The Carolina Panthers are not here to listen to people question Cam Newton’s work ethic.
Newton is considered a running quarterback, but the team recently changed their game plan to have more of an emphasis on passing. One would assume the goal is to protect Newton in an era when defenders are bigger and stronger than ever, but FOX Sports 1’s Colin Cowherd apparently thinks they’re doing it because running quarterbacks are useless.
His take on the situation on “The Herd” on Friday was pretty scathing.
“Running is an easy, lazier way to play quarterback,” Cowherd said. “It’ll beat you up physically, but it’s easier. You don’t have to sit in the film room forever to run. You’ve got to sit in the film room forever to be a pocket quarterback.”
But the Panthers fired back with a hilarious take on Cowherd’s style of commentary.
Got ’em.
While great running quarterbacks are few and far between, there’s really no way of proving that it’s because they run. Cowherd said, “There’s no history of running quarterback completing 56 percent of their throws winning Super Bowls,” but he also said he doesn’t consider Steve Young to be a running quarterback.
In reality, Young actually is a great comparison to Newton style-wise, and he’s a Hall of Famer with three Super Bowl rings. Newton does run more than Young did, but he passes more, too. Young is third all-time in career rushing yards among quarterbacks with 4,239 yards, but he’s 32nd in passing yards with 33,124 — half of what the most prolific passers amassed in their careers. Young also averaged 196 passing yards per game in his career, while Newton currently is averaging just over 234.
So, it turns out the Panthers were pretty accurate in their assessment of the temperature of Cowherd’s take. Let’s just hope he has some aloe left over for the burn.
Thumbnail photo via Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports Images
