Friday Firesmith – The Sins of Cam Newton
Believe it or not, everything I’ve mentioned
has nothing to do with the Sins of Cam Newton. There have been young and
excitable quarterbacks before who have made millions playing a part of a
larger whole were the men doing the hardest work are never mentioned.
That isn’t his fault, either. Joe Montana was the best quarterback of
all time, but he had Jerry Rice catching for him and Ronnie Lott hitting
people for him.
The difference between Newton and other young
and brash passers is Newton showed up for the game in a gold pair of
shoes. During the game, he fell to the ground and rolled around when a
call went the other way and when Denver scored a touchdown. That’s
hubris. And that is childish.
Oddly, even those two sins can be forgiven. They are signs of deeper character flaws yet not fatal. Did Newton Quit?
Late
in the game, with the Panthers down six points, Newton was stripped of
the ball. It fell at his feet. With the defense swarming to the ball,
the game on the line, and Newton standing right there…he stepped back
from the ball.
I watched the Buffalo Bills come back from the
35 point deficient. I’ve watch Peyton Manning stand and deliver when the
game was clearly out of reach. I’ve seen teams play their guts out in
the last seconds of a game when the fans had given up long before, and
their team comes back to win.
Newton could have gotten that ball. Newton
could have orchestrated one hell of a fairy tale ending in the biggest
game of his life. It was the biggest game in his teammates’ lives, it
was a game fans spent thousands of dollars to see. It was by far the
biggest stage he had ever put his golden shoes on and they turned out to
be the color yellow.
The only sin that cannot be forgiven in a game is that of quitting.
Cam Newton quit during the Super Bowl.
There isn’t a defense out there who has failed
to realize what this means now. Hit him hard enough, and often enough,
and Newton will fall down and roll around on the ground.
And Cam Newton is a quitter.
Take Care,
Mike
(Bits&Pieces.us)
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