Monday, October 24, 2011

Rivera compares Cam Newton to Walter Payton

I wrote my column today on Cam Newton, which makes about the 1,657th column I think I've written about the rookie quarterback so far, give or take a couple of hundred.

Newton keeps being newsworthy, though. He had the most efficient game of his young career Sunday, throwing only five incompletions and compiling a 127.5 QB rating in Carolina's 33-20 win over Washington.

Coach Ron Rivera has said previously that Newton has the "It" factor, which is hard to argue. Rivera went further Monday in his "day-after" news conference, comparing Newton's joy and charisma on the field to Walter Payton, the Hall of Fame running back that Rivera played alongside when he was a linebacker with the Chicago Bears.

"The only other player I've seen that has that kind of charisma or charm, in my opinion, was Walter Payton," Rivera said. "I think there's something about guys like that that are special. They love practicing, they love meeting, they love just coming here and being here.

"Walter was the same way," Rivera continued. "He just loved being at the facility, loved to practice, loved his teammates. Treats everybody with the same type of respect. They both have this attitude about losing -- they hate losing. Everything they did was to win. They've always been winners…. It's infectious, and you want that type of feeling all the time."

Rivera also said he thought it was "awesome" that Newton handed the ball to a young boy in a front-row seat after his rushing TD. "We're trying to get our fans to understand and realize that this is a football team that wants to give back," Rivera said.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Scamitis syndrone.One lucky win because Hightower exits & Slop is back to bigger than Mother Teresa.

The media pimps a PR stunt giving a football to a ft row kid to auction on Ebay for a million yet back in the ghetto a poor kid with no ticket no tv no pc no football and no million got nothing & will go to bed hungry.

Peyton? Rivera who came from Berkeley the home of LSD is def trippin & hallucinating.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 2:31. Evidently you are not a football fan if you don't know the difference between Peyton and Payton. Pathetic!

Anonymous said...

to Anonymous 2:31:

The Redskins were behind when Hightower went down. They were behind essentially the whole game. It's not like their game fell apart when he was injured.

There was more to yesterday's win than Cam Newton - Steve Smith, Brandon Lafell, Johnathan Stewart and many others had a lot to do with it. But opposing teams have had half a season to figure out how to stop Newton, and he keeps on producing. A 127+ passer rating is no scam.

That football would bring maybe a couple hundred on ebay (a million? sounds like you're the one trippin and hallucinating). I bet the kid who got it wouldn't even think about selling it.

Anonymous said...

Hightower? When did Bubba Smith start playing in the NFL again?

dbigcat said...

Hey Anonymous 2:31, why don't you enroll in an English class at your local high school. Maybe in a few weeks normal people can understand what you are trying to say in your posts!

Anonymous said...

Comparing Scam Newton to Walter Payton is like comparing Ronald Rivera to Vince Lomardi.

Payton actually graduated from high school without help, never stole laptops, never got charged for 3 felonys, never was caught cheating 3 times, never was kicked out of college as a freshman, never was kicked off the football team, never was pimped for 200,000 illegally to destroy college football and take the pros to a new low level.

Payton had 22k AP yds and 17k rushing yards.

So far Scam is 0-3 preseason and
2-5 season.

Gonna be funny when he cuts out for the bigger brighter lights in a few months for 3-4 times more. You idiots gonna brag then?

Anonymous said...

This is the same guy who posts in any and everything that mentions Newton. Ok guy, we get it, you hate Newton and everything he stands for blah, blah, blah. The point is you are going to be hearing about Newton for a long time. Do you realize that you are being laughed at and you spend time and energy because of your hate for someone? Well you must love it because a hater loves to hate. You truly are a pitiful person. @Anonymous 2:31 and 5:31....same person. Well I guess we will see your post about something within the next couple of days on one of these blogs......Bet on it right????

Anonymous said...

CAM Newton is playing like Andrew Luck could only dream about in NFL yet media IGNORANTLY continues to say Luck is BEST since Manning??
Can anybody explain that?

Anonymous said...

Comparing Newton to Luck is just plain stupid. I dont understand why people hate luck just cause he loves college and wants to win a national championship. I didnt see all of the fans of the NBA getting pissed off at harrison barnes cause he stayed in school. Luck to be honest will be better than newton after he sits behind manning for at least five years or if he goes to the dolphins.

Anonymous said...

Last name Payton...First name Peyton. Two of the best!

Anonymous said...

Yeah at 6:26, I just don't get it. I am a Redskin fan who was at the game Sunday, and I am in awe of the kid's talents. At 6-5 and 260, with his arm and run ability, and play so far, I figure anyone bad-mouthing him is a know-nothing loser football-wise, especially confirmed by dredging up the mistakes of his youth. Smacks of jealousy to me.

Cleveland Industrial real estate said...

wow !!! great and appreciable comparison and loved this comparison

Anonymous said...

Sean Payton, Walter Peyton, Peyton Manning. That's the proper spelling.

Anonymous said...

Even though Newton is a goner in 2012 like Peppers was only sooner, there seems to be an insideous plot to injure certain qbs and trash them by some notorious union members while protecting others. Newton is being watched over and protected and being allowed to run pass and score at will by thug union orders.
Suhs attempt to injure Ryan and then trash him under ft office review. He twisted Delomnes neck last yr like a bottle cap.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-10-24/falcons-not-happy-with-apparent-taunting-by-lions-suh-avril

http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/nfl/2011-10-24/suh-calls-injury-falcons-quarterback-karma?v=1319499627

Anonymous said...

Not a fan says:

NC native UNC grad 6' 8" 300 lb DE Julius Peppers who did things the right way 100% was HATED viciously and trashed for a couple yrs when he decided to move on to the brighter lights and double the loot. He never got a fraction the hype as this worst scammer in NFL history that defies all logic but proves loser fans have big time issues.

CP win a rare game and is suddenly some scam artist is better than Walter Payton but will drop your azz like a hot potato soon and move on. CP fans are nutzoid.

Get a life. See a shrink. You are delusional at 2-5. What a joke.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous@2:31 is the perfect example of something my grandaddy told me many, many years ago: It's better to keep your mouth shut and have people THINK you're stupid than it is to open it and remove all doubt. Go Cam and the Panthers.

Anonymous said...

this guy posts on every article written about Cam Newton. It almost sounds like he has something personal against Cam. I think most people like to create their own opinions about celebrities because they are bitter and jealous. Don't worry buddy; everything always works out in the end, one way or the other.

Why would Cam leave Carolina when he is putting the team in the best position to get deep into the post-season they've been in in years? He knows if he sticks around they will get the rest of the team fixed in time to make a realistic run.

I have actually always liked the Saints but it seems like their fans have this territorial sense of entitlement ever since the storm and their team's cinderella season following it. Any threat to their beloved "Who Dat" guys is met with unreasoning and illogical and often inaccurate hatred.

Get over it brother..... go out and smell some flowers or something. Do anything to take your mind off of your life-long nemesis Superman, because it has to be taking years off of your life.

xl pharmacy said...

Stats don’t lie my friend. Cam being a top 4 fantasy QB every week speaks volumes. Brady, Brees, Rodgers and Newton are always top 4 QBs. Cam is 4th overall in passing yds, 3rd in passing YPA and 5th in total QB TDs. If you doubt Cam is a top 5 QB then ask yourself this..,

Aside from Rodgers,Brees and Brady.. Who is a better QB then Cam at the moment?

xl pharmacy said...

This is the same guy who posts in any and everything that mentions Newton. Ok guy, we get it, you hate Newton and everything he stands for blah, blah, blah. The point is you are going to be hearing about Newton for a long time.