY was , and by all accounts has a better attitude , work ethic and much better touch. Don't forget , VY wins and it isn't his lack of ability , more his demeanor and desire to be best that has held him back imo.
Very much agree , when he decides to throw it to a spt , it generally gets there. For me , as I mentioned before , I have some questions on how he will be with less time to throw , as he not only buys time , but that line really protects him well. Even after 5 or 6 seconds , when he makes the decision to throw , it gets there FAST and generally in the right location. I am not trumpeting him , but if anyone dismisses him , I believe they are making a mistake. Huge potential , and has proven himself so far. has he lost in the last 2 years?
This is fwiw as well , there was an article in SI about throwing , accuracy. Bradshaw was one of the QB's they talked with and about and part of the point of the article is that there isn't an exact blueprint on holding, gripping the ball and the mechanics involved. Rivers is a good point , he learned to throw with a full sized football at age 6 and that has formed his mechanics.
Is that a good thing ? or not? I liked Campbell coming out of Auburn and still do. I think he hasn't been developed properly and can still be a productive starter in this league.... hmmm .... kind of mirrors someone close to home.
Exactly. I think I saw 9 of Auburns games this season as ESPN America had an SEC double header every week. He's an absolute beast. I love the Roethlisberger comparison. Like you say - and that's a great point - but if he's this accurate now.......seriously. He made a throw, perhaps the last TD on Saturday, where he had the back in the flat running round the outside and a pick in front and it was beautiful, beautiful read, lovely throw, not too high as the defender wasn't that far out of the play and perfectly in stride. But perhaps his best throw was a play that Darvin Adams dropped in the front left corner of the endzone. It was millimetre perfect. My concern would be this: it comes easy to Cam Newton. Just as it came easy to Mike Vick. It was easy to him in HS, it was easy to him at Blinn and it's easy to him at Auburn. He's surrounded by some shady characters and he's clearly big man on campus. So how much does he want it? In that excellent SI article on Mike Vick the other day, Vick talked about how he would leave game film in his car and never watch it before the arrest. Why? Partly because the game came so easy to him. Newton can be anything he wants if he works like Matt Ryan. He has all the pure tools.
Cameron Newton is going to be media jackpot for the next 5 months and I'm not particularly looking forward to it. Between the laptop stealing, rumors of cheating on tests at Florida and being kicked out for academic dishonesty, the father asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars, the smile, the fact that teammates love him, the stuff he does off the field like visiting schools and talking to kids about the consequences of their mistakes, the fact that he has all the physical talent and waist-up mechanics you could ask for, yet is a running QB and plays in the offense he does, the skin color, toss in a Heisman and potentially a National Championship trophy...the fans and media are going to GORGE themselves for the next 5 months on the rollercoaster drama that is Cameron Newton. They love drama, they'll create drama, and Cam Newton is a walking supply depot supplying ammunition for dramatic argument and debate.
To be fair.... a lot of college QBs with serious NFL potential have size and arm strength..... and I agree that they can both run, but I wouldn't necessarily say their running style/ability is similar. Cam seems to like to run, where as Freeman wants to use his arm from what I can see. Their footwork and mechanics seem nothing alike IMO. Josh had solid footwork coming out; his feet are fairly quick, light, and nimble dropping back (especially for his size); his mechanics are solid; he sets up quickly and he gets the ball out quickly for his size too. He does a good job of squaring his feet to his target and plants his back foot well to accurately push the ball downfield. His head also seems to be surveying the field adequately to even quickly compared to Cam. IMO Newton seems a bit in slow motion. His footwork seems a little heavy and sloppy/lazy. He's doesn't get set quickly and he's not in ideal position when he does get set. He lacks proper balance from the center exchange all the way until he releases the ball (I rarely see him really plant and drive). IMO at the NFL level when the game is moving faster and he's forced to move faster to keep up, all his wrist throws are gonna disrupt his accuracy and make passes sail on him, and Safeties will feast on them. The mechanics aren't solid and the ball takes longer to get out of his hands. If Freeman were in this draft, I don't see how Newton could possibly be taken higher.... but that's just me.
If we drafted Cam, I would virtually bet my life that he sits behind Henne for at least 2 years..... if not forever b/c if Henne is given 2 more years to develop, then I bet he improves enough to lock down the job.
Because he played for Auburn, too, right? Yes, you can draw a comparison there, maybe I'd do that as well. Oh well, don't get me wrong, that's not on you, but in which year are we living if the color is still a matter?
and all this drama will place entirely too much pressure on the kid to succeed early...... then he'll be taken in the first round and be expected to start early before he's ready..... and it'll destroy him just like it does many QBs placed into the fire like that. IMO of course.
I would bet on Cam Newton playing quickly. The NFL pendulum has swung toward getting young QBs playing time very early and letting them learn on the job. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if he succeeds early on. He's a physical monster. Physical monsters are the guys that have immediate success, to me. Nobody coming out of college has the technique and knowledge of the game to succeed by playing smarter not harder. Vince Young had success immediately.
I agree CK. There is no reason he couldn't succeed early in a simplified pro style offense and be at least as good as Young was early, probably better, assuming that he isn't as immature and that the coach who drafts hima ctually wants him there. And speaking of that, I do wonder about owner pressures on a pick like that. Cam Newton (outside of Luck) is the one guy you can draft in the 1st round and guarantee yourself a huge jolt of excitement amongst your fans, which increases tickets sales, merchandise, etc.
How excited would fans be if they saw him getting knocked around and flustered every game as a rookie? LOL. Just sayin. I think he's in for a shock his first year. Playing at Auburn has allowed the run to set up the pass for much of the part, and it's greatly helped him IMO. I also see his size going against him when it comes to improving his footwork and mechanics..... and I don't see his footwork or mechanics being good enough to let him succeed on timing routes etc at the NFL level early on when things are going at a faster rate then he is. He's gotta get back quicker, set quicker, square up his feet quicker, get the ball out quicker, and plant and drive so he's using less wrist. Just my 2 cents.
I agree with this. Outside of Luck and Newton there is no 1st round QB that would get me excited more than seeing Henne next year. I could potentially put Devlin in there had I seen him more, but I only really have the Ohio State game a few years ago to go on. I wish he had stayed at PSU.
This is a big if of course , but say Miami drafts him ,he can get significant playing time without having to be a full time , all the time starter. We do have the wildcat , we could implement a game plan to suit his strengths ....oohhh .... yeah it's Miami .... ok , if we have a change in the coordinator and QB coach ! Then add to as needed .
It's kind of funny that the clippings from Devlin's time at PSU are usually about the Ohio State game. All he did was hand the ball off for two series. I think he scrambled for a first down at one point. Then on the goal line he executed a QB sneak and barely managed to get in from the 1 yard line. He threw a nice screen to Stephfon Williams that went for an 80 yard TD against Michigan. He threw a 57 yard bomb to Deon Butler against Michigan State. I would think those along with the 2 TD performance against Syracuse would be the games people would talk about back at Penn State. This Friday night he's playing his Quarterfinal against New Hampshire on ESPN2. It will be the first real chance for MANY people to get a look at him. That's why you don't hear much about him. Nobody's seen him. I've managed to see him, but few others have.
It's a bigger game than the games vs Michigan and Michigan State is why (as in we don't usually beat OSU). I honestly couldn't have even told you what he did in the OSU game other than that he got a TD, and that he won despite the starter getting injured. I said I wish he had stayed at PSU because we wouldn't have been playing a freshman this year if he had. With that said, thank you for the heads up as I will be sure to DVR the game friday.
LMFAO. Chris Cordriscoll. He CLAIMS he lives in the area so he's seen him live a few times. But he also says that he's got rare arm strength. So either he's lying about having seen him or he just doesn't know what the hell he's seeing on the field. Oh and you're going to love who his favorite QBs are. Ready? Andrew Luck, Pat Devlin and Nick Foles. He doesn't like Jake Locker or Ryan Mallett. Big surprises there! Oh and of course he loves Kendall Hunter.
LOL. Please tell me its not the same guy who was here? If so, man that is some funny ****. I haven't seen Devlin yet. I look forward to it on ESPN2.
Pure pocket type? Dude has major wheels, can get outside and scramble. When I saw him move around to me his speed and mobility definitely had the "wow" factor. edit: reply to padre 31 re: jake locker
FWIW , Lou Holtz was on Mike and Mike this morning and Mike Greenberg asked him his thoughts on Cam Newton , as Mike Golic and Greenberg had differing views on his future success. Holtz loves him , says he would have a very hard time passing on him. They talked about the spread and all that that entails. Seeing the situation Miamiis in , sure we will have 28,987 more posts in a similar vein. Just keeping tabs!
Cam Newton is destined to become this year's Brady Quinn on this board. The white whale that half the board wants, half the board thinks sucks, and then the team passes on him anyway.
The only reason I disagree is I don't think Newton makes it to our pick. Then again, I didn't think Quinn would make it to our pick.
Let's assume the Dolphins don't want to roll the dice with Cam Newton or he's off the board before we pick. If we are slotted ~15th overall and Ryan Mallett and Jack Locker are both on the board which one of them would you pick? Gun to your head...
Also: Any love for Brandon Weeden among the draft gurus? Take his age out of the equation and I believe he's better than ck's guy Yates or maybe even Boomer's guy Foles. Don't know who Alen's guy is.
I'd probably go Mallett but I have no idea if either guy is going to be any good. But I wouldn't be against Locker.
Wow. You are really bucking popular opinion. I love it! What's your opinion on Weeden? Another QB I really like is Stanzi.
Haven't watched much of Weeden. I've been limited when it comes to tape watching this season (I've watched some players but not at the rate I usually do) but I'll have everything done by the end of the month. Just have one last final exam to take for college tomorrow and I'm free for a month, in which I'll have everything done. Stanzi's up and down. He's got some talent but he's a backup QB in this league IMO.
Alen..hasty? Depends, imvho one of the problems with the emphasis on the draft is that it does not take into account FA signings or players developing in the eyes of the Staff, I am somewhat convinced we will pick in the 20's, which means a trade back makes sense for us in Draft 2011. Meaning we will not be in position to draft either anyway.
