Hub Arkush on Cam Newton: Last Sunday Did More to Prove Nolan Nawrocki's Scouting Report Right Than Wrong
By Jason Lisk
Hub Arkush, the long-time editor of Pro Football Weekly and now also with ChicagoFootball, wrote a piece weighing in on Cam Newton’s recent performance and the controversial scouting report that ran on Pro Football Weekly five years ago, by Nolan Nawrocki.
The report had a lot of things–calling Newton “very disingenuous”, “having a fake smile,” and a “sense of entitlement” among a myriad of things. Arkush details how he asked Nawrocki before publishing and was comfortable with multiple Auburn and league sources who contributed to that information.
Arkush goes further and tries to point out how Newton’s behavior after the Super Bowl loss provides some justification for the scouting report.
"Nawrocki’s scouting report wasn’t perfect by a longshot, but five years later Cam Newton is a truly special football player who has shown signs of becoming a very special person who right now still has a lot to learn about being a fully grown man. Perhaps Nawrocki could have made his point more delicately, but last Sunday Newton did a lot more to prove him right than he did to prove him wrong."
Okay, let’s stop there. Last Sunday, Newton was in THE SUPER BOWL. Not only did Nawrocki say all of those things, he continued to go all-in (as we detailed before the Super Bowl). He said that Marty Hurney was setting himself up to have the same legacy as Bobby Beathard–who drafted Ryan Leaf. He said that [i]n five years, don’t be surprised if he is looking for another job.” So no, you don’t get to say that he is more right than wrong in talking about a player who won MVP and appeared in a Super Bowl in five years.
Also, we are talking about how he reacted to losing the big game. I’ll submit that despite all the public kvetching, Newton didn’t lose anyone in his locker room. The key to scouting is knowing what information is relevant. Newton is a poor loser. He can, however, lead a team. The evidence in that regard is beyond question, and that statement is just stupid.