Blue Koolaid

February 9th, 2016 at 8:17 PM ^

I have a completely different view of Cam now. What kind of competitor does that? If the game was not winnable I would understand but in that situation it's ridiculous to not go after the ball.



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CoverZero

February 9th, 2016 at 8:19 PM ^

Cam is one of the most selfish players in the game.  Guys like that usually choke in the big game, as he did.

Joined: 08/30/2014

MGoPoints: 14571

JT4104

February 9th, 2016 at 8:38 PM ^

Yea..had nothing to do with his OL getting their shit pushed in. Those 5 guys are getting away scot free with their disgusting performance. As far as Cam goes..dude just admitted to something people are going to kill him for. I've got zero problem with him.

Joined: 10/25/2008

MGoPoints: 12331

MgoBlueprint

February 9th, 2016 at 8:40 PM ^

Initially, I was really disappointed with Cam not going after the fumble. I thought that's THE one time when you but your body on the line. I even cursed ted Ginn for the same thing earlier in the game. But after two days and a bunch of back and forth with my UT Peyton Manning know sobbing friend, my thoughts changed a bit. I thought about all of the times Peyton drops like a sack of potatoes in the fave of a pass rush and the Antwoine Randall-El article and LeRoy Hoard, Earl Campbell and countless others. Those hits add up. We're only starting to recognize the long term effects of football.

I'm not Cam, I don't know what's in his mind or in his heart. I do know that the NFL is a gladiator sport, with risks that are starting to be realized. And if he valued his health more than a ring, who are we to knock him for that?



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HarBooYa

February 9th, 2016 at 9:36 PM ^

I think football is a violent, dangerous and possibly dying sport...but it is what it is and if you can't participate in it the way it was meant to be played you should be ridiculed and questioned. He cost his team dearly and now, as leader of the team, can he blame one of his wrs if he gators a pass over the middle or his line man if the DT is just too violent for him to handle. The point of the game is to go for the ball in the pile and to flatten the opponent. You might understand his thought process, but then you have to understand also that that thinking is probably going to lose at football (for which is his job to win at football) and lose many a teammate and fan.

I don't hate the guy but find his inaction in that moment surprisingly revealing about his character and kind of offensive, particularly to those that had the heart to jump in the pile for guys like him.

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MGoPoints: 3153

MgoBlueprint

February 9th, 2016 at 10:23 PM ^

I get the frustration as a fan. I was pissed when it happened. It's easy for me to sit back and be pissed or pass judgement from the sideline when my body's not on the line. I get what people are saying. I agree to a certain degree. We're seeing players retire earlier and earlier because of long term health concerns too.



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HarBooYa

February 10th, 2016 at 5:25 PM ^

He got hit a million times in that game. He can clearly take a hit, is tough and doesn't mind doing it. But in that moment he put his team second and chickened out. He was expressing that he was beat before the clock ran out and that he could do no more even though the play was right in front of his own end zone and guaranteed defeat. It seemed as if he was trying to show everyone how frustrated he was from getting his butt kicked all night. Unfortunately, that us pretty immature and impacts others, not just himself. It's a team sport. If thus were wrestling, fine....get pinned. If it was tennis, tank the last set. But this's is football, and as a fan and former coach/player, dive for the darn ball while you have a pulse.

Strangely enough, I actually do think Cam us unfairly maligned in a lot of ways....but this ain't one of them.

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MGoPoints: 3153

Perkis-Size Me

February 9th, 2016 at 8:44 PM ^

You're playing in the Super Bowl, in the biggest game of your life, in a game that's still very winnable despite how bad you've played, and you opt to not lay it all on the line to get the ball back? What kind of competitor does that make you?

If they were down by 4 TDs I'd get it, but this is for the fucking Super Bowl. This has undoubtedly hurt his image even further. He's making it difficult for people to not think of him as an egocentric child.



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Frieze Memorial

February 9th, 2016 at 9:05 PM ^

I thought he trying to get out of the way of that other Panther who was right there. At first I honestly thought it was a smart play because it happens so often with fumbles that a guy on your team knocks it away from you.

Joined: 01/09/2014

MGoPoints: 6465

bronxblue

February 9th, 2016 at 9:26 PM ^

I've never liked Newton mostly because of what happened at Florida and the whole bagmen thing at Auburn, but I always thought he was a great player who was a physical marvel. And I don't blame him for being careful about injuries to an extent. But these past 48 hours or so have exposed him a bit as a front-runner who is terrible in defeat, and no amount of off-season rehabilitation is going to change the notion that he is a sore winner and a sore loser. And I wonder how some of his teammates feel about him basically saying "he didn't lose the game" when, well, it was his 2 fumbles that either directly or almost-directly led to 15 points.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171966

CoverZero

February 9th, 2016 at 9:34 PM ^

Perhaps the Mafia was holding Cam's family hostage...and he had to throw the game in order for them to be safely released.

 

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MGoPoints: 14571

DrewGOBLUE

February 9th, 2016 at 9:47 PM ^

A few years back, I remember Charles Woodson saying that winning the Super Bowl was the pinnacle of his career. And that it even topped being awarded the Heisman and winning a NC at Michigan.

That said, I imagine most other players would feel the same way. So for Cam Newton to not give everything he's got in attempt to recover the fumble is markedly unfair and even disrespectful to his teammates.

Joined: 12/03/2011

MGoPoints: 2953

Doctor What

February 9th, 2016 at 10:59 PM ^

Three minutes left, down by two scores with the ball in the Super Bowl and he doesn't dive for the football. The opposit of leadership, competivieness and will to win. Offically a loser.

 

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SwitchbladeSam

February 9th, 2016 at 11:05 PM ^

Dude has made more in his lifetime than I'll ever see. Sure, the competitive side in me is screaming "fuck that go get the ball", but my business side is saying "game is probably over anyways, protect your assets." Some people play for the love of the game and lay it all on the line. Some people play to gain wealth and to make sure their children's children will never have to worry about money. I can't blame either.

I don't have a dog in the fight. Fuck it. I had Broncos moneyline, enjoyed it. Cam is annoying, but I don't think he's this big fake bag of shit everyone wants to portray him as.



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Wolfman

February 9th, 2016 at 11:22 PM ^

and dude probably has enough money now to take care of all the things you suggest, is get the fucking ball and despite a 'business" side to the game, how can something like that even be a consideration during a football game, a fairly significan one at that? PUSSY move pure and simple.

Joined: 07/23/2008

MGoPoints: 8259

Duke of Zhou

February 10th, 2016 at 12:32 AM ^

It was obvious to me that he looked at the ball, briefly considered diving for it, and then decided not to.  I posit that the reason he did not dive for the ball was because at that very moment he capitulated and, figuratively, waved the white flag. 

Now he is saying that he didn't dive after the ball to avoid injury.  It's not true, but it's better than saying that he quit during the Super Bowl when the deficit was a mere 6 points. 

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MGoPoints: 9853

PrincetonBlue

February 10th, 2016 at 1:01 AM ^

I don't think that dive would have been particularly dangerous for him. But lots of you on this board are actually saying that avoiding injury is not a valid reason to dive into a pile. That's ridiculous. No game is worth getting hurt over. Winning is not everything.

Joined: 04/03/2013

MGoPoints: 2209

BIGBLUEWORLD

February 10th, 2016 at 4:09 AM ^

If you put Devin Gardner in that same situation, he dives for the ball.

Devin Gardner for governor of Michigan!

Joined: 07/14/2012

MGoPoints: 4239

MGOTokyo

February 10th, 2016 at 5:02 AM ^

I played the game for quite some time. Split-second decision, not enough time to consider next season, career, etc. It was a split-second, reflex, chicken/coward move, fear of getting hurt. Sure, he plays at a higher level than we all ever did, but the time comes to man-up and take a hit in the biggest challenge of your career. Just look at all of the other players going for the ball.

Joined: 11/20/2014

MGoPoints: 1438

MGOTokyo

February 10th, 2016 at 5:03 AM ^

I played the game for quite some time. Split-second decision, not enough time to consider next season, career, etc. It was a split-second, reflex, chicken/coward move, fear of getting hurt. Sure, he plays at a higher level than we all ever did, but the time comes to man-up and take a hit in the biggest challenge of your career. Just look at all of the other players going for the ball.

Joined: 11/20/2014

MGoPoints: 1438

MGOTokyo

February 10th, 2016 at 5:04 AM ^

I played the game for quite some time. Split-second decision, not enough time to consider next season, career, etc. It was a split-second, reflex, chicken/coward move, fear of getting hurt. Sure, he plays at a higher level than we all ever did, but the time comes to man-up and take a hit in the biggest challenge of your career. Just look at all of the other players going for the ball.

Joined: 11/20/2014

MGoPoints: 1438

MGOTokyo

February 10th, 2016 at 5:04 AM ^

I played the game for quite some time. Split-second decision, not enough time to consider next season, career, etc. It was a split-second, reflex, chicken/coward move, fear of getting hurt. Sure, he plays at a higher level than we all ever did, but the time comes to man-up and take a hit in the biggest challenge of your career. Just look at all of the other players going for the ball.

Joined: 11/20/2014

MGoPoints: 1438

MGOTokyo

February 10th, 2016 at 5:05 AM ^

I played the game for quite some time. Split-second decision, not enough time to consider next season, career, etc. It was a split-second, reflex, chicken/coward move, fear of getting hurt. Sure, he plays at a higher level than we all ever did, but the time comes to man-up and take a hit in the biggest challenge of your career. Just look at all of the other players going for the ball.

Joined: 11/20/2014

MGoPoints: 1438

Durham Blue

February 10th, 2016 at 8:29 AM ^

Watching that play unfold live, my split-second analysis was that he avoided diving in because he thought there was a chance the ball would squirt out towards him somehow.  That tends to happen when a bunch of guys are all diving on the ball simultaneously.  Maybe Cam should've said that instead?

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MGoPoints: 30109

M-Dog

February 10th, 2016 at 8:48 AM ^

Dan Marino would have dove for that ball.

In fact, Dan Marino would have dove for that ball, broken his arm, and dove for it again.

Because Dan Marino knows YOU MAY NEVER GET ANOTHER CHANCE AT A FUCKING SUPERBOWL.

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 257576

Tuebor

February 10th, 2016 at 8:51 AM ^

Why did he have to admit it? It was blatantly obvious to anyone paying attention to the game. It is sad to say, but all the respect that I gained for Cam dissipated in a single play. He says he loves the game and just goes out and has fun, but I guess that doesn't mean he plays to win. I'll take a winner over a fun guy any day of the week.

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MGoPoints: 17467

M-Dog

February 10th, 2016 at 9:39 AM ^

Being a leader does not mean just doing it when it's fun and easy.

I guess Cam Newton is the new Superman-but-only-when-it's-fun-and-easy face of the NFL.  I'm sure they can work up a marketing program around that.

 

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