I think it’s going to be another Bledsoe-Brady type situation. It’ll probably be Cam Newton’s team as long as he stays healthy, but once Mac Jones steps in, he’ll keep the job if he proves up to the task. Jones looks like the real deal, though it’s impossible to tell until he has a few games under his belt.
Cam’s greatest flaw (IMHO) is that he has routinely neglected one of the biggest rules for QBs in the NFL… Protect yourself. Where most QBs will slide to avoid collisions or run out of bounds, he uses his body as a battering ram. He’s large, strong, and athletic so it is effective. He acts like a running back a good part of the time and he pulls it off.
But there’s a reason why the average running back doesn’t last long past 30. That job is hell on the human body. And a running back isn’t expected to also keep a healthy throwing arm or to be on the field every time the offense is. Cam Newton is, and if you look at his career he has had injuries keeping him off the field and diminishing his performance when he’s on the field.
He’s 32 years old which is pretty young for a quarterback but it’s about retirement age for a running back. It’s no wonder his career has been on a downward trend the last few years. I question how long he’ll be able to still play.
Yet don’t forget he’s the same player who has an MVP to his name in a year where he almost led the Panthers to a perfect season and took them to a Super Bowl. (Let’s forget his performance in that particular game though.) Even diminished he’s a player with great talent and athleticism and you’ll still see that from time to time. His reputation as one of the best QBs in the league for years was well-deserved. I’m not sure where to rank him now. I don’t think he’s awful but it’s hard to call him great. I think he averages out as a capable QB that could succeed with the right team around him. At least for now.
I laughed a bit to myself seeing that Mitch Trubisky is picking apart the Bears, going 20-28, 221 yards, 1 TD, 0 int. while Buffalo hangs 34 points on them in the first half. I know it’s meaningless, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me smile.
I find the Redwolves a little funny because the local Chicago AHL team is called the Wolves and they happen to have the WFT colors. I could see them picking it and immediately getting sued. In fact, this seems like a real enough concern that I can’t imagine they’d keep that name on the list.
I think this narrative needs to end. Cam was a very good QB when he was young. Now he’s not fast, he’s not particularly useful running the ball in short yardage and he can’t throw the ball to save his life. This isn’t due to “injuries” this is due to his natural decline. Even when he was at his peak, he’s was a player who relied too much on his physical abilities and stature and never really became a great passer or leader of an offense. Certainly wear and tear accelerated his decline, but it’s a delusion to say that “he just needs to stay healthy” to recover his position as even a top-half QB. He’s probably bottom 5 even when healthy at this point.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they were sued. I’d be surprised if that lawsuit went anywhere. Different name, different sport, and I doubt an AHL team’s lawyers are going to compete with an NFL team.
I know it’s fashionable to talk about every legal battle like an arms race, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes it’s really just about the facts. Copyright cases tend to be pretty simple in that regard. And the Wolves owners aren’t exactly paupers should they want to protect their brand.
Snyder may be able to buy them off, but after the previous naming issues it’d be hilariously on brand for them to walk face first into more drama.
Cam Newton really isn’t the smartest guy in the room.
He will miss half of all practices this week because of a ‘misunderstanding’ and of course he’s not vaccinated.
I hope he learns that the backup QB doesn’t do press conferences so no one will see his fashion choices.
I will not argue against that. Washington is the poster child for being inept and tone deaf about these issues. (And by “Washington” I really mean Snyder.)
When I said the following…
I had completely forgotten about the Covid issue. Just another example of how he takes his body and health for granted. 
Travis Etienne out for the season
Of interest to only moustache lovers everywhere, the Eagles traded a conditional 6th round pick for the one, the only Gardner Minshew.
Seems like a fair price, but I wonder what it says about the Eagles’ confidence in Jalen Hurts. I’m guessing they, like me, are not convinced he’s a franchise QB.
I’m wondering more about Joe Flacco. Could be he’s really done now and they’re looking to save a couple million on a cheaper, younger backup with a decently high ceiling. Clearly, I’m not as sold as some on the idea of Minshew as a franchise QB. And Mullens was obviously not anybody’s idea of an answer either.
Or, who knows? Given how snakebit they’ve been on QBs, maybe they’re looking to keep a full QB room.
Well the WFT is only losing 37-3 to the Ravens. At least it’s not 73-0.
It tells me they thought little of Nick Mullens, not Hurts.
Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton is injured and will miss time.
And starting quarterback Carson Wentz, Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly, and receiver Zach Pascal have been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list after coming in close contact with a member of the Colts staff who tested positive for the virus.
Asked during training camp if he’d been vaccinated, Wentz said, “That’s a personal decision,” which is another way of saying no.
Can we get on the same fuckin’ page here?
I can’t wait to hear these idiots explain themselves when their Covid-related absences cause their teams to forfeit games.
“I think that’s HIPAA.”
I think you mean HIPPA (yes, I know you got it right but IME most of the people referencing it in that context don’t).
A hippa is a Spanish female hippo.
As an aside, the HIPAA thing was a direct quote of the … mistaken … Dak Prescott, when he refused to disclose his vaccination status.
Worst day of the year tomorrow as teams need to cut rosters from from 80 to 53 by 3:00 CST.