The Last Gasp of a Dying Man

So Panthers actually went and did it… They drafted Cam Newton with the #1 pick overall in the entire draft. I ought to be happy for the kid, but I am not. I think they made this decision for all the wrong reasons. I think the plan going forward is wrong also. I think this is going to be a historic disaster for all concerned.

What were the reasons? Let catalog them for you.

• The failure to identify and fire the real source of their failures last season: the General Manager Marty Hurney.
• The spectacular error of fingering former Head Coach John Fox for the disaster of 2010.
• A very quick surrender on their 2^nd round pick last year, Jimmy Clausen… a dude I warned you about.
• The 48% owner Jerry Richardson got involved in the process deeply this year, insisting they settle their problems at the QB position, regardless of where that might take them.
• The popularity of SEC football in the North Carolina region almost assures the Panthers a few sell-outs in the beginning of 2011.
• The further error of hiring defensive coach Ron Rivera, a man with no particular plan offensively speaking.
• Having just been granted a temporary stay of execution, Hurney did his owner's bidding, and selected Cam Newton. This is the last gasp of a dying man.

First of all, let’s call a spade a spade. The wheels fell off the Panther machine last season because Marty Hurney is a wretched GM. The guy constantly mortgages his picks, converting 1^st rounders into 2^nd rounders, 2^nd rounders into 3^rd rounders. This is a magic trick any fool can perform, but why would you want to? Further, he allowed marquee players like Julius Peppers to get away in free agency without obtaining any real compensation for them. Given one bad move after another, the talent pool finally dwindled down. This is why they lost in 2010. They were empty of offensive talent, but the defense also lacked punch.

Surely, Marty Hurney should have been identified by owner Jerry Richardson as the source of the team’s difficulties. Surely, Marty Hurney should have been fired. Surely, John Fox was not the source of the bad moves identified above. Somehow Jerry Richardson identified John Fox as the problem, and fired him. Somehow, he decided Marty Hurney was not the problem, and should be allowed to continue.

I would call that a serious fuck-up. I would consider that evidence of straight-up incompetence. Nothing more, and nothing less.

If I didn’t have plenary evidence of incompetence before the draft, I sure do now. After finishing at the bottom of the league in offensive, the solution was to select a new (defense-oriented) head coach, and select Cam Newton in the draft.

So what is the plan going forward? Logically, I think we have to conclude that they are going to go with the Ryan-Cunningham offense this year. What is that offense? Once upon a time, a great defensive coach named Buddy Ryan slapped his new QB (Randal Cunningham) on the back and said “Go out there and make 2 or 3 big plays, kid, and my defense is going to make it stand up.” That was the entire offensive game-plan each week and every week in Philadelphia, once upon a time. We call that sandlot improv style the Ryan-Cunningham offense. The secret is that there is no secret. We’re just going to allow our athletic QB to run around and make some plays ad-hoc.

Will it work? It might work, and it might not. We’re going to see if Cam is a better prospect than Cunningham. I think they are comparable in many ways. Just remember, Cunningham never developed and blossomed as a true passer until he got together with Dennis Green. That was his first stay with an offensive coach who was interested in developing Cunningham’s ability to orchestrate a sophisticated offense. He could have been one of the greatest of all-time, but the Ryan-Cunningham offense was his ruination.

You may see Cam Newton run around a lot this coming season (if there is a season) and he may be able to get the Panthers 6 or 7 wins. Unfortunately, I think the Panthers will take a pass on developing Cam as a true pocket passer. I think the Ryan-Cunningham offense will be his ruination.

Once upon a time, the Titans hired a sophisticated offense coach named Norm Chow from USC. Norm wanted to select Matt Leinart from USC in the 2005 draft. The owner said “No” and insisted the team select Vince Young. Norm was fired after his first year because he couldn’t get Vince to learn and accept the discipline of a sophisticated pro-style offense. The owner chose Vince over Norm. It took a couple more years for the disaster to develop, but in the end owner Bud Adams lost his head coach Jeff Fisher, his quarterback Vince Young, and his former OC Norm Chow. Now all four men have careers in serious question in the year 2011. Leinart is also a casualty of this error.

Life might have been better for Bud Adams if he had not insisted on Vince Young, and if he had allowed Norm Chow to select Leinart. History could have been very different for all concerned. There may be a parallel universe where the Titans are a great team in 2011 with Leinart as their franchise QB.

In 5 years I think the Titans’ history will repeat itself in Carolina.

Tragedy in Carolina

Folks, it looks like the Panthers are going to be next team to step up to the plate and make a tragic mistake. They're going to gamble on a quarterback, and the one they are focused on is not a good gamble. I feel bad for my buddy Eric. We've been talking football for four years now, and he is a big Panther fan. Last year, I went through this hell, but it was nothing compared to what he's going through now.

So why am I down on Newton? Setting aside the fact that his daddy is a deliverance pastor who asks for college bribe money, setting aside the cheating on tests at Florida, setting aside the stolen laptop, setting aside the bailout from Florida just ahead of the posse, setting aside the one-year wonder thing at Auburn, setting aside the bailout from Auburn just ahead of the posse, forgetting about both entertainers and icons, dismissing the 21 on the Wonderlic, we still have to deal with the Gruden thing.

Jon Gruden has reprised his lovely role in ESPN's quarterback-shakedown series this year, and Newton was the most recent kid to show up on the show. It did not look good to me folks. Boggies were showing up on my radar. Mike Florio put it succinctly when he said "Newton comes to the NFL with zero knowledge or experience regarding the way that offensive plays are constructed and called"

Folks, it ain't often that Mike Florio and I see eye-to-eye. We do this time. His conclusion is the logical one based on the evidence we saw. I saw a guy who was painfully uncomfortable with the entire situation, and painfully trying to smile his way past the agony of it. That's not good. My hair was on fire during that segment. If you compare and contrast that to the cool/easy competence that Blaine Gabbert showed in Moochie's "Game Changers" chalk-talk, we're talking about a led vs. gold comparison here.

Mel Kiper Jr. recently said that Clausen's appearance on Gruden's show last year damaged his stock, and promoted his slide. Folks, Clausen did a much better job in his Gruden interview than Newton did. My hair wasn't on fire during the Clausen segment. It was during the Newton interview. I think this one ranks at the tops of my "Politically Damaging" pre-draft events.

I'm not saying I'm sold on Gabbert as the top pick in the draft, but if you have determined that QB is your greatest need, you would be suicidal to select Newton ahead of Gabbert. You are certifiable if you make that choice.

This is reflected the most recent series of Scouts Inc Top 32 rankings. Gabbert is headed north. Newton is headed south. Gabbert was ranked at #8, he is now at #5, although his score of 96 has not changed. Newton's score has dropped by single point (from 94 to 93), and he has now slid from #12 to #16. This is Gruden's work for sure. Gabbert is probably rising because he acquitted himself very well on "Game Changers" and Gruden's show.

Nevertheless, the Panthers are signalling that they are preparing to make a tragic mistake. Just about all Mock drafts published recently reflect their signals, showing Newton as the #1 pick. Against all reason, they are preparing to fuck themselves in the ass. It's going to cost them 5 lost years folks.

Highly respected voices on NFL Path to the draft support this move. Guys like Charles Davis and Bucky Brooks defend this move, offering feeble justifications for it. "You have to take a chance on Greatness." "Playing it safe with this pick will just land them right back in this same spot next year."

I know why.

In boxing, it used to be common to use a term called "The Great White Hope". The term reflected White America's desperate craving to see a white guy reclaim the heavy weight championship of Boxing. Each time an untalented white dude would emerge in the heavy weight ranks, he would become the focus of tremendous marketing hype. A guy who was not really a contender became a contender. We knew he didn't have the stuff to defeat Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield, but he got the hype anyway.

The same phenomenon exists in Black America vis-a-vis NFL Quarterbacks. Black America desperately craves a great NFL Quarterback. What do we mean by great? A multi-time Super Bowl champion powering a dynasty, and a QB ranked at the top of the efficiency charts. The last great Black hope was Donovan McNabb, but with Donovan's career in limbo, someone else must fill the void. Newton is the 'born at the right time' guy who seems to have captured Black America's imagination, despite the fact that Michael Vick is much closer to the goal. Guys like Davis and Brooks seem so infatuated with Newton's physical prowess, that they are overlooking clear yellow & red flags. Davis and Brooks never do that under ordinary circumstances. They aren't doing that with Ryan Mallet who also has red-flags.

An unbiased observer can tell that this guy doesn't have what it takes to handle Ali, Holmes, Tyson or Holyfield (read: Manning, Brady, Brees, Rodgers, or even Vick) but he is getting the hype anyway.

I am sure you can capitalize on this hype in the short run. This hype can and will sell a lot of tickets at the box office. If this is the only goal the Panthers have in hand at the moment, they can succeed. For those who want to win? Well... uhhhhmmm... Maybe, maybe not.

Charley Casserly recently said "I could have 25 shots at drafting Cam Newton and I would pass on him 25 times."

Consider this well before you make a mistake.

Hallelujah! I am sure glad my Rams don't need a QB this year. It is just so damn good not to need a QB in the 2011 NFL Draft! I can hardly describe to you how good it is not to need a QB this time around. I tell you, Billy Devaney's 2010 call is looking better and better all the time.

The run of the mill gang, 2011

So, I was reading the NFL news this morning, and a fundamentally solid dude by the name of Steve Wyche informed us all that many NFL teams think that Blaine Gabbert is nothing special. You can read it for yourself here. Now, while Blaine is a very clean kid, and a very winsome likable guy, I am forced to agree... 100%.

Sorry world. I would much rather like the kid. There is nothing to dislike, on a personal basis. Understand this: If Andrew Luck were in this draft, you know who everybody would be clamoring for. You know Gabbert has risen because there is nobody else to occupy that vacuum at the top QB position. Nature abhors a vacuum.

As Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt said last night on NFL Total Access, there are no Sam Bradfords in this year's draft. I was greatly heartened to discover that he sees things much as I do.

This brings us to point two of Wyche piece. He very strongly implies that Cam Newton could easily become the one memorable and hall of fame QB in this draft. I would add just one caveat: provided he doesn't bust outright.

Understand this: I would much rather like Cam Newton. Cam is a Taurus kid. He's an Earth brother. I love mobile, athletic kids, and I like the Spread. I do find him to be a winsome kid. I would greatly prefer to endorse him. Nevertheless, he is a 1 year wonder. As Mike Mayock is fond of saying: NFL Draft history has a landfill worth of 1 year wonder picks who went bust. This is a very risky kid. He is one of the riskiest picks in the entire draft, and that can be demonstrated with stone-cold actuarial statistics.

You pick him at your risk.

I want to state big picture one more time so draft mania doesn't sweep us out to sea its powerful riptide. The 2011 draft cannot hold a candle to the 2010 draft. This is strictly a run-of-the-mill, mediocre, average draft class. That may be giving these kids too much credit. 20 years from now, this may be a very forgettable draft class.

As Charlie Casserly has said, he can hardly remember the last time he has seen such a weak class of seniors. I would remind you that is true because we had such an amazing crop of juniors in last year's draft. I warned you that 2011 was going to be weak.

This is why I have a had a very difficult time getting motivated to write about this crop, especially for wider-public arenas such as BleacherReport.com. This just isn't an exciting class. It is difficult to get excited about the 2011 draft crop. It's like looking at bad porn. It just isn't exciting, although you think it should be.

This is why I continue to tell my fellow Ram-fans that the greatest good that could ever come out of this draft is a top-flight wide receiver. Even if we give up a sizable chunk of our draft to get A.J. Green or Julio Jones, it will be well worth the cost, and the best use of our ammo.

The only three guys who excite me are Von Miller, Julio Jones, and A.J. Green. All three of these guys are top-prospects, no matter what the year. They would have been high picks last year. They will be this year.

The rest of these first round guys are over-bought, over-priced, high risk, potential busts.

It's time for your Cam Newton update!

Psyche! No way!

We're not going to play that game here. Just not interested in this topic. Who is anyway? Only Rich Eisen of the NFL Network, that's who.

Rich, this ain't Tim Tebow. Get off this topic. This is not the most transcendent athlete of this draft.

Another season without a BCS Champion 2010-2011

The Point

I’m going to keep this short and sweet and to the point. Auburn’s victory in last night’s BCS championship is a catastrophe for college football. We will now have another season, just like 2004, in which there will be no National Champion. As you know, USC was forced to vacate the 2004 title due to the Reggie Bush case.

The same damn thing is going to happen—in a few years—to Auburn. In a few months, when all the Television payout checks have cleared the banks, the NCAA infractions committee will certainly begin a real Cam Newton investigation in earnest. In two or three years, they will re-discover what the original fact-finding mission already published: Cam Newton’s dad made a point-blank demand for payola at Mississippi State. He didn’t get the payola, so Cam went to Auburn.

You know and I know what the rule says: Cam is now ineligible. This means an ineligible player quarterbacked Auburn t victory in the BCS championship game. You know what that means? Auburn must vacate the title. Therefore we will have another season (2010-2011) without a BCS Champion. They won’t go back and award it to Oregon or to TCU.

What a disaster.

So Jim Harbaugh is now the head coach of the 49ers

Not a good move

As you know, Jim Harbaugh signed with the 49ers today. I am not particularly thrilled with this, although I am sure he is. Is this just a Ram fan disliking the arrival of a legit coach inside the division?

Nope, I don't think so. This ain't you papa's 49er organization. As you know, Eddie DeBartolo is long gone. His sister, Denise, is the real owner. She keeps pushing Josh out front of her to hide the fact that she is the true owner of the franchise, but she is--in point of fact--the owner. Believe you me, Denise is no Eddie.

Jason La Canfora explicitly said the some of Harbaugh's closest advisors warned him that the 49er front office is not configured for long-term coaching success. The 49ers have had a bunch of HCs since Denise took over. None of them has lasted long. She finished moochie pretty quickly. Several other high quality guys have come and gone. They have not had success. The reason is that the 49ers are now a Busch-league organization.

Sorry bitches, I just had to be honest about that fact.

I felt Harbaugh should stay at Stanford, but if he had to come out, he should have closed the deal with John Elway. I know that wouldn't suit Jim Harbaugh's location requirements very well, but it would have provided the best opportunities for success. The Broncos have had a bad moment over these past two seasons, but they are not a Busch league outfit. I still believe Pat Bowlen is one of the better owners in this league, and drastically better than Denise.

What are the prospects?

At the moment, the 49ers are still pretty deep in a state of denial about their present offensive unit. The truth is that they have three cornerstones of this offensive unit, none of whom get along well with each other. Vernon Davis, Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree are know for their bickering and conflicts. They show lousy offensive chemistry.

Somehow, probably because the 49er organization wants this point de-emphasized in the media, all of these conflict incidents have been down-played. They wish to say that all their problems are simply the result of poor quarterbacking. Certainly, your quarterback problems are terrible, but tossing all the blame for your offensive problems on the QB is absolute bullshit. Even the best QB prospect is going to have problems playing with this back-biting rabble.

If you press the 49ers, they will admit that not all of their problems will be solved by acquiring a franchise QB. They admit that they also need a good offensive coordinator. Respectfully, I say that is bullshit as well. You had something like 7 offensive coordinators during the 6 year history Alex Smith, and none of them worked out. Oh, but that was Alex Smith's fault. Really? The way I recall it, Alex Smith wasn't even the starter during 3 of those 6 seasons. He could not have been the entire problem.

You need to come to grips with the fact that the 49ers offensive problems are deep and chemical. You are not going to fix it by simply getting Jim Harbaugh and some quarterback. No matter how sexy Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree look together, they are a lousy couple. They don't work together well. Now Frank Gore has two surgically reconstructed knees and a broken hip. How much longer do you think he has?

Frankly, I don't like Jim Harbaugh's prospects at all unless he rebuilds that offense. A full skill-position rebuild is necessary.

Harbaugh needs a QB like a man in the desert needs water

Whilst getting a franchise QB is not a panacea for the 49ers' offensive woes, it is absolutely essential that they get one. Who is that going to be? There aren't any on the market, unless perhaps you want Donovan McNabb. Now that Luck is out of the draft, I don't see any sure-fire options in this draft. Would they take a risk on Vince Young or Cam Newton? Somehow I doubt it. The QB prospects in the draft don't look that good this time around.

Do you think he might want to acquire Jimmy Clauson cheap? This is another young Virgo QB, but not nearly as athletic or smart as Andrew Luck. Yes, it is true, Clausen is a Virgo, and I am not into him. You might be better off with a baby-Taurus like Cam Newton, but I am not crazy about that choice either.

Are you thinking what I am thinking?

Now that Jim Harbaugh has taken the 49er job, I wonder if he is going make some phone calls and try to convince Andrew Luck to change his mind. The 49ers need a quarterback, and they need one badly. Harbaugh needs a QB and he needs one badly.

How would that do him any good? The 49ers don't have the top pick. Surely you are right about this, but as usual, the team at the top of the list and the bottom of the heap is ready to deal if you will enrich them. I bet a deal including Crabtree and Davis would bring that pick to the 49ers.

Right now, I don't like what I see in the tea leaves. This whole thing was a year premature. I think Harbaugh forced a situation that just ain't right.

The 2011 Draft and the Cam Newton Mess

Prolog about the 2011 draft

Suddenly in the past two weeks, everybody is beginning to talk about the 2011 draft. I guess this correlates with the first series of mathematical eliminations from the playoff picture. Once your 2010 season is (virtually) over, and you’re just playing out the string, there is nothing to look forward to but the draft. In a sense, it is reasonable to start talking about the draft.

Unfortunately, the things being said about the 2011 draft are mostly poppycock. As usual, there is far too much talk about the QB position. I hope to install a circuit breaker on some of this sanguine talk. Much like the New York Yankees, I hope I can get you to sip the reality potion.

And the #1 prospect of 2011 is: a very shitty draft indeed!

That’s right! You heard it from me first. The top prospect in 2011 is a shitty draft. Why? Let me tell you about it.

1. The 2010 draft was an ultra bonsai affair, quite probably the best draft since 1983. 2010 was rich because it looted the 2011 Draft. Loads of quality underclassmen declared themselves eligible for the 2010 draft.

2. The record numbers of underclassmen who declared themselves eligible in 2010 did so explicitly because they feared a rookie salary cap in 2011.

3. Unless the 2011 draft can loot the 2012 draft, it is going to be a very poor crop indeed. Will we see another strong crop of under classmen entering the NFL draft this year? Fuck no.

4. On the first horn of the dilemma is the fact that the NFL moves closer and closer to a lock-out every day. The owners have already spelled out a detailed plan for a partial shut-down of the league. They will go into hibernation mode to conserve money. In response, the players have voted to conditionally decertify the Union if a lockout occurs. This is legal maneuver that permits litigation. In response, the league published a plan to refund season ticket holders if there is a lockout. In response, the Union informed its players that they should save and not spend their last two paychecks of the year to get them through 2011. We are much further down the road to disaster than you think.

5. On the second horn of the dilemma is the fact that the Union is fine with the idea of a rookie salary cap. Vets don’t like it when rookies get $78m contracts, with $50 million guaranteed. Whether you know it or not, the rookie salary cap is not a controversial issue in this negotiation. All inside sources say the players favor a rookie cap. If they can work out the other issues, like an 18 game schedule, the rookie cap will be an automatic part of the agreement.

If I am a junior or a sophomore eligible for this year’s draft, I am officially stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I enter the draft, I may get locked out, or I may get capped. In either case, I am not happy with the situation. I may lose my senior year of football only to be locked out and make no (zip, zero, zilch, nada) money. I may return to work for what my immediate predecessors would consider shitty contract.

Sorry folks, that just isn’t much incentive to leave school. Unless I am a senior, I am staying in school. When you look at it from the micro-economic perspective, I see little reason to believe that the 2011 draft will loot the 2012 draft. The motivation to declare for the draft just isn’t there. This is going to be a senior prom affair, with a few underclassmen guests.

Based on all of these points, I think this will be the worst draft since 1987. It just so happens that 1987 was the last strike-afflicted year. That is not a co-inky-dink. There is a causal link here.

The NFL Never, Never, Never learns

There is a Mosaic law, stenciled by the finger of God on stone which states clearly “Thou shalt not take a quarterback in the 1^st round!” That’s right, it’s mortal sin to take a QB in the 1^st round of the draft. Why do I say this?

According to the actuarial tables, a high 1^st round pick should have a better than 50% chance of making it in the NFL. More than 70% of all Senior QBs drafted in the 1^st round, fail to become franchise QBs in the NFL. Yes, it’s true ladies and germs. Test me and see if I am wrong. That is worse than the average results for non-quarterback 3^rd round picks. About 66% of 3^rd round picks go bust in this league.

When you draft a QB in the 1^st around you automatically down-grade your first round pick to a lower value than a third round pick. That is a statistical fact, not a theory. It is a posteriori conclusion, it is not a priori notion. It is a conclusion from research, not a theoretical explanation of data.

If you know anything at all about probability and outcome in mathematics, or risk assessment in economics, you know that using a 1^st rounder on a quarterback is the same value as trading a 1^st round pick for a 3^rd round pick. That is a very stupid thing to do.

Your Rams just struck gold in the 1^st round, right?

The automatic response is to hit me with the et tu fallacy, and remind me that the Rams just took Sam Bradford and did fine. You might remember that I had plenty of objections to that move. Devaney turned out to be right. I turned out to be wrong. We both got lucky. In any case, I would not recommend this ‘strategy’ to anyone.

The fact remains that a 1^st round QB is a very bad economic and logistical risk in the draft.

At this point it looks like we got away with murder… in broad daylight… captured on video tape. I don’t know how we managed to do that, and my mind still boggles over this clean get-away. It was the triumph of emotion over reason. It was the triumph of a gutsy call over scientific football.

Still, I would never recommend attempting murder to anyone. Hang on a sec there Dave, did you just equivocate drafting a QB in the first round with attempting to get away with murder? Yep, that’s exactly and precisely it. Drafting a QB in the first round is like trying to get away with murder.

And now for the Andrew Luck and Cam Newton bullshit

Let me begin with a recap: If I am an underclassman, I’m staying in school. I am not entering the draft. Understand that 90% of all non-senior QBs go bust in the draft. Understand that there is a lockout on the horizon. Understand that if you take your 90% risk, and stare-down the lockout, you may win a shitty contract as your reward for bravery. Not much incentive there, eh boys? Play the percentages and stay in school.

Looking at it from the perspective of an NFL GM, I think you are absolutely crazy if you take either Andrew Luck or Cam Newton. Luck is a redshirt sophomore. He’s too young. Throw that one back. Let him grow some more. Forget about him. I am not taking a 10% chance and a 90% risk on him.

Cam is effectively a redshirt junior, and he’s carrying plenty of baggage. Here we have the kid who’s destined to be the most controversial figure in football during both 2010 and 2011. I’ll give you my two cents about Cam, which ain’t worth a nickel.

Mel Kiper is hyped about Cam Newton. In that one fact alone, you have all the information you will ever need to stay away from the kid. Mel is the practically perfect reverse barometer. Remember, this was the fool who advocated JaMarcus Russell like there was no tomorrow. Mel was the guy who stated that JaMarcus would be a Top 5 NFL Quarterback within 3-5 years. Nope, he’s out of the league. In his wildest statements ever, Mel said JaMarcus had true ”John Elway ability.”

If a man could be burned at the stake for being wrong about the draft, certainly Mel would be charcoal by now.

Colin Cowherd is also a Cam Newton advocate. Understand that Cowherd offers you nothing on the draft except regurgitated Mel Kiper takes. When you get a draft opinion from Cowherd, you are getting a second hand, predigested Kiper take. As an added bonus, Cowherd freely admits that he liked Ryan Leaf, the guy most frequently cited as the biggest NFL draft bust in history.

Just one more special bonus: Both Kiper and Cowherd were stoked up about Jimmy Clausen last year. Insiders say that the Carolina Panthers are interested in acquiring both John Harbaugh and Andrew Luck in a package deal. If so, what does that tell you about Clausen? What does this tell you about the Panthers’ organization? Nothing good in any case. It’s a train wreck disaster going down in Charlotte. Clausen is a part of that train wreck. So are Kiper and Cowherd.

Why I am not taking Cam Newton

History teaches us that kids with loose morals turn into tragedies once they get a couple of million bucks in their pockets. This has absolutely nothing to do with on-the-field performance. This has everything to do with the police blotter.

If you interviewed all 32 NFL GMs, I guarantee you that their #1 fear of a prospect lies in how he will respond to sudden wealth. They worry about whether their chosen kid has the moral fiber to withstand sudden, massive, unbelievable prosperity. GMs worry about whether sudden wealth will turn the chosen one into a drug-fueled party monster. There are all kinds of things that walk hand-in-hand and side-by-side with being one of those rich NFL Party Monsters. This is the #1 risk for just about any high-round pick in the NFL Draft.

In response to this kind of attack, defenders of Cam Newton frequently cite the fact that Cam had both parents in the home and his daddy (Cecil) is a preacher. Please… it is to laugh.

We all know that there are two types of preachers in this world: sent by God and not of God. You got some who are in it for humanitarian reasons, and you have some who are in it for the money. You have some who are other-worldly, and you have some who are very worldly indeed.

What would you think of a preacher who goes to a college or university and makes a point-blank illegal Payola demand on behalf of his son? By all accounts, Cecil Newton is a Deliverance preacher. Do you know what that means? He rebukes Satan and casts out devils for contributions… errr… the tithe. You do know that this is something Benny Hinn and Ken Copeland specialize in? They cast out Satan in deliverance services all the time. Somehow Satan always gets back inside in time for the next show. These two Deliverance preachers are also big advocates of Payola.

No folks, I am staying away from Cam Newton. I love athletic running QBs, and I am staying away from Cam. Stolen laptops? Cheating on tests? On the verge of getting kicked out of Florida? Bumping down to the CC level? Asking for payola on his return? Just one year of productivity on the major college level? This doesn’t sound like the sort of moral fiber that withstands massive wind-fall profits.

Some have compared Cam Newton to JaMarcus Russell. Dan Fouts did this recently on the Dan Patrick show. Is that supposed to inspire confidence in anyone?

Others have compared Cam to Vince Young. I think that is more apt, but do understand that Vince Young’s career is on the bubble right now. He lacks mental toughness, the ability to deal with adversity, and work through issues with his coach. To be precise, he can’t take it when people boo him. Again, this isn’t good confidence material.

Finally, many have compared Cam to Tim Tebow for a lot of reasons. Understand this: TD Tim had four squeaky clean years of high productivity at Florida before graduating as a senior. He was beloved by all, and criticized by no one. In terms of actual production, Cam is a one-year wonder more comparable to Ryan Leaf than Tim Tebow.

If I am in the market for a quarterback, and boy I’m sure glad we aren’t, I am looking in another direction.

A little retrospective

How good does the Bradford pick look today? Not only are our Rams set with a solid franchise QB, but we are set to enjoy a free pass in 2011. How good is that? I think it is just fucking fantastic that no one expects us to participate in the QB debate this year. We can now enjoy our right to completely ignore the entire Andrew Luck & Cam Newton controversy. Everybody will understand completely.

If we had avoided a QB entirely in 2010, something I knew we would not do, there would be tremendous political pressure on the Rams to select either Andrew Luck or Cam Newton (should they be available). Certainly we would not be 6-6 and in the NFC West hunt this year. We would have another high pick more pressure than ever to select a QB.

Now we don’t have the slightest worry in the world about that. All is well. Devaney’s call is looking better and better every day.