Cam Newton: Best-Case Scenario for His Rookie Season with Carolina

If you believe the rumor mills, we're just about six weeks away from the start of NFL training camp for the 2011 season.

With the start of the latest iteration of the National Football League, one of the most highly scrutinized athletes to enter the top tier of football, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, will finally take the field amongst the world's best football players.

Opinions of Newton, and the Panthers using the draft's top pick on the former Auburn signal caller, are across the board. Some have called Newton the league's next franchise quarterback, while others have said the Panthers made a massive mistake in drafting Newton.

What the future has for Newton remains to be seen. We won't have those answers until, at least, Sept. 11, when the Panthers open the regular season against the Arizona Cardinals.

But in a perfect world, what would the 2011 season hold for Newton?

In that perfect world, Cam Newton would spend his entire rookie season holding a clipboard while Jimmy Clausen or Matt Moore quarterbacks the Carolina Panthers.

ESPN's resident draftnik, Mel Kiper, called Newton a "major project" in the days and weeks leading up to the 2011 NFL draft. While Kiper certainly isn't the final word on the successes and failures of college athletes heading to the NFL, his analysis should speak volumes to the path Newton must take during the infancy of his professional football career.

Recent history has taught us young quarterbacks who have spent a year (or more) on the sidelines have benefited greatly from their time listed outside of the top spot on the depth chart.

Cincinnati's Carson Palmer saw a great deal of success after spending his rookie season holding a clipboard while Jon Kitna took a season's worth of punishment. San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers watched Drew Brees earn a Pro Bowl berth during Rivers' inaugural pro season. Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre before becoming a Super Bowl MVP and one of the league's best quarterbacks.

While there are instances of quarterbacks starting from Day One and succeeding—Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan, among others, come to mind—they weren't the intensive projects Newton is. Newton may not learn a lot from his fellow Carolina quarterbacks, but the coaching staff, as well as the extra time spent studying the playbook and learning the pro game from a neutral position, will teach him countless lessons.

If Newton is to become the Panthers starter at any point during the 2011 season (which seems very likely), he needs to be held on the sidelines until after Carolina's Week 9 bye. Four of Carolina's first six games are against 2010 playoff teams, including a Week 2 clash with the defending champion Green Bay Packers. Week 7's matchup against Jared Allen and the dangerous Minnesota Vikings' front seven won't do much to help the youngster's confidence, either.

It is clear Newton holds the future of the Panthers franchise in his hands. While the final result of Newton's rookie season is months away from revealing itself, it is already apparent the Panthers would benefit immensely from holding Cam Newton on the sidelines of Bank of America Stadium for as long as possible.

The NFL doesn't favor players like Newton. Vince Young, Newton's apparent doppelganger, has never seen consistent success on the pro level. The same can be, at least, speculated about players like Denver's Tim Tebow.

Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger has been the exception to the rule damning large, fairly mobile quarterbacks to a career of mediocrity, or worse. Will Newton be the next Roethlisberger, or the next Young?

That decision lies in the hands of Ron Rivera and the shot-callers of the Carolina Panthers.