Cam Newton's Rookie Season as Told by the Sitcom "I Love Lucy"

Lucy Ricardo: Ricky, we're revolting. 
Ricky Ricardo: No more than usual. 

The Carolina Panthers are still the Carolina Panthers. The franchise made reasonable and risky strides towards a rebuild, but we cannot expect Newton to make them a Superbowl contender.

The rest of the teams still exist. While Newton will attempt to lead the organization through resurgence, he will be forced towards the reality that the quarterback position is not the only problem they endured in the 2010 season.

The coaching staff with the Panthers will need to consistently refer to the big picture when dealing with his rookie feelings of failure. There will not always be times when the home crowd roars because of a big play he has made. Nor will there be complete silence during away games in stadiums that are home to New Orleans, Tampa Bay and the Detroit Lions.

Ethel Mertz: Rome wasn't built in a day. 
Fred Mertz: Well, Rome wasn't built like you either. 

Everyone has their growing pains, with the exception of John Elway. I believe we can all agree that Newton is no Elway. Coming out of a shotgun influenced offense that was remedially simple, Cam Newton will be asked to abruptly acclimate himself to a foreign system.

The calls will be much more complicated, and even though Newton has vowed himself to the ongoing study regiment that the quarterback position calls for, the transition will not be a walk in the park. It will more likely be an adaptation of a sprint across scolding coals.

Ricky Ricardo: Who's that? 
Fred Mertz: Who's that? What's that? 

Cam Newton will not be short of astonishing when he walks onto the field in a Carolina Panthers uniform. He stands at 6’5" and weights around 250 lbs. His beast-like mobility will leave fans awe struck, and his speed will bring them to their feet.

His arm strength is quaking while his reads are sometimes infallible. Key word: sometimes. Even though his strategy leaves much to be desired as far as pocket passing is concerned, Newton’s off balance accuracy and success as the pocket protection breaks down will spark highlights.

Ricky Ricardo: Why are we whispering? 
Lucy Ricardo: If my feet find out this was my idea, they'll kill me. 

Newton relies way too much on his feet to take him where he wants to go, and that could result in numerous sustained injuries.

There is no doubt that players—such as Michael Vick—are pronouncing themselves as bait by escaping the pocket and taking off on sprints of their own. Cam Newton will attempt too many runs and be unpleasantly surprised when his head is almost knocked off by the Troy Polamalus and Ray Lewis of the NFL.

Ricky Ricardo: Fred, I've got an awful problem on my hands. 
Fred Mertz: You should have thought about that before you married her. 

There are plenty of smiles swirling the Carolina Panthers arena now, but for how long? Soon, both sides of the Newton experiment will realize that they may have bitten off more than they can chew.

Whether the issues will lie within Newton’s expectations of himself as well as the organization, or if the coaching staff will feel that he is not progressing as they once predicted, cannot be foreseen.

However, there will undoubtedly be a moment where the front office will think about whether or not they made the right decision by taking Newton at the overall No. 1 position in the draft. There were so many other prospects waiting to be chosen that, for a brief time, there will be unanswered questions that influence their attitudes towards each other.

Ricky Ricardo: Lucy! I'm Home! 

Ultimately, Cam Newton will have found his comfort zone with the franchise. The coaching will have settled into his state of mind and he will have quickly adapted to the required durability at the professional level.