Cam Newton: Everything Tim Tebow Isn't and More

He's young. He's learning the position from scratch. He has no weapons.

Am I referring to the new quarterback in Denver or the rookie in Carolina? The platitudes are strikingly similar, are they not? Indeed, for virtually every excuse Tim Tebow's apologists use in his defense, Cam Newton could claim equity.

In fact, it could be said that Newton's position is less tenable than that of his Heisman brethren. Anyone who watched his cringe-worthy performance on Jon Gruden's quarterback camp as he failed to verbalize even one entry from the Auburn playbook likely wrote him off for dead as a result.

At the time, it was believed that he simply did not have the mental acumen to be a professional quarterback, and his poor showing on ESPN only reassured those who doubted him.

What we didn't know at the time, as Trent Dilfer explained this morning on “The Herd” on ESPN Radio, was that his remedial-level comprehension had nothing to do with Cam's intelligence, and everything to do with Auburn failing to teach him the game.

Upon hiring George Whitfield as his pre-draft coach, it was discovered that Newton wasn't even aware that an 18-yard route required a seven-step drop. To laymen such as us, that may not raise an eyebrow, but to a quarterback entering the draft, it's akin to a law school grad having no concept of jurisprudence.

But Whitfield worked his magic and the rest is history. Cam is considered an elite talent with tremendous upside, but in the meantime he's breaking rookie records on raw talent. So why is he having success when Tebow isn't?

Easy: Because Cam Newton is a better player.

Three months ago, that statement likely wouldn't have registered with NFL fans. Most would have agreed that even if neither were cut out for the pro game, Cam's natural talent surpassed Tebow's and that of the two, Cam had the better shot at making it.

Today, however, there is a surprising groundswell in the land of St. Tim, and the words “Oh, he's way better than Cam Newton” are being uttered with far too much clemency.

I am not a fan of the quarterback rating statistic, and the fact that Donovan McNabb currently rates higher than Cam Newton is exactly why. Currently Newton ranks 19^th in the league in that cumulative category, with a rating of just 82.8.

But when you look at the statistics—the 300 yards per game average, the 60 percent completion rate, the fact that he throws the ball for over eight yards per attempt and is on pace to throw for over 4,000 yards in his rookie season—the picture becomes clearer.

Even Cam's worst performance—either last week against the Falcons, in which he threw three interceptions and no touchdowns, or Week 3 against the Jaguars when he completed only about half of his passes—he looks markedly better than Tebow did Sunday against the worst team in the NFL.

Watching Tebow misread coverages, overlook wide open receivers and tuck the ball too soon, I couldn't help but wonder if all the things we feared about Cam coming into this season are actually true about Tebow.

Apologists for the Golden Boy have said that he has no quit, that he's “all heart” (as opposed to “all talent?”), but aren't these just weasel phrases meant to hide the fact that heart and the rest of these supposed intangibles are all that he has to offer?

I suspect they are.

There is a reason the same things aren't being said about Cam Newton, and it has nothing to do with how any of us feel about him as a person. Rather, it has everything to do with the fact that Cam needs no apologists. Just check the stat sheet.