Cam Newton gets the headlines. Russell Wilson gets the job done.
They have both lost Super Bowls, but Wilson also became the second African-American quarterback to win one in 2014.
J. R Gambler on Twitter
https://t.co/zNgcj8uScq
Cam dresses like Huggy Bear from Starsky & Hutch, or a post-millennium version of Camp Lo.
Ben Nuckols on Twitter
I can also take credit for observing Cam Newton’s postgame fashion https://t.co/OZUKDqOMCW
Wilson keeps it pretty conservative with the dress and being cool or perpetrating a fraud if you will, is not his style.
TheManiac on Twitter
Russell Wilson Week 7 Postgame Press Conference https://t.co/2SyCDGxxUI
Cam Newton is a dual-threat quarterback who has taken more direct hits than a punch drunk boxer. Wilson gets hit, but he avoids the knockout blow better than any pigskin slinger in the game. Cam had surgery on his shoulder this offseason. Undoubtedly, the first of many future surgeries on various body parts considering the way he insists on playing and the fact that his passing accuracy for whatever reason is lacking these days.
Wilson just keeps balling, breaking ankles and proving why he is as valuable to his team as any quarterback in the league, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers included. He’s also every bit the leader, although I would have liked for him to tell Pete Carroll to jump in a lake when he was instructed to throw that pass into the end zone that Malcolm Butler intercepted in the Super Bowl. He should have two rings.
On Sunday, we saw the different roads these two superstars are traveling. Newton was 21-34 for 211 yards with no touchdowns and three turnovers, including a pick-six and a fumble lost which led to TD’s. Cam now has nine TD’s and 10 picks this season and its safe to say that despite two 300-yard passing games to start this month off, hes returned to his early season form following his verbal mishap with a woman reporter and the accusations of sexism, plus sponsorship losses that occurred.
He had one TD and five picks in his last two games against the Bears and the Eagles. Something isn’t right with this guy physically and it is affecting him mentally. He just does a decent job at masking it. That’s who he is. Hate to say I told you so, but in August I wrote a piece entitled, Andrew Luck and Cam Newton May Be Damaged Goods.
A growing number of football minds agree.
NFL Draft Board on Twitter
Cam Newton won’t start in another Super Bowl. He looks like he’s done. Tired. And beat up. https://t.co/OtDQy1XX9r
Both Luck and Newton were coming off a ton of hits and major shoulder surgeries. Lucks team decided to shut their franchise star down and let him recuperate. Luck was wise enough to lay down on the canvas after this first knockout and live to play another day. Cam chose to come back like Superman would and didn’t miss any regular season games. Hes giving it his best effort, but something is missing. A fire that once burned is flickering and Cam has to work that out while his team is 4-3 and still in contention for a division title.
Wilson, on the other hand is doing more with less as usual. He remains the consistent calm for a franchise that is always involved in something that could be considered a distraction.
Gregg Bell on Twitter
Seahawks Insider: Team Chaos wins again amid sideline outburst, this time from Doug Baldwin shoving coach Tom Cable https://t.co/ZghPJAUWhN
The Seahawks defense is a far cry from what it was during his first few years when he was asked to be an exciting game manager and fourth quarter assassin, and really nothing more. As the defense has weakened, Wilsons responsibility on offense has increased and he continues to be up to the task.
As soon as someone tries to label him a game manager or similar absurd description, the Super Bowl MVP rips off a game like the 373-yard , 4 TD performance he had in September against the Tennessee Titans. Or the gem of a game he orchestrated on Sunday in a 24-7 win over the defensively stout Giants. Wilson threw for 321 yards and 3 TD’s and was the artful dodger, slipping tackles, buying time and making precision passes and shrewd decisions throughout.
This is really a tale of two quarterbacks. One is trying to regain his greatness and the other continues to build on his regardless of the pieces around him.
