Let’s start with the blindingly obvious – Quarterback is the most important position in all of professional sports. Period. No player takes on more responsibilities, faces more pressure, or receives more accolades – or more of the blame – than the Quarterback of an NFL team. Quarterbacks win games and take their teams to championships. The days of Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer winning the big game are over. Don’t believe me? Look at the Super Bowl-winning Quarterbacks since 2004: Brady twice, Roethlisberger, Peyton, Eli, Roethlisberger again, Brees, and Rodgers. Excluding Eli (who was playing like an elite quarterback in those playoffs), each winner was one of the three best the game that year. Now look at the six favorites (and their odds) to hoist the trophy in Indy this February: New England (9-2), Green Bay (5-1), Philadelphia (8-1), Pittsburgh (8-1), San Diego (10-1), and New Orleans (12-1). All are led by elite signal-callers. Eight of the past ten league MVP’s have been quarterbacks and eight of this year’s ten favorites for the award are as well. Notice a pattern here? In an increasingly offense-driven, pass-heavy league, the position is more important than ever.
Because Quarterbacks win games, they dominate media coverage in the NFL. Nine of the leagues twelve most marketable stars (Brady, both Mannings, Fitzgerald, Brees, Rodgers, Vick, Polomalu, Urlacher, Ryan, Sanchez, Tebow) are quarterbacks. Fans want charismatic, likeable leaders to be the face of their teams, and sponsors know just what position produces most of them – Quarterback. The Quarterback fitting the bill as the next piece of NFL marketing gold: Cam Newton. The question is, can he succeed on the field?
Coming off one of the greatest collegiate seasons ever, leading and more often carrying his team on an undefeated romp through college football’s deepest and most difficult conference, culminating with the National Championship and possession of the Heisman Trophy, Newton nevertheless faced intense scrutiny as he entered the NFL Draft. Despite dominating SEC defenses, completing 66.1% of his throws for 30 touchdowns and only 7 picks, critics questioned whether he could be the kind of pocket passer that succeeds in the NFL.
Nobody has doubted Cam’s athletic abilities, for at 6’5” 248 pounds, he blends the size and strength of Ben Roethlisberger with the quickness and agility of Michael Vick into possibly the most incredible physical presence we’ve ever seen at the Quarterback position. He has a Defensive End frame, Wide Receiver speed, and Running Back balance, topped with an effortless, flick-of-the-wrist throw. Physically, he’s something we’ve never seen before, the NFL’s equivalent to Magic Johnson and Lebron James (combined?). Newton could play any position he wanted, but his underwhelming passing performance at the NFL Combine raised doubts about whether he could make it as a Quarterback. His accuracy and ability to read a defense were called into question, as teams feared he was this year’s Tim Tebow. Amid the uncertainty, however, and despite having drafted a Quarterback just one year prior, the Panthers took Newton first overall in the 2011 Draft.
A lockout-shortened offseason prevented Cam from the mini-camp and organized team activities that rookie Quarterbacks so desperately need to learn the complexities of an NFL offense and develop a rapport with their receivers. In four preseason games, he looked scared and overwhelmed, completing just 40.4% of his passes for no touchdowns. However, lacking a veteran to hold the fort until Newton was ready, the Panthers had no choice but to go all in, starting their rookie in Week 1.
Then came Sunday. Cam Newton wasn’t just good… he was extraordinary. Completing 24 of 37 passes for 3 touchdowns (1 rushing) and a debut-record 422 yards in the air, Newton lit up the box score like no rookie starter has before. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not ready to check his ballot for Canton. And despite some young talent the Arizona Cardinals are not exactly Buddy Ryan’s Monsters of the Midway, so we’ll take the numbers with a grain of salt…maybe even a few grains. But it wasn’t the numbers that told the story. Cam had the swagger we saw in college. He took risks down the field, extended the play when the pocket broke down, and displayed that freakish athleticism when jumping over the pile Bo Jackson-style for a touchdown. He was deliberate in his drop-backs and put more velocity behind the ball than ever before. He showed a poise and control of the offense that was absent in the preseason. He carried himself like a seasoned veteran, a far cry from the hesitant Cam of the preseason that left analysts convinced he was destined for early struggles.
At least on this first Sunday, Cam seemed to have everything you want in your NFL Quarterback. He had a presence about him with strong body language. He demonstrated a level of maturity and grasp of the moment that far exceeded his years. He showed that he wasn’t afraid to make difficult throws and didn’t look the least bit intimidated as he tested the defense. He had a fire and enthusiasm on the field and the sidelines, totally engaged as the leader of his team. In a word, that’s what playing Quarterback in the NFL is all about: confidence. The ‘it factor’. A Quarterback’s mental makeup is more important than anything else. To win, a team needs a dominant leader, an alpha male with the charisma and gravitas to take charge and motivate the other 10 men on the field to complete the task at hand to the most of their abilities. Cam has that.
Look at the six elite Quarterbacks in the game today: Brady, Rodgers, Brees, Manning, Roethlisberger, Rivers; what do they all have in common? Confidence. They have control of their team and know the guys around them better than they know themselves. They care. Each one is a leader who, week in and week out, shows the presence, fearlessness, fire, and grasp of the moment that Cam showed Sunday. They aren’t afraid to lay into their teammates because those teammates know their guy cares more than anyone, that he’s their leader on whose shoulders they’ll ride to the top. An NFL team can’t win with a guy who looks like a deer in the headlights – think Shooter being handed the playbook when Norman Dale got ejected in Hoosiers. There’s a reason Matt Schaub, Tony Romo, and Jay Cutler - all equally as talented as the elite six - don’t have rings. You need a guy who walks in the huddle, down four with two minutes on the clock, and makes the other 10 guys think, “This guy’s got it, we’re taking this game.” They haven’t shown themselves to be that guy. That’s the ‘it factor’. Coming away from Sunday, you couldn’t help but feel that in Carolina’s huddle and on it’s sideline, Cam inspired that feeling. He had ‘it’.
Now the question becomes: can Cam keep it going? We know he has the once-in-a-generation athletic ability, and that may carry him for now. He faced a very weak Arizona secondary on Sunday, and next week presents a much mightier task in defending champion Green Bay. Cam most likely won’t repeat the statistical onslaught of Week 1, or even come close again this season, but he doesn’t have to. All he needs is to keep that swagger, that confidence he displayed so astoundingly in his debut. Can he win ugly games with that confidence against tougher teams? We will see. Can he become a solid, if not quality, pocket passer right away? Can he do what it took Michael Vick 10 years to, and learn to stay in the pocket and pick his spots displaying that world-class athleticism? Could Cam Newton redefine the Quarterback position in the National Football League? We don’t know yet. These are lofty, complex questions about a young man who has played one, albeit extraordinary, professional game. And they certainly can’t be answered right away or even just in this first year. But the possibility is there, because that confidence is there. Panthers fans have something to smile about this week, and I’m sure the Carolina season ticket office received a few more calls than usual on Monday morning. Cam Newton has that “it factor”, and at the Quarterback position, nothing is more important.
