Merril Hoge: Cam Newton has been 'mind-boggling'Merril Hoge, like a lot of people, admits he was wrong about Cam Newton.The ESPN analyst was among those who questioned whether Newton was ready for the NFL after playing in a spread offense in his only season at Auburn.But seven games into his pro career, Newton ranks fourth in the NFL in passing yards behind Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. And after completing 42 percent of his passes in the preseason, Newton has completed 60.3 percent of his passes in the regular season."It's been mind-boggling. I'm sitting here watching him right now," Hoge said, who was reviewing the Panthers-Redskins game this afternoon.Hoge said he has been most impressed with Newton's willingness to stay in the pocket and go through his pass progressions rather than taking off running at the first opportunity.Hoge never doubted Newton's arm strength, but wasn't sure he could harness it."His accuracy has gotten better from preseason to now. Preseason, he was really off. He was all over the place," Hoge said. "But just week after week, he's gotten better and better and better."Hoge also marveled at the job Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski has done, calling him the league's "offensive coordinator of the year" at this point."I watch tape on everybody. He has more people wide open. His design and route combination -- and now they've got this (shot)gun run they use," Hoge said. "They've got so much you have to prepare for. It's freakin' overload for a defense. It's tough."Hoge called Panthers (2-5) one of the league's scariest teams."This a team that can make a run," Hoge said.Playoff run?"Yes, I think they can make a run like that."
At least he can admit he was wrong. Right Schaad, Sheridan, Evans, Finebaurm, et al?
Has Bradshaw come around yet?
Can't find a link but I saw where he said "He has proven to me he is the most exciting rookie quarterback to watch since Peyton Manning."
Well fuck me running, I thought Bradshaw was set in concrete with his opinion of Cam. As I remember, he stated he didn't like Cam because.......well, he didn't know. He just didn't like him.
If you google the exact quote "He has proven to me he is the most exciting rookie quarterback to watch since Peyton Manning." the first link is to Bradshaw's facebook page, and then several official NFL Network twitter accounts, so he must have said it on air, but not much was said about it. I think I saw it over twitter as well.
Hey, dammit. Finebaum was one of the few who defended Cam. He supported him all the way. Knew he was going to be a star in the NFL. If you don't believe it, just ask him.
I didn't know exactly how well Newton would do, but he has far exceeded expectations for a rookie QB imo. The best thing about that is it looks like he gets better week after week. I think he has the right mentality to go pretty far in the NFL.
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