Newsflash people: Regardless of how many individuals want the narrative about Cam Newton to be more than that of a black quarterback, it always will be — even if the Carolina Panthers come out of Super Bowl 50 as champions. You can chalk that up to the tried and true theory that no ideas are original.
For example, all black quarterbacks are simply athletic runners who do not have the skill to play from the pocket — with the exception of a gunslinger like Warren Moon or the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl like Doug Williams. Yet the stigma still remains and the rest need to adapt in one form or the other.
Michael Vick ended a dominant 2006 with 2,414 passing yards and 1,039 rushing, but even at that height of his prime the public still felt that he needed the guidance of Steve Young to guarantee balance. The same can be said for Colin Kaepernick, who was forced to unsuccessfully work with Kurt Warner in the offseason. Even a guy like Donovan McNabb flubbed a perfectly good career by trying to prove to critics that his legs were not his strongest assets — or as he said on his way to the 2005 NFC Championship game, “I was never a running quarterback. David Carr ran for more yards than me, so maybe you should call him a running quarterback.”
And who can forget Robert Griffin III, who looked like more than a capable pocket passer at Baylor when he put up 4,293 yards during his junior season only to have his 699 rushing yards force him to be seen by the Washington Redskins as the perfect candidate for an option quarterback, to the point of a potentially career-damning knee injury.
It is as if their games cannot be completely appreciated unless the running portion is eliminated or the traditional way is the only way. Even down to celebrations:
“I played defense so I don’t like when guys celebrate with dances and stuff,” Brian Urlacher said. “You know who I like the way he celebrates is Peyton [Manning]. He kind of gives the guy a handshake and goes back to the sidelines.” (USA Today)
And that criticism is of a quarterback like Newton who will wrestle his own teammate to follow in his footsteps of giving young fans in the stands touchdown balls after a simple head nod into his arm or Superman pose. It’s nothing as flashy, over the top or in your face as Aaron Rodgers’ “discount double-check” or as aggressive as Tom Brady’s antics that are highlighted as passion. Yet Newton is still criticized as if people are fishing for something not to like about him.
You can call it the brash, arrogant tag that African-American quarterbacks get stamped with, except in the case of Moon, McNabb and Russell Wilson — who many did not initially identify as black — who are more clean cut and go with the flow. The others are less apologetic and do not mind challenging the stereotypes, so they get pegged as defiant.
Newton falls on all sides of the spectrum. He is great in the pocket and also not willing to change his personality for the public, regardless of the amount of criticism from former players or letters to the editor. He simply has the ultimate confidence to match his skills. Still, he could get typecast the way Randall Cunningham is with the word scramble, even after putting up monster numbers from the pocket in Minnesota with Randy Moss, Cris Carter and Jake Reed. That is unless things change in a way that Charles Barkley and coach Ron Rivera would love them to.
