This very cool picture was submitted to me by loyal reader Darren Bolick -- he shot it Saturday night with his iPhone after the Panthers-Giants preseason game. That's one of the six Panther statues surrounding Bank of America stadium in the foreground, of course, and the Duke Energy Center (which can produce all sorts of spectacular light shows) doing its Panther-blue thing in the back. The moon adds a surreal quality, don't you think?(Photo by Darren Bolick)
While you glance at that striking photo one more time, here's my take on the Cam Newton-Jimmy Clausen debate:
My colleague Tom Sorensen advocates in today's newspaper the naming of Cam Newton as the Panthers' starter, beginning Friday night in the preseason game at Miami and continuing into the indefinite future.
While I don't entirely disagree with Tom -- he and I both advocated Newton being picked No.1 in April and both believe he's the future of the franchise -- I wonder if Cam is really ready. (Newton will indeed start against Miami Friday, coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday, but beyond that there's no telling as of yet).
So, back to Tom's theory of all Cam, all the time from now on: One preseason game as the backup and that's it? Really? That's not exactly a lot of dues. And that 8-for-19, no-TD passing performance was OK, but hardly the type that vaults you into the clear No.1 role.
There are alternatives. Jimmy Clausen is not nearly as athletic as Newton, but does throw the ball more accurately when he has time (when he doesn't, he still looks jittery). Derek Anderson actually knows the offense the best of the three and probably could do a decent job as a game manager-type of QB.
So while I do think Newton should start and play the majority of the season, I'm fine with Ron Rivera taking his time on this decision for a little while longer. I advocated the "alternate the QBs as starters for the first two weeks of preseason and see what you've got after that" idea in this blog a couple of weeks ago and still espouse it.
It's only a matter of time until Cam is The Man, but is the time really up already?
One side note: If you haven't read the report on the University of Miami football allegations filed by Yahoo! Sports Charles Robinson, you really need to. Here's the link. This is the sort of investigative journalism that is very hard to do, but also very worthwhile.
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31 comments:
nobody cares about Miami...its all Panthers in Charlotte!
And the "Yes men" have spoken! Nary a word about the crooked players on our team shall be mentioned! If you do, your post will be removed! Plays well in Iran, why not here.
Scott - it's good to see some common sense at the CO. Tom sounds like my four year old when he knows I've got a piece of candy in my pocket.
Starting Cam immediately has more downside than upside. Jimmy is a serviceable option for AT LEAST the first 4 games - and after the terrible situation that he was thrown into last year, he deserves the chance to run with the 1st team for a few weeks.
Last year WAS NOT Jimmy's fault. Give him a chance to prove himself with some legitimate talent around him.
All this "Jimmy was in a bad situation last year" thing is getting worn out. Every QB can't be in an ideal situation. Did the guy improve? Is he really going to be more than just serviceable? It's possible but they wouldn't have drafted Cam if they thought otherwise.
Start Anderson and let Cam sit either until next season or put him in if Anderson fails... clausen will have a nice career in the NFL as a 2nd or 3rd string QB.
@Anon 11:31am:
You're right that it is getting worn out and very few QBs are really in ideal situations, but Clausen's couldn't have been much worse last year.
Lame duck coach, horrible playcalling, porous Offensive Line, injury-plagued team... the list can go on. This year, he has a chance to show what he's actually made of - that could be a NFL starter or, more likely, a serviceable back-up, but I think he still deserves that chance, and has shown that he does through training camp and the first pre-season game.
If I were Rivera, I would start Newton this week and give him 1.5 quarters, Clausen 1.5 quarters and Anderson the 4th. Then, just check out how each one does: who looks more poised, more accurate, better leadership, better understanding of the offense, better at reading defenses, etc.
I think Newton is the future of the QB position here, but I think Clausen still needs to be given his due, and I also don't want Newton thrown to the wolves either. Even if that means starting Anderson.
Investigative Journalism.....a concept the Observer should look into. It's so much easier to just copy and paste from the NY Times or Associated Press, but what about the local stuff? As for the Cam issue....I'm confident that he is the future of this franchise...but I wouldn't be too quick to name him the starter. I like the idea in last week's game of rotating all three QB's until Cam can really manage the game accurately.
The O Line was horrible last year. I'm not sure it's any better this year. I realize ALL QB's have to be quick on reads and decisions, but Panther's QBs have been getting almost NO time at all.
Fix the line before you worry about who is back there taking the pressure.
Amen, 12:20. For the fifteen games a year that Otah's not healthy, we have a 7th-rounder and an undrafted free agent protecting the right side of the line. That just doesn't cut it, but we should have known about Otah BEFORE we traded our huge draft haul (Remember? We traded a #1, a #2, AND a #4!) to get him. He's been missing months for minor injuries since the start of his college career.
Let Anderson play the role of Rodney Peete/Doug Pederson. The other 10 guys need time to learn the offense, no sense having Cam running around in there making everything chaotic.
I don't expect we'll win a huge number of games with Anderson, but I still think he's the right pick.
Why not start a former Pro Bowl QB? He looked good in the preseason opener. He only has a one year contract. He can mentor Cam and demonstrate the QB position from on the field rather thatn the sidelines. Then, next season start Cam and release Clausen.
We don't need another "break a new QB in" type of season again this year. Let Clausen or Anderson start and bring in Newton if either or both falter by midseason. My hunch is we'll struggle through another unbearable stretch of ugly losses if Newton starts early, which will be hard to stomach.
Starting Cam to soon could turn us into the lions or raiders, where we just seem to keep ending up with a top three pick and starting rookies who arent ready to ruin them and our own future, dont rush things let them develop, anyone who get rattled to soon will fail, we dont have the safety net of a great o-line to truly protect our QB's and make it ok like it was for Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco
We have to commit to Newton. Period. Clausen needs to be traded or released. Newton is the starter and Anderson is the backup. We should have kept Matt Moore to be #3.
I wonder how many Cam Newton jerseys Charlotte area welfare checks will pay for?.............
And you knew we couldn't talk about Cam without a racist comment coming out...Anon 4:49 that comment earned you the ignorant person of the week award
@anon 6:08- AMEN man. i couldn't have said it better.
Anonymous 4:49 pm,
I wonder how many times you kissed your sister as a teenager starting to date?
There are still a couple of suckers that continue to bad mouth Cam. Get over it jackasses! He's our starter and we got him at a steal for a cool 22 million dollars. The qb in that spot got 70 million last year. The guy's talent is undeniable. Give me a break! Also he's a leader, hard worker, and a great teammate.
Kenneth -- If your sister, wife, or mother is a blonde --
you better lock her up -- Cammy's in town and he's hongry
As a lifelong black man,
I agree with you, sad to say
Hey Scott,
I am trying my hardest to find a way to watch the Panther games from Texas. I just recently moved here from Charlotte. I can't get direct tv.
I have tried to or three internet services, Satellite TV, Stream TV, but they are only recorded shows and no link to NFL.
If you can give me some direction please email me at harterbradley69@yahoo.com
Thanks Scott
Scott is just happy another school is on the front line of cheating instead of his UNC alma mater.
why does Yahoo Sports do all the real investigative reporting, yet the Observer ignored UNC football cheating for the longest time???
Double standard...Scott wanted patience with UNC but is ready to sanction Miami
What will be the benefit to leaving on the bench the most talented QB on the team, and going 0-4 or 1-3 with Clausen or Anderson, which both did last year? Then put Cam in a situation were he has to try to salvage the season. Clausen and Anderson are not winners, never have been.
If you saw the body language coming off the field for both Clausen and Anderson and their post game press conferences (I did) you would not want them running your team.
Love the picture!
I like Rivera as our new coach but one thing that no one has mentioned and that is: What happens if Cam gets HURT during preseason?
Starting him too early could place him and his Panther future in jeapordy!
Scam will get killed if he tries to run. He made 2 tries against NY and was stuffed b4 he even got turned around.
If he cant pass its OVER before it even starts. He cant.
Rivera bragged he wanted a "franchise QB" becauase the CP never had one? HUH?
Kerry Collins won the NCAA at PSU in 1995 and Heisman runnerup.
Weinke was the NCAA at FSU and Heisman winner.
Franschise QBs are a MYTH anyway !!!
Rivera ignorant about offense.
Anderson still only 28 yrs old and a former pro-bowler needs to be the starter or Clausen who is only 23 yr old.
Just for the record, I agree many Camhaters may be letting race enter into thinking, and i'm a Camlovin' Cracker! I do agree Jimmy was left holding the bag last year. Iwish Cam could be held back for a while, how many QB's have we had who had to play before they were ready, and never recovered? Cam is too valuable to damager him by rushing him!
I don't foresee any of these three qb's being on the Panthers roster five years from now. I really don't think Cam's gonna pan out to be anything special. Hopefully I'm proven wrong.
Surely, the dude is absolutely fair.
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