Cam Newton shined on center stage at Auburn’s Pro Day
Auburn quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton wearing the new Under Armour E39 shirts. Associated Press
Here’s the story from Cam Newton’s workout. He put on a show.
PRE-PRO DAY POST BELOW
Quarterback Cam Newton will get another chance to impress NFL scouts at Auburn’s Pro Day today.
I’m heading over there and will update how theHeisman winner and Westlake High grad performs after the workout, which is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. I’m sure I’ll send out some live tweets. You can follow me @AJCFALCONS if you want those updates.
NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock is going to be there.
Auburn quarterback Cam Newton responds to a question during a news conference during the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
More importantly, Carolina coach Ron Rivera is attending. The Panthers have the top pick in the draft. Rivera could have elected to attend Ryan Mallett’s Pro Day in Arkansas.
By now, you all know that Newton didn’t perform too well at the scouting combine. The alarming thing was that he couldn’t make the 10-yard out throw to his right side. As a right-handed quarterback, that should be his money throw.
“I don’t take the 15, 20 or 30 throws (at the combine) and have it change my mind about anything,” Mayock said. “It’s important to me as an evaluator to watch as much tape as I can, but I have to see a quarterback live. I have to see how the ball comes out of his hands.”
Newton appeared to be uncomfortable with the receivers at the scouting combine. He held onto the ball too long as he was waiting for them to cut.
Mike Mayock has Missouri's Blaine Gabbert as the top rated quarterbackentering the NFL scouting combine. Gabbert throws a pass during his team’s Setp. 19, 2009, game against Furman in Columbia, Mo. (The Associated Press/L.G. Patterson)
“That was the first opportunity I got to see the ball come out of his hands,” Mayock said. “I think he was little frustrated by his inaccuracies. He didn’t throw a bunch of completions. . .You get to the five-step (drop) and the coaches are telling you to throw to an area. You have been coached your entire life to complete passes. So there is a little bit of a contradiction for a kid that’s never done this before.”
Mayock had Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert and Washington’s Jake Locker rated ahead of Newton going into the scouting combine.
“Nothing changed for me,” Mayock said. “He has a big arm. (He has better mechanics than Vince Young or Tim Tebow or any of those other big guys. I still have the same questions I had coming in. For the next two months, I’m going to try to answer them.”
Mayock likes Newton’s intangibles.
“I saw a kid that lit up the room when we talked to him,” Mayock said. “I saw a kid that was intelligent.”
Mayock said he still has two issues with Newton.
“He played in a pass offense that was fairly simple, not a lot of reads and he didn’t have a lot of patience in the pocket,” Mayock said. “But that’s what he did to win a national championship. . .Secondly, you have to figure the kid out.”
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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111 comments Add your comment
BirdDirty
March 9th, 2011
1:29 pm
To all of you that say these comments aren’t racial, please tell me why everyone thinks Gabbert is a better prospect than Newton. Answer these questions about Blaine Gabbert.
Were his stats better?
Did his team win more games?
Did his team win the national championship?
Did he win the heisman?
Did he play in the toughest conference in America?
Did he go undefeated in the toughest conference in America?
Is he more athletic than Cam?
Did he run the same spread offense in college like Cam?
It is so funny when I hear media types and ignorant fans gush all over Blaine Gabbert. If he had Cam’s resume, he would be the odds on favorite to be the overall #1 pick. Conversely, if Cam had Gabbert’s pedestrian numbers (16tds & 9 ints), the draft experts would be trying to move him to receiver or tight end.
In addition, they keeping making a big deal about the “icon” and “entertainer” comments. Isn’t that what the NFL is looking for? Sure they are. That’s why the NFL has the billion dollar t.v. contract. The society loves to villify the black athlete. That’s why I keep rooting for Mike V. The more they hate, the more we embrace! And to those that dismiss the racial componenet of some of these negative posts, “open your eyes”!!!
Dtruth
March 9th, 2011
1:57 pm
It is absolutely amazing that no matter what a brotha does he gets the hate. Give this man credit for taking a half xss team from the outhouse to the penthouse in one year. Like one poster said ” Blaine Gabbert’s numbers are 16 tds and 9 int last year.” If Cam had those numbers and was supposed to be the #1 pick I can only imagine the indignity that would cause. The only knock is that he has only done it for one year at the highest college level. Get a life and stop hating on this gifted person/athlete. Stop comparing him with JaMarcus Russell, there is only one similarity which is obvious. Do all QB’s with Ryan Leaf’s heritage get lumped in with him. Nuff said. Cam is the best college player since “Tebow”!
MikeP
March 10th, 2011
9:19 am
The current QB most comparable to Cam Newton is Ben Roethlisberger, except Newton is a better runner. Any team that passes Cam up is either crazy or 100% satisfied with their top twp QB’s.
WestlakeCoach
March 10th, 2011
10:05 am
Its a trajedy to judge Cam when 95% of all the people who talk about him dont kno him. You say he’s a cheater and will be unsuccessful. This a kid we talking about. A young man. I had the pleasure of coaching Cam in high school if you ever met him you would know this guy has a good heart and great work ethic. Nobody in this world is without fault. So if you ever cheated on a test, lied, or broke some rules people should label you as such. Kids make mistakes we all do but it doesnt define who you are. What defines who you are is what you do after the mistakes. He constantly says in his interviews hes trying to become a bettter person one day at a time. Or maybe its just becasue he went to Westlake like PACMAN!!!!!!! LOL
MikeP
March 10th, 2011
8:54 pm
The cheating allegations were proven to be lies less than 24 hours after they were posted. Many on here know this but like Thayer Evans they can’t stand to see someone else be successful so the losers try to pull the winner down to their level. Cam Newton can’t be pulled down by such low-lifes, he’s proven that.
nes
March 11th, 2011
8:37 am
Forget all this pro-day and combine stuff!!! Let’s talk NFL! Why isn’t Mr. Blank-check showing his face at the CBA meetings and getting an agreement that both the owners and players can be somewhat happy with? Mr. Blank likes to intermingle with the players on the side lines during games, well come on MR. BLANK, pull both sides to the table at your favorite eating place like you do when you go after free agents by wining and dining them to sign. Do the same thing here and OWNER-UP and make a deal for both sides that is acceptable and half-way fair! I do believe that the owners should get their fair share plus++ by putting up their money for the players, share the pie and let’s have NFL Football next year! Oh Yea, MR. Blank, do not send Rich McKay to do your job!
BigGAdawg
March 11th, 2011
9:20 am
I’m trying to figure out why an article about him is posted under the Falcons section. He is not going to be drafted by the Falcons. He is damaged goods and of interest mainly to Auburn fans but we don’t seem to have an Auburn section in the AJC. Maybe this should be run in a paper across the border in The Republic of Alabamastan.
MikeP
March 11th, 2011
10:33 am
BigGADawg, he didn’t look damaged when he was damaging the Dulldawgs. The only place he’s damaged is in the daydreams of jealous rival fans.
Watch over the next few months as “damaged goods” picks up a bunch of millions of dollars. The NFL guys know what they are doing. Damaged goods wouldn’t get the kind of payments Cam Newton is about to get.
Zorn
March 11th, 2011
8:47 pm
This guy is going to be a train wreck for ant team that takes him. He’s a me first kinda guy who might even enjoy a little dog fighting on the side. Let the buyer be warned, I’m just glad Atlanta does not need a QB so the wreck that is Cam Newton will crash elsewhere.
MW
March 14th, 2011
9:42 am
RE: The title of this blog: The correct term is “shone,” not “shined.”
CHARLIECOLE
March 14th, 2011
10:50 am
Fans speak out against lockout at http://fanslockoutnfl.blogspot.com