Panthers' Cam Newton Takes Blame for Embarrassing Game: Bad QB or Great Leader?

No matter what you think of Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cameron Newton, you have to give him credit for how he's handled almost every situation he's rightfully (or wrongfully) put himself into over the past two years.

He took everything that was thrown at him at Auburn, including allegation after allegation about taking money to come to the school, completely in stride. All the while he was leading the Tigers to the National Championship and earning himself the Heisman Trophy.

Newton was also peppered with ridicule during the draft process, but he at least proved to the Panthers that he was worthy of being the No. 1 overall selection.

Now, three weeks into his first ever NFL preseason, Newton is putting the blame on himself and avoiding the temptation to use excuses when people have questioned him throwing the football. In three preseason games, Newton is completing just 40.4 percent of his passes with a 57.8 passer rating.

But like he's done so many times over the past 24 months, Newton is taking it all in stride.  

Here's what Newton told the Gaston Gazette: 

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"It's unacceptable on my part. That's an embarrassing stat. I just have to make the proper reads. The safeties don't lie to you, that's what (quarterbacks) coach (Mike) Shula always teaches. Getting back and getting in a comfort zone because third-and-long is not a situation you want to be in. A check down is not a bad thing. I saw today with checking the ball down to DeAngelo (Williams) we can get positive things rolling and that everything doesn't have to be to a receiver."

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Again, say what you want about Cameron Newton the quarterback. Some of the criticism is certainly justified. But this guy just sounds like a natural leader.

That quote doesn't sound like some immature 22-year-old know-it-all. He's taking blame, identifying what he did wrong and giving himself options on how to fix it.

There's no talk on how he played in a spread offense at Auburn. You don't hear how he only saw SEC defenses for one season before entering the NFL. There's no complaining about how difficult the transition has been.

That's what teams want in a quarterback. Sure, they don't want him making these mistakes. A 40.4 completion percentage is atrocious and needs to go up for the Panthers to have a chance at winning games. But he's showing the kind of leadership skills needed for those changes to occur.

So, to answer the question raised in the headline: He's a little bit of both.

Right now, Newton is a quarterback who is trying to learn on the run how to be an NFL quarterback. There's going to be bumps and bruises and ups-and-downs. We all know that. He's going to have more games when he completes a percentage of passes that is far below what most expect in an NFL quarterback.

And at the same time, he's showing himself to be the kind of great leader all teams want at that position. That's what really matters.

The leadership will always be there, but the improvement will come for Newton.