2014 Mock

This Sunday, Cam Newton will finish his second NFL season. As the final whistle blows in the Panthers' final 2012 contest against New Orleans, Newton will have finished the greatest first two seasons we've ever seen out of an NFL quarterback. And at least in the realm of the regular season, it isn't particularly close.

Newton enters Sunday with the following career statistics: 574-for-969 passing (59.2 percent), 7,672 yards, 40 touchdowns, 28 interceptions; 246 rushes for 1413 yards (5.7 per carry) and 22 more touchdowns. Newton's 8,584 net yards -- including 70 sacks taken for 501 lost yards -- the Panthers star has an exactly 800 yard lead on Peyton Manning's old 7,784 net yardage mark, the previous best for any quarterback in his first two seasons. Newton still has one game left.

Newton's 7.9 yards per attempt ranks fourth (Ben Roethlisberger, Dan Marino, Mark Rypien). His 62 total touchdowns ranks second (Marino). Newton's only major category away from the top: a 2.8 percent intereception rate, still 16th of the 78 quarterbacks since 1933 to start at least 20 games in their first two seasons. Only Andy Dalton attempted more passes than Newton of those above him on the list.


Looking deeper, Newton has compiled 244.2 EPA and 5.04 WPA. In the Advanced NFL Stats era -- dating back to 2000 -- only Aaron Rodgers has more EPA in his first two years as a full-time starter (at least 10 games started). Given the poor quality of the Saints defense this season, chances are Newton will pass Rodgers by Sunday's finish -- Rodgers mustered 246.2 EPA in 2008 and 2009, meaning a +2.0 EPA performance from Newton gets it done. He's hit that mark 11 of 15 times this season.

Newton's 5.04 WPA ranks fifth, behind Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Tony Romo and Daunte Culpepper. A plus-0.61 WPA or better performance Sunday would pass Ryan and leave Newton in second; a plus-0.19 WPA or better performance would pass Romo and leave Newton in third. Although he's managed over 0.61 WPA just once this season, he's hit at least 0.19 nine times.

There are the facts. Newton's statistical accomplishments through the first two seasons of his career will be the most prolific of anything we've seen in the NFL, ever. He compares favorably to Aaron Rodgers -- Newton has arguably been better -- despite Rodgers getting three years to marinate behind Brett Favre.

And yet, we still have writers like NFL.com's Adam Schein calling Newton one of the NFL's "biggest scrooges," declaring he has to be saved and calling his 2012 season a "public regression" and a "black eye." Can this be anything but pandering to the fans who wish to believe the worst of Newton?

This group and the writers bending their words to please them should stop and take a look at what's happening on the field. Newton has performed to a level nobody could possibly expect out of a quarterback at his age and development point in his career. To see what Cam Newton has done in his first two seasons and call it anything other than fantastic is lunacy, or worse.

Nobody can be sure if Newton will ever win a championship -- likely the only thing he can do to truly silence his critics. Dan Marino, despite his apparent talent and incredible performance, fell short. But of one thing we should be sure: Cam Newton has already accomplished amazing things, and to expect anything less out of the rest of his career is simply wrong.

 

Actually I was wrong. Dan Marino's first two seasons beat Roethlisberger and completely obliterate Newton.

 

^ incase you didn't read it...even if the writer is a fucktard those are stats.

 

Yes, I am aware of them being statistics. Unfortunately for you, those statistics don't prove that Cam Newton had "the best" first two seasons, or even remotely close to it. You could argue that he had the best "fantasy stats" in his first two seasons of any QB, but that's about all. Cam's low completion percentage, high turnover rate, and inefficiency in the red zone are what hurt him.

 

Aren't fantasy stats the most important? Yards, Tds..I don't see any hof qbs with bad numbers in those two catorgories..

 

And you talk about cam in the redzone but leave out his rush stats.

 

And 3 rd down

 

I give him some credit for his rushing touchdowns, but if you want them to get a lot of consideration then you or someone else needs to convince me that Stewart, Williams, or Tolbert couldn't have scored those touchdowns just as easily. I've posted stats before suggesting that Cam is no more effective on goal line and short yardage runs than those guys are. He gets those carries to feed his ego, not because it actually makes the team better.

 

Ok well ill be the newton apologist, and you guys can be the "we think he sucks because we just don't like him guys"...He's a panther for life more than likey so I feel bad for you guys...I can't wait for you guys to eat shit once the team gets straighted out and he becomes what he should be...

 

Regardless of the reasons he gets it done.