Cam Newton May Only Be 2-6, but He's Still Managed to Quiet His Critics

When the Carolina Panthers selected quarterback Cam Newton with the No. 1 overall pick in this past April’s NFL draft, a smattering of boos and jeers quickly filled Radio City Music Hall as Newton walked out onto the stage to shake commissioner Roger Goodell’s hand and hold up his new team’s jersey.

Although he was the reigning Heisman trophy winner and had just enjoyed one of the greatest single seasons in college football history, revitalizing Auburn and leading the Tigers on an undefeated national championship campaign, Newton was far from a consensus or popular choice to be taken with the top pick, and the fans quickly echoed that sentiment loud and clear on the star quarterback’s big night.

Booooo!

Surely, you had to cut the disgruntled fans a little slack that day, though, because by the time the draft rolled around, whether you loved the guy or hated him, I think we were all just a little Cam Newtoned out after months of hearing the media endlessly pick apart his every last flaw.

Newton heard every last criticism you could possibly think of from the time he announced his intentions to forgo his senior season to the time he walked out on the stage in New York City to face the scoffs and the spotlight.

“He’s just another product of the spread offense.”

JaMarcus Russell 2.0.

Overrated, fake, dumb, liar, cheater, selfish, phony.

He heard it all.

Newton certainly had his fair share of critics and doubters, and some, like Pro Football Weekly’s Nolan Nawrocki, even gained national notoriety for their public disdain of the star quarterback.

Nawrocki, who had never met or spoken personally with Newton, used supposed secondary sources to portray Newton as an egotistical locker room killer, who had major bust written all over him.

It didn’t seem to matter to Newton’s many critics that he had just carried two different teams to national championships in consecutive seasons, made the toughest competition in college football’s most powerful conference look like high school JV afterthoughts or that he had the type of physical tools and rare athletic ability that would make LeBron James and Tiger Woods jealous.

Because why would any of that matter, right?

The many self-appointed draft experts and analysts in the mainstream sports media apparently decided that even though Newton had demonstrated during his one year at Auburn that he had the type of arm strength to make every throw an NFL quarterback needs to make, and then proceeded to back that up in every one of his workouts, it was still going to take the Heisman winner years to adapt to an NFL offense.

Some even thought that he would just flat-out never be able to make the transition.

Well, judging from what we’ve seen in the first eight games of Newton’s NFL career, it’s safe to say all those critics and haters have had to learn the hard way that sometimes special players really are just too good to be true, and there’s no reason to try to downgrade them and manufacture flaws to try to justify why they won’t be able to sustain their greatness.

Cam Newton looks like he's one of the rare ones who fits that special breed.

Newton has stepped into the Panthers huddle and from the first snap, he’s done everything his critics said he wouldn’t be able to do.

Throw from the pocket?

Piece of cake.

Make the same type of dazzling highlight-reel runs that we saw from him in college?

No problem.

Win over his teammates?

Heck, I even saw Mr. Moody Steve Smith break a smile.

According to the critics, there was no way Newton could be this good this quickly.

There was no way Carolina could even come close to having a top-five passing offense with him at the helm.

Well, the reality is, he’s always been this good, and there was never any real justifiable or sensible reason to doubt his capabilities and potential.

Sure, Carolina’s only 2-6 on the season, but you can go as far back throughout the history of the NFL as you want, and I can guarantee that you won’t be able to find a fan base of a 2-6 team that was ever more optimistic and satisfied than Carolina’s is right now.

Newton has breathed new life into the Panthers organization, and it would seem that the so-called "major risk pick" seems like a supposed gamble that's paid off in a big way.

Yes, the young rookie will eventually come back down to Earth once defensive coordinators study him and figure out his tendencies and weaknesses.

Still, if these are the types of flashes and glimpses of greatness we’re seeing from him in his first eight games, in a league where rookie quarterbacks are considered one step above tackling dummies, you just can’t help but be impressed and excited to see what he has in store for the future.

Right now, Newton has every reason to break out that big, fake, self-serving smile of his, because his future as a professional quarterback certainly looks a lot brighter than what many tried to originally lead us to believe.