Live from Falcons-Panthers: Is Cam still Carolina’s man?
Cam Newton: Is the gifted quarterback the Panthers' leader or a man apart? (AP photo)
The Cam Newton backlash has begun, as if on cue. The man who was going to elevate the woebegone Carolina Panthers, similar to the way he’d lifted the Auburn Tigers on high, has been the subject of much criticism for his play and, most especially, his demeanor.
Cam takes losses hard. When you’re the team leader, you can’t take losses so hard that you depress the rest of the team. (This tends to lead, as night follows day, to more losing.) The wide receiver Steve Smith upbraided Newton on the sideline during the fourth quarter of Carolina’s awful Thursday-night loss to the Giants, and in the 10 days since that has become the talk of the Queen City.
(Side note: Charlotte is known as the Queen City. So is Cincinnati.)
About the Falcons: They’ve looked as good as any team in the league. They should win today. But Cam is capable of extraordinary things. One of his best days came in this building in December 2010. Which isn’t to say I’m picking Cam’s team to win 56-17 today. I like the Falcons by 10.
Whatever happens, I’ll be here to watch, comment and converse. I hope you’ll join me. And I thank you, as ever, in advance.
By Mark Bradley
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1,070 comments Add your comment
phil
September 30th, 2012
5:16 pm
It shouldn’t have.
But yes, it did. Thank goodness.
They gave us the game but we had to take what was given and did. I’m thrilled but i’m not slappin myself on the back like we didn’t get damn lucky.
JSS
September 30th, 2012
5:17 pm
Flacco can’t even throw the ball 60 yards. Ryan showed some arm strength on that pass.
phil
September 30th, 2012
5:17 pm
Fire Mike Smith!!
What? Never mind….give that man a raise!
phil
September 30th, 2012
5:18 pm
I’m proud of matt for strengthening that arm….
That throw to Roddy was impressive.
Esquire
September 30th, 2012
5:19 pm
If the Panthers had the ability to put us away they should have…………but they couldn’t.
L.U.C.K. Labor Under Correct Knowledge
JSS
September 30th, 2012
5:20 pm
Well well, snarky central at work with the name-stealing again… 5:17P, not capable of originality?
Jeremiah Wright
September 30th, 2012
5:20 pm
Seen This B4 used to post under different names a couple years ago. Maybe JSS is Seen. Or Choke is JSS, or vice-verse. No………….Seen has a LOT more character than JSS
Kramer
September 30th, 2012
5:21 pm
After the Dawgs game on Saturday and the Falcons today I am ready to go back to work tomorrow. Less stress at work for God’s sakes!
And oh yeah, SUCK IT ALL YOU HATERS!
phil
September 30th, 2012
5:22 pm
It was a helluva throw, JSS…
Matt "Choke" Ryan
September 30th, 2012
5:22 pm
Kiss my black azz all you white rednecks !!! HA HA
JSS
September 30th, 2012
5:23 pm
creative
September 30th, 2012
5:15 pm
“im really choke, but i could be you or me or JSS”
Nope, you’re just a blog phony… Nothing new there, it is a mental defect…
falcondawg
September 30th, 2012
5:23 pm
There was a time when we couldn’t win games like this. Good teams win when they don’t bring their A game. Think it’s safe to say we’re a good team.
phil
September 30th, 2012
5:23 pm
Kramer, you have to have a job to go to it, my friend….
Quit your kiddin….
Kramer
September 30th, 2012
5:25 pm
One more thing that made my weekend. Watching the little stingers lose to an FSS team was the icing on the cake this weekend. PLEEEEAS Mr. Tech AD, keep CPJ around for another 5 years! Just watching his expressions on the sidelines is worth whatever salary you are paying the moron, I mean offensive expert.
phil
September 30th, 2012
5:25 pm
Yes, we’re a good team.
Yes, we got lucky today.
Yes, we made the plays we had to make, after we got lucky.
It’s ok.
Kramer
September 30th, 2012
5:26 pm
Phil, I have been working for 30 years supporting slackers like you with my tax dollars thank you very much.
JSS
September 30th, 2012
5:27 pm
@ (real) phil…
Why can’t “small minds” be original?
JSS
September 30th, 2012
5:28 pm
phil a slacker?
Kramer
September 30th, 2012
5:29 pm
A big slacker.
JSS
September 30th, 2012
5:31 pm
Fantasy Island = Snarky Central… SMDH
PMC
September 30th, 2012
5:32 pm
No hate from me today. Matty Legend!!!
atlfalconsfan0125
September 30th, 2012
5:32 pm
hey we won! But there are some issues we need to fix..
phil
September 30th, 2012
5:32 pm
Kramer, i was kidding…..i’ve got in 20 plus myself!
PMC
September 30th, 2012
5:32 pm
84 Just reasserted dominance
Loyalfalconfrmthemississippi
September 30th, 2012
5:34 pm
Elite teams know how to make a comeback when they are in the hole, elite teams take your breath away in seconds with the have to make play in the have to make it seconds, elite teams know how to air it out from the one yard line with less than a minute remaining on the clock to steal the W from their oponents. Elite teams make the play when the play matters!!!!!!!! Atlanta = ELITE TEAM
Loyalfalconfrmthemississippi
September 30th, 2012
5:36 pm
Get it in your head NFL you heard it here first
Ivan
September 30th, 2012
5:37 pm
Good game Carolina. Also….
“GTFO our field.” – Matt Ryan
MaxxFalcon
September 30th, 2012
5:37 pm
Woo-Hoo!!!
Loyalfalconfrmthemississippi
September 30th, 2012
5:37 pm
Gonna go watch the aints get spanked now
atlfalconsfan0125
September 30th, 2012
5:43 pm
@ JSS I know you are mad. Turn off the computer go take a breather!
GO Falcons!
Esquire
September 30th, 2012
5:44 pm
JSS
September 30th, 2012
5:23 pm
creative
September 30th, 2012
5:15 pm
“im really choke, but i could be you or me or JSS”
Nope, you’re just a blog phony… Nothing new there, it is a mental defect…
*********************************************************
Mental defect? Is there anything you can take for this personality disorder.
Jeremiah Wright
September 30th, 2012
5:47 pm
Absolute funniest line of the week-end:
JSS accusing someone else of having a mental defect. HILARIOUS !
Jeremiah Wright
September 30th, 2012
5:52 pm
JSS……..Saul Alinsky………JSS………Saul Alinsky……….JSS…………Saul Alinsky………….mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
JSS
September 30th, 2012
5:55 pm
Don’t try to deflect little bloggers… I’m chilling, watched the Niners, Pats, and the Texans… You clowns are internalizing like “you” played… Watching the Skins-Bucs, and now the Broncos-Raiders…
Meanwhile, y’all are stealing user-names, committing lies, and just overall being snarky central… Oh, I’m so mad!!! Steam coming from my head! Ha ha, so nuts, bunch of kids!!!
todd grantham
September 30th, 2012
5:55 pm
Mark, you usually have the game column on line by now. did you spend a little too much time celebrating in the Falcons’ lockerroom?
Jeremiah Wright
September 30th, 2012
5:58 pm
Nuts?…………… JSS?
Hillbilly D
September 30th, 2012
5:59 pm
Damn y’all, it’s just a ballgame. Is anybody’s life going to be any different tomorrow because of what happened in the NFL today?
Jeremiah Wright
September 30th, 2012
5:59 pm
Don’t go away mad, JSS, just go away
Matty Bicep
September 30th, 2012
5:59 pm
One thing we all have to say, Ryan is 4-0 against Vick and Cam….He might not do too well in the playoffs, but he sure can beat up on “the revolutionary” qbs.
Ryder
September 30th, 2012
6:02 pm
At this point Ryan has to be the MVP, only Brady, Eli, and Rodgers can make that type of play in a situation like that. In the NFL it’s Any Given Sunday, which means anyone can beat anyone at any time. Eventually the best teams are the ones playing late into the year. Still a long way to go for Atlanta, but they got a much needed wake up call in preparation for RGIII and the Redskins next week.
OHIOdirtybird!!!
September 30th, 2012
6:05 pm
I find it funny how people are saying if Ryan throws the ball longer he hits Roddy for the TD, and his arm is weak???……He just threw the ball from 5 yards deep in his own end zone, to the opponent 45/40 yard line, thats over 60 yards, ALL air!!!!
JSS
September 30th, 2012
6:06 pm
@ Hillbilly…
It will in snarky central, they act all puffy and how they destroyed Carolina! And then the name calling will commence… Look at D-Led’s blog, the usual suspects are on parade, especially the Cam Haters… Never been a Newton fan, but a certain blogger is on his usual tirade…
As far the silly name changer, he’s a piece of work…
Jeremiah Wright
September 30th, 2012
6:10 pm
This reminds me of the Bears game a few years ago. Falcons down (by less than 3) after a Bears score and the Bears kick-off with, what, something like 23 seconds? Ryan hits a quick long side-out pass.(Maybe one more?) Lines up the field-goal team…………….WIN !
I don’t remember exactly, but something a lot like that. VERY SIMILAR. I believe this has a lot to do with the “Ice” name.
Brewmaster
September 30th, 2012
6:13 pm
Hey Choke, you are a fool. Elite teams are elite because they can put together a game winning drive. This is the NFL, where the difference in talent level is so small that it may come down to the execution of a final drive. Great teams know how to do that. The Falcons record over the last 3 or 4 years is among the best in the league. Like I said, you are a fool.
Jeremiah Wright
September 30th, 2012
6:15 pm
2nd funniest thing………….JSS calling OTHER people “snarky.”
Jeremiah Wright
September 30th, 2012
6:22 pm
3rd funniest thing…………………..JSS
Barry Obama
September 30th, 2012
6:29 pm
Jerry, is that REALLY you?
Matty Bicep
September 30th, 2012
6:35 pm
My guess is Cam ends up in some type of mental facility by the end of the season.
Matty Bicep
September 30th, 2012
6:37 pm
Opps, Vick just fumbled again…Oh now, that was cam. I get all those next gen QBS confused.
Answer this
September 30th, 2012
6:40 pm
Sorry you all missed me, daughter had a soccer game in Villa Rica…talk about bad officiating!? Anyway any whistlers in the blog? Lol
Please go back to my original early post where I said Big day for Turner tough game like UGA and UT…..and not to worry Nation…
We rise Up!