Friday, April 1, 2011

I SEE YOUR POINT...BUT! by ST

I heard the Warren Moon interview on The Herd today after reading his comments yesterday. At the core is a piece written by Nolan Nawrocki of Pro Football Weekly. He cited some shortcomings of Cam Newton and used the annoying "sources" regarding leadership, punctuality and how genuine a guy he is. I feel Moon went a bit over the top and took it personal because as a black QB in his day, he heard all the negative stereotypes. Newtown is at the center of an ongoing pay for play scandal, has not been forthright, was involved in a Masoli like computer theivery at Florida and as we speak is a one hit college wonder. As Nawrocki explained, they said similar things about Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen a year ago before JC was drafted. To me that's the conversation ender, but that would be boring. I think racism in disgustingly rampant in our society and that includes football fans. Not in this case. Legit issues exist with Newton. In a rarity, I actually had a chance to be a part of his media day interview prior to the National Championship. He lit up when the cameras were rolling, and turned off when he left the podium. So did most of the other guys, but when your the Heisman winner, you get more attention. I've got to be honest, aside from some fans, I haven't heard one media member or football guy compare Newton to Jamarcus Russell. I'll need to see or hear the file. That would be unfair as Newton appears superior in all aspects save maybe pure arm strength. And for the record, if I'm Carolina, I'm taking Cam with the 1st pick. 2 things are important to know. Moon is acting as an advisor for Newton at the behest of Cam's dad who initially wanted the Hall of Famer to train his kid but the role changed to mentor. He's also, according to his radio interview, not getting paid so there is no financial angle. Cam's has pulled some moves in public I consider a turn off like reading his prepared statement at the NFL combines last month in Indy. That stuff wreaks of phoniness. Moon made some good points about leadership. The guy took the Tigers to the title, but the legit criticisms don't appear racial. Can't wait to hear what you all have to say later today.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Felt the same way about the story, great read.