Why I think Cam is going to be better than we've seen so far...

[lionheartkc 6,150]

I don't think he's the second coming of Vince Young or going to win the Heisman in his initial outting, but I ask everyone to consider... we all saw Neil and Barrett in the A-Day game and they were really great.  We all have heard really good things about both of them throughout the Spring and Fall, and even some solid things about Clint.  We've also heard that the coaches have not even given the slightest consideration to going with anyone but Cam at starting QB. 

I don't know about you, but that says something to me, and the biggest thing it says is that the coaches want people to see what Cam can do when he's on the field, facing an opponent, and not a moment before that.

There is one thing I can guarantee all of you, and that's the fact that everyone who suits up in Orange and Blue, this fall, and has a big AU on the side of their helmet is going to play to the best of their abilities and leave it all on the field, week in and week out, until they walk off the field at whatever bowl game they play in.  And really... isn't that all we can ask for?

[Auburn47 0]

Nice read!

[The SandMntTiger 9]

Solid post my man and I agree with all of it. In Gus we trust!

[WarEagle231 52]

Two things that are severely limiting Cam in practice and scrimmages right now:

1. The coaches right now are limited Cam on how much he can scramble...Think about it...it does almost no good to let Cam scramble in practice or scrimmages (They can't tackle him anyway). The defense doesn't have to even think about the possibility of Cam scrambling.  So..Cam is limited to being a pocket passer so that he can learn the offense and gel with receivers.  This takes aways Cam's biggest strength.  

2. Cam's ability to avoid a sack or escape the pass rush.  Right now if a defender even gets close to Cam the play is called dead. But you have to remember, not only is Cam fast, he is huge.  At 6'6 250lbs he is bigger than every linebacker and some DE's...  It will take 2 defenders to bring Cam down, if not more.  

Let's face it Cam was not chosen because he is the best pocket only passer.  He is a great guy and an amazing athlete.  His running ability is what makes him special as a player.  We won't see the real Cam until the season opener.

[Orange and Blue 17211345162833 0]

This preseason like last, it will be like opening a Birthday gift without knowing what's inside. With all the closed practices in the Spring, we know little of what to expect on offense, defense and special teams. Game by game, we'll learn more about Cam, our added defensive depth, improvements on special teams and adjustments made by the coaches to make Auburn a much improved football team.

[SKIPPER 0]

Two things that are severely limiting Cam in practice and scrimmages right now:

1. The coaches right now are limited Cam on how much he can scramble...Think about it...it does almost no good to let Cam scramble in practice or scrimmages (They can't tackle him anyway). The defense doesn't have to even think about the possibility of Cam scrambling.  So..Cam is limited to being a pocket passer so that he can learn the offense and gel with receivers.  This takes aways Cam's biggest strength.  

2. Cam's ability to avoid a sack or escape the pass rush.  Right now if a defender even gets close to Cam the play is called dead. But you have to remember, not only is Cam fast, he is huge.  At 6'6 250lbs he is bigger than every linebacker and some DE's...  It will take 2 defenders to bring Cam down, if not more.  

Let's face it Cam was not chosen because he is the best pocket only passer.  He is a great guy and an amazing athlete.  His running ability is what makes him special as a player.  We won't see the real Cam until the season opener.

agreed! We will see a different Cam when he puts that blue jersey on. That orange one isn't very good for him.

[StatTiger 3,188]

Very logical perception of the QB situation. I have no doubt Gus Malzahn will play the QB that will give the best chance of scoring points and the QB just happens to be Cameron Newton in 2010. It was Chris Todd in 2009. I do believe Newton will struggle at times but if Malzahn is sold of him, I have no doubts at this point.

[guerra aguila 0]

Very logical perception of the QB situation. I have no doubt Gus Malzahn will play the QB that will give the best chance of scoring points and the QB just happens to be Cameron Newton in 2010. It was Chris Todd in 2009. I do believe Newton will struggle at times but if Malzahn is sold of him, I have no doubts at this point.

Struggles are ok, Tebow faced them, Bradford had a few tough games, Mccoy did as well... but their "Team" found ways to win, and sooner or later when Cam does have a reality check game... his teammates will have to help him overcome it. (Step up)

He has plenty of help around him, and I think the returning veterans are going to have his back... These guys have been here before, and they will use their killer instinct to finish out the close games that they missed out on last year.

Im going out on a limb to say that Newtons passing numbers will be better than some people think simply because he can run the football if he gets in trouble, or has nothing open down field... he will not force the ball like Todd had to a few times.

[AUrite 0]

While we may not have seen Cam unleashed, we can glean several generalities from the tidbits that have come out from scrimmages and practice reports.

Cam is an experienced leader and came in from JUCO winning the team over.  Todd was great in most games, but did not appear to be much of a leader.

Cam seems to have thrown few interceptions in practice and scrimmages.  I think he stands a very good chance of maintaining his JUCO TD to INT ratio, or reasonably close to it.

We know at 6'6", 250 lbs, with his speed and athleticism that he can run the ball.  We will have positive yards instead of negative as you normally do with a pure passer such as Todd.

Cam can throw the deep ball -- arm strength not an issue.

Malzahn does not appear to be one to try to serve us Kool Aid.  Malzahn stated that Cam does not make the same mistakes twice.  Sounds good to me.  If Kool Aid, I'll take a sip.

Although we don't have an extensive body of work from which to judge Malzahn, he appears to have done great work in the development of his QB's, especially considering he has had a different one each year.

IMO and judging from what others have said, including Malzahn, we look solid depth-wise at QB.  Trotter, Caudle, and Mosley all appear to be solid in the passing game.  While I readily admit I'm no expert, from what I've seen of those backups, I feel better about our QB depth than ever.

While we may not have seen enough of Cam to form our own opinions, he was picked ahead of the other quality backups.  That is saying something.

[StatTiger 3,188]

While we may not have seen Cam unleashed, we can glean several generalities from the tidbits that have come out from scrimmages and practice reports.

I see Malzahn slowly bringing Newton along, relying on the ground game early in the season so that Newton can grow into the position before we hit the meat of the conference schedule.

Cam is an experienced leader and came in from JUCO winning the team over.  Todd was great in most games, but did not appear to be much of a leader.

Todd was not the scream in your face leader on gameday but he had the respect of his team mates with the hard work he put in for preparation. Newton has worked his can off since arriving at Auburn and I see him becoming an emotional leader on the field too.

Cam seems to have thrown few interceptions in practice and scrimmages.  I think he stands a very good chance of maintaining his JUCO TD to INT ratio, or reasonably close to it.

I would not go there but anything is possible. The average TD/INT ratio for a FBS QB this decade is 1.68. The ratio from the top 25 QB's nationally this decade is 2.78. Cameron had a ratio of 3.67 in JUCO, which is extremely high. Anything over 2.0 would be great. I think he will pass for more than 22 TD's this season but will have more than 6 picks.

We know at 6'6", 250 lbs, with his speed and athleticism that he can run the ball.  We will have positive yards instead of negative as you normally do with a pure passer such as Todd.

Bingo

Cam can throw the deep ball -- arm strength not an issue.

Yes he can throw it deep but accuracy on the deep ball has been hit and miss at times since arriving at Auburn. Of course, I'd still rather have a guy with his arm strength than not.

Malzahn does not appear to be one to try to serve us Kool Aid.  Malzahn stated that Cam does not make the same mistakes twice.  Sounds good to me.  If Kool Aid, I'll take a sip.

If Malzahn believes he's the best QB to put on the field in 2010, I would not argue with him. Malzahn during his time as a college OC will play who he feels is the best and that's at any position.

Although we don't have an extensive body of work from which to judge Malzahn, he has thus far done great work while each year working with a new QB.

Great track record with his QB's.

IMO and judging from what others have said, including Malzahn, we look solid depth-wise at QB.  Trotter, Caudle, and Mosley all appear to be solid in the passing game.  While I readily admit I'm no expert, from what I've seen of those backups, I feel better about our QB depth than ever.

I agree. We are stronger at QB than any other year under Tuberville.

While we may not have seen enough of Cam to form our own opinions, he was picked ahead of the other quality backups.  That is saying something.

Yes it does and I agree.

[AUrite 0]

Thanks for the response, Stat.  I've seriously enjoyed your breakdowns (I do support the site, btw, even if I don't post here often).  Your analysis helped filled the drivel season for me. 

[cmccullough 0]

I couldn't agree more.

[LakeBum 187]

Very good review on Cam's potential.  I am interested to see if Cam tends to try to throw away fewer passes and tries to scramble or if CGM wants him to throw away balls like Todd did.  I actually think a good QB knows when to throw it away, but most aren't as big and strong as Cam is either.

[StatTiger 3,188]

Very good review on Cam's potential.  I am interested to see if Cam tends to try to throw away fewer passes and tries to scramble or if CGM wants him to throw away balls like Todd did.  I actually think a good QB knows when to throw it away, but most aren't as big and strong as Cam is either.

Malzahn teaches his QB's areas to throw the ball away or positioning the ball to an area only the receiver has an opportunity to make the reception.

[norcuron 35]

Newton should have planty of time to stand in the pocket this year and pick his 1st, 2nd or 3rd read just cause we prob. got one of the best o-lines in the nation. I am excited about this year.

I think we could see alot of long passes this year if Cam can resist the urge to run it down their throat.

Hell, run it down their throat. A 1st down is a 1st down. A Tebow style QB has been sucessful in the SEC as of late.

I think Cam is a better passer by nature than Tebow tho.

With Fannin (who looks freakishly huge these days) behind him, we are gonna light the boards up.

Now Im gonna rock back and forth and chant 18 more days 18 more days.......

[StatTiger 3,188]

Newton should have planty of time to stand in the pocket this year and pick his 1st, 2nd or 3rd read just cause we prob. got one of the best o-lines in the nation. I am excited about this year.

Keep in mind, Malzahn's pass-offense is designed to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible, so hopefully he won't be required to stand in the pocket for very long.

I think we could see alot of long passes this year if Cam can resist the urge to run it down their throat.

Hell, run it down their throat. A 1st down is a 1st down. A Tebow style QB has been sucessful in the SEC as of late.

Though Newton clearly won't avoid contact, our offense is not the same as UF and Tebow and won't have anywhere near the number of designed run plays. In fact, I expect UF's offense to be more dangerous this season because Meyer will be forced to rely on a more traditional running game and Brantley is more of a pure passer, which means the QB won't be called upon to carry the offense in rushing and passing. This is not to say, Newton won't have his moments rushing the football, we just won't be running him off tackle 10 times a game like UF did with Tebow.

I think Cam is a better passer by nature than Tebow tho.

Don't confuse Tebow's strange mechanics for being a poor passer. Tebow is one of the most accurate passers in the history of college football based on his career passer rating. When Newton camped at Auburn, there were huge issues about his accuracy as a passer. Though he's a better QB now than when he first arrived on the Florida Campus out of HS, there are some issues about his accuracy, when it comes to the medium to deep throws. In reality, of all of his great physical attributes, passing accuracy has never been near the top of the list for Cameron.

With Fannin (who looks freakishly huge these days) behind him, we are gonna light the boards up.

Now Im gonna rock back and forth and chant 18 more days 18 more days.......

I'm not trying to come across as being totally negative when it comes to Newton because I believe he will be successful. I'm just trying to be as realistic as possible when it comes to expectations. 

[norcuron 35]

Newton might not be able to take the hits that Tebow could , Tebow= (6'3 240) Newton = (6'6 250).

I wouldnt be too scared to call on the QB (at his size) at 4th and 1.

Im just saying Newton will/could use a deep "air-game" this year with a great O-line, good hands out there and have more time to do it.

Gus had to encourage getting the ball out fast with Todd or it was gonna be a sack. Nothing personal about Todd, but he was not Mr. Mobility.

Next year Cam will prob. need to use his feet more, which I also fell good about. Cam has that run your butt over ability and our O-line is gonna be young.

Is he Tebow? no. Tebow is a once in a lifetime thing.

P.S. did ya see that shot Tebow took at the goal line at the end of the game the other night? He made the TD but durn he payed for it.

[StatTiger 3,188]

Newton might not be able to take the hits that Tebow could , Tebow= (6'3 240) Newton = (6'6 250).

I wouldnt be too scared to call on the QB (at his size) at 4th and 1.

Im just saying Newton will/could use a deep "air-game" this year with a great O-line, good hands out there and have more time to do it.

Gus had to encourage getting the ball out fast with Todd or it was gonna be a sack. Nothing personal about Todd, but he was not Mr. Mobility.

Actually, that was by design and had nothing to do with Todd, His pass-offense was the same way at Tulsa. It's all part of the rapid tempo aspect of his offense.

Next year Cam will prob. need to use his feet more, which I also fell good about. Cam has that run your butt over ability and our O-line is gonna be young.

Strong possibility will a rebuilt OL.

Is he Tebow? no. Tebow is a once in a lifetime thing.

P.S. did ya see that shot Tebow took at the goal line at the end of the game the other night? He made the TD but durn he payed for it.

No, I did not see it but I heard about it. I hope Tebow has a successful NFL career. I know many college fans were sick of hearing about him when he was at Florida but he was everything that is right about the game and he would have made any college fan base proud to have him as their starter.

[Plainstalk 32]

We simply do not know how Cam is going to respond when the lights are turned on and he is facing an SEC caliber defense.  He has the physical tools but the most important attribute for a QB is decision making.  The coaches must see something in him to name him the starter and I trust their judgement.

[Rednilla 5,449]

No, I did not see it but I heard about it. I hope Tebow has a successful NFL career. I know many college fans were sick of hearing about him when he was at Florida but he was everything that is right about the game and he would have made any college fan base proud to have him as their starter.

Absolutely, 100% agree. True football fans can't help but respect him, and sincere human beings can't help but admire him. He's just that kind of guy...even if he DID play at Florida!

[guerra aguila 0]

No, I did not see it but I heard about it. I hope Tebow has a successful NFL career. I know many college fans were sick of hearing about him when he was at Florida but he was everything that is right about the game and he would have made any college fan base proud to have him as their starter.

Absolutely, 100% agree. True football fans can't help but respect him, and sincere human beings can't help but admire him. He's just that kind of guy...even if he DID play at Florida!

Best College quarterback ever.

[CRuthven 0]

No, I did not see it but I heard about it. I hope Tebow has a successful NFL career. I know many college fans were sick of hearing about him when he was at Florida but he was everything that is right about the game and he would have made any college fan base proud to have him as their starter.

Absolutely, 100% agree. True football fans can't help but respect him, and sincere human beings can't help but admire him. He's just that kind of guy...even if he DID play at Florida!

^^^this^^^

[aurules16 0]

No, I did not see it but I heard about it. I hope Tebow has a successful NFL career. I know many college fans were sick of hearing about him when he was at Florida but he was everything that is right about the game and he would have made any college fan base proud to have him as their starter.

Absolutely, 100% agree. True football fans can't help but respect him, and sincere human beings can't help but admire him. He's just that kind of guy...even if he DID play at Florida!

Best College quarterback ever.

THIS ^^^^^^

[RockyMtnTiger 0]

Cams Potential + WR's + EXPERIENCED line!!!!! + Malzahn's genius= Did you just see that?!!!, WOW!!!!!, Jumping up out of seats type jubilation....LOL.....I a stoked for the season to begin. Yes we will see some struggles, but overall it is going to be a blast to watch Auburn Football this year...War Eagle!!!

[guerra aguila 0]

Cams Potential + WR's + EXPERIENCED line!!!!! + Malzahn's genius= Did you just see that?!!!, WOW!!!!!, Jumping up out of seats type jubilation....LOL.....I a stoked for the season to begin. Yes we will see some struggles, but overall it is going to be a blast to watch Auburn Football this year...War Eagle!!!

I agree that Auburn could have one of those special seasons... I think the offense is going to shatter last years offensive numbers.