Superman or Scam?
The truth is that it's all in play for Newton. The only thing consistent about Newton is his inconsistency. He is an all-time talent with an MVP award but only three winning seasons out of the eight seasons that he started fourteen or more games. Last season he went 0-2 before being sidelined due to injury. This is a QB with a 15% completion gap in seasons with just one year between them. He completed 52.9% of his passes in 2016 and 67.9% of his passes in 2018. In 2014 he had more turnovers (12 fumbles, 12 interceptions, 24 total) than Touchdowns (18 passing, 5 rushing, 24 total). He then followed that up with his MVP Campaign in 2015. Throwing for a career high 35 touchdowns, which is 11 more than any other year in his career. He added 10 more touchdowns on the ground. His MVP season included a career low in turnovers with 15 total (10 interceptions, 5 fumbles). Cam Newton's career high is passing yards for a season came in his rookie year (4,051 yards).
To the defenders of Cam, who seem to show up more consistently than he does claiming lack of weapons, coaching, and whatever else they can find on Reddit, "I hate excuses. Excuses are a disease."-Cam Newton.
Wil Langmeyer (Rabid Panthers fan and staunch Cam Newton Defender):
"Cam does have his faults, but you have to take into account the system he played in and the coach he played for. People point to his volume numbers to expose his game, but Ron Rivera wasn't one to attack while ahead. Many 4th quarter drives saw Cam handing the ball off rather than increasing the lead. Cam also ran a run heavy, play action oriented offense asking him to make a lot of deep/difficult throws early in his career, leading to a not-so-enticing completion percentage. Most of the work was done through his arm, not from a slot receiver or a back catching the ball near the line of scrimmage and doing the rest. His accuracy saw a marked improvement as soon as the system changed and he was given Christian McCaffrey to take care of check down responsibilities."
So which is it? Superman or Scam? The case can be made for both. He reached the pinnacle of success in college and the NFL, in terms of individual and team success. A Heisman trophy winner and National champion. A NFL MVP and a Super Bowl appearance. Two incredible seasons surrounded by many questionable performances. The only thing certain is uncertainty. The good news is that Newton's career is far from over and has a wide variance of potential outcomes. In the end, the two sides on the Newton debate will probably be more dug in to the Superman or Scam foxholes than ever.