16 Comments
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Bryant's avatar

The me first attitude is why I prefer incentives to be team related rather than personal statistics related. Not picking on Geno, who I think is probably comparable to Hurts who is in his 2nd SB in recent years, but if his incentives had been victories rather than completion percentage he might have avoided a few sacks by throwing the ball away. That might have given the Hawks the one extra win they needed to reach playoffs. Just speculation on my part.

Ironically, the overall quality of the Panthers that year and number of victories probably contributed to Cam’s MVP more than his personal accomplishments.

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Nicholas Donsky's avatar

Cam who?

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Glassmonkey's avatar

I never thought Cam was deserving. His schedule was absolute trash and I called that he'd be the reason they wouldn't win a Super Bowl because of his propensity to turn the ball over.

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Grant Alden's avatar

This connects nicely to our ongoing discussion about OL and JS. What I think this argues, persuasively, is that JS is following a false economy. If a team has a dominant OL and DL that covers for a lot of positional weakness. If there are only four difference-making QBs in the league (at best) then either nobody else can compete for the title or you have to find a different path.

JS may well have been right about IOL some years back. My guess is that college offenses and coaching have changed in that time, and the guys who used to work...don't, anymore. Or guys who might have played IOL are looking at other positions specifically because the NFL doesn't favor paying for that position.

OL play benefits from continuity, both in offensive scheme (and our guys will be learning their third in three years next season, which is troubling) and in personnel. It behooves a smart team to nurture that continuity. Good OL players tend to have longer careers in the league than, say, RB or WR. And what makes a skill position player exceptional can be taken away in one play. That can happen to OL, too, but it is less frequent (or I'm wrong).

My counsel is find the hawgs, pay the hawgs, feed the hawgs what they need and they won't disappoint you. Find a point guard QB, draft a fresh RB every season or two, as the draft permits, take chances on WR as needed but you're likely to find a decent-to-good possession receiver down the draft most years. (I think.)

But the caveat here is that Kubiak's offensive scheme seems to favor lighter zone blockers (which we have, right?) and not hawgs. Which is why he gets the big money and I'm sitting here typing!

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Chuck Turtleman's avatar

Being a North Carolinian, I have surely watched more Panthers games than any other team except the Seahawks between broadcast and attending games. I've seen every 'Hawks away game ever played in Charlotte (and for a stretch there it felt like there was one every year), and have attended probably a dozen more against other teams. I would sometimes get into some friendly banter with Panther's fans, and so many times they would proclaim that Cam was the better QB. Luckily, the Seahawks won the majority of those games vs Russ and the LOB or what was left of it, and often Cam could be seen sulking on the sidelines -sometimes even full on pouting on the bench with a towel over his head. Between his attitude and play on the field, I didn't get the reverence. And I certainly disagreed with the MVP.

But his pride in that award and how he would take it over a Super Bowl victory doesn't surprise me. Cam is and has always been all about Cam.

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Bobric's avatar

I do remember one Seahawks game and it was a fumble and he stood there and would not dive for the ball. He played afraid a lot despite his tough guy talk

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Paul G's avatar

This from the guy who was stopped cold by L J Collier with a game on the line.

https://youtu.be/zaHGIcxSN4Q?si=8kZCvVQAT74w1xOt

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PhilippRttr's avatar

Wow, you should ask this question everytime you sign a player and have a lie detector running.

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huevobueno's avatar

Cam’s blessed with unworldly athleticism but based on the way he dresses and the things that come out of his mouth he is obviously shallow and self conscious. I feel bad for him.

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Dale's avatar

“I appreciate his honesty here because I know that Newton is not the only NFL player who thinks this way.” - unfortunately imo this is becoming more common as time goes on and ridiculous amounts of money are being paid to individuals who, as a result, become full of themselves.

Those days are gone, but I often pine for the times when ‘playing for the jersey’ actually meant everything to a player. It was about being a part of the team. These days we unfortunately live in a selfish world where it’s all about ‘me’.

Oh, but for the good old days.

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Shaymus McFamous's avatar

Cam was actually correct in his analysis:

"Super Bowl Championships would be the humble answer."

Everything he said before and after that sentence was the anithesis of humility. God bless him, but unfortunately, I can not root for someone like that (couldn't then either).

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Bobric's avatar

He had crazy ability. Just not a team guy.

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Rozone's avatar

How did the teams do after the SB with him as QB? Did the ability end just before he stepped onto the field for his SB appearance? The funniest thing I can remember was the comment section at the Panthers SBNation (Scratching Post?) page before, during and after that big game.

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Rozone's avatar

Cam has become the Dennis Rodman of football. His “season of glory” showed him to be a poor sport when he would arrogantly tear down the fan signs for the visiting team along with his sideline pouting. The SB appearance was so embarrassing for him he has only the MVP award to act as cover. I don’t recall him having anything to boast for the few years he could still get signed. It stood out in the segment that no one had the courage to point out his shortcomings. I can’t imagine those who voted for him to be MVP didn’t regret it when they saw he wasn’t what they thought during SB. The Panther fans were a nightmare of a crowd, too.

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zezinhom400's avatar

Hear hear! Never liked Cam bc of his ego which spilled over into his “fashion” (which was kind of like looking at modern art — I guess it’s art if enough people agree it is). Egotist who never fully acknowledged he was blessed with more sheer physical talent than even Josh Allen.

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Hawkdawg's avatar

Cam was quite the athletic package...but as a leader, he was awful. He was a Good Times Charlie, but would mope, sulk and isolate when bad things happened on the field. The very opposite of a leader.

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