Cam Newton or Ryan Mallett?
If you had to take either Ryan Mallett or Cam Newton, which would you take?
If I’m a GM, I’m not touching Cam Newton with a 10-foot pole with a 60-foot pole attached to it. I don’t want anything to do with Newton, period. Newton’s left a paper trail wherever he’s been; there’s solid, documented stuff on him, and I think when you add fifty million bucks to that…welcome to JaMarcus II.
I’m not as down on Mallett as everybody else seems to be; most of the stuff swirling around him seems to be a lot of smoke (pun not intended). Yet, we live in an NFL Draft world where Rule Number 1 is that where there is smoke, there is probably a fire; Mallett has been hit with drug and partying rumors since he left Arkansas. The rumors keep flying, and yet he’s not failing drug tests and he’s not being seen misbehaving in public (don’t forget we live in the camera-phone world). The only thing I could find was a public intoxication charge from two years ago. I’m not that worried about a college kid getting tagged with $150 misdemeanor for walking home from a beer party, especially since I can’t find anything solid since then.
What I see in Mallett is a kid with a ass-load of physical talent who has yet to have anybody coach him on the mental aspects of not just football, but life in general. Granted, he may not be the sharpest tool in the shed (be sure to let me know when you start seeing scholarships with the name “Favre” or “Bradshaw” on them), but I think given the right circumstances, the kid’s upside is hard to ignore. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King has five quarterbacks going in the first round of the draft — and Mallett isn’t in the group. Sorry, but there’s no way there are five quarterbacks in this draft more talented than Ryan Mallett.
The really messed up part is now inventing on-field reasons not to like him. Now all of a sudden, Mallett isn’t mobile enough. If Mallett is so immobile, why didn’t it show on the field? Granted, he’s a 6-foot-7 “pocket passer” (and we all know what that is code for), but he still runs a respectable 4.5 second 40-yard dash. Compare him with the “athletic quarterback” (speaking of code words) Cam Newton who threw 280 passes last season and was sacked 23 times. Mallett threw 411 passes and was sacked 25 times.
It all comes down to the circumstances – this kid needs a mentor as badly as the Vikings need a quarterback. Had he been able to play for 4 years under Lloyd Carr at Michigan, I think it is very unlikely we are having this discussion – Carr did a good job of teaching guys how to not be knuckleheads. But when Carr got pushed out the door, Mallett was left with a hemmorhoid like Rich Rodriguez, then transferred to an even worse guy in Bobby Petrino at Arkansas. If Mallett goes to an organization that cares about character (i.e. Patriots, Saints, Colts…) and gets the kid the mentor he needs, the sky is the limit for his upside. If the opposite happens, and he ends up in a dysfucntional organization like the Raiders, Vikings, or Jets, he will mirror that dysfunction and therefore become just another flame-out.
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I heard Jemele Hill say today that Newton might be the once-in-a-draft player that Carolina might not afford to pass on for fear not choosing him might set the franchise back ten years.
Well, what if he’s a bust? Wouldn’t that have the same effect? JaMarcus Russell anyone? I knew there was a reason I listen to and read her as little as possible.
Pure NFL QB-wise, if you put a gun to my head, I’d have to side with Mallett and hope he can work on his accuracy.
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Jemele Hill personifies why ESPN is nearly unwatchable.
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Tough for me to really pick either if I was Carolina. They need so much help, and I think getting a couple picks if they could trade down would be the best move.
The thing that scares me about Cam was his Gruden Camp. Gruden asked him what his favorite play was, and he dodged the question. It’s like cmon man, if you’re really going to be a GOAT you’d know your favorite play right off the top of your head. I even know my favorite running and passing plays in Madden. I could name four, and he can’t name one. BUST!!!
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Hopefully, I will have my draft recap out today or tomorrow…but in the meantime, the discussion easily could be will Mallett take advantage of the situation he’s been handed in New England?
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Mallett runs a 4.5 40 time? That can’t be right. If he really does, which i doubt, he should be able to scramble. He’s looked accurate so far for New England. Anyways the best qbs of all time weren’t mobile. Look at the stats of all the black qbs over the past 15 years. I would never draft a black qb in the first round unless he was a pure pocket passer like Warren Moon. Athletic qbs are great in college but worthless in the NFL. Look at Tebow, a weak arm and terrible accuracy. lol And Cam Newton’s first preseason game was overrated. 8-19 and his best pass, the tight end had to stop. It should have been a TD. I’m not sold on him although he does have a strong arm. Accuracy>Athletic ability
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