NFL pie fight over Cam Newton’s future ignores TDs, wins
Cam Newton, with father Cecil (center) and mother Jackie when he was honored Friday by Georgia legislature, has faced some unwarranted criticism leading up to draft. (AP photo).
NFL general managers go to great lengths to probe every conceivable aspect of a player’s psyche and background, which would lead you to believe that the draft is a far more exact science than two teenagers seeking their fortunes on a Ouija board. Sometimes, it isn’t.
We cite as examples: JaMarcus Russell and his spin on the protein shake (“purple drank”); Ryan Leaf and his fully developed cranium of a two-year-old; Michael Vick’s sudden and previously unknown desire to become an entrepreneur, somewhere back in the woods in painted black sheds in Surry County, Virginia.
Which brings us to Cam Newton.
He is possibly the most dissected potential first overall draft pick we’ve ever seen, and the debate about his future is creating household names of people like Nolan Nawrocki – who until last week lived in relative Google anonymity. The debate also has prompted one of Newton’s mentors, Warren Moon, to foolishly play the race card.
My kingdom for a mute button.
The worst thing about being a member of the 24/7 media these days is finding yourself central to these nonsensical circuses. Unfortunately, the loud pie fights won’t end until Newton is on a field again.
Moon's charges of racism seem baseless, even if ...
Newton, a native of College Park, was in the relatively controlled surroundings of the state Capitol the other day when he was honored by the Georgia Legislature. While he managed to bring professional pie fighters together under one gold dome, this is what swirled around him:
Nawrocki, a draft analyst for Pro Football Weekly, issued his
... Nawrocki probably took his analysis too far.
scouting report on Newton and and parts of it read like an old Saturday Night Live skit, when Dan Aykroyd would turn to Jane Curtain during “Point/Counterpoint” and say: “Jane, you ignorant slut.”
Some of Nawrocki’s “negatives” on Newton: “Very disingenuous. Has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement. Makes him believe he is above the law. Does not command respect from teammates. Always will struggle to win a locker room. Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness. Not punctual. Immature. Not dependable.”
Left unsaid: whether his feet stink.
Moon, a member of the Hall of Fame, responded to this criticism in an unusual way: “A lot of the criticism is unfortunate and racially based.” And the media inferno spread.
Ever witness a debate in which you wanted nothing to do with either side?
Nawrocki gets paid to critique players, so he can say and write what he likes. But remarks like Newton “has a fake smile” and is “very disingenuous,” are just silly. Nawrock admits he never has had a conversation with Newton so that’s kind of a strange leap to make. (Also, how does a quarterback engineer a 14-0 season without winning over a locker room?)
Moon’s general feelings about race and the draft are understandable. He wasn’t drafted in 1978 and began his career in Canada. But the NFL hasn’t been a whites-only quarterback league for some time. The time line stretches from Doug Williams to Josh Freeman, with Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair and dozens of others in between.
When Moon suggested no white QBs had to face this kind of pre-draft criticism, was he counting Tim Tebow?
Here’s what we know about Newton: Athletically, he has few peers at the quarterback position. He just completed arguably the single greatest season by a college player: a BCS title, an undefeated season, Heisman Trophy, 30 passing touchdowns, 20 rushing TDs in his only year as starter at an SEC school.
The debate rages on as to what he knew and when he knew it regarding his recruiting process. We know his father, Pastor Cecil “Huggy Bear” Newton, did everything but list his son on Craigslist with the words, “Available for $10,000 and fur-lined pulpit, or best offer.” But regardless of whether Cam Newton is dirty or clean, few athletes ever have faced the same pressure, adversity and scrutiny, and responded so well on the field.
If Carolina takes Newton with the first pick, it will be because of those tangibles. Eventually, we’ll learn if Newton’s perceived flaws will submarine his career. But until I see something other than touchdowns and wins, I’ll assume the rest is empty noise.
By Jeff Schultz
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221 comments Add your comment
Asheville Dawg
April 3rd, 2011
5:13 pm
Am I finally first!
bullettbob
April 3rd, 2011
5:15 pm
How did he get away from UGA and become a Gator then a Tiger?????
ATL
April 3rd, 2011
5:16 pm
Jeff your kidding yourself if you don’t think he has a fake smile and selfish…. Thank god someone like Arthur Blank would never draft nor get in free agency. His father will get what’s coming to him too…..
Asheville Dawg
April 3rd, 2011
5:17 pm
Miracles do happen!
Now, how does a sportswriter do a critique on someone he’s never met?
Bogus writer, bogus story. Period.
RTR
April 3rd, 2011
5:18 pm
half of america still hates this kid
Go_Cocks_Fight
April 3rd, 2011
5:20 pm
Nawrocki gets paid to critique players and treats all players equally. He critiques Ryan Mallet and everyone else just as hard as $cam. If you heard Nawrocki you would know that.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
April 3rd, 2011
5:22 pm
i think newton will be a bust in the NFL. he does carry a lot of arrogance with him. he will the next reggie bush in a couple years….ncaa will finally uncover the really truth about what went down in auburn.
ATL
April 3rd, 2011
5:24 pm
“But until I see something other than touchdowns and wins, I’ll assume the rest is empty noise” – I guarantee you he will not run over linebackers nor throw on corners like he did in college. He wont know what do to when he has to read a defense
Hillbilly Deluxe
April 3rd, 2011
5:26 pm
Somebody will draft him, probably pretty high in the draft, and then we’ll see what he can do, assuming the lockout ever ends. None of the rest of it really matters.
DirtyBird
April 3rd, 2011
5:28 pm
I am not sure how you think Nawrocki took his piece to far. He treats everyone he writes about equally. Why dont you do another piece on why he picked on Ryan Mallet to much too or are you just a Cam Newton homer?
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
5:28 pm
With never speaking to Newton how can Nawrocki make the statements he made? Newton maybe Great or Terrible, but only time will. tell. I still don’t see a true 1st round money QB in this draft. If Luck of Stanford had come out then I would say he is a 1st rounder. Moon never should have made his statement either.
Dale Carnegie
April 3rd, 2011
5:30 pm
Wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot poll. Think the NFL guy hit the nail on the head.
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
5:31 pm
BullettBobb
UGA’s Brain Trust has Cam listed as a Tight End.
DirtyBird
April 3rd, 2011
5:32 pm
His dad is not even smiling… probably coming up with new ways to make money off his son while this photo was taken.
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
5:34 pm
Are there NO NFL gurus that can Create an Offence to take advantage of QB’s with the abilities of a Tebow of Newton? If these guys can play, then NFL minds should get them on the field as much as possible.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
5:39 pm
The Cam Newton hatred is a weird thing. Yes, he bought a stolen labtop at a discounted price from another student and paid the price. Look at the last two years at UF under Urban Meyer, that was the least of his worries with the amount of students arrested for drugs, fights, and DUIs etc.. I have never seen a player raked over the coals like Cam in all my years. Hell, Dan Marino was snorting Cocaine all through his Pitt years and everyone knew during the draft which he fell in but nobody really cared and he was a hero his rookie season. Like AU or not this kid carried them and played with more heart than anyone I can remember in leading a team….If AU went 10-2 this past year you would hear half of this negative talk but since he led them to a NC there are alot of haters..
Asterisk
April 3rd, 2011
5:45 pm
Vince Young had great statistics too. How’s that working out for the Titans?
Auburn Tigers – 2010 National Champions**
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
5:46 pm
If race didn’t enter into the evaluations of quarterbacks at all — as people who wish to dismiss Warren Moon want to think — then Cam Newton (the guy who hasn’t had drug problems) wouldn’t be the guy getting compared to JaMarcus Russell. Ryan Mallett (the guy who has had drug problems and is much closer to Russell’s size and skill set) would be.
Jeff Schultz
April 3rd, 2011
5:51 pm
Asheville Dawg — Can’t think of somebody I wrote about that I never had a conversation with, or wasn’t in a press conference with, or wasn’t reacting to something he actually said or did.
Jeff Schultz
April 3rd, 2011
5:52 pm
ATL — “I guarantee you he will not run over linebackers nor throw on corners like he did in college. He wont know what do to when he has to read a defense.” … You might be right. But I think every college QB has to overcome those things in the NFL. Until you prove you can do it, people will assume you can’t.
Jeff Schultz
April 3rd, 2011
5:54 pm
Najeh Davenpoop — Ryan Mallett has been pounded leading up to this draft. It’s not like he has skated from criticism (which, by the way, he hasn’t handled very well).
Jeff Schultz
April 3rd, 2011
5:55 pm
SEC FAN — Please repost your comment without the obscenity (the cleverly misspelled word).
Whistlebritches
April 3rd, 2011
5:55 pm
ATL, a lot of people go at someone when you’re on top. Especially those that have never accomplished anything close to another person. We think there must be something wrong because he accomplished a lot. Do you think Chizik would’ve kept him on the team had he felt the same way this nfl scout does, who has never met him? Chizik kicked off four players immediately after being arrested a few weeks ago. Is Washaun Ealy still on Georgia’s team?
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
5:56 pm
Jeff you used the SNL line JANE you……….
You posted a Wordy Durd. LOL.
cattle dawg
April 3rd, 2011
5:57 pm
Steve Spurrier also thought cam might be a tight end in college cause he didnt like his passing skills.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
5:59 pm
ATL..your boy Arthur Blank would never draft a guy like Newton?…Really, he covered for Mike Vick for 6 years while he was smoking dope and fighting dogs but he would never draft a guy like Newton? Give me a break…If Newton led uga to a NC this year you guys would be wearing #2 jerseys and worshiping the guy like you still do Hershel Walker…Oh yeah, Hershel never got any “money” while playing at UGA either..
S'paw_99
April 3rd, 2011
5:59 pm
I just don’t like Newton’s character. I think he’s very arrogant/selfish, not sure he’s a team guy. To be a leader in the NFL, you have to be a team guy. I just don’t know about his maturity & work ethic. While he has better mechanics than Tebow, I view them very similar (spread QB’s in Coll). I just question Newton’s intangibles, where Tebow’s (leadership/work ethic) are off the chart.
poopdawg
April 3rd, 2011
5:59 pm
Dirtybird hit the nail on the head , Newton hasn’t faced anything compared to the crap the media threw at Ryan Mallet. NFL qbs have a tough job and whether Newton is or is not successful nobody can take his prior years success. SECFAN bought ? The owner of that laptop lived 2 doors down. The bigger question is how will Cam act when he gets more than 180000 in his pocket?
cattle dawg
April 3rd, 2011
6:01 pm
Thats one hell of a trifecta in the photo. Casey Cagle, scam,and cecil. Whos the dirtiest of those 3?
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
6:09 pm
poopdawg, nice name…Your facts are wrong he bought the labop from another student, the labtop was stolen, I’m not saying Cam is an angel just relaying the facts. I’m sure Cam will be happy when he gets 180k in his pocket…
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
6:11 pm
Cam’s leadership? He just led his team to a 14-0 season, something Tebow could never do..Cam Newton is a lot more talented than Tebow..better arm, bigger, faster
cantondawg
April 3rd, 2011
6:13 pm
Cam Newton is a special player. He has it all. Height, size, speed and big play ability. He has an NFL arm and speed. I GUARANTEE YOU that he will be a great player in the nfl. Besides Herschel Walker, he’s the best collegiate player that i have seen..
poopdawg
April 3rd, 2011
6:16 pm
My facts were Cam couldn’t be charged for stealing the computer but the lessor charge of possession of stolen property was given. When i buy something i then turn and throw it out the dang window?
Supes
April 3rd, 2011
6:16 pm
S’paw_99
nailed it! Couldn’t have said it better myself.
This entire QB class is full of question marks, I’m glad the Falcons are set at QB and don’t have to draft any of these “top guys”.
Newton…covered to death and we know what he did/didn’t do? Allegedly
Mallet…possible drug use and other issues of being a mental “midget” and not being able to handle QB at the NFL level…
Locker…great intangibles, good leadership…but he regressed his senior year and his passing accuracy is below average.
Gabbert from MO…could be serviceable wouldn’t think he could step up and be a franchise QB.
Bottom line…there is NO FRANCHISE QB in this draft…unless u find one (aka Tom Brady) in the 5th round somewhere he sits and develops and SHOCKS everyone for passing on him down the road.
cantondawg
April 3rd, 2011
6:18 pm
And when i mentioned Herschel Walker as being the best player it’s obvious that i am very biased. If i were an unbiased person i would probrably say CAM had a better collegiate season than Herschel.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
6:21 pm
He knew he was doing something wrong when he bought the computer, I’m sure he knew it was “hot” , read the police report he bought stolen labtop..
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
6:25 pm
I think Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and Archie Griffin were great College players too. Cam just touched the ball on every offensive play.
hirameagle
April 3rd, 2011
6:25 pm
S’paw_99….not sure what you’re basing your dislike of his character on, but that’s certainly something most of us do…make decisions on how we like or dislike a person based on very little if any personal knowledge of the person. As to his leadership and work ethic, his coaches at AU have stated several times that he worked hard from the beginning and that the team looked up to him as a leader…it’s hard for us to have the insight they did after working with him for a year on an almost daily basis. And specifically in the last two days, his QB coach at AU responded to this guy, Nawrocki, or another NFL “analyst” who said Cam wouldn’t be able to win over the team (locker room leadrship, etc). Malzahn said that was not true….in fact he said while most people gave the coaches the credit for the locker room leadership that resulted in the 2nd half come from behind win at Alabama, it was actually Cam who took over in the lock room at half time and called people out, said what they had to do and were going to do and then led the comeback on the field. Malzahn said he didn’t think he’d seen another player better than Cam at doing that. And I personally believe coach Malzahn wouldn’t say something like that if he didn’t believe it and mean it.
Character Counts
April 3rd, 2011
6:28 pm
Character counts. Enough said!
poopdawg
April 3rd, 2011
6:30 pm
SECFAN if you believe he bought it thats fine . The original owner of the laptop lived very very close to the person arrested for possession of stolen property. Pretty big coincidence ? Should of saved his receipt, but throw it out his window? Someones knocking at my door , got to toss the laptop. Happens everyday in Gainesville i guess.
blueboy
April 3rd, 2011
6:30 pm
He’s another Tebow. If Tebow can make it in the NFL Cam can do the same. I bet Cam dont’t give a damn if anyone of you likes him are not. He’still a first round NFL pick.
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
6:34 pm
Character rarely counts in sports, politics, or modern relationships it seems today. Look who people look up to, vote for, and get promotions at work. It is better to BE a character than it is to HAVE character. IMObservaions of Popular people that are splashed all over the media.
WDE Baby
April 3rd, 2011
6:37 pm
The War Eagles only sign mental giants to play football.
If you don’t believe me see for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEzotpH6Dqw
If it walks like a Duck
April 3rd, 2011
6:40 pm
Pay-ola baby. WDE Baby
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
6:40 pm
AJ Green’s wonderlic’ was pretty impressive…wasn’t he the lowest or the bottom 3 of the entire draft? That is impressive…
Worm
April 3rd, 2011
6:42 pm
See the last two number one picks in the draft from Auburn-Tucker Fredrickson and Aundra Bruce..Cam falls somewhere in the middle..Never called an audibile in College unless it was sent from bench,three step timing passer,character issues,etc..Carolina picks Gabbert from Missouri and Charle Chan Gailey has his next Cordell Stewart project.
Worm
April 3rd, 2011
6:46 pm
SEC FAN, I believe Marino was the 28th pick that year and about the 6th QB taken.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
6:46 pm
Poop, read the report he bought the stolen labtop, I’m not saying that is a good thing just stating the facts..The kid is not perfect
poopdawg
April 3rd, 2011
6:47 pm
What more impressive AJ’s wonderlic score or SECFAN believing Cam bought a laptop then threw it out the window ?
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
6:47 pm
Worm, you are right…his cocaine rumors hurt him but nobody really cared once the seson started…
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
6:49 pm
Worm
How is that last #1 pick from UGA doing? Big money for playing in 13 games in 2 years. Comp 54.5, 19 TD’s, 21 ints, QB rating 67.1.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
6:50 pm
I think AJ has me beat….his score will go down in the Hall of Fame as one of the worst in the history of the NFL….
GSU Eagle 91
April 3rd, 2011
6:51 pm
I think Cam will be a NFL phenom if he stays away from injuries early in his career.
Why? He has intangibles few players at his age have. My favorite would be his calm demeanor when games were not going Auburn’s way during the season, and finding some magic in every contest that was always good enough to end with a ‘W”…
As far as his athletic abilities, I believe he performed his body of work against the best players in college football. The ones who will be drafted early, WHEN we have NFL football….
joe
April 3rd, 2011
6:52 pm
@ Cantondawg –
Pretty obvious you know nothing about the pro game with your proclamation. He won’t even be a good player in the NFL.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
6:53 pm
Good pt, Stafford is stealing money in Detroit….Can you imagine if there were pics of Cam doing a keg stand like Stafford in College? Stafford was just being a college kid but Cam would have been sent to Betty Ford by the media…
honest_abe
April 3rd, 2011
6:55 pm
cam is a scam.
race had nothing to do with with those comments. i see white qbs getting blasted just as much if not more. so give it a break please.
Elmo
April 3rd, 2011
7:05 pm
Just for the Comedy. Reveal his Wonder Lick Score.
ATLol
April 3rd, 2011
7:09 pm
Cam has the upside of being a top-10 QB. I think better upside than Vick, who is currently overrated IMO. Cam appears to have mental toughness more like Tebow with a lot more talent, and apparwntly more polish despite less playing time,I don’t think he is as good as Freeman, and if he goes to the Panthers I pray he is nowhere near that good.Bad enough facing Freeman, Brees in 4 games.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
7:09 pm
Elmo,,AJ scored a 10
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
7:10 pm
13
elmo
ATLol
April 3rd, 2011
7:14 pm
If Cam knows where every camera station is and he “plays” up to the camera ever chance he gets…sounds like he has excellent QB instincts! He knows where everyone is on the playing field.
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
7:18 pm
$cam Newton reaped the benefits of being a bought and paid for college athlete at Auburn, a school who has been paying players for over 50 years and like Chizik he comes off as a lier with saying such things as I still have not asked my Dad if he tried to sell me to Miss ST. Everything Cam Newton said was scripted by Auburn and Bobby Lowders crew and it comes off as being just that, scripted.
It only took a little light to be shined in Auburns and the Newtons direction for Bobby Lowders systematic and organized play-for-pay $cheme to once again be brought into the light of day. Now Newton is paying the price for his true character and for being the face of an Auburn program that is the dirtiest in all of college football.
We may never see a video of Cecil Newton accepting a bag full of cash from Bobby Lowders delivery boy but that dosen’t mean we can’t know the truth.
Who Cares
April 3rd, 2011
7:19 pm
whistlebritches, ealy bumped into a car in a parking lot and left, the auburn players committed armed robbery. Even an Auburn fan should be able to figure out the difference in the magnitude of the arrests. But then again they are all family over there. Family that steals together stays together. And last time i checked that #1 q.b. from UGA was 3-0 against the mighty war eagles or whatever the hell they are.
Cam Dog
April 3rd, 2011
7:20 pm
Why is Moon surprised, this is what’s been going on and will continue, owners love this it helps during contract time. This is all about money, Cam just happen to be a black QB, you can make the same comments about all the want to be 1st rounders. Maybe a little bit! Give Cam a O line he will be fine, look at Eli M.,
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
7:25 pm
WHO CARES
Hell Reggie Ball was 2-0 against Auburn’s 2 top 10 ranked teams. Matt is playing (in Detroit) like Reggie did against the Dawgs.
Big Ray
April 3rd, 2011
7:27 pm
Simply put, fame begets notoriety, which begets scrutiny. At this point, fame becomes infamy.
I don’t care for either side of the argument, and I don’t care a bit about Cam Newton. Why? Not because I don’t like the guy. Because he has nothing to do with the Falcons. We’re not picking him, we’re not part of the discussion. Fair or not, Newton will have his chance to become a rich man, playing a sport he loves, and nobody can change that but him.
He will get picked, and he will get picked high. If he lands in the NFC South (Panthers) then I’ll worry about getting a good pass rush on him. Until then….count me out of the hype…
joe
April 3rd, 2011
7:32 pm
You criticize Nawrocki’s comments as a leap, using the fact that he’s never met Newton as evidence. I’m sure you heard his comments late last week on Atlanta radio that he was relaying comments from NFL GM’s – did you conveniently leave that out?
It’s not hard to see that Newton is as fake as they come – to the point of it bordering on a personality to disorder IMO.
ATLol
April 3rd, 2011
7:34 pm
I pretty sure Satin himself had a lot to do with Auburns championship. 6 letters in Newton, 6 letters in Auburn, 6 letters in Chizok. 666!!! Cam is the Antichirst!!!
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
7:34 pm
trupert…so if there is NO money every tracked the truth still means the Newtons got paid? That makes no sense at all….
Dawg A
April 3rd, 2011
7:35 pm
My question to Warren Moon is why does everything have to be racist? And why is it alright for him to put that hatred out there? My feelings for Scam have nothing to do with his skin color! It has everything to do with the fact that he lied about what he knew and everybody knows that! That is but the faithful Auburn fans! Come on but don’t make everything about race!
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
7:38 pm
Maybe Warren Moon talks about race because he had to play in the CFL for much of his career due to his race..I think he can mention race if he wants…
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
7:41 pm
joe, Cam is so fake he has a personality disorder? Oh my….I guess he could be like Hershel Walker and his multiple personalities…
Dawg A
April 3rd, 2011
7:43 pm
SEC FAN…. let me guess? No it is obvious!
birddirty
April 3rd, 2011
7:44 pm
Moon was dead on with his assessment. Black qbs are treated differently by the media. That dudes rant about Cam had nothing to do with football just as Hannity and Limbaughs “dislike” of President Obama has nothing to do with his ability to govern. Maybe when we get more black journalist to cover sports, we will get a different perspective. Until then, I guess race will never be an issue in your eyes. Me and other with a thimble full of sense, however know better. You can’t pi$$ in my face and call it rain.
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
7:45 pm
Dawg A
And EVERYBODY knows H. WALKER was paid too.
Walker’s sister was given a scholarship for Track the year before Herschel got to UGA. Herschel was 1 of 8 kids from a poor family, but he drove on campus with a Brand New Trans AM. Everybody knows it but faithful Dawg fans.
jojatek
April 3rd, 2011
7:48 pm
Say what you want about the critics, but you only have to look at the behavior of the father to wonder exactly how far this apple has fallen from the tree. Cam Newton is a talented and exciting athlete but, at the end of the day, he seems destined to be something just short of Michael Vick on the field, which adds up to a wasted No. 1 pick for Carolina. I’m just glad it’s not the Falcons on the clock… they have enough of those in their closet…
ATLol
April 3rd, 2011
7:48 pm
Herschel Vs Cam vs Tebow for MMA SEC title.
dawg4u
April 3rd, 2011
7:53 pm
This is what is said by Nawrocki about Newton after winning a National title, throwing for 30 tds and rushing for 20. What would the negatives be if he had had a bad year. The fake smile part and always being aware of the cameras was really the only thing I thought he had right. I wasn’t surprised at all by Warren Moon’s comment.
Dawg A
April 3rd, 2011
7:56 pm
51…. Don’t assume what I believe or don’t believe! The fact is ALL of the Auburn fans on these sites have blindly supported Scam Newton. And to be honest I don’t know what took place 30 years ago with Herschel Walker. I was in High School and could care less about college football. That said don’t “deflect” away from all of the multiple accusations that are flying around now to something that might have occured over 30 years ago! That is called a reach!
As usual when ignorant fans get on these sites we get racist and stupid statements! So I am outta here! Sorry to the logical thinkers on here! But I don’t have to be!
Old Tech & Mountaineer fan in NC
April 3rd, 2011
7:56 pm
Jimmy or Cam?
I’ll take Cam.
Cullowheedawg
April 3rd, 2011
7:56 pm
Why not just remember he won a bunch of games and in the end a national championship and a Heisman. I am a DAWG and I want to win, especially beat Auburn, but I will grant that Cam beat us in good style and I do not hate him for that. Don’t know about all the other mess and do not really care. If it is true then it will come out, but I do not think we should harp on it. YES, I do wish him the best in the NFL as well as Tebow. I had rather seen them in the NFL than back in the SEC.
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
7:59 pm
@SEC FAN. Before the HBO special there was no trail that lead to Tuberville paying players. How about now?
If I meet a Auburn player in a alley and give him a bag full of money, someone better be there with a camera rolling because that’s the only way any Auburn fan will admit that they have a dirty program. Yes that burdon of proof has been working well for Auburn for many years, just like it did when Bowden was bought and paid to keep his mouth shut about Bobby Lawders pay-for-play $cheme.
I did not see Elvis die but I have no doubt he is dead, but I guess I should realise that like some Elvis fans that still believe he is alive, there will always be Auburn fans that will pretend to believe and defend their cheating program to the end.
If I realized the only way my school could ever win a SEC championship was to cheat and pay players, no, I still would not condone it.
S'paw_99
April 3rd, 2011
8:06 pm
I really don’t think there are any guaranteed “franchise” QBs in the draft this yr. I’m just not a big fan of the QBs coming from spread offenses in College. I prefer the pro style QBs (Ryan, Sanchez, & Stafford) coming out of College, they’re more ready to read Pro D’s, & they’ve played under center before. I’m a Tech guy & I actually think Stafford will be pretty good if he can stay healthy, to do that he’ll need better protection. Although it wouldn’t bother me if Calvin decided to leave Detroit in a coupla yrs & come home.
BabsTolstoy
April 3rd, 2011
8:11 pm
The 2nd half against Bama was one of the single greastest efforts in the history of college football considering the 24 point deficit, the quality of the rival and their coach, the rivalry (which is unmatched for intensity), the hostile setting, and the things at stake (Nat,Camp. and Heisman). It is very difficult to imagine or even invent a more daunting set of circumstances. And Cam Newton overcame them. This is not even factoring in the off field distractions which for most of you would be enough to reduce your brains down to half congealed jello. How you moronic Georgia fans simply can’t acknowlege that as the fabulous singular achievement that is tells us all we need to know about your envy and ignorance. Or I guess this proves your brains already have the consistency of half congealed jello and thus you can’t hire a coach or recruit the players required to pull off the deed yourselves. I mean Cam Newton as a tight end? That is a hilarious, text book example of an incompetent assessment of talent, and two of your biggest rivals stole him right out from under your nose. And don’t tell me Richt had questions about his character then. That would have required a level of insight we are all pretty sure he doesn’t possess given the final results of last year’s Fulmer Cup tabulations.
BabsTolstoy
April 3rd, 2011
8:13 pm
Good day
DMR
April 3rd, 2011
8:18 pm
The “RACE CARD”?! Really?! If you tie that argument to Cam Newton, his career could be over before it begins. If Cam ever reads this…do yourself a favor; don’t rely on that cowardly argument in 2011 as the reason for people looking as hard as they are.
Cam Newton can thank the likes of Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, Vince Young, Mike Vick, and even Tim Tebow. He can also look at the economics of the situation and be assured that if there was a “rookie salary cap” to protect teams from a decade of exile, should their pick go awry, Cam’s future wouldn’t even be in question. Lest we not forget Cam’s behavior and hijinx at Florida and the questions that swirl around him in large part due to his father’s involvement in his career.
You want to lead an NFL franchise? Keep doing what you’re doing. Stand up, be a man, answer your critics, work hard, and prove them wrong. But by no means should you get yourself involved with the idea that people are scrutinizing you and your work because of your skin tone.
Mike Vick could have owned Atlanta without ever having to have won a Super Bowl. He was an outstanding talent and the City embraced him from the beginning. His actions, behavior, and work ethic were his downfall, not his ethnicity.
Don’t tie yourself to that ridiculous argument. Cam is a great athlete that will soon be making MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Do you really want to become the next poster child of absurdity?
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
8:26 pm
Well, Tech won 2 of 3 against Duke this weekend. Winning Streak ends, but The Beesball Jackets have only lost 1 ACC game so far. Pitching is looking pretty good.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
8:31 pm
trupert….Stanley McClover just met with NCAA reps last week for 2 hours…guess what? He did not name one damn person…Do schools give hundred dollar handshakes?, I’m sure it goes on but the level of cheating you are saying is impossible to have something like that set up without being caught…Every school sans Vandy does the same crap and you know that is true…Bobby Lowder pays players? That is funny, that is like saying Don Leeburn is walking around paying players..those guys have more important stuff going on than pay players..give me a break…
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
8:40 pm
@ Bab Tolstoy. It must really suck to know that your team has had so little to offer that they have had to pay players each and every year since the 1950’s.
With the fab fours confessions on the HBO special now out in the public, that puts Coach Tubberville in the same corrupt company as Coach Jordan, who was caught paying players, Coach Dye, who was caught paying players, Coach Bowden, who admitted to paying players and that means that Auburn’s current coach Chizik was involved with, again paying players as defensive corridinator under Tubbs. With Bobby Lowder still running the program, we can reasonbly say that Chizik is paying players.
Talk about Richt all you want but he has won two legitimate SEC championships and has beat Auburn four out of five and he runs a clean program while Auburn steals players away from UGA with Lowders play-for-pay $cam.
Don’t blame Auburn fans for hating Richt because as long as he’s around he just makes Auburn’s dirty program look worse.
doc
April 3rd, 2011
8:41 pm
“He is possibly the most dissected potential first overall draft pick we’ve ever seen.”
since tebow.
dap01
April 3rd, 2011
8:55 pm
NFL people do not ignore character, cheating, felonies, stolen laptops, laptops being thrown our of windows and pay for play.
Why do columnist for the ajc ignore character? Let’s all suck up to slime.
Redneck Bill from Trailerville
April 3rd, 2011
9:01 pm
Well, I think Cam Newton will be a pro on the first day. He already is. I mean, if taking 80,000 bucks to play for Auburn don’t make you a pro, I don’t know what will. He’ll know exactly where the pay window is.
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
9:02 pm
@ SEC Fan. You should do just a little home work on the history of Auburn football.
Coach Ralph ”Shug” Jordan 51-75. Caught paying players.
Doug Barnfield 76-80. went 27-27-1, so who would have noticed.
Coach Pat Dye 81-92. Caught paying players, Bobby Lowder asked him to step down for fear of the death penalty.
Coach Terry Bowden 93-98. Said that he was instructed to continue the already in place pay-for-play scheme. Bowden was made to sign a keep your mouth shut clause in his contract and he said he decided to sign it and take the money.
Tommy Tubberville 99-2008. just had four former players confess to being payed while at Auburn.
Coach Chizik 2009-present. A Coach with a losing record that no Auburn fan or alumni wanted, was Tubervills defensive corridinator when these four were getting paid.
When you consider that Lowder wanted a yes man who he knew would be in on his pay-for-play scheme, a no name coach with a losing record and a previous history in the program starts to make since.
Everything that I have typed about these coaches is fact. If you can’t see a pattern in this you never will. Five out of the last six Auburn coaches have now been implicated in the same pay-for-play scheme. When you consider how easy it would be to keep a thing like this secret and then realise that five of the six have been implicated, that has to speak volumes.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
9:03 pm
Trupert, go research Caleb Kings recruitment and his brother “involvement”…..and the setup of him going to GAC….UGA never never never breaks any rules and they are perfect….I hope Richt stays for a long long time
black1
April 3rd, 2011
9:04 pm
What I dont like is when a Tebow do something like in front of the camera, its his smile and toughness. But when Newton smile its something negative. Plz, dont care if you block me Jeff. America dont want to see aother millionaire black QB. Everybody hating this kid and he’s from Ga. Cam is better than #15 anyday. If Cam was white, then everything would be covered up! Forget the AJC. I am off this thing.
El Bravo
April 3rd, 2011
9:05 pm
Nawrocki’s scouting report is a joke. “Has a fake smile”, are you kidding me? Am I reading a 12 year old girl’s diary! “Always knows were the cameras are and plays to them” Like Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and countless other athletes haven’t mastered the art of brandishing their public image. If anything that is a positive not a negative. “Does not command respect from teammates. Always will struggle to win a locker room.” Really?? I guess he won two consecutive championships at two different levels, with two different groups of teammates by himself because none of his teammates respected or trusted him. This idiot should lose his job not because he’s racist but because he is incompetent. The hate for this kid is just flat out asinine…
black1
April 3rd, 2011
9:08 pm
Do some real research and lets try to treat people as equal instead of joining the many people hating on a young man. We all have checkered pass, Because u cant play sports and another one can, dont be mad. I am happy for CAM!!! A young man cant suceed because of people in the country. I saw numerous articles on franceur and many interviews in AJC. Cam is hometown!!! I supprt u #2. Tebow should of been his back up!!!
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
9:10 pm
dap01
Come on! the NFL under Goodell IS trying to change the image of the players, but the NFL is full players with questionable character. Vick, Bush, Cushing, Rothlessburger, and the list continues. Between the NFL and the NBA there isn’t enough Pot grown in the state of Georgia to satisfy the demand.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
9:11 pm
trupert…Bowden,Tuberville,Chizik have zerooooooo violations….I know it hurts that we just won a BCS title and you guys went 6-7…I love all your “inside” knowledge..I look at facts and not rumors and our last 3 coaches have zero violations…Kiss the Ring’
dawg4u
April 3rd, 2011
9:19 pm
Cam Newton was at Auburn for one year and won a BCS championship game and was a great player with very impressive stats and was just fantastic in the second half against Alabama. His father didn’t help his case at all but there has been NO proof of anything that Cam done that was wrong. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. I think he is cocky and arrogant but I also think the best qb in the NFL – either Brady or Manning are too.
dawg4u
April 3rd, 2011
9:20 pm
Enter your comments here
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
9:21 pm
trupert, i love your Chizik summary above……you forgot to add he is 22-5 in two sesons at AU…Kiss the Ring’
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
9:24 pm
@ SEC fan. Just looked it up. So a girl friend loaned King $500 with her depositing $300 directly into his banking account. The fact that his girl friend left a money trail strongly suggest that this is no Bobby Lowder type pay off.
I’ll see your, Kings girl friend loaned him $500 and then deposited $300 of it into his bank account thereby leaving a great money trail and raise you with five out of the last six Auburn coaches being caught and implicated in a real play-for-pay scheme. Something tells me Mark Richt won’t lose any sleep over a loan between friends.
Icenupe
April 3rd, 2011
9:25 pm
I have a question, when IS it about race? Every time this topic gets brought up, it gets quickly dismissed as “No race has nothing to do with it”. When President Obama gets unfairly critized over a deficit he didn’t create, its “never” about race. When Michael Vick pays his debt to society and puts his best foot forward to rehab it’s image, it’s “never” about race. So when Cam Newton, gets crucified and judged about his smile and accusations yet to be proven, what is it about? Warren Moon, as many other Black QB’s during his era (see Condredge Holloway, Willie Totten, and Damon Allen as examples) were all told they couldn’t play QB in the NFL or were asked to change positions, SOME of the valid reasons were size or competition level, but the real reason was primarily due to their race. Warren Moon doesn’t have to apologize for how he feels. A lot of us STILL feel this way inherently due to our history in this country. If any GM or scout is dumb enough to spit out the N word or blatently say what could be a valid point as Warren Moon feels in this era of the media and internet, it would be colossally stupid. Don’t be so quick to always dismiss race being a factor. Race relations have gotten better, but we still have a long ways to go in this country. If Charlie Sheen was Black, no way he would be “winning”.
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
9:27 pm
TRUPERT
Funny thing is KING threatened the ex-girlfriend that he was not going to pay her back. If she kept bring it up he was going to release naked pictures of her on the Internet.
The Falcon Jedi
April 3rd, 2011
9:31 pm
Cam Newton is following the path of Tim Tebow. And Tebow is not a good NFL QB. Scrambling QBs who cant read Defenses and bad mechanics just dont work in the NFL.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
9:32 pm
Again, we haven’t been on any type of probation since 1994′, not one issue with our last three coaches…look at their NCAA records….
Do you really think uga is perfectly clean? I love Richt but he has no idea what boosters/Garner are doing and you know that…it is funny but hasn’t UGA “outrecruited” Au for much of the last 10 years?
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
9:35 pm
SEC Fan. You are right, Chizik has no proved violations as of yet. Just keep those fingers crossed and hold your breath and hope because the NCAA is on it’s way, it’s a slow train but it’s already at Auburn and it won’t be long before you will be kissing those bought and paid for rings good bye.
Say what you want about Bowden, but he admitted to a pay-for-play scheme but I guess that like the HBO fab four he was motivated by an overwhelming desire to make himself look bad and these five peoples statements have no merit at all.
Auburn fans should either want their program cleaned up or if not they should show their true colors and embrace it, Way to embrace it, SEC Fan.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
9:37 pm
Give me your Bowden pay for play scheme link……you just broke another story nobody knows about
skinny pimp
April 3rd, 2011
9:39 pm
All the negatives are pretty much how he was at Westlake High….Big time jerk!
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
9:40 pm
With the recent Auburn situation, it seems like a good idea to take a look back at recent Auburn history. Remember Terry Bowden and his sudden resignation from Auburn University? Do you also remember an interview he did in 2001 where he openly talks about Auburn recruiting violations and “pay-for-play” players? Now seems like a good time to take a second look at that interview and remember what he claimed was going on at Auburn. Interview Below:
__________________________________________________________
Interview with Terry Bowden April 24, 2001, at his Loachapoka ranch.
Also present was Paul Davis. After our interview, Bowden was expecting a visit from Dr. Muse that same day at his ranch. Former Auburn University football coach Terry Bowden says the program he inherited in 1993 included an elaborate system of paying star high school players up to $15,000 to sign with Auburn and $600 per month while on the team.
In a lengthy interview from the ranch he still owns in Loachapoka, Bowden alleged that the “pay-for-play” system was orchestrated by powerful AU Board of Trustees member Bobby Lowder and carried out by former assistant coach Wayne Hall.
Bowden said the corruption extended to former head coach Pat Dye, and included $30,000 to Atlanta attorneys for Gene Jelks in order to sustain the former University of Alabama player while he leveled charges of wrongdoing in the Crimson Tide program.
Bowden said he learned of the major NCAA infractions within days of being named Auburn ’s head coach, but kept quiet while trying to clean up the program from within.” I broke the rules,” Bowden said. “I told Wayne Hall to pay it off to the players we already had and it will never happen again.
I was hiding a dirty secret.” Bowden said the payment of players can be traced to Lowder, who Bowden said is the unquestioned leader of the AU athletic department.” Nothing was done without Lowder knowing.” Wayne Hall and Pat Dye paid $30,000 for lawyers in Atlanta to keep Gene Jelks talking.
This came from the money that had been used to pay Auburn players.In 1991 when I was at Samford, Wayne Hall called to ask about a job for Katherine Lowder at Samford. Bobby Lowder then called and he said he would contribute money to Samford equal to Katherine’s salary as long as we didn’t tell her where the money came from. Katherine and my wife became good friends.
Then the Eric Ramsey thing hit. One day Katherine sticks her head in my office door and says, “Dye is leaving and my dad wants you to be coach at Auburn .” Dye resigned a week later. Lowder made him resign because Lowder was sure Auburn was going to get the death penalty if he didn’t resign.
I met with Lowder, Mike McCarter and Ruel Russell at Ruel’s office in Birmingham . They asked me all the questions, and I thought it was a job interview. Then they said, we need to get you an interview. They got John Montgomery Sr. to officially recommend me to be interviewed. The night before the interview, Lowder told me “here’s how the interview will go.”
This was three hours on the phone like a lawyer prepping his client. There were six candidates – Larry Smith, Mack Brown, Dick Sheridan, Pat Sullivan, Wayne Hall and me. Everyone agreed that whoever the coach was going to be, the decision had to be unanimous. I think Lowder wanted Wayne Hall, but he knew he couldn’t get him approved. I was the backup.
I was the last to interview, then the committee immediately took a vote that day. Somebody was opposed to every candidate until they voted on me last. That’s how I got the job. Lowder said he wanted me to hire Wayne Hall as an assistant.
Tommy (Bowden, Terry’s brother and a member of the Pat Dye staff) told me that if you wanted anything done you gotta go through Hall. My second day on the job (athletic director Mike) Lude said “you can’t hire Hall.” But then I understand Lowder called and said that if I couldn’t hire Hall we will find a new president.
So I hired Wayne Hall. One week on the job, Hall came in with a ledger of players who have been paid, who paid the money, how much money and when it was paid. He said we’ve still got 9-12 players that we’re paying $600 per month.
We paid then $12,000-$15,000 to sign. We sign about four every year that we pay.(Former assistant coach Rodney) Garner paid most of the players. He was paid when he was a player at Auburn.(Stacey) Danley is the assistant compliance guy, and he was paid when he was a player. I broke the rules. I said pay it off, and it will never happen again.
Hall said “OK, but you will change your mind.” Katherine came to Auburn as my assistant, but she worked for Colonial. We were real close. I told Lowder “We have cash all over.” Lowder said “I told Wayne not to collect more than we had to have to pay the players.” Wayne had a safe in his house wherehe kept the money. Within two weeks of me being hired they told me about paying Jelks.
Nothing was done without Lowder knowing. I will go under oath and say that Lowder looked me in the eyes and said, “I didn’t want Wayne to collect more money than we needed to pay the players.” I was hiding a dirty secret. We were paying (star running back and current Washington Redskin) Steve Davis and his cousin the fullback.
It took about two years to get it all cleaned up. Most the guys we were paying weren’t any good and weren’t helping us win games. Steve Davis was the exception.
Here is how it works, fifty to 60 men give $5,000 per year. Wayne would collect it. These are all good men. They didn’t ask questions. The coach tells them that everybody cheats so we have to. My first two years we went 11-0 and 9-0-1.
My third year, (assistants Jimbo) Fisher and (Rick) Trickett said, “Hall is on the phone a lot with Lowder.” I thought he was going back to cheating. I told Hall that when the season was over he needed to move on.
I told Garner that I was taking him off coaching for a year. That was the beginning of the end for me. Jimmy Rane was in on all of this. He is high maintenance. Three current Board of Trustees members gave cash to players – Rane, Spina and McWhorter.
Jimmy is a wannabe, a jock sniffer, a loose cannon. He wants to be involved in everything. After I fired Wayne , (athletic director David) Housel came on. I don’t dislike David, but David would get his feelings hurt if I called Lowder.
I told David what Wayne was doing. Lowder said (of Housel) “He’s not a good AD, but he’s my AD.” David Dideon compliance guy, Jay Jacobs parking passes, Tim Jackson tickets. All are GAF members. Gerald Leschuck was keeping Lowder informed.
By my last year I’m having my house checked for bugs. Danny Rane (son of Jimmy Rane and a walk-on Auburn player) was giving our practice tapes to Mississippi State , our opponent. Tommy Tuberville had been promised the job if we lost to Alabama in the game when we kicked the field goal here to win.
After that season, I thought about taking the University of Texas job, but (Governor Fob) James was getting rid of Lowder. Then Lowder stayed on the Board and I was stuck. I thought then that I needed to win one more year and get out.
When I got here Lowder said don’t talk to Muse, he’s weak and his wife is a n—-r lover. Lowder told me John Denson was trying to kill him. The last week I was coach: Monday – The Huntsville Tmes runs a story that says an undisclosed sources says that Bowden has lost the confidence of the Board of Trustees and he must win four of the last five games to keep his job.
I lied to my staff and told them that I had talked to Lowder, the story was not true and everything was OK. I was trying to keep up morale. Tuesday – (Defensive coordinator Bill) Oliver brings a hidden tape recorder into our coaches meeting. I believe this was because Lowder wanted to have proof that I told a lie about talking to him the day before. Wednesday – I had a 7 a.m. meeting with Housel.
He asked if I had seen the article in the Huntsville Times. He said he had talked to Lowder, and Lowder wanted me to know that he was the undisclosed source.
He said he also wants you to know that he doesn’t care if you win five of your next six, you’re out. David said the only way I would keep my job was if Fob James wins (the governor’s race). Thursday – I brought in my lawyer, Ricky Davis, and said to David that I wanted to resign.
He called Lowder while we were in his office and we worked out a settlement. Muse didn’t even know. They were using Oliver. They were never going to hire him. When I resigned it shocked them.
Interview with Terry Bowden—
__________________________________________________________
MountainDawg
April 3rd, 2011
9:41 pm
He’s going to have a whale of a time trying to read NFL defenses & deal w/ the superior speed in the NFL. Add to that, his inconsistency in passing accuracy, & he’s definitely not worth any 1st round pick.
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
9:43 pm
SEC FAN. Hope this brings you a little more up to date. http://www.illegalshift.com/2010/11/18/remember-the-terry-bowden-interview-in-2001/college-football/
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
9:44 pm
Yeah, that was not under his time but Dyes…UGA has “money” men too, ask Don Leebern/Garner how it works…Again, no probation since 94′ Kiss the Ring’
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
9:48 pm
SEC FAN, So it dosen’t matter if you cheat, as long as you don’t have to pay for it. Now I see your logic. Yes no sanctions for Bowden.
How is the view from down there, with your head so firmly stuck in the sand?
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
9:53 pm
SEC FAN, again you need to read up on your Auburn history. Yes this is the way it was done under Dye but This is Bowden talking about how it was done while he (Bowden) was the coach at Auburn.
So I hired Wayne Hall. One week on the job, Hall came in with a ledger of players who have been paid, who paid the money, how much money and when it was paid. He said we’ve still got 9-12 players that we’re paying $600 per month.
We paid then $12,000-$15,000 to sign. We sign about four every year that we pay.(Former assistant coach Rodney) Garner paid most of the players. He was paid when he was a player at Auburn.(Stacey) Danley is the assistant compliance guy, and he was paid when he was a player. I broke the rules. I said pay it off, and it will never happen again.
Hall said “OK, but you will change your mind.” Katherine came to Auburn as my assistant, but she worked for Colonial. We were real close. I told Lowder “We have cash all over.” Lowder said “I told Wayne not to collect more than we had to have to pay the players.” Wayne had a safe in his house wherehe kept the money. Within two weeks of me being hired they told me about paying Jelks.
BabsTolstoy
April 3rd, 2011
9:53 pm
Trupert, any thoughts on why the NCAA ignored this detailed account from Bowden? If it were true as you clearly believe and if Mr. Bowden was so anxious to have the story be told, wouldn’t the NCAA care? The content that you posted makes the HBO story seem tame by comparison. Do these sorts of inconsistencies matter to you? Do you know what I’m asking, do I need to type slower? Just so you know, Auburn was on probation in the early 90’s, more or less 20 years ago. They have not been on probation since and are not on probation now. As my friend says-kiss the ring, it’s as close as you’ll get.
Jeff Schultz
April 3rd, 2011
9:54 pm
4 Jacks — If Cam Newton knows where the camera is, I’m not sure that separates him from a lot of pro athletes, many of whom are in the Hall of Fame.
Peerless
April 3rd, 2011
9:56 pm
Very disingenuous. Has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement. Makes him believe he is above the law. Does not command respect from teammates. Always will struggle to win a locker room. Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness. Not punctual. Immature. Not dependable.
He’s talking about A.J. Green, right?
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
9:56 pm
No, I wish there was no cheating in College Football, I just stated that Bowden/Tubs/Chiz all have great reputations with the NCAA and don’t have any record…I hate what is going on but I do know that UGA/UF/AU/UT/UA all do the same crap…so if you really think the UGA never pays anything to players you my friend have your head stuck the sand…Call Frank Sanders (WR in the mid 90’s at AU) ask him what the recruiting “coach” at UGA offered him….All these programs have “rules” that they follow and are okay with it, what happned with Albert Means was Alabama went over the “cap” and UT turned them in…They police themselves and now with the internet etc..the cheating can’t go down like it did in the 70’s 80’s, 90’s
Tired Of It
April 3rd, 2011
10:02 pm
The only reason you guys are mad at Cecil and Cam is because they decided to keep the money for themselves instead of allowing crooked people to exploit him. You know the traditional crooked exploiters that screamed foul because they(the Newtons) looked out for themselves, and cut the crooked exploiters out of the loop. It’s as obvious as the shadiness of their crooked skins, and they’re crying out because they don’t want any other blacks to wise up and do the same. It’s like every other benefit in this country, and when other races start to catch on to the system, they start crying foul and want to bring it to an end, but as long as only the traditional exploiters benefit it’s all good!!! I say ‘right on’ Newtons, keep on cutting them out of the loop and let them bit.. & moan about it all they like
Asterisk
April 3rd, 2011
10:04 pm
Auburn Tigers – 2010 National Champions**
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
10:05 pm
Baps Tolstoy, Don’t know a hard and fast answer to your question, maby he waited untill the NCAA’s four year statute of limitations was up.
Bowden, now ABC’s college football studio analyst, credits Lowder for his hiring and eventual firing, as well as alleging that Lowder was involved in a deep rooted, pay-for-play scheme in place when Bowden was hired almost a decade ago. (ABC and ESPN are part of The Walt Disney Co.)
Wanting to have a public record in case anything happened to him, Bowden agreed to a lengthy tape-recorded interview with Paul Davis of the Opelika-Auburn News in 2001. In transcripts reviewed by ESPN.com, Bowden said he was so stressed about Lowder during his last year at Auburn that he told Davis, “I’m having my house checked for bugs.”
Bowden also said it was Lowder who convinced Dye to resign at the end of the 1992 season, fearing ex-player Eric Ramsey’s allegations of pay-for-play at Auburn might expose the larger scheme and result in stricter NCAA sanctions. As his Auburn tenure drew to a close, Bowden said Housel acknowledged that Lowder was the source of a newspaper story indicating the trustees had lost confidence in him.
“Housel said, ‘Lowder wanted you to know he doesn’t care if you win five of your next six [games], you’re out,’ ” Bowden told Davis. “David said the only way I would keep my job was if Fob James wins [the governor's race against Siegelman].”
Bowden refused to be interviewed for this story, citing a confidentiality agreement he signed as part of a contract settlement that forbids him from making “negative or derogatory” comments “toward Auburn, the Auburn athletic department or its employees, or the Auburn Board of Trustees, or each other.” By keeping quiet, Bowden protected a $620,000 payment, as well as an $825,000 lakeside home and two cars.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
10:05 pm
I guess Garner doesn’t pay for any players anymore?
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
10:09 pm
I guess not. There is no reason to think he would be doing it while at UGA, since Mr Lowder is not running the show and is therefore not directing him to do so.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
10:11 pm
All these schools do the same thing and if you don’t believe it your head is in the sand…Bama went over the “gentlemen” cap with Albert Means and that is why UT turned them in, call Frank Sanders (WR in mid 90’s at AU) and ask him what his offer was from UGA? I had a hour long conversation with him 3 years ago about his recruitiment, interesting stuff….I wish it were all clean and for the most part it really is compared to the 70’s,80’s, 90’s…
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
10:12 pm
Do you think ALL the DREAM TEAM just love UGA so much? UGA has not been in the National Championship Picture since 1980-82, but all the DREAM TEAM just were DIEING to be DAWGS. Give is little time and I think some stuff may come out about the UGA class of 2011. Maybe not or maybe so. Bobo is the Great Offensive Mind these kids trust with their careers? A coach on the hot seat after 6-7, but he can compete with LSU, BAMA, AUBURN, and FLORIDA who all have a National Championship Tiffany Crystal Football?
Dirty Dawg
April 3rd, 2011
10:15 pm
hey SECFan, et. al., nobody ever said that Cam wasn’t worth the money…and I expect hell be paid a ton in the NFL.
Somebody also asked how Georgia’s last #1 guy, Stafford, was doing. Obviously he’s been hurt way too much and it remains to be seen if his shoulder surgery will mean he’ll be as good as he needs to be…but one thing he does have that Cam will never have…$30 million guaranteed and up to $50 million on his first contact…Even Bobby Lowder doesn’t have that much – any more at least.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
10:16 pm
BTW, Mr. Lowder has about 1/3 of his power as he used too and Leebern “runs” the show alot more at uga than Lowder at AU these days..Is Leebern still living with your gym coach?..Lowder wanted no part of Chizik, Jay Jacobs made that call and got crucified for it at the time…Rane/Lowder etc..didn’t want Chiz and at the time I didn’t either but he was always a great DC and now it looks like he is a pretty good coach….Its been fun in debate class…Goodnight and good luck next year except the AU game..
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
10:20 pm
Dirty Dawg
I said congrats to Stafford for pulling the wool over the LION’s EYES to get that contract. He and his Agent did a great job. The problem is Stafford will never be worth the cost of the paper and ink that contract was produced with.
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
10:21 pm
SEC Fan, you may be right, UGA and Mark Richt may be paying players but I have never heard anything pointing toward it and UGA has no real history of doing it.
There are alot of rumors out there about several teams paying players and giving sexual favors at LSU and OS but I just don’t see Richt doing it and UGA has never been shown to have any history with it.
Bottom line, I don’t want Ga doing it even if every other team is and if I ever find out that it’s happening at UGA I will not support it. I’m out of here.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
10:23 pm
and I don’t want AU doing it either, I don’t believe any head coach is involved in any of this, it’s the stupid boosters
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
10:25 pm
trupert
UGA did give Herschel benefits. Many UGA recruits were too dumb to know to get money. Jan kemp exposed how UGA was helping it’s players. UGA was just smart enough to get kids too dumb to know to get paid.
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
10:29 pm
We know UGA didn’t pay AJ because he did a dumb thing in selling his jersey. UGA was not paying people last year for sure. Now to get the DREAM TEAM we will have to see how UGA got all these players.
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
10:39 pm
51, UGA got caught giving grades to kids and paid a stiff price and is still paying it to this day.
UGA has the second highest entrance requirements in the SEC next to Vandy and it’s because the school decided to raise the entrance standard to punish itself and to show that things had changed. UGA has lost alot of boarder line recruits over the years because of it.
I could say that every team is doing it and make excuses but I’m glad Ga learned it’s lesson and is not doing it anymore.
SEC FAN>
April 3rd, 2011
10:47 pm
UGA let Caleb King in school, a kid that went to GAC so he didn’t have take exit exam at Parkview, he also went to 3 schools in three years…UGA is not even close to Vandy in requirements…The Big 6 recruit the same prospects every year….There are no Prop 48 kids at any SEC school anymore…that is why you see the Central FL of world getting good talent…Didn’t UGA get two JUCOS this year?
trupert
April 3rd, 2011
11:00 pm
Say what you want. UGA is second to Vandy and has a slightly higher standard for entrance to every other SEC school. Like I said, UGA raised the standard in response to the grades scandal.
Dirty Dawg
April 3rd, 2011
11:01 pm
Hey 51wtg50 – what is that anyway some kind of motor oil? Your ‘deflecting’ with trying to claim that Georgia’s current recruiting class was dirty and that one day things will come out.,,tell you what, I’ll wager my mortgage against yours that there will never, ever, be as much crap, even alleged (by some ‘official’ source, not some scumbag) about players being paid to play at UGA as has already been ‘proven’ against Auburn.
And as for your crack about questioning if Bobo, and I assume Richt since Bobo has been either the QBC and/or OC since Richt’s been there, he/we have a winning record against all but UF…and it’ll go up from there this year. Look forward to hearing from you when Uncle Milty ‘cops a plea’ and throws you guys under the bus…after all he ain’t an AU grad and Bobby Lowder can’t help him anymore.
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
11:11 pm
Dirty Dawg.
I didn’t say UGA will get busted, but we might have to wait a second to see if the DREAM TEAM is all that and FREE too.
Richt has a winning record that has been going down hill for the last 4 years. UGA still will not get a shot at the MNC during this Dream Teams time at UGA. Would you like to bet your mortgage on that?
Sorry I have not had a mortgage since 1997.
PFloyd87
April 3rd, 2011
11:26 pm
Would someone please tell SEC FAN that it’s a “laptop” not a “labtop”. Geez…buffoon.
Jeff Schultz
April 3rd, 2011
11:36 pm
Joe — I would repeat the same thing about NFL GMs. How can they know a smile is fake? But it also gets back to what was stated earlier. A fake smile neither guarantees nor precludes success.
51WTGW50
April 3rd, 2011
11:44 pm
Interesting that there is a National Championship Basketball tomorrow night and we are talking about a football player. A football player without a JOB and don’t even know if we will have NFL next year.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
11:49 pm
I really wonder what the consensus on this exact same blog would be about Newton if he had done exactly what he did for Auburn, but for UGA instead. How much of this criticism would be excuse-making instead?
Dirty Dawg
April 3rd, 2011
11:50 pm
Congrats, synthetic motor-oil person, does ‘not having a mortgage mean you’re renting, living on the street, living with your kids, or have you just paid it off?’ Guess we’ll have to think of something else for you to wager – and tell you what, I’ll bet whatever you wish that Georgia will win another National Championship, but it’ll be after Auburn has had to vacate the one they just got…how’s that work for you?
And as for the Dream Team, I never said you said they would get ‘busted’…you said ‘things will come out’ – whatever that means, and I don’t mean scumbag trolls’ MSU (the first and last words are ‘making’ and ‘up’…and also, you say Richt’s record – again I assume you’re talking about those four teams you listed – UF, UA, AU, and LSU. Fact is he has a .500 record against those guys since ‘06 but is one game under .500 since he’s been at UGA – that doesn’t sound like ‘going down-hill’ against ‘em, or is there a different math being used over there?
Najeh Davenpoop
April 3rd, 2011
11:55 pm
“I’m just not a big fan of the QBs coming from spread offenses in College. I prefer the pro style QBs (Ryan, Sanchez, & Stafford) coming out of College, they’re more ready to read Pro D’s, & they’ve played under center before. ”
Pro style QBs require less coaching in the pros. If a scrambling/spread QB lands on a team with a coaching staff that knows how to develops quarterbacks (see Donovan McNabb for example) he’ll be fine. If a scrambling/spread QB ends up with a coaching staff that doesn’t have a clue about developing quarterbacks (see Michael Vick for example) his road to becoming an efficient passer will probably be steeper.
51WTGW50
April 4th, 2011
12:01 am
Dirty Dawg Richt’s SEC record is going and has been going down hill for the last 4 yrs.
My home is paid for thank you.
What have you seen that makes you think the DAWGS will be close to the MNC anytime soon? Your best bet is UT is bad, UF ain’t much better, AU is rebuilding, USC is always and also ran. UGA should be able to win the EAST, but I don’t think that gets the DAWGS in the BCS game much less winning it. If Bobo is still the coach he will crap his pants. Hell he couldn’t even beat O’Leary and UCF last year.
51WTGW50
April 4th, 2011
12:03 am
Najeh
You know the answer to that. UGA fans would be defending CAM and Fairley if they both played for the DAWGS.
Nick Felony
April 4th, 2011
12:12 am
Me like play football. Me like touch pretty girl. Hair silky.
sCam Newton
April 4th, 2011
12:17 am
Wuzup Playaz! Don’t be hatin! My daddy aint no preacher, he’s a Bishop!
Praise the Lowd, we love us some Gawd in the Newton family. Instead of manna falling from the skies and into our hands, God puts laptops into our hands.
Daddy brings the offering plate on recruiting visits just in case any these coaches need to drop some foldin’ money on the Holy Zion Center of Deliverance.
Yes We sCam! Yes We sCam! Yes We sCam! Yes We sCam! Yes We sCam!
The Thin Guy
April 4th, 2011
12:52 am
Newton takes a big pay cut when he becomes a pro. And he’ll have to report his new salary as income tax. You can never tell what will happen. The New England QB was a low draft pick and Brian Bozworth was a No 1.
Michael Owens
April 4th, 2011
6:59 am
I think that Cam will be a good NFL qb,however, I do think that he is rather self-centered. I remember after the teams NC win they were invited to a Laker game and Cam was sitting with the stars and other famous people on the front row while the rest of the sat in the nose bleed section. If he was such a team player he would have sat with his team members
Patman
April 4th, 2011
7:12 am
I would like to know what is a fake smile? Have you ever seen his “REAL” smile? I’m interested to know how many of us adults have made “STUPID” decisions in our lives as a teenager and wanted to show people that we’ve changed. Well people “LOOK INTO THE MIRROR” and let me know if you are one of those people. Quick to judge but not wanting to be judge. And also if you’re black confidence its always considered arrogance explain to me why is that and just as one of the other poster said how can you go undefeated at a high level and not have the respect of the locker room? Just another stupid question people.
tiger7_88
April 4th, 2011
7:40 am
Worm, Bo Jackson was an overall #1 pick as well in addition to Tucker Frederickson and Aundray Bruce.
Tucker had early knee injuries which inhibited his NFL success and Aundray had the unfortunate combination of not being very bright on top of being drafted by the Falcons who tried to make him a MIDDLE linebacker. Read that again, the Falcons drafted a rush LB/DE and tried to make him a MIDDLe linebacker. Kid never had a chance.
Captain
April 4th, 2011
8:03 am
The State of Georgia is facing an enormous deficit, there are issues on every corner needing attention just in the world are the numb nuts under the gold dome doing honoring an Auburn player??? An Auburn player who is the centerpiece of multiple accusations of impropriety on how he ended up at Auburn. Good God, the voters need to replace everyone of the idiots who are wasting the taxpayers money on such inane acts.
Gator Mike
April 4th, 2011
8:10 am
Jeff- very good article.
While watching Newton as a sophomore at UF in mop up duty for Tebow, everyone saw his immense talent. He made some poor choices, and he is obviously being dragged down by his greedy father, but he has made the very best of it. AU won with Newton who was a one year wonder for the Tigers, and I salute AU, but if any hardened AU followers believe that Cam bleeds AU colors they may be mistaken. How long was he at AU, and how many legitimate credit hours did he accumulate at AU while he was there? Perhaps he earned 16 credit hours at most, but how many were hard core courses? The fact is that Newton did a superb job for AU on the field. Now we will see what he does at the next level. We all need to move on to the 2011 SEC Season.
For his sake, I hope he does well. For the sake of the SEC, I sincerely hope that the cloud hanging over AU goes away. Neither AU or the SEC need all of the nonsense which surrounded Newton last season.
truth4u
April 4th, 2011
8:35 am
Let’s see…. closely associated with a stolen laptop, 15 traffic violations while in Gainesville for 18 months, verified questions about his academic integrity at Florida, closely assocaited with a father asking for $180,000 and yet Warren Moon plays the race card and says it is wrong to question Cam’s character? I am sick of this. Sounds like his daddy should have been busy tearing his butt up for his behavior and Warren should spend some more time teaching him how to act.
Jeff Schultz
April 4th, 2011
8:36 am
Folks — Time for the “no racist comments” warning again. Please refrain or I’ll have to close this to commenting.
Jeff Schultz
April 4th, 2011
8:38 am
Marcus — I had no problem with some of your comments but you went too far with some of them so I had to unapprove the whole thing. And if you really knew my background, you’d know how the “goose-stepping” comment was completely moronic.
JP
April 4th, 2011
8:42 am
As a Gator, I sure wish we had him playing for us this past season…… and who knows how he’ll turn out in the NFL? I would bet the so caled experts are 50/50 on picking QBs – probably as good as any of us on this board. And at the end of the day who cares if he has a “fake smile?” All I know is what I saw – that despite having all sorts of pressure on him he produced maybe one of, if not the greatest college seasons ever. That’s not even in despute…… If I have a QB who does that, but has a “fake smile,” I’ll take that every Saturday…..
tj
April 4th, 2011
8:45 am
Can’t you media people come up with a better word than “hatred” to define this situation with the Auburn Newton thing. No one hates the player, they just dispise the trash that is spewed out in the media with this situation. This kind of reporting and trash talk will destroy good will.
Fleming Island Dawg
April 4th, 2011
8:46 am
I’m a Bulldog Fan and hate to say it but I agree with Gator Mike. He is very talented but don’t believe he bleeds the colors of any colleges. He will be the one being introduced on Monday Night Football and will mention his High School. And if a smile is the only knock a draft analyst can find on me I would be elated. Jeff sounds like Marcus needed it!!!
Gator Mike
April 4th, 2011
9:12 am
SEC Fan…
It is noted that you stated that UGA, UF, UT and AU are cheating. That is a strong allegation. Please tell all of us the facts on where Spurrier, Zook and Meyer cheated during their respective tenures at UF.
I freely admit that UF was unethical prior to Spurrier’s arrival. Also, when di Mark Richt and Jim Donan cheat at UGA. What specifiacally is Saban doing at BAMA that is unethical these days.
Please educate all of us at UF, UGA, UT and BAMA with the facts which you are holding about each program.
As I previously said, I hope AU is clean for both the sake of the SEC and AU.
Have a great day!
Gator Mike
April 4th, 2011
9:16 am
Fleming Island DAWG..
Thank you, and the best of lucks to your DAWGS.
Go SEC!
Emmysmom
April 4th, 2011
9:17 am
ATL, you’re so right: Arthur Blank only took Michael Vick, who tortured dogs for funsies.
MikeP
April 4th, 2011
9:24 am
RTR
April 3rd, 2011
5:18 pm
“half of america still hates this kid”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While the jealous losers and bamzos may hate him, a whole lot of people love him. That comeback he engineered against Duh Tahd was a thing of beauty. Over half of America loves him for that, if nothing else.
THEMAJOR
April 4th, 2011
9:30 am
Amazing how people can judge Cam Newton’s character without knowing him. I guess you can judge just by reading the news. If that is the case, I believe that AJ Green has character problems. AJ Green openly broke the rules and sold his jersey to an agent knowing it was against the rules. This is an obvious sign of a character problem. He broke the rules.
The thing on Cam Newton is he is an obvious winner. Naworcki (sp) comments that he had problems int eh locker room are ludicrous. You can’t be the leader of two teams that win National Championships ( Blinn JC and Auburn), go undefeated for two years with out being a leader in the locker room.
THEMAJOR
April 4th, 2011
9:33 am
GATOR MIKE, For your information Cam has earned 48 credit hours while at Auburn and was on track academically to graduate.
Paul N Destin
April 4th, 2011
9:45 am
Tell us all what classes Cam had credit for? Newton will play QB for one year and will never be seen again. He should go to Canada and become a legend. He will never be a starter in the NFL other than his 1st year attempt before teams understand that his talent is for running and that’s ALL!. If isn’t a threat to run (75% of the time in college) then he’s not good enough to pass well enough to be successful in the NFL.
ColumbiaDawg
April 4th, 2011
9:53 am
Whatever controversies surrounding Cam Newton are mostly his own doing. He didn’t leave Florida on his own.; he was invited to leave. And even if he he had nothing to do with his his father’s actions, Cam didn’t do himself any favors when he embraced his father on national TV after the BCS Championship Game.
Actions have consequences.
Dennis
April 4th, 2011
10:02 am
Good column Jeff…both Nawrocki & Moon’s claims are equally lame. Kid’s made mistakes, also has had hanging over him what his dad did most of the season..someone will give him a shot. I hope he ends up at Seattle, out of the more immediate spotlight, with a player’s coach who’ll make him compete an with Holmgren, a GM known for developing QB’s. Physically, there’s probably not another quarterback who can do what he can, except the speed issue, and that’s only becuase Vick is in the league, otherwise, Cam would be on top.
Gator Mike
April 4th, 2011
10:06 am
The Major:
Wow, 48 hours from AU alone in less than 2 years on campus. That is impressive. I do not question him being on track to graduate, but did he earn those 48 hours solely at AU?
Let us do the math. Cam was at UF during the Fall semester of 08 when he got in trouble. I believe he left UF at the end of the 08-09 Academic Year after he completed the Spring Semester. He was also at UF during the 07-08 Academic year the the ‘08 Summer Sessions. He then enrolled in Junior College where he did a fantastic job during the 09 Season. How many hours did he earn in J.C. before transfering to AU in Jan ‘10. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t he enroll at AU in Jan 10 to make him eligible for the ‘10 Season in which he was phenominal. Are we to assume that he is still enrolled in classes at AU? Based on your statement that he earned 48 hours at AU, this means that he earned these 48 hours during the Spring Semester of the 09-10 Academic year; 2 Sumer Sessions in the Summer of ‘10 and the Fall Term of the ‘10-’11 Academic year. If so, he is truely and amazing student, and I apologize.
Having said that, we do not know how many credits he transferred with from UF to Junior College because of some of his academic issues of cheating at UF. Nor do we know how many hours he accumulated in Junior College.
Thus, how many of the 48 hours did he earn at AU? AU is a very good school, and only an academic genius could possibly earn 48 leigitimate credit hours at AU in 2 Semesters and 2 Summer Sessions plus play football. Of note, the ‘10-’11 Academic Year is still in session.
However, if he has accrued a total of 48 hours from his time at UF, Junior College and AU i am not impressed. Of note, while Cam was at UF, he majored in Socialand Behavioral Science which is a typical “no load” football player major. I assume that is his major at AU. Perhaps his father should take some classes in that academic continuum.
Have a great day!
Florida_Dawg
April 4th, 2011
10:10 am
As a Black and Red Dawg fan, I can’t believe I’m doing this…. Say what you want about Cam Newton and his tangibles, but he is NOT in the same league as Tim Tebow when it comes to integrity and leadership by example. Tebow showed more heart, more drive and an honest will to win than I ever saw in any of Newton’s games. Tebow also, single-handedly, rallied his team from a devestating loss to win a national championship.
If I had a choice as to who would be the person I fought and bled with on the football field and in life, it would be Tim Tebow 100 times over. Newton is merely a product of great genes, a little talent and lots of chances to recover from otherwise career ending mistakes.
And that is coming from a lifetime Georgia Bulldog fan! GO DAWGS!
uga_b
April 4th, 2011
10:34 am
Mr. Schultz, Mort pointed out that there has also been a lot of criticism of Mallett and allegations of meth use. I do think the product of the information age is that you hear things that are true and used to be kept quiet while at the same times hearing lies that used to go unsaid. So I think the players get it from two fronts.
Cam needs to answer for lying, stealing, cheating, and quiting at UF. People should be able to question these aspects of his past without being called racist. Personally, I find Cam engaging when he is “in front of the camera”. Kind of like you would want your franchise player to be.
Dawg Tired
April 4th, 2011
10:41 am
Jeff – I agree that Nawrocki went over the top. However, I assume he has some inside info from somewhere re Cam’s character issues. Of course, no inside info is actually needed based on his UF experience which obviously raises the character issue for any team thinking about drafting Cam. Those kinds of decisions are best left up to the drafting teams.
Dawg Tired
April 4th, 2011
10:42 am
Of course, Moon’s comments are also over the top.
Pocaroba sausage
April 4th, 2011
11:00 am
Florida Dawg, is it just me or has all the events of the past year make us respect Tim Tebow so much more. I criticized Tim but only becuase I got tired of the media oggling over him and because his team is UGA’s rival. I was completely wrong. We need more Time Tebows. The guy was a winner in every respect and I apologize for not liking him because of who he played for.
SE GA Fan
April 4th, 2011
11:16 am
You do not have to talk to Cam Newton to tell that he is extremely egotistical! His smile does look fake, and after every game he blows kisses and just brings attention to himself. I agree with the guy who wrote this critique.
SE GA Fan
April 4th, 2011
11:23 am
@ THE MAJOR
A. J. Green didn’t know the jersey buyer was an agent, and neither did the guy who bought it!! Now if you want to talk about character flaws Ohio State’s football coach and Cecil Newton come to mind. What about the Auburn fans who are now accused to giving money to players? There is no way Cam Newton could earn 48 credits at Auburn in that amount of time. He isn’t gifted academically.
Why Not?
April 4th, 2011
12:04 pm
Whether Cameron Newton is successful in the NFL will be up to Cameron Newton. If any player with his ability puts it in his mind to “WORK” hard at the quarterback position and “WORK” with his teammates and develops their trust he will be successful. Will that happen? Once again, that is up to Cameron Newton.
The recent past history with Cameron Newton has illustrated a young man, a preacher father who took many many shortcuts along the way. Then NFL is not as forgiving. There have been hundreds of quarterbacks who have had the ability to make it in the NFL but did not put in the work the make the leap from a top draft choice, great college quarterback with tons of talent to a winning, leadership style NFL quarterback.
If Cameron Newton’s teammates do not trust him and his coaches see he is not putting in the work on the field, off the field, in the lockerroom, and in film study and only drawing a hefty paycheck then his career will be a short lived one.
Guys like Brady, Manning, Farve, Young, Montana, Starr, Unitis, Moreno, and now Ryan, Rogers, Flacco, Cassel and a few others are students of the game and understand the importance of leading by example on the field, in the study sessions and in the lockerroom.
Cameron Newton needs to understand this is not college anymore and he is now a “FULL TIME” quarterback in a “FULL TIME’ job that is a big big business and your coach will no longer say “no comment” about your dealings and your behavior or your dad’s behavior.
Why Not?
April 4th, 2011
12:07 pm
SE Ga Fan,
Do not be fooled, AJ knew exactly what he was doing and it was proven in his dealings. AJ may have scored low on his wonderlic test, but he is a smart young man and will be a great NFL reciever for many many years.
Bassman
April 4th, 2011
12:12 pm
To meet Cam is to immediately like him. His smile is only fake of you happen to be a disgruntled Bull Gator who just so happesn to have a pay service for evaluating potential draftees such as Nowrocki does. I’ve personally watched him stand for more than an hour after a game signing autographs until the last comer was satisfied, grinning and posing for pictures the entire time, while the entire rest of the team had long since left the stadium. He’s the genuine article.
I pride myself at being a good judge of character. It’s essential in my business that I have a strong BS detector. Cam had some personal failings in the past, but he overcame all of them, and is better for it. He and Jamarcus Russell are nothing alike, and I have absolutely no doubts that Cam will be successful in WHATEVER he does, on the field and off.
Why Not?
April 4th, 2011
12:13 pm
Gator Mike,
You nailed it. Cameron Newton supposedly earned 18 hours, 6 hours, 6 hours, and 6 hours and 14 hours while at Auburn. But it is now being made public that once again the independent study courses were more than half of those hours earned. Of those hours, 16 hours were for lab/ field study hours and his last instructor has stated that he saw Newton only 3 times during the semester but he knows how the system works and as long as the work was turned in and he showed up for the events that Newton met the course requirements.
The trees at Toomer’s Corner may have been poisoned and they may be dying. but the money tree, and the academic tree is still alive and well on the campus of Auburn University.
NOLE229
April 4th, 2011
12:28 pm
PLEASE LEAVE CAM NEWTON ALONE, MANY OF YOU ARE JUST HATERS. IF HE HAD WON NC AT YOUR SCHOOL THEN YOU WOULDNT BE COMPLAINING OR HATING. HE WAS YOUNG KID AND MADE MISTAKES LIKE A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN AMERICA AND LIKE MANY OF YOU WHEN YOU WERE HIS AGE. MANY OF YOU ARE JUDGING THIS KID WITHOUT EVER MEETING HIM OR TALKING TO HIM. HOW MANY OF US HAVE SPOKEN TO TOM BRADY OR PEYTON MANNING BUT WE STILL THINK OF THOSE QBS AS GREAT GUYS. BUFF: THEY ARE CONSIDERED GREAT BECAUSE THEY WIN ON THE FIELD AND LAST I CHECKED CAM NEWTON HASNT LOST IN TWO YEARS. SO PLEASE STOP HATING AND LET HIM DO HIM.
Why Not?
April 4th, 2011
12:38 pm
NOLE 229..
Did you need to yell, or is your Cap button stuck?
Either way, do you remember ever a quarterback or player who brought as much speculation as the decisions and choices he made as much as Cameron Newton and his posse has?
The answer “no”. When you choose to make dumb decisions over and over again then you have earned to right to be dissected, questioned and doubted.
gdawginkalamazoo
April 4th, 2011
12:41 pm
Regarding the “fake” smile. I once had a boss who could produce a so called “fake” smile. If you had made a mistake the fake smile appeared then he would rip you a new one. Very effective management tool. It kept you on edge. I think Cam could make effective use on the field using that “fake” smile. He sure did against us this year and Bama.
RCB
April 4th, 2011
12:43 pm
Anybody drive by the church lately?
WIN WITH RICHT
April 4th, 2011
1:08 pm
After Ryan Leaf and Jamarcus Russell, I can see why teams want to know enerything about QBs. A bust costs the team millions of dollars and wastes 2 or 3 years of time.
WIN WITH RICHT
April 4th, 2011
1:13 pm
RCB
Yes, there was a Hummer with vanity plates “PRCHRMN” and bumperstickers from an Alabama dog track on it parked in front.
JD
April 4th, 2011
1:16 pm
Jeff, I’ve enjoyed many of your columns and post in the past. You do great work. Did you really have to mention Michael Vick or was this a way to draw attention to your story? I can see if you were writing about current NFL players with character issues but you’re not. The story is about Cam Newton and his character and why is he getting so scrutinized by the media. It’s really time for people to let the Vick thing go, including PETA. He made a huge mistake and he paid for it literally and figuratively. Please allow this man to live his life, enjoy his family, and work his job which is as a professional football player. Some people don’t beleive he should be playing football. It’s his job. Does a fireman, nurse, or accountant also believe that if they did something wrong that they should no longer be able to work in the craft that they put time and energy in to learn and provide for themselves and their families? Doesn’t our law system dictate how long a person should pay for their misdeeds? Don’t take a shot at aperson that has absolutely nothing to do with this story.
pb
April 4th, 2011
1:19 pm
NOLE 229,
Why are you YELLING? (Using all capital letters?) But I agree we would be best off leaving Mr. Cam alone. If he makes it in the NFL remains to be seen.
Why Not?
April 4th, 2011
1:28 pm
The greatest Con Artist in History all had Great Smiles. Preachers asking for money, and Politicians asking for your vote. The picture at the top of Jeff’s Article says alot: A crooked preacher and politicians who will sell you dirt out of your own backyard.
d.carter
April 4th, 2011
2:23 pm
A guys who completes over 60% of his passes has his accuracy questioned… i guess he needs to be at 90%… All of you so called experts need a football lesson..
David Granger
April 4th, 2011
2:51 pm
Another thing we know about Cam is that…even if he doesn’t become a great QB (because of the mechnical flaws in his delivery)…he is a fine running back. (Personally, I think he’d be a better RB than QB.) And because of his size, he could also become a fine tight end. I think if you draft him, you’ll get a good player. Whether he’s worth high first round money is up to each individual team, I guess.
Tide Rising
April 4th, 2011
3:24 pm
The kid had probably the single most memorable year a college player has ever had- kudos to Cam.
But I think the character warning signs are there- the laptop, and then the alleged academic fraud at UF, the dad and pay for play- I find it difficult to believe he didn’t know. And then when the kid proclaims himself an icon and a brand then you really gotta wonder how much his ego and sense of entitlement are outta control.
I think he will ultimately be successful in the pros but the first few years will be tough- real tough. He’s only had 1 year of college experience in an offense that does not audible or if it does it does so rarely. He knows nothing about reading defenses and in spread offenses there are typically the same 1-3 reads and you run the play.
The pro game is dramatically different and there is a reason there have been very few successful former spread qbs. Sam Bradford is the lone one I can think of who has had immediate success.
He’s got a lotta maturing to do in a short period of time and his past lack of attention to schoolwork makes me wonder how much of a work ethic he will have in the film room.
Tide Rising
April 4th, 2011
3:30 pm
On a brighter note the opening day of college football is only 151 days away.
McDawg
April 4th, 2011
4:03 pm
the dude can play football period
Einsteindawg
April 4th, 2011
4:08 pm
Anybody besides me thinks that Cecil could probably start for most NFL teams?
crossdawg
April 4th, 2011
4:13 pm
I’m sure our GA legislature has more to do than honor auburn folks. Like pass a budget.
WIN WITH RICHT
April 4th, 2011
4:34 pm
Einsteindawg
A lot of people thought that Ryan Leaf and Tim Couch would be superstars in the NFL.
honest1
April 4th, 2011
5:07 pm
All of you can write what you want, mad because no one is going to pay you. He’ll make more money in one year than you in a lifetime. You think a millionaire cares what a man making 50K thinks. He going to the bank and you can’t stop it.
Tell the truth
April 4th, 2011
5:45 pm
He had a great year at Auburn and was the best player in college football last year. I hope he does really well in the pros. Everything that has surfaced while he was at Florida and with MSU and his dad makes me think that he is dirty, but that’s just my opinion. I am always suspicious of people that talk about themselves in the third person.
Why Not?
April 4th, 2011
5:47 pm
They are now reporting another poisoning in Auburn. This time it is the MONEY TREE used to pay all those players. The NCAA, FEDs, and Justice Department are the culprits.
WDE= WE DENY EVERYTHING!
Why Not?
April 4th, 2011
5:48 pm
Honest 1..
YOu are not being HONEST with Yourself.
Stinger2
April 4th, 2011
6:01 pm
Does anyone know why Cam Newton was honored by the Georgia Legislature. What did he do for the State of Georiga to deserve any special recognition? A lot of people are born in Georgia.
ATLER (ramblin wreck)
April 4th, 2011
6:23 pm
I bet a lot of you haters that are dogging Cam Newton are non- athletic white guys huh???!!!!!!!!! LMBO!!!!!!!! I love the way Camcarries himself. Wow what confidence he displays!!!!!!!! He’ll be a star in the NFL.
NFL Draft 2011: Carolina Panthers GM Talks About Cam Newton and the No. 1 Pick – Bleacher Report | Auto Cars Motors News
April 4th, 2011
11:52 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
AltamahaDawg
April 5th, 2011
8:55 am
See, he should have just been a TE at Georgia and he wouldn’t have to worry about all this stuff.
dawg lover
April 5th, 2011
10:56 am
Cam was probably honored by the Ga legislature in hopes he might share some of his $$$$ to help with the deficit budget…maybe his dad has been recruited to help with soliciting of illegal funding. He seems to have gotten away with grabbing 180K in Alabama…why not help us out too since his darling son was born here.
NFLGames.Net » Buffalo Bills rank last in draft success – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
April 5th, 2011
2:06 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
AU Grandma
April 5th, 2011
2:21 pm
Maybe Cam Newton will make the Guinness Book of World Records as the subject of the most negative comments online. There is a thread on a Bama site with 18,000+. Time will tell. It will be interesting to see what people are saying a year from now.
NFLGames.Net » Rookies to visit Winter Park – FS North
April 5th, 2011
3:12 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
Ryan
April 5th, 2011
4:00 pm
Danny Wuerfel had allot of touchdowns and wins. So did Gino Toretta.
5150WTGW
April 5th, 2011
8:36 pm
Cam is no MATT STAFFORD!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
April 5th, 2011
10:32 pm
CHOKE has great character and ZERO Playoff wins.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
April 5th, 2011
10:34 pm
5150WTGW
April 5th, 2011
8:36 pm
Cam is no MATT STAFFORD
———————————————————
You are right – He’s played more than 6 games the past two seasons.
LD
April 6th, 2011
12:12 pm
Cantondawg, you were right the first time, Herschel was the best and most dominant collegiate player
Cam Newton to Carolina may be getting closer to reality | Jeff Schultz
April 6th, 2011
2:35 pm
[...] Falcons (and Georgia) fans who continue to debate the NFL merits of Cam Newton — who has been central to a verbal pie fight of late – here’s an update: You may get to watch him close up against the Falcons twice a [...]
I PLAYED THE GAME
April 6th, 2011
3:13 pm
ATL is a moron….how much fb have u played actually?….name a TRULY modest QB in fb today that’s good…if they come as such, 8.5 x’s out of 10 that’s fake….QBs are developed to understand that the team goes as they do…i know this to be fact…Cam will be fine running or throwing….it’s easy to comment on something you’ve NEVER seen past your tv or some practice you may have visited..
I PLAYED THE GAME
April 6th, 2011
3:16 pm
ryan is a moron as well…clearly never played…those two guys can’t hold cam’s water bottles…they were surrounded by great athletes while cam is THE athlete……
Ryan
April 7th, 2011
7:33 am
Point is. . both touchdowns and wins are TEAM stats.
Ryan
April 7th, 2011
7:46 am
but seriously, WArren moon is the one that hacks me off. Racism? Really, WArren?
MIchael VIck, Donnovan McNabb, Randall CUnningham, Warren Moon, Jason Cambpbell, Vince YOung, David Gerrard, Byron Leftwich, Travaris Jackson, Jamarcus Russel, Steve McNair. . .off the top of my head. . .