Cam Newton: Why It's Easy to See New Panthers QB Will Change the NFL Forever

Randy Moss and Barry Sanders made it clear from the time they entered the league that they were going to give us something we had never seen before. Every time they took the field, they put on a show in a way that let the world know that they were going to be something special.

The same can be said for Cam Newton, who has battled harsh criticism about his character and game in general, only to flourish in his NFL debut.

Newton threw for 422 yards, two touchdowns and a pick in a losing effort. All of the concerns about him isolating one target and not going through his progressions were thrown out the window. He picked apart the Cardinals and seemed unphased by the NFL.

We've seen the athletic quarterbacks who have to adapt to the passing game like Michael Vick. We've seen the pocket passers like Aaron Rodgers who can run when the opportunity presents itself. We've also seen great leaders like Vince Young breathe life into their teams in their rookie season.

Never has a quarterback embodied the passing prowess, elite athleticism and leadership that Newton put on display in his first rookie outing. Physically, Newton was tailor made to play the quarterback position. Many wondered whether he would be just another rookie with happy feet who had problems transitioning to the next level. Mentally, he's as NFL ready as any rookie could ever hope to be.

Newton is the definition of a high ceiling guy. He's got the cannon for an arm, the frame to stand tall in the pocket and the legs to force a defense to account for what he can do on the ground. The fact that he was able to put up over 400 yards in his first NFL game with the weapons he has at his disposal is nothing short of incredible.

Some will point to the Cardinals' suspect secondary, but it's not as though Newton has elite weapons on hand, either. Going on the road as a rookie with what was the worst team in the league a season ago and shining in the manner that he did sends a message to the NFL.

Cam Newton is for real.

While what he did on the field was impressive, it was how he conducted himself in his post-game interview that says the most about Newton as a player and a person.

This was a rookie who just had one of the best first games in history. You would have thought he came out and threw seven interceptions in the first half and got benched.

Newton's smile he's been wearing since he came into the spotlight had been reduced to a painful expression. You could tell he wasn't happy. He hadn't lost a game since junior college. This was unfamiliar territory.

There is a lot of talk about Tim Tebow having elite leadership qualities. Newton is the same type of winner, and while he may not be the humanitarian Tebow is off the field, Newton is the kind of guy whose dominant play makes his teammates willing to run through a brick wall for him.

He's the complete package. Josh Freeman is a great example of a young quarterback who is clearly a superstar in the making. He has the same huge frame as Newton and is already off to a great start in his career, but when comparing the two, there is no comparison.

Newton isn't going to be able to turn around the Panthers this season. There are gaping holes all over the field that make it impossible for the team to really excel in the manner Newton would like to.

He's going to see a setback this season, as he can't be expected to put up 400 yard games on a weekly basis. Quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers have created a skewed perception of how difficult it really is to pass for that kind of yardage. Even so, Newton has already justified the No. 1 overall selection the Panthers expended on him.

He has changed the culture in Carolina and will continue to redefine what the prototypical NFL quarterback should be. Newton puts on a show when he plays, has an undying desire to win football games and keeps the world enamored for the entire game when he takes the field.

Just like when he was at Auburn, Newton commands the entire attention of the audience from the first snap to the final whistle of every game.

Is it too early to crown him king? After all, it's just one game, right? Even though only four quarters of his career have transpired, he has rare qualities that let people know they are witnessing greatness. He's got the star quality to turn into the face of the NFL and the never before seen skillset to take over the NFL.

Andrew Luck is being touted as perhaps the greatest collegiate prospect ever. In fact, the Panthers came out and said they were drafting him with their first overall pick before they even had a chance to kick the tires at personal workouts and the NFL combine.

They "settled" on Newton, passing on could-be elite defenders like Patrick Peterson, Marcel Dareus and Von Miller. Critics said there was no Sam Bradford, Matthew Stafford or Matt Ryan in this draft. Those critics have been proven correct.

Newton isn't those quarterbacks, and he never will be. We see quarterbacks who will obviously be the future of an NFL franchise come out of the draft constantly. How many times have we heard a talking head say, "he's got an NFL arm" or "he's got rare accuracy." These "rarities" constantly make their way into the NFL.

It's not very often that we see a quarterback with the potential to be as special as Newton. He isn't Peyton Manning, Michael Vick or Tom Brady. He's his own player with his own unique qualities.

There is no telling how much Newton will improve or how hard he is going to regress this season, but it's clear that when his time is done in the NFL, the game will never be the same.

Nearly every team has a franchise quarterback under center. There are even Hall of Famers whose legacies are tucked away in Canton, all but forgotten about. Newton is one of those guys we'll all be proud to say we got the opportunity to play. He's the type of player future generations will aspire to be, long after he hangs up his cleats.

It was hard to tell whose play Newton would resemble when he came out of the draft. Would he be Vince Young? Would he be Josh Freeman? Tim Tebow? Now it's clear why scouts had such a hard time finding his NFL counterpart. There wasn't one.

He's going to set the bar for rookie quarterbacks who hope to present a shadow of what he brings to the table. "He's a Cam Newton type" will take on a meaning of its own.

Like any player, his career is going to be built one game at a time. Getting caught up in the hoopla prematurely is a common mistake we as a society make, but this is no average athlete. He takes on Green Bay next week and has an opportunity to prove to the critics that he has arrived once again.