Broncos 24 - Panthers 10

[Mark Rudd]

A lot of us could learn from that game as well. When QBs don't have time to throw, they look bad. When they are injured, they don't throw well. Peyton Manning basically played the last three games of his career on one foot. Once his team had a lead, he became the ultimate "game manager."

Cam Newton looked unstoppable when he was getting touched in the pocket less than twice a game. When he had to worry about where the sack was coming almost every play, he didn't look so good. He should be able to learn from this and improve.

There are mannish boys, and boyish men. Guys like Charlie Ward acted like men even as teenagers. Others still need to grow up in their mid-20's.

 

[robbythecat]

I'm disappointed that Cam didn't handle the loss better.

Agreed! I watched several of the Panthers, and they generally showed good sportsmanship. They were classy. I was disappointed that Cam made the wrong choice. He has talent and will likely be back, but when he is put into the limelight, again, he will be reminded of how poorly he reacted to defeat! He will not be regarded as a true champion until he can accept defeat with the same level of graciousness as victory.

 

[bigeasynole]

enjoyed watching him play, the rest comes with the territory these days it seems. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. He is the center of the sports universe with his MVP and it shows. Can't anyone win like Tiger Woods did, crush your opponents, then move on.

Tiger is hardly the model of maturity to follow.

 

[bigeasynole]

I am not gonna go nuts over Cam's press conference walkout. It was wrong.. hopefully he will learn from it and be better next time. But that fumble that he did not dive in and go after.. that is another story. He will have to answer to his teammates for that.

 

[gobolts01]

The bigger issue was not going after the fumble down 16-10 in the fourth quarter.

Agree

 

[BriSape23]

Knight you are flat out full of it. Same personality? How on earth could anyone watch these two and draw that conclusion. Jameis is a leader. He's someone his teammates look up to and trust...as a ROOKIE. Jameis deals with defeat and tough times like a man. Terrible and quite insulting for you to lump JW in with the crybaby cam. Just awful.

Exactly and even how they play is different. Winston would have dived and done everything he could to get that ball back. On the reverse play in the second half, Cam could have thrown a block but just got out of the way. Winston is a football player and would done anything he could for the team.

Not sure how ANYONE sees them the same.

 

[BriSape23]

Watch the Oregon game. When Jimbo basically told him to calm his "self" down or he was going to the bench.

EXACTLY, he wanted to win and wanted to get his protection corrected. He was not sulking on the bench with a towel on his head.

 

[FirewaterNole]

Cam's post-game behavior was immature and unbecoming.

That said, I must say I was also surprised by Manning's comments -- made at least two separate times last night (once to CBS and once to NFL Network) -- that he planned to "drink a lot of Budweiser" to celebrate the victory. I presume he was paid something to slip in the brand-name (you know, like he needs the extra cash). But obviously not a great message to youth and high school players who follow him.

He owns 2 Budweiser distributors in New Orleans.

 

[robbythecat]

Tiger is hardly the model of maturity to follow.

I have never observed anything "unsportsmanlike from Tiger, other that cursing. Now, his conduct off the course is, and has been the subject of much criticism and I do not doubt it, but he gave his best effort, even when playing on a broke leg. Cam failed to give his best effort, then walked out of the interview!

 

[NoleRob]

Any potential NFL star could be watching Cam and the social responses/negativity and learn a few things. It's pretty harsh, as expected. Most of it brought on himself - the celebrations in winning combined with walking off when losing, the theatrics of falling down on the sidelines, the whining to the ref when getting hit in the end zone, the pants, and on and on. Contrast that with Manning who didn't exactly throw lights out yet went out w/class given accolades from the fans everywhere and the media.

I think it's a pretty good case study to gauge how the fans and media will respond to things. I'm speaking primarily of Winston of course.

As I've said, there's a fine line between being arrogant and being confident. IMO, Winston is the latter but I hope he does well to distinguish between the two when he hits the big stage.

I've kind of summed it up in my head like this: people appreciate humility, honor, and dignity. It's often referred to as "class", but, at least in my head, it's "honor, and dignity". When Manning got HAMMERED by Seattle in his previous superbowl appearance, you saw none of the theatrics.

I don't mind Newton's charisma. But I want him to learn to contain and self-regulate to channel that in good times and bad. If he's looking for an example of how to carry himself, watching Peyton after his last SB loss would be a good place to start.

 

[JohnnieHolmesNole]

He owns 2 Budweiser distributors in New Orleans.

Still not a great public message, in my view (i.e., "drink a lot of Budweiser"). I guess we should be thankful he doesn't own brothels in Nevada.

 

[MR . B]

The bigger issue was not going after the fumble down 16-10 in the fourth quarter.

It was a business decision.

 

[PANole1]

I am going to give the guy a break because at some point in or lives we may need one from time to time. Yes, Cam's behavior puzzled me as well, but I also chalk that up as him being a young pup that will look back on that defeat and hold his head high and get over losing. Yes all of us have done things that we may or may not be proud of. However, as long as at the end of the day we learn from the mistakes that we have made and grow from them and do not continue to repeat the same actions, without any form of change. He has to remember as long as he plays the game that he says that he loves, he will have some high times and low times. Because that is just life itself! C'mon Man, stay for the interview!

Well said. Fantastic learning experience for Cam and teaching opportunity for the coaching staff and other experienced players that will reach out to him.

Funny how people want to point out the mischievous things he did as a kid as if he owes them dick. He's long atone for those and does an awful lot by giving on his time and talents to those who needs it most. We can only hope Jameis follows his examples and indications are that he will. Man I'd cringe if someone went digging into my past and bring up the dumb s..t I did.

 

[Unconquered45]

His lack of effort on that fumble will certainly hang around for awhile.

THAT was far and away the more appropriate place to criticize. His teammates will let him know on that. Unacceptable.

As for pressers, I couldn't care less. Throw in the fact that if you listen to his presser, you will hear a Denver player being interviewed within an earshot. Having to listen to that after a tough (Super Bowl) L as well as the stupid questions the media members were asking would have been enough for me to take the fine.

 

[Cubs79]

Knight you are flat out full of it. Same personality? How on earth could anyone watch these two and draw that conclusion. Jameis is a leader. He's someone his teammates look up to and trust...as a ROOKIE. Jameis deals with defeat and tough times like a man. Terrible and quite insulting for you to lump JW in with the crybaby cam. Just awful.

You don't think Cam's teammates look up to him and trust him?

 

[Voxvertis]

All in all, it was a huge backward step in the making of the career and the legacy of one Cam Newton.
Cam has gone on record about how he wants to be remembered as a guy who "had fun" while he
played the game. His VIP season was remarkable, highlighted by clips of him on the sidelines, laughing,
giving out high-fives, and obviously enjoying himself to the max. Sure, it's easy to be a happy-go-lucky type
of guy when you are winning. Things are all going your way. But it's in defeat that you can learn the true
character of a man. It's tough to stand there and face questions on what went wrong, why you lost, what you
could have done better that maybe would have made a difference. This was the biggest loss of Cam's young life.
It also was an opportunity to show that he has what it takes to be the true leader of this team. Instead, he sat there
scowling, grunting, giving non-responses, and finally standing up after a scant few minutes and heading for the door.
It was like the spoiled little brat that, when things didn't go exactly the way he wanted, took his ball and went home.
That failure was far greater than anything that he did on the field Sunday night.

Newton's post-game comments (SIAP):

Quarterback Cam Newton kept his postgame comments short Sunday, with the disappointment from the Carolina Panthers' 24-10 loss to the Denver Broncosin the Super Bowl still fresh (reporters' questions italicized when they could be heard).

What's your message to Panthers fans?
"We'll be back."

[Carolina coach] Ron [Rivera] said Denver two years ago had a tough time and they bounced back. Do you take that to heart?
"No."

Can you put a finger on why Carolina didn't play the way it normally plays?
"Got outplayed."

Is there a reason why?
"Got outplayed, bro."

Was it pretty much what you had seen on film from Denver? Anything different they put in for this game?
"Nothing different."

Do we sometimes forget that defenses can still take apart the offenses in this game?
"No."

What did Ron Rivera say after the game?
"He told us a lot of things."

Anything in particular that was memorable?
"Nope."

Obviously you're disappointed. On the biggest stage it's difficult, I know.
[nods head]

Did you see anything that you didn't expect tonight?
"They just played better than us. I don't know what you want me to say. They made more plays than us, and that's what it comes down to. We had our opportunities. It wasn't nothing special that they did. We dropped balls, we turned the ball over, gave up sacks, threw errant passes. That's it. They scored more points than us."

Can you put into words the disappointment you feel right now?
"We lost."

Did Denver change anything defensively to take away your running lanes?
"No."

I know you're disappointed not just for yourself, but for your teammates. It's got to be real tough.
[shakes head] "I'm done, man."
(With that, Cam stands up and walks out, leaving a stunned audience behind.)

 

[LoganFSU]

Tiger is hardly the model of maturity to follow.

Thank you.

 

[NY_22_Nole]

Cam is a pussy with tiny balls......he does not know what the term "class" means. For all of his showboating "look at me" B.S. he didn't even have his team-mates back and decided against diving for a loose ball because he claims his leg was somehow in a bad position to make the play.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/cam-explains-why-he-didnt-dive-for-fumble/ar-BBpj2XM?li=BBnbfcL