The S"Cam"del Newton Story

Where ever and whatever way you are reading this today, thanks for making The Gray Area part of your busy day.  I promised to write about Cam Newton and I wanted to wait. I waited to see what ESPN would have to say four days after the draft. I got to hear Cam attempt to defend himself on Mike and Mike in the morning. And well I got what I thought would happen, they retracted most of criticism. Please note this was much to my disappointment. Not everyone just one big name in particular, which was Todd McShay. I am all for being unbiased but once you have chosen a stance defend it honorably. McShay did for the most part, but he seemed to back off  about Cam Newton being a big risk. Folks he is a huge risk for the Carolina Panthers, we are talking JaMarcus Russell sized.

Cam and  his father Cecil Newton

Someone please tell what is the difference between him and Tim Tebow? I really don’t see one. I will bet that had Tim Tebow came out after his Heisman year he would have went number one overall. So why did Cam go higher than Tebow? The answer is hype. He was horrible with Jon Gruden when he was on QB camp. And frankly how do you honestly say Herm Edwards “don’t concern yourself with off the field issues”?  He is the quarterback of a team. The leader, the one everyone is looking to for leadership. If you cannot count on him to stay out of trouble what does that say for the rest of the team?  As Colin Cowherd once said of Vince Young “your quarterback is essentially the face of a billion dollar company”. I was extremely disappointed with Carolina Panthers for selecting him number one overall.  At Florida he was caught with a stolen laptop which they knew about. The NFL and NCAA know his father tried to sell him to Mississippi State for $180,000. In three to five years his Heisman and Auburn's national title will be revoked by the NCAA with no consequences to Cam Newton.

NFL Commissioner Roger Godell with Cam Newton

Right now Newton is the worst QB in his division and I will go as far to say he will be 5 years from now. He will never be better than Drew Brees or Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman is a rising star. Congratulations to the Carolina Panthers organization you just set yourself back 5 years much like the Titans did when they selected Vince Young.   Mark my words he will not make it in the NFL and if he does I will admit I was wrong. Most people forgave Michael Vick because he served his time and fought his way back into the light. Cam Newton was smiling on draft day not because it was his dream like Von Miller, who was actually crying. It was simply because he slipped through the cracks of punishment and will now be paid as the number one draft pick.  

Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks

This article indirectly supports the NHL who punishes there players on and off the ice. When Patrick Kane got in trouble two years ago he was fined and heavily scrutinized for his offense. He kept his mouth shut and won a Stanley Cup taking his punishment like a man. The NBA and NFL baby their players for whatever reason, which frankly makes me sick. The NHL band a player for life because of repeated vicious hits on other players.  He was a highly scouted player but the league got rid of him anyway. Why? Because there are always more stars. So why can’t the two most popular sports punish the ones who violate the rules. I want to see changes, but they will probably be minimal. Money talks, the NFL will do whatever it takes to keep making that money even if that means sacrificing some of the integrity of the game.

As always you can follow me on twitter @chrisgrayarea.com, you can email chrisgrayarea@gmail.com and you can like us on facebook by searching The Chris Gray Area. Thank you for making the Gray Matters part of your day. 

-Gray Out.

Draft Hits

Where ever and how ever you are reading this today, thank you for making the Gray Area part of your busy day.  It is official the NFL Draft is over. It has came and went leaving us hoping for games in the Fall. This was by far the least interesting draft leading up to round one in recent memory. We knew going into this draft it was mostly defensive deep with little depth at the scoring positions in the top rounds. I am not going to bore you with my thoughts on all the picks, but I am going to key in on a few. The first pick being Cam Newton selected at number 1 which is the main part of another story.

The second one that came to my attention is the selection of Julio Jones WR from Alabama. This was without a doubt the worst pick and trade of the first round, in my opinion. The Falcons traded 4 potential starters in draft picks for one receiver who can’t catch a simple flat route 5 yards from the quarterback. I have no idea how the general manger sold this to Falcons owner Arthur Blank. The Falcons swapped 2011 first round picks with the Cleveland Browns who then also receive 2011 2^nd and 4^th round picks. That is 3 potential starters for one already and we aren’t done yet. They also get 2012 1st round and a 4th round picks as well, add another two starters to that list as well. Bottom line no player is worth that many players and for those still in the dark on how I came up with the number of starters I will explain. Any good franchise will get starters nine times out of ten in the first four rounds of the draft. After that your chances of making the team diminish due to free agents and roster space. I hope it works for Atlanta because I like this team, but I just don’t see how you can give up so much for such a high risk player.

The other pick I will touch on is Jake Locker at number 8 to the Tennessee Titans. I love this pick! The question that comes to mind, does anyone remember where he was projected last year? The answer is number 1 overall. That being said yes he regressed a little on a subpar team in Washington. However this is a perfect fit for Tennessee with the way there offense has struggled. He brings great mobility and throws accurately on the run, which he will be doing a lot of.  He also brings things to the table that no other Quarterback has had since Steve McNair. Those qualities are toughness, leadership, and a strong work ethic. I will even argue he has the potential to be better then McNair due to the fact he came from a bigger conference and played against more NFL caliber talent. I only slightly dislike this pick because it was a reach. But when you draft you have to take the best player for your system and Locker was by far the better selection between him and Blaine Gabbert.

My last pick to point out is Nick Fairley to the Detroit Lions at number 13. I was greatly relieved when the Titans passed on him at number 8. I think Fairley is a little too much like Albert Haynesworth, which the team needs high character, high motor players which they got throughout the draft. Why is this good for the Lions? Two names Jim Schwartz and Nadmukong Suh. Schwartz does a great job getting the most out of all his players and he at one time couched the troubled Haynesworth at Tennessee.  Suh will be playing side by side with Fairley, which I expect will spark some competition between the two both on and off the field. Suh is a strong character player with a great work ethic, the Lions are banking it will rub on Fairley. Anytime you can select a top 8 player at 13 you are usually happy to take a chance. Great pick for the Lions! Watch out for great things from this D-Line for the next several years.

I still stay with my position that this draft was pretty boring outside of the teams going QB crazy after Locker was selected. Christian Ponder went much earlier at 12^th overall then his mock draft experts had him going. This draft was hamstringed by the lockout that is going on. No trades for current players were allowed that could have landed teams with new veteran players or more draft picks. All in all, the League and the players let the fans down. No one not even a guy who wants to make this a living cares to hear why they are fighting. We all just want the powers that be to lock themselves in a room somewhere and not some out until a deal is done. More to come on my Cam Newton story shortly, and as always Thanks for making this part of your day!