Initial Pro Football Hall of Fame Candidates

Odd that you would compare Cam Newton to JaMarcus Russell, the slowest and least athletic quarterback drafted in the first round in the 2000s. Whatever would it be to lead you toward that comparison?

 

I think it's too hard to take anyone on that list without opening the floodgates. If Craig was going to get in, he'd have gotten in awhile ago, and fuck him for that fumble...

I think it's way more likely that 15 years from now, the last three running backs to get in will be Jerome Bettis, LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson.

There are a couple active guys now who have a chance, but they'd have to do what so few runners can do and remain 1,000 yard rushers well-into their 30s. So many guys hit the wall during that time.

 

I'll be the first to admit I didn't think Cam Newton would be successful in the NFL, at least not at the level that he has...

That team has nothing other than him. You take Cam Newton off the Panthers and they are the worst team in the NFL. With Cam Newton, the Panthers are a seven-win team.

 

So it's on management to get a better supporting cast through free agency, trades and the draft. OK, fine. I'll give them that. He's in his third year. I'm willing to give anyone five years to show what they've got. Right now, I'd put him No. 3 in his division behind Ryan and Brees. Most guys who get picked No. 1 overall go to bad teams. Happened with both Mannings, Stafford, Bradford, Luck, even Griffin (no. 2 pick), etc. Within a five-year span, you need to be able to translate raw athleticism and fantasy football numbers into actual victories.

 

So he's behind Brees, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and Ryan, who is on a team with quite possibly the best WR-TE combination in the game right now. There's hardly any shame in that.

The Panthers have done Newton no favors so far, with a defensive head coach and he hasn't had a chance to work with a real QB guru like some of the younger QBs. Kaepernick, Rodgers and Griffin all have head coaches who are considered QB gurus. Russell Wilson has Darrell Bevell, who will likely be a HC somewhere after this season. Newton hasn't had a guy like that.

 

Ok, well that's on management. Go out and hire a guy.

 

Newton was drafted to a team that had been poorly built. Marty Hurney poured too much money into retaining two average, injury-prone running backs, and could never draft the right player to complement Steve Smith (who is now exiting his prime years).

I don't think Newton is a bonafide elite QB just yet but he's better than some people give him credit for. And comparing him to the other QBs in the division is kind of silly because of course Drew Brees is better than him and Matt Ryan is arguably better.

But Mark Sanchez already has two seasons as a playoff QB. Does anyone really believe Sanchez is better than Newton?

Or try Matt Schaub. Can anyone really argue that Schaub is better than Newton simply because Schaub has a playoff trip and Newton does not?

 

Getting back to the thread topic and several subjects brought up:

* Focusing on one aspect of a player and one alone as the be-all, end-all of a player's candidacy is a bad idea. Whether it's Terrell Davis' number of years in the NFL or Shaun Alexander's stats, you have to take a look at every factor that comes into play and decide how strongly said factor works in his favor or doesn't work. You don't think of each factor as weighing equally in every circumstance.

* Regarding Jerry Jones, the real question to argue is whether or not his influence went beyond what he did for his own team. This is why Al Davis made the Hall of Fame -- it wasn't just because the Oakland Raiders were successful under his ownership for a good number of years, but because he influenced the NFL and the game itself. I think it's something some HOF voters overlook in their quest to get the owners whose teams won Super Bowls. So argue the case for Jerry Jones impacting the NFL, not just the Dallas Cowboys.

* I need to drag over a list of questions I put together about judging Pro Football HOF candidacies that was based on the list Bill James put together for the baseball HOF. Yeah, blatant plug for something I wrote, but it might make for good debate.

 

Newton has rushed/thrown for 63 touchdowns in his first 33 starts.
This isn't f'ing tennis - he's doing his part in a team game.
Where he's been deficient is in the maturity department.
With the pouting and Superman poses in blowout games.

 

Why did we allow racists to make this thread about Cam Newton?