What have we learned about the NFL so far?

quote:

Originally posted by JJSD:
And therein lies the rub...

You can't question the guy's tallant. He's already proven he CAN play at a big-time level. Whether he can do it continually and keep getting better even after there's enough film on him will depend on his character, smarts and work ethic. All of these things have been IMHO legitimately questioned based on his past actions. If he puts it together he could be special. If he gets lazy and entitled he'll be average. If I'm a Panther fan I'm certainly encouraged, though, and pleasantly surprised.

I figured he'd be a washout, but so far I am Rong. Way too early to have a definitive answer on that on the grand scale, obviously.

Exactly! We just don't know what he will be yet, but we know he has the talent.

Another reason to question whether Newton is for real:

His 854 yards passing is 216 more than any other QB threw for in the first two games of his career (the Raiders' Todd Marinovich is second with 638 in 1991-92).

Yup! Todd had the tallant too, but he couldn't stay off crack. I think Leaf is pretty high up too.

Troy Aikman went 1-15.

There are examples of both good and bad.

What do they prove?

quote:

Originally posted by CAPackFan95:
It is odd this hate for Newton. I'm by no means a "fan", and I get it - he made a mockery of the NCAA rules, but he's looked better than expected the first 2 weeks. Not sure why the angst of saying that.

I don't see anyone constructing a bust in Canton yet, just being able to admit that the kids looks better than many, if not all, thought. I thought we'd make him look silly all day. He made mistakes, but, if not for Newton, Green Bay wins by 20+ I'd guess.

Back to your two minutes hate.

Cam was pretty impressive to me too. He's definitely locked onto Steve Smith. He must look elsewhere especially when All-World Charles Woodson is covering him. I have a feeling may of us thought the Packers would make him look bad and we were counting Tramon as part of the defense. (At least I was) He's a big loss on the defense.

While he threw for 400+ yards he did have 3 INT's. After 2 games he's much better than I expected him to be. WAY ahead of where I expected him to be.

He better learn to slide instead of diving forward or he will get creamed and have a short career

quote:

Originally posted by Goalline:
Yup! Todd had the tallant too, but he couldn't stay off crack. I think Leaf is pretty high up too.

Patrick Ramsey was after Marinovich. I guess that pretty much guarantees that Newton will be a bust.

quote:

Originally posted by PackerHawk:

quote:

Originally posted by Goalline:
Yup! Todd had the tallant too, but he couldn't stay off crack. I think Leaf is pretty high up too.

Patrick Ramsey was after Marinovich. I guess that pretty much guarantees that Newton will be a bust.

I think those 3 QBs speak volumes about that particular record.

From what I can recall, he's much more advanced than Russell, Young, Leinhart, and others were in their rookie years. But, he's had two factors playing into his big numbers so far, and those are his team has been playing from behind, and opposing defenses have been playing more coverage rather than relying on pass rush/blitzing.
Playing from behind typically means the Panthers may have an extra 12-15-20 plays on offense, so the opportunity to create some plays is there. Defenses that are only rushing 3-4 guys against the pass tend to have some 'soft' zones, and, to his credit, Newton has taken advantage.
But I still haven't seen much, if any, "real" QB play from him. For instance, I don't see him going through progressions looking for his receivers. If Smith isn't open, it's a throw to the back in front of the LBs, and hope they create YAC (and, again, to their credit, they certainly have).

That the NFL really really really is protecting the QBs....the two calls in the packer game and now abraham's hit on Kafka

Oh, and as far as what we have learned about the NFL so far:

Changing the KO rule hasn't created all the ballyhoo that was being dreaded during the pre-season.
Game officials still do a tremendous job getting on top of plays, and being in perfect position to make a call, and then won't make the damn call! Or if they do, it's totally wrong and a 5 minute game stoppage occurs while it gets reviewed.
Indy is in for a l-o-n-g year.

To answer question -

Not being a smartass Peyton Manning is possibly the most valuable player ever. That team is a train wreck without him and the guy who said they're in the luck sweepstakes looks to be pretty accurate. They got worked at home by the Browns for God's sake.

AJ Green/Andy Dalton look like 2 actual good picks by the Bengals

Vikings suck as expected

Lions better than I expected. I wasn't buying into the hype.

Cam Newton much better than I thought.

Shanahan knew what he was doing getting rid of McNabb.

quote:

Originally posted by ammo:
Another reason to question whether Newton is for real:

His 854 yards passing is 216 more than any other QB threw for in the first two games of his career (the Raiders' Todd Marinovich is second with 638 in 1991-92).

Just to temper things a bit. A lot of passing and receiving records are going to be broken over the next decade. It's the nature of the game now.

Whatever happens in the late game, the Eagles are more of a threat than the Falcons.

NFC = Pack, Saints, Eagles and Lions.

Haven't seen the Redskins play yet.

Redskins are pretty average. I wouldn't crown the Lions yet. Simple fact is they need to be tested against a strong team.