What Can Defense Do For You?

Okay, here is the disclaimer. I hate Cam Newton. I don't hate him because he's flashy. I don't hate him because he whines to the officials. I don't hate him because he's self centered and outspoken. I hate him because I am a Saints fan and he's the quarterback of the 7-0 Carolina Panthers. Those other things just become easier to nitpick when adding gas to my already hate fueled narrative. So with that said, this blog is going to be biased, but since I already admitted that at the outset you can't hold it against me.

Well, those numbers are, in a word, surprising. Not saying that Cam Newton shouldn't be a potential MVP candidate as the quarterback of an undefeated team at the halfway point of the season. I personally don't think it will end up happening, but I can see why, as of now, it's a possibility. This just goes to show what a strong defense and an actual NFL caliber offensive line can do for your perception as a quarterback. Those numbers are scary similar. While stats don't always tell the complete truth, they do tell me that the 49ers were far more reliant on Colin Kaepernick to win football games than the Carolina Panthers are on Cam Newton to win football games. If the Panthers were 4-3 and Cam Newton was completing merely 50% of his passes, averaging about 200 passing yards, and throwing an interception per game then it's safe to say we wouldn't be singing his praises. If Colin Kaepernick had a defense he could rely on to hold the opposition under 20 and an offensive line he could rely on to keep him off his back then we likely wouldn't have laughed him off the field and on to the bench.

I am not here to defend Colin Kaepernick. Far from it as a matter of fact. He's been BRUTAL this year. I am here to say that he's not the only reason his team stinks. I am here to say that while Cam Newton is undoubtedly a better, and more reliable, quarterback he would be struggling just as much as Kaepernick if he was playing under similar circumstances. Neither is a quarterback that is going to consistently put 35 points on the board, and it's the players around them that determine whether they have to or not.  Newton is far more proficient than Kaepernick at reading a defense and he can use his 260 pound frame to benefit his team as a running back of sorts. More importantly, Cam Newton is limiting his mistakes and he's playing to the strengths of his team. However, let's not act like these two guys are as far apart from each other as there records indicate, because men and women might lie, but these numbers definitely do not.

P.S. Cam Newton stinks, and that is based on nothing other than my complete and utter hatred for him and his team. A similar hatred to the one that I harbored for Kaepernick and the 49ers when they had a formidable defense. Go figure.