Cam Newton is Salty About People Questioning His Professionalism While Being His Own Toughest Critic. That's My Quarterback.
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Source - One of the storylines immediately following Cam Newton signing with the Patriots was how would he work with Bill Belichick, especially when it comes to taking criticism.
Appearing on The Greg Hill Show Monday, Newton was asked about that, but it turned into the quarterback explaining how even though he's in his 10th year in the league, he still finds himself needing to explain the type of person that he is.
“I have been laughing a lot in my whole career by the analysis of who Cam Newton really is. And that’s just the honest truth," he said. "The fact that here I am in Year 10 still having to explain the person and the player that I am, it’s just at some times disrespectful. We don’t question certain quarterbacks. We don’t have to question Russell Wilson, we don’t have to question the Tom Bradys, and I hate to name drop, but it’s just gotten to that point. Obviously me being the new face and obviously people are trying to find and dig into certain things, they don’t necessarily know that I am the ultimate professional. I have never not once jeopardized my team in no way as a distraction per se off the field.
“I come to work each and every day and I try and give whatever team the best opportunity to win for them, my teammates, the people in the front office, the coaches, put them at ease knowing that their quarterback is going to put them in the best position to win."
And - [T]he Patriots QB was asked what letter grade he would give himself and he said a C.
“Yesterday was kind of frustrating in itself," he said. "I do understand playing in this league long enough that there will be games like that and you just have to find ways to win. That’s the optimistic answer. Me personally was lackluster ball security. Just a slow start offensively. This is a subpar performance and I know I can play better, I know I can do better and I know I will be better.”
Newton took full responsibility for the interception
“Trying to do too much, simple," he said. "I lost the defender. When you’re scrambling you just kind of assume people are going to certain people and he just peeled back and I didn’t take account of him. Things like that just can’t happen.”
Riddle me this little thought experiment if you will.
Let's say you were looking for the ideal person to replace someone you considered irreplaceable. A leader who would have the moral fiber, the strength of character and the simple guts to to succeed in that seemingly impossible task? You could ask for perfection, someone who would never make a mistake and would carry with them with eternal wisdom, and good luck with that. Tim Tebow and God have their own secret handshake and he couldn't throw a screen pass. Realistically speaking, wouldn't you want a guy that has Cam Newton's exact mental approach?
Like Mr. Kraft said on CBS Radio this weekend, “I tell you, I can’t understand how [Cam Newton] was on the market for 86 days. Sometimes when you meet people who are No. 1 picks in the league, they’re not always team-first kind of guys. And he really is. Our whole locker room feels it.”
And why is that? What makes Newton different than some No. 1 picks in this league? I'd say it's those 86 days.
I mean, look at the great QBs in the league at the moment. With rare exceptions, they were overlooked, undervalued or otherwise had to earn respect. They either were either passed over by every team. Or sat for a year waiting for their shot. Saw four QBs come off the draft board ahead of them and had to wait until the end of the 1st round. Or the 3rd round, and even when they won a championship all the credit went to the defense. Or they sat in front of a national TV audience watching them drop to the 24th pick only to be drafted by a franchise with a legendary quarterback who didn't want him and a fanbase who wanted him even less. Or they were the 199th pick. (No link necessary.) That's the kind of thing that makes an already hungry competitor a rapacious, insatiable, starving rage monster. And that's exactly what Cam Newton's offseason created.
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Worse, he's the guy who heard people questioning his professionalism. Even 10 years into a career with no off the field issues. No locker room issues. No beefing with his coaches or public displays of bitching about his teammates. Give me that guy any day. That guy walking around with a grand piano-sized chip on his shoulder because he's heard the people who doubted him and saved the receipts.
Finally, give me that guy who is a tough grader when it comes to his own performance and his own expectations for himself. There's a little phenomenon in psychology known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect. It in essence it means that they less good you are at a thing, the better you think you are. Or the less you know about a topic, the more of an expert you think you are. So for instance, the worst drivers believe they're the best ones on the road and the best drivers think they're the worst.
Starting out in comedy I knew guys who always had stories about the last show they did and how they did so great the audience was building a shrine to them five minutes into their set, but I never saw them get a laugh. That's Dunning-Kruger.
What Newton is saying here is the opposite. His team was up 23 points in garbage time but he is utterly dissatisfied with his own performance and vows to do whatever he has to to improve. That's how the guy he replaced used to carry himself. Maybe with a little less involvement in this sort of display:
But I'll take the whole package. The attitude. The competitive edge fueled by the disrespect he's received. And also the accountability, even after a big win. What a miracle this signing has been. And should continue to be.