Newton shows media his workout routine - Page 3

**DaKCMan AP** · 02-11-2011, 06:50 AM

Newton shows media his workout routine

SAN DIEGO -- Enjoying the San Diego sunshine and saying that he's "shooting for greatness," Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton gave the media a glimpse of the workouts he's going through daily as he prepares for the NFL combine and draft.

Wearing gray shorts, a black long-sleeve T-shirt and orange cleats, Newton did agility drills and then threw passes to a handful of receivers for nearly 45 minutes at a suburban high school on Thursday.

Newton has been in San Diego since late January, working six days a week with quarterbacks coach George Whitfield Jr. and receiving advice from Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon.

While his passes looked crisp, there's a lot for Newton to work on. Chief among them is taking snaps from under center. He often took snaps in the shotgun formation as he ran the spread offense at Auburn, which he led to the BCS national title.

He said he's working on "the whole grand scheme of playing quarterback in the NFL. A lot of times I probably can count on one hand the times I took a snap from under center in one game. But now it depends what scheme you go into, but at the same time you have to be able to get a snap from under center and be fluent at it. That's one of the first things we tried to tackle."

Asked if he was surprised some people don't think his skills won't translate to the NFL, he replied: "That's the competitor that I am. I won't be surprised - I'm making that leap right now - until I'm a Super Bowl champion. That's what I'm going for from Day One, reaching for greatness. The supporting cast that I have is pushing me to be great, I'm pushing myself to be great and I demand greatness for myself. So coming in the door, working out every single day, I'm shooting for greatness."

Whitfield said the session was "a snapshot of his training. He's been working really hard at this. He is an excitable kid. He's been pumped for this."

Whitfield worked with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during his four-game suspension.

While Whitfield is Newton's coach, Moon described his role as a mentor.

"But if I see something that I can help him improve on, I'm going to do that," Moon said.
During the session, Moon picked up on something and told Newton.

"He wasn't transferring well," Moon said afterward. "He was throwing leaning backward. Even though he has a very strong arm, I don't care how strong of an arm you have, if you're not in the right throwing motion, you're not going to get good accuracy on the football, the ball is going to go high on you. As soon as he gets that weight transferred, he throws the ball as accurately as anyone you've been around."

Moon isn't at every session, but Whitfield films every workout and sends it to him.

"I just see him improving," Moon said. "Every day he does something a little bit better than he did the day before, whether it's taking the snap from center or whether it's transferring his weight from dropping back to throwing the football. That's where he's making his biggest adjustment, to me, is being able to drop back, because that's something he's never had to do, and then transfer that weight forward to get velocity behind your throws and also to get accuracy."

Newton usually does throwing with Whitfield in the morning and then does classroom work and speed work in the afternoon.

Trent Dilfer, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback who's now a TV analyst, gushed about Newton's workout.

"I couldn't be more impressed. For one, I think this whole thing is genius," Dilfer said of the workout in front of the media. "People are knocking it. I think it's brilliant.

"He is a special talent," Dilfer said. "He's uniquely gifted. To be this much of a puppy, I mean, he hasn't played a lot of true quarterback in his life; to be this refined mechanically, you don't see this very often. This is the top of the top of the top. That's what you're looking at."

A month removed from Auburn's BCS title game victory over Oregon, Newton said he's approaching things as a professional athlete.

"This whole transformation from the college level to the NFL is a big leap," he said. "But at the same time, you have to be mature enough to be able to work on your talent when nobody is looking. This is your profession, this is your job. And I have to come at it every single day trying to get better at what I do."

Newton couldn't stop raving about the weather.

"I think I'm going to have a surfing party at the house," joked Newton, who's staying in Encinitas in northern San Diego County. "Everyone's welcome to come."

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/1...#ixzz1DecJvZeT

chiefzilla1501 · 02-13-2011, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

I honestly don't remember which game it was I was watching, but he was fitting the ball into crazy windows to his receivers. He also seemed to be a pretty good leader and his teammates like him and he will be a hell of a guy to bring down. I think he can be Big Ben if he hits or at worst probably David Garrard. The NFL is always evolving and having a QB that make plays with his feet and arm is always a nice weapon to have. Even if he isn't Michael Vick, Steve Young and John Elway made a pretty good living with those legs as well.

I think he has a much better throwing motion and is more accuarte then what I saw out of Vince Young in college as well.

There are about a half a dozen QB's in this draft that I would be thrilled to have.

Big Ben might be an appropriate example, because he's a guy who holds onto the ball too long and gets away with it and doesn't seem to put nearly the kind of time into the game that players like Brady and Brees do. But that's a pretty lofty comparison.

chiefzilla1501 · 02-13-2011, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

I honestly don't remember which game it was I was watching, but he was fitting the ball into crazy windows to his receivers. He also seemed to be a pretty good leader and his teammates like him and he will be a hell of a guy to bring down. I think he can be Big Ben if he hits or at worst probably David Garrard. The NFL is always evolving and having a QB that make plays with his feet and arm is always a nice weapon to have. Even if he isn't Michael Vick, Steve Young and John Elway made a pretty good living with those legs as well.

I think he has a much better throwing motion and is more accuarte then what I saw out of Vince Young in college as well.

There are about a half a dozen QB's in this draft that I would be thrilled to have.

Yeah, he's easily a better prospect than Vince Young was. But there are things in his game that need a ton of work:
-He's a largely 1-read and fire away guy. You're not going to get away with that in the pros
-He gained a ton of yards on the ground by designed run plays where he was off and running as soon as he dropped back. He's also not going to get away with that in the pros.

Add this all up. #1 - I don't think he has the work ethic in the film room to learn how to read defenses to make him better. #2 - he looks like a guy who's instinct is going to be to look at the #1 target and if he's not open, use his legs. And that's a recipe for disaster every time.

milkman's right--running QBs in this league rarely ever succeed until they can prove they can pass the ball out of a dropback. Steve Young, McNair and McNabb strike me as three running QBs who got a lot better once they started using their arm more than their legs.

**doomy3** · 02-13-2011, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Maybe so. But to me, it tells me that he's motivated by money. He seems to do all the right and smart things to position himself to make more money, but what happens when he gets that first paycheck? IMO, the fact that he couldn't motivate himself to even try to succeed in the classroom tells me that he's not going to put the kind of time he needs to once he gets paid.

Who gives a shit if he is motivated by money? It is a career for him. Oh, and by the way, he also did a pretty good job of winning this past season.

milkman · 02-13-2011, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Maybe so. But to me, it tells me that he's motivated by money. He seems to do all the right and smart things to position himself to make more money, but what happens when he gets that first paycheck? IMO, the fact that he couldn't motivate himself to even try to succeed in the classroom tells me that he's not going to put the kind of time he needs to once he gets paid.

I think there's a big difference between working in the college classroom and working in the football classroom.

We don't know Newton, but if football is his passion, then it's likely he will put the time in the football classroom to achieve.

**doomy3** · 02-13-2011, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman

I think there's a big difference between working in the college classroom and working in the football classroom.

We don't know Newton, but if football is his passion, then it's likely he will put the time in the football classroom to achieve.

You think?

I'm sure college athletes never take short cuts in the college classroom when they have millions of dollars ahead of them in the pros.

**Saul Good** · 02-13-2011, 12:07 PM

Knocking him as an NFL prospect because he got paid in college is a stretch. If you don't like him on a personal level, just say it. If you don't like him as a prospect, just say it. Don't connect dots that aren't there, though.

Saccopoo · 02-13-2011, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Yeah, he's easily a better prospect than Vince Young was. But there are things in his game that need a ton of work:
-He's a largely 1-read and fire away guy. You're not going to get away with that in the pros
-He gained a ton of yards on the ground by designed run plays where he was off and running as soon as he dropped back. He's also not going to get away with that in the pros.

Add this all up. #1 - I don't think he has the work ethic in the film room to learn how to read defenses to make him better. #2 - he looks like a guy who's instinct is going to be to look at the #1 target and if he's not open, use his legs. And that's a recipe for disaster every time.

milkman's right--running QBs in this league rarely ever succeed until they can prove they can pass the ball out of a dropback. Steve Young, McNair and McNabb strike me as three running QBs who got a lot better once they started using their arm more than their legs.

Where/how are you determining that "I don't think he has the work ethic in the film room to learn how to read defenses to make him better."?

I'm assuming that your opinions are simply self-deduced ones, correct?

#1: Here is a quote from his offensive coordinator at Auburn:

Quote:

“He spends time in the film room on his own,” Malzahn said. “He goes over things. He has the same attitude off the field as he does on the field when it comes to football. He has a very good mind.”

Quote:

Newton, by all accounts, fit in beautifully. "I assumed this kid, coming from Florida, would have a little bit of an attitude," says Jeff Tilley, Blinn's sports information director. "But Cam was the opposite of a prima donna. He was a workaholic, and would talk to anyone."

#2. Here's a quote from the South Carolina defensive coordinator:

Quote:

The first time around, Ellis Johnson was more concerned with Cam Newton's throwing arm than his legs.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

As South Carolina prepared for its Sept. 25 game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Newton had started just three games as the Auburn quarterback. In two of them, against the quality defenses of Mississippi State and Clemson, he hadn't come close to rushing for 100 yards.

"We didn't have the respect for him as a runner," said Johnson, South Carolina's assistant coach in charge of defense. "I was more concerned about him throwing the ball deep."

And if you look at Newton's statistics, he became a substantially better passer as the season wore on. Percentage went up, interceptions became non-existent, yardages increased, etc.

It's funny...the same guys that were bagging on Bradford, Tebow and Freeman as quarterbacks that were going to bomb in the NFL are the same ones now bagging on Newton.

And it's the same stuff all over again: "Spread system quarterback." "Runs a lot." "Can't read a defense."

Oh noes! A guy has mobility! A guy from a spread never reads defenses, even though he went up against some of the best defenses and defensive players in the country in the SEC! They'll never make it in the NFL!

It kills me that some people are borderline ecstatic to draft guys like Aldon Smith or Justin Houston in the first round as a strong side OLB for a 3-4 when they've never played that position, but yet they are "athletes" and that's okay. However, when a guy who has actually played a position such as QB and has been very successful at it, they won't be able to play in the pros because their college that they played at wasn't one of the four remaining colleges who run a "pro style set" offense.

Or at least the highly touted guys. Guys who most people don't know about or don't have an idea about when they played college ball are okay with. Or if they played at Missouri. Blaine Gabbert played in a total spread system, is raw in terms of his physical makeup (the guy is soft), has a reputation for a less than stellar work ethic and had nowhere close to the success that Newton enjoyed on the field, but, goddamn, that kid would be worth trading up for, emiright?

Saccopoo · 02-13-2011, 01:00 PM

And then, you have to look at some of the recent, highly touted guys to come out of "pro style" sets and see where they are in terms of NFL productivity:

JaMarcus Russell
Matt Leinhart
Jimmy Clausen (Though he had an absolutely awful rookie season, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in terms of his NFL future. Personally, I think he's been overrated for a long, long time and is a Marinovich type of guy.)

And for all the hype/pub he gets, as well as the playoff success his team has had, Mark Sanchez is a bottom tier NFL level quarterback. He was third lowest in completion percentage of all NFL quarterbacks (just above Jimmy Clausen and Derek Anderson) and had the fifth lowest QB rating of all NFL quarterbacks (again, just eclipsing such notables as Jimmy Clausen and Derek Anderson.) He also had the fourth lowest yards per pass attempt in the NFL (once again, just marginally beating the amazing Clausen/Anderson duo.) It's amazing to look at the stats and see that it's the Sanchez/Clausen/Anderson trifecta at the very bottom of nearly every single statistical NFL QB category.

If this guy played on any other team, it would be catastrophic in terms of horribleness.

There's your uber-level recent "pro-style," "ready to play now" first round quarterbacks...

Yeesh.

**Reaper16** · 02-13-2011, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

is raw in terms of his physical makeup (the guy is soft),

wut

Chiefnj2 · 02-13-2011, 04:33 PM

There are several aspects to the "mental game". One part of it is the ability to handle pressure and step up in important games. The other aspect is that of the film study, gameplan dedication, reading defenses, etc.

Newton has the former category in spades. You can't question his mental toughness. The latter is what the coaches and GM's are going to have to determine in interviews when they ask him to break down plays, etc.

He was the leading COLLEGE PLAYER in 1st drive completion perecentages. He didn't throw as much as other guys, but when he did on those first drives that are largely scripeted, he had the best accuracy in the NCAA. That shows some ability to grasp the playbook and execute, even if the playbook wasn't as pro-ready as other programs.

chiefzilla1501 · 02-13-2011, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doomy3

You think?

I'm sure college athletes never take short cuts in the college classroom when they have millions of dollars ahead of them in the pros.

There is a difference between taking shortcuts and facing expulsion for THREE counts of cheating. And another instance where he stole a laptop.

That tells me several things: 1) it certainly makes you question his dedication; 2) it says a lot that he almost ruined his entire career because he wasn't responsible enough. He was damn lucky Auburn took one last chance at him.

chiefzilla1501 · 02-13-2011, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Knocking him as an NFL prospect because he got paid in college is a stretch. If you don't like him on a personal level, just say it. If you don't like him as a prospect, just say it. Don't connect dots that aren't there, though.

Umm... where's the stretch? He has more than enough of a track record to question whether he has major maturity issues. I question whether he's going to be responsible enough to still hit the film room after he has millions of dollars of spending money to use.

chiefzilla1501 · 02-13-2011, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Where/how are you determining that "I don't think he has the work ethic in the film room to learn how to read defenses to make him better."?

I'm assuming that your opinions are simply self-deduced ones, correct?

#1: Here is a quote from his offensive coordinator at Auburn:

#2. Here's a quote from the South Carolina defensive coordinator:

And if you look at Newton's statistics, he became a substantially better passer as the season wore on. Percentage went up, interceptions became non-existent, yardages increased, etc.

It's funny...the same guys that were bagging on Bradford, Tebow and Freeman as quarterbacks that were going to bomb in the NFL are the same ones now bagging on Newton.

And it's the same stuff all over again: "Spread system quarterback." "Runs a lot." "Can't read a defense."

Oh noes! A guy has mobility! A guy from a spread never reads defenses, even though he went up against some of the best defenses and defensive players in the country in the SEC! They'll never make it in the NFL!

It kills me that some people are borderline ecstatic to draft guys like Aldon Smith or Justin Houston in the first round as a strong side OLB for a 3-4 when they've never played that position, but yet they are "athletes" and that's okay. However, when a guy who has actually played a position such as QB and has been very successful at it, they won't be able to play in the pros because their college that they played at wasn't one of the four remaining colleges who run a "pro style set" offense.

Or at least the highly touted guys. Guys who most people don't know about or don't have an idea about when they played college ball are okay with. Or if they played at Missouri. Blaine Gabbert played in a total spread system, is raw in terms of his physical makeup (the guy is soft), has a reputation for a less than stellar work ethic and had nowhere close to the success that Newton enjoyed on the field, but, goddamn, that kid would be worth trading up for, emiright?

Yeah, because coaches usually speak poorly about heisman type candidates. Opponent coaches always speak very highly of their opponent.

All I'm saying is to succeed at the next level, he has a lot of work to do and he's going to have to bust his ass to learn a pro offense. He'll either put his time into it, or he won't. I'm very skeptical. I think he's going to find some initial success using his legs and assume he doesn't have to put in the kind of time Peyton and Brady do in the film room. Especially after he gets that first paycheck.

MagicHef · 02-13-2011, 07:30 PM

I think he will be a fantastic NFL QB and teams should be willing to give up their entire drafts and maybe some players for the right to pick him at #2.

At least that is what I am hoping.

Bewbies · 02-13-2011, 07:37 PM

Honestly, I'd love to know the complaints folks have about Newton that are based in something we, as fans, could know?

Do people watch him on the field and see a player that can't play at the NFL level?

02-11-2011, 06:50 AM
DaKCMan AP Beloved & Awesome CP Celebrity Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Florida Casino cash: $5584952	Newton shows media his workout routine Newton shows media his workout routine SAN DIEGO -- Enjoying the San Diego sunshine and saying that he's "shooting for greatness," Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton gave the media a glimpse of the workouts he's going through daily as he prepares for the NFL combine and draft. Wearing gray shorts, a black long-sleeve T-shirt and orange cleats, Newton did agility drills and then threw passes to a handful of receivers for nearly 45 minutes at a suburban high school on Thursday. Newton has been in San Diego since late January, working six days a week with quarterbacks coach George Whitfield Jr. and receiving advice from Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon. While his passes looked crisp, there's a lot for Newton to work on. Chief among them is taking snaps from under center. He often took snaps in the shotgun formation as he ran the spread offense at Auburn, which he led to the BCS national title. He said he's working on "the whole grand scheme of playing quarterback in the NFL. A lot of times I probably can count on one hand the times I took a snap from under center in one game. But now it depends what scheme you go into, but at the same time you have to be able to get a snap from under center and be fluent at it. That's one of the first things we tried to tackle." Asked if he was surprised some people don't think his skills won't translate to the NFL, he replied: "That's the competitor that I am. I won't be surprised - I'm making that leap right now - until I'm a Super Bowl champion. That's what I'm going for from Day One, reaching for greatness. The supporting cast that I have is pushing me to be great, I'm pushing myself to be great and I demand greatness for myself. So coming in the door, working out every single day, I'm shooting for greatness." Whitfield said the session was "a snapshot of his training. He's been working really hard at this. He is an excitable kid. He's been pumped for this." Whitfield worked with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during his four-game suspension. While Whitfield is Newton's coach, Moon described his role as a mentor. "But if I see something that I can help him improve on, I'm going to do that," Moon said. During the session, Moon picked up on something and told Newton. "He wasn't transferring well," Moon said afterward. "He was throwing leaning backward. Even though he has a very strong arm, I don't care how strong of an arm you have, if you're not in the right throwing motion, you're not going to get good accuracy on the football, the ball is going to go high on you. As soon as he gets that weight transferred, he throws the ball as accurately as anyone you've been around." Moon isn't at every session, but Whitfield films every workout and sends it to him. "I just see him improving," Moon said. "Every day he does something a little bit better than he did the day before, whether it's taking the snap from center or whether it's transferring his weight from dropping back to throwing the football. That's where he's making his biggest adjustment, to me, is being able to drop back, because that's something he's never had to do, and then transfer that weight forward to get velocity behind your throws and also to get accuracy." Newton usually does throwing with Whitfield in the morning and then does classroom work and speed work in the afternoon. Trent Dilfer, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback who's now a TV analyst, gushed about Newton's workout. "I couldn't be more impressed. For one, I think this whole thing is genius," Dilfer said of the workout in front of the media. "People are knocking it. I think it's brilliant. "He is a special talent," Dilfer said. "He's uniquely gifted. To be this much of a puppy, I mean, he hasn't played a lot of true quarterback in his life; to be this refined mechanically, you don't see this very often. This is the top of the top of the top. That's what you're looking at." A month removed from Auburn's BCS title game victory over Oregon, Newton said he's approaching things as a professional athlete. "This whole transformation from the college level to the NFL is a big leap," he said. "But at the same time, you have to be mature enough to be able to work on your talent when nobody is looking. This is your profession, this is your job. And I have to come at it every single day trying to get better at what I do." Newton couldn't stop raving about the weather. "I think I'm going to have a surfing party at the house," joked Newton, who's staying in Encinitas in northern San Diego County. "Everyone's welcome to come." Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/1...#ixzz1DecJvZeT
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02-13-2011, 12:07 PM	#36
Saul Good Quit your bullshit Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bored of winning Casino cash: $10052799	Knocking him as an NFL prospect because he got paid in college is a stretch. If you don't like him on a personal level, just say it. If you don't like him as a prospect, just say it. Don't connect dots that aren't there, though. __________________ Today is not a good day to be a pussy.
Posts: 41,870

02-13-2011, 01:00 PM	#38
Saccopoo Kindness in words... Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Zion Casino cash: $10025483	And then, you have to look at some of the recent, highly touted guys to come out of "pro style" sets and see where they are in terms of NFL productivity: JaMarcus Russell Matt Leinhart Jimmy Clausen (Though he had an absolutely awful rookie season, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in terms of his NFL future. Personally, I think he's been overrated for a long, long time and is a Marinovich type of guy.) And for all the hype/pub he gets, as well as the playoff success his team has had, Mark Sanchez is a bottom tier NFL level quarterback. He was third lowest in completion percentage of all NFL quarterbacks (just above Jimmy Clausen and Derek Anderson) and had the fifth lowest QB rating of all NFL quarterbacks (again, just eclipsing such notables as Jimmy Clausen and Derek Anderson.) He also had the fourth lowest yards per pass attempt in the NFL (once again, just marginally beating the amazing Clausen/Anderson duo.) It's amazing to look at the stats and see that it's the Sanchez/Clausen/Anderson trifecta at the very bottom of nearly every single statistical NFL QB category. If this guy played on any other team, it would be catastrophic in terms of horribleness. There's your uber-level recent "pro-style," "ready to play now" first round quarterbacks... Yeesh.
Posts: 15,450

02-13-2011, 04:33 PM	#40
Chiefnj2 In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Casino cash: $6654388	There are several aspects to the "mental game". One part of it is the ability to handle pressure and step up in important games. The other aspect is that of the film study, gameplan dedication, reading defenses, etc. Newton has the former category in spades. You can't question his mental toughness. The latter is what the coaches and GM's are going to have to determine in interviews when they ask him to break down plays, etc. He was the leading COLLEGE PLAYER in 1st drive completion perecentages. He didn't throw as much as other guys, but when he did on those first drives that are largely scripeted, he had the best accuracy in the NCAA. That shows some ability to grasp the playbook and execute, even if the playbook wasn't as pro-ready as other programs. __________________ Mismanaging the clock.
Posts: 22,541

02-13-2011, 07:30 PM	#44
MagicHef The Seated Villain Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Seattle Casino cash: $520247	I think he will be a fantastic NFL QB and teams should be willing to give up their entire drafts and maybe some players for the right to pick him at #2. At least that is what I am hoping. __________________ With a sack in 61% of his games, SB MVP Von Miller is the most consistent pass rusher in NFL history.
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02-13-2011, 07:37 PM	#45
Bewbies Ith Fuhtbawl Time Join Date: Apr 2010 Casino cash: $9999900	Honestly, I'd love to know the complaints folks have about Newton that are based in something we, as fans, could know? Do people watch him on the field and see a player that can't play at the NFL level?
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