Cam Newton: Color Me Laughing; the Cam-Angle

Our storied remembrance of history, both of grassroots and entertainment, seems to slip from the minds of those with a voice, quicker than a politician can say, “I was misquoted.”

To that end, just three weeks ago, I could have sworn that Cam Newton was an overrated, misunderstood, quarterback look-a-like.  Actually, I would have bet a few coins on that if the voices of the well-known actually yielded good fruit.

Remember when the Carolina Panthers played the Cincinnati Bengals in the preseason? It yielded one bright spot for the southern squad wearing white.

The next morning I had a figurative wager with two cohorts who steadily see directly past the pregame, postgame Sunday emotional reaction. The bet, “What would the sports talk on a specific channel, at a specific time have to report about Mr. Newton.”

“Newton, he just cannot make the throws. He just cannot read defenses, and cannot translate to the National Football League. He runs before he goes through his progressions.”

This jargon was spewed on the most major of networks that cover the sport, specifically on the audio airwaves. Some of the most respected guests were featured to enforce the point that Newton just was not translating.

About that wager, the minds free of ready-made decisions about mythical rankings not measured in purely scientific fact, felt the ‘suits’ still did not know much about the position, even now. Furthermore, that was still the preseason, was it not?

Speed forward to the Monday after Newton put up over 400 yards for the first time. Those same people did the, “I was misquoted” angle and started telling anyone who would listen how great Newton suddenly had become. Yeah, in the span of three hours, a guy who wanted to be viewed as an icon, who still does not sport any tattoos had suddenly become Andrew Luck in just one outing.

So what does this have to do with history and people with voices? Okay, what college did Ryan Fitzpatrick attend? Try this one, who drafted Tony Romo? Give up?

Wait, the Buffalo Bills have been trying to replace Fitzpatrick since he proved to be average, right? Those experts told us that Buffalo really needed to upgrade the quarterback position. Now the team is afraid he is gathering too much leverage in the final year of his deal?

The history lesson that can be taken home follows; the best analyst is the person who has the interest, a DVR and a high speed Internet connection.  Try to remember how Peyton Manning looked in his first year in Indianapolis. Try to recall how Troy Aikman fared, on his way to an 0-11 starting campaign.

Please join me in a walk down the road of reality, paved with uncertainty and cyclical verbiage. Take a left at the corner of, ‘Heard That,’ and ‘I Knew He Would,’ then walk into the home of Sanity. It is right beside ‘Tebow Village.’ Then sit in front of that television set, and do not turn it on before the kicker tees the ball, usually 1:02 Eastern Time. It is just better this way.