Who impressed/who fucked up?

Unacceptable for the money.

I thought Claussen looked better, significantly so. I had expected Cam to be an inaccurate version of Vick and though I did see the inaccuracy, he certainly wasn't a running back who threw. I'd rather Claussen start if he continues to improve because I think you can do a lot of damage to a rookie QB throwing them out there - yeah there are exceptions, but in general it's not what you WANT to do. Cam may or may not put more butts in seats, but a losing Cam won't keep them there - and I can't really imagine any intelligent team owner or coach bowing to the fans if it's not the best decision for the team. Win a few games and Claussen will be forgiven.

Of course how does Smitty factor in? Pretty strong hints that there was no love between Smitty & Claussen - has Smitty really grown enough to play his very best for any QB including Claussen?

To those who have no love for Cam, I see what folks say about his negatives though I see positives too, are you saying he can't learn and over come at least some of his negatives? Are you already closing the book on him and if so why doesn't he get time to improve & learn while Claussen does? Yes Claussen got thrown into a terrible situation last year and was set up to fail in many ways as well as lose any confidence he might have had, but he's looking better, so why doesn't Cam get any pro time to learn and grow too? Or are you just speaking in terms of Claussen not getting a fair shot this year?

 

On Newton's first drive he was pretty accurate but it seemed to slip as the game went on. Lafell just could not get any separation in the end zone on those to passes that got knocked down. Pickle looked better as well, that pass to Olson was very nice. He still looks timid though and holds the ball too long. DW looks to be back where he was before he got hurt. James Anderson looks good.

I am really curious to see what level of effort Smith puts out when he gets a chance to play. Newton will sling it to him and he will have a chance to go and get it like he did in his prime with Jake.

 

No one can get separation that close to the end zone unless you can fake and wrong-foot the defender. Cam's throws were good, but the CBs made a play. Nobody did anything wrong in those instances.

Criticism of Cam's performance last night is just an honest evaluation of where he is right now, not where he might eventually be. Pretty much any rookie QB will struggle, especially without OTAs and mini-camp. I'm on record as saying that I wish every rookie quarterback would sit for at least one season and preferably two, but a guy who goes #1 overall will be starting sooner than later. Frankly I'm ready to start Newton in Week 1 simply because I don't want the media and fans crucifying Jimmy for every incompletion. It's obvious that the fanbase doesn't want him, so they really should have let him go. Trade him for a 4th or 5th if you can get it.

 

Well I am hopeful Claussen will continue to improve and shut the fans up. I'm hopeful that Smitty plays lights out regardless of the name on the QB jersey. It's not much better a situation for Claussen then last year, but maybe he can stand tough and serve up some crow. He got booed pretty heartily last night - at least it sounded like he did, and he rebounded well and seemed animated and happy on the sidelines.

Yes, it probably would have been more fair to let him go elsewhere.

 

Clausen might develop into a good game manager type QB but he is too timid to ever be the guy who carries the team on his back. Newton seems to have the balls to be that kinda guy. Time will tell if he has the talent and work ethic to make it happen.

 

People said similar things about Aaron Rodgers.

 

No one wanted him, at least no one wants to give anything for him. Or probably take his contract. And he'd have been a backup wherever for now, still green and still learning a new system. And he's making more money in his current situation than he'd probably get if he were cut and picked up.

Worst case for him, he does well enough to stay here as a backup for several years (edit: okay, not the worst case). Best case, we give him some playing time and he does well enough to rehabilitate his image, and gets a shot either here if Newton flames out, or elsewhere.

He got screwed last year, he wasn't close to ready. But it was what it was.

 

He wasn't close to ready, we had no real viable QB and the "management was imploding". I'm not sure any rookie QB has ever had the odds as heavily stacked against him as Jimmy did last year.

 

As noted repeatedly, Clausen was definitely awful, but not too much worse than Mark Sanchez during his rookie season. My issue that if he isn't successful on every single play then the fanbase is going to boo him mercilessly. I just don't want to go through that again, as it's not good for the team and certainly not good for him. I do believe that Jimmy has a future in the league, it's just not going to be here.

 

clausen, elite potential

newton, no elite potential

okay collin