Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: Cam Newton's Star Turn

1. The brilliance of Cam Newton

Do you remember what was once said about Cam Newton?

It wasn't just the now-infamous comment about him having a "fake smile." It was much more. There was a sense that Newton was some type of Manchurian Player. There was something faulty inside of him, like wiring that could go wrong at any time. The talk about him as he entered the league, from those in the league and those not, was extremely personal.

It was summed up by this fat paragraph about Newton from Nolan Nawrocki in Pro Football Weekly's draft preview (via NFL.com):

"

Very disingenuous—has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law—does not command respect from teammates and will always struggle to win a locker room...Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness—is not punctual, seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable.

"

Fake smile.

Fast forward to now. Instead of that caricature of Newton, what has emerged is something entirely different. A mature Newton. A tough Newton. The type of talent you build a franchise around.

Of all the 3-0 teams, to me, the most impressive is Newton's Panthers. He has gotten to 3-0 with maybe the least amount of offensive talent around him in all of football.

I'm not saying there's no talent around him. He has tight end Greg Olsen, who is good. But the receivers he works with are, well, fairly terrible. It's not a great offensive line. No elite backs.

No offense to Olsen, but when he's your second-best offensive player, that says a great deal.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Most importantly, the guy who was supposed to be a fake-smiling snake has become one of the best human beings in the sport. He has displayed the leadership skills of an Aaron Rodgers or a Tom Brady—yet at times, outside of Carolina, he still hasn't been recognized for it.

The dust-up between Newton and referee Ed Hochuli, where Newton says Hochuli told him he didn't get a roughing-the-passer call because he "wasn't old enough," is another moment in Newton's development as a player and leader. Hochuli has denied Newton's claim.

The NFL is investigating, and it will likely say there's no proof of what Newton says, but this episode is instructive of who Newton has become. The old Newton probably wouldn't have said a public word about the incident, fearing backlash. This Newton doesn't care.

Newton may be wrong about what Hochuli said, but Newton reacted to what he believes he heard the way almost any elite player would.

This column isn't an ode to Newton as much as it's a recognition. This isn't about statistics necessarily but something larger. It's about recognition about how wrong we can be about college players—and emphasis on we, including me.

Newton is a cautionary tale to all of us. When we judge players, we don't do so in a static environment. Players, like all human beings, change. Newton did, and look at him now.

Everything about him is real, including his smile.

2. Matthew Stafford has long been vastly overrated

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Matthew Stafford is a solid quarterback. Not great, not terrible. Splendidly average. His averageness is part of the reason I've consistently ranked the team in the 20s and 30s in the B/R power rankings. This has caused Lions fans to become very angry with me.

There are two reasons I've ranked them so low: Ndamukong Suh and Stafford. The loss of Suh, I thought coming into the season, would affect the team negatively in every way, even on offense. It would put more pressure on Stafford, and Stafford wouldn't be able to handle it.

This number from ESPN's Darren Rovell says so much:

That's not all on Stafford, but a lot of it is.

The Lions are 0-3 and are being called one of the biggest disappointments of the young season. Unfortunately, it's not going to get any better.

3. Is Colin Kaepernick unfixable?

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

What's going on with Colin Kaepernick is fascinating and, in some ways, sad. Yes, I said sad.

Here's an educated (based on conversations with NFL coaches I've spoken to who have followed Kaepernick's career) guess at what's happened:

Kaepernick was at his best under Jim Harbaugh because Harbaugh was able to harness his athletic ability and worked with him on playing better from the pocket.

But Kaepernick and Harbaugh often clashed. This can happen with Harbaugh, as we all know. With Harbaugh gone, this year Kaepernick seemed to think he was free to be more himself—i.e. more running, less pocket passing. This led to Kaepernick saying he was in a "comfort zone" now that Harbaugh is gone, as reported by the San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami.

What we've seen post-Harbaugh is Kaepernick trying to prove he can win his way. What we've also seen is he can't. Harbaugh knew how to get wins out of him. This is also a Harbaugh trait.

The post-Harbaugh Kaepernick has been the worst Kap version yet. His pocket presence is almost nonexistent now. Tyrann Mathieu told reporters the 49ers' passing game was "simplified so much" it was easy to predict what was coming. That's not great.

The 49ers are quickly approaching a crucial point in the Kaepernick career arc. If Kaepernick continues to struggle this season, at what point does the team bench him? We might be approaching that moment soon.

4. The 21st-century Jim Brown

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Adrian Peterson is back to destroying people. What I'm not sure people understand is how badly he's doing it.

This week, Peterson had a 43-yard touchdown run. The NFL says this was his 16th run for a score of at least 40 yards. There is only one person who has more of those. His name is Barry Sanders.

5. Are the Steelers dead without Ben Roethlisberger?

Billy Hurst/Associated Press

The short answer? Yeah, pretty much.

Said NBC analyst Rodney Harrison during Sunday night's halftime show: "They'll be lucky to win one game with Michael Vick in the next five weeks."

Steelers fans will just say Harrison is a Patriots homer. Maybe, but he's probably right. Vick has been pretty much done for years now.

If Ben Roethlisberger is indeed out four to six weeks, this is the team's schedule during that time: home against Baltimore on Thursday, at San Diego, home against Arizona, at Kansas City, then home against Cincinnati and Oakland.

Say Roethlisberger is out just four weeks, and the Steelers go 1-3 while he's out. They'd be 3-4 when he came back, which would not be terrible.

Totally dead? Maybe not. Pseudo-zombies? Probably.

6. One of the most incredible stats of all time

David Richard/Associated Press

This from the NFL: Charles Woodson became the second player in NFL history to intercept a pass in 18 straight seasons. Darrell Green is the other.

That statistic is not just a testament to Woodson's longevity (and Green's). To be able to cover elite receivers after 18 years in football is simply incredible. It might be one of the best achievements we've ever seen—in any sport.

7. One last note on Brady and the Patriots

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

As I wrote Sunday, it's starting to look like the Patriots will embark on another one of those vintage Patriots runs. The reason is Tom Brady and the high bar he continues to set.

Brady this season has nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. The NFL says only four players in history have done that in the first three games of a season:

Player, Team	Season	TDs
Peyton Manning, Broncos	2013	12
Aaron Rodgers, Packers	2015	10
Tom Brady, Patriots	2015	9
Peyton Manning, Colts	2010	9
Don Meredith, Cowboys	1966	9

8. Mentally tough Falcons

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

I've never thought of the Falcons as tough. Everything about them has, for some time, been soft. Their defenses. Their running game. But not any longer.

The Falcons outscored the Cowboys 14-0 in the fourth quarter to win Sunday. They are the first team in league history, the NFL says, to start 3-0 after trailing in the fourth quarter of each game.

That stat says a great deal. Maybe they shouldn't have been trailing, but this is the NFL, and every team falls behind. So what. What matters most is how that team responds, and the Falcons are showing maturity and toughness we haven't seen from the franchise since the Dan Reeves era.

Why? It all comes down to one man, really: Dan Quinn. He's mostly transformed what was one of the worst defensive units last year into one of the most resilient. He's made Atlanta tough again.

9. A new receiver renaissance?

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

There are so many good ones, but I want you to think about what three in particular are doing.

Many people thought Raiders receiver Amari Cooper was going to be good. Few thought he would be this good this fast. Cooper had eight catches for 134 yards versus Cleveland. The week before, against Baltimore, he had 109 yards. The NFL says Cooper and DeSean Jackson are "the only NFL rookies in the past 30 years with two 100-yard receiving games in their team's first three games." Jackson did it in 2008.

A.J. Green had 227 receiving yards against the horrific Ravens defense. The league says that was "the second-highest single-game total in franchise history (Chad Johnson, 260 yards on November 12, 2006, vs. San Diego)."

Lastly, the guy that I think is the best receiver in the sport, Julio Jones, has 34 catches all freaking ready. The league says that's "the most in NFL history by a player in his teams' first three games to start a season. He is also the first player in league annals to record at least 135 receiving yards in each of his team's first three games."

10. NFL players and health care

If you want to know the challenges some NFL players face when it comes to getting quality health care once their playing days are over, this is a fascinating read from retired player Jeff Nixon.

We see the players and the game, and we see fun and scoring, and the players make big money. But there are, and will be, despite the massive wealth of the sport, a legion of players who decades from now will need massive medical attention for what the sport did to their bodies. Some of them will have the resources. It's possible many will not.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.