Geneaut Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id...s-have-a-chanceATLANTA – Maybe it’s the wrong NFC South quarterback that’s been doing the Superman pose. Maybe it should be Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, and not Carolina’s Cam Newton, pretending to open his jersey to expose a Superman uniform every time he does something good. Newton may be more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But he also fumbled when it mattered most and failed to lead his team to victory. With less than a minute left, Ryan and the Atlanta offense drove to set up Matt Bryant’s 40-yard field goal for a 30-28 victory against Carolina at the Georgia Dome on Sunday. If you measure the success of an NFL quarterback by wins and losses -- and, really, there is no better indicator -- Ryan has built a résumé that truly is super. Newton’s is nice, but he has only won seven games as an NFL quarterback. In his fifth season, Ryan has won 47 games. More importantly, he’s won a lot of dramatic ones. Sunday marked the 17th time in his career that Ryan has led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or in overtime. It also marks the third straight game against Carolina that Ryan has led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. "Not for one second did we think we were going to lose the game," said wide receiver Roddy White, whose clutch catch we’ll get to shortly. Maybe that’s the difference between Ryan and Newton, and maybe that’s the difference between the 4-0 Falcons and the 1-3 Panthers. Atlanta has a quarterback that knows how to win games by coming up big when it matters most. Newton is capable of spectacular things. But, to this point in his career, finishing hasn’t been a strength. That’s precisely how the final 1:51 played out Sunday. To that point, Newton had thrown for 215 yards and run for a career-high 85 yards. Newton raised his rushing total to 86 yards on Carolina’s final offensive play, but that final carry ended up going a long way in costing the Panthers a win. With a 28-27 lead and facing a third-and-2 at the Atlanta 46-yard line with 1:51 left, Newton ran a quarterback keeper and appeared to have the distance for the first down. But, as Newton was going down, defensive end John Abraham knocked the ball loose. Carolina’s Mike Tolbert recovered, but you can’t advance the ball on a fumble recovery. After watching the replay, officials ruled that Newton fumbled the ball at the 45-yard line and placed it there. Instead of going for it on fourth-and-1, Carolina coach Ron Rivera decided to punt. The move seemed to work brilliantly as Kealoha Pilares downed the ball at the Atlanta 1-yard line. The Falcons, who had trouble protecting Ryan all day, allowing seven sacks, were backed up against their own goal line. Fifty-nine seconds remained. The Panthers had the Falcons right where they wanted them. [but, when you really think about it, the Falcons had Ryan right where they wanted him. Reflect on his career for a second and think about all the miraculous comebacks he’s led, dating back to the one against Chicago in his rookie year. "We were talking about (the Chicago game) on the sideline," said running back Michael Turner, who finished with a season-high 103 yards on 13 carries and had a 60-yard touchdown reception. "We always feel we have a chance to win. We’ve had some great finishes, so why not add one more?" The latest comeback ranks right up there with any of the previous ones. It began with a spectacular throw from Ryan to White, who used a double move to slip behind two defenders and catch a 59-yard pass. "I knew if I caught that ball we were going to be in field goal range in 10 or 15 yards," said White, who finished with eight catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns. "I just wanted to make the play." White made a play that also was worthy of a Superman pose. Oh, by the way, whatever happened to that old knock that Ryan doesn’t have the arm strength to throw the deep ball? He hit White with a 49-yard touchdown pass, which traveled about 60 yards in the air, in the first quarter. But the theme to this story is the final drive, so let’s get back to it. "Good throw, great catch," said Ryan, who also has built a long history of praising teammates above himself. After White’s catch, the Falcons used a pass-interference penalty on Carolina’s Captain Munnerlyn and two quick sideline routes to Tony Gonzalez and Harry Douglas to move the ball to the Carolina 22-yard line. That’s when the Falcons trotted out Bryant, who connected on his 21st consecutive field goal attempt dating to last season. "It just shows that we’re never out of it, and I’d like to say there was never a doubt, but you have to keep a positive attitude," Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. "The guys kept fighting and, as long as there is time on the clock, you have to have the mind-set, and we do." It’s not just a mind-set that the Falcons possess, though. What they have is a quarterback who’s proven many times that he can rally his team to victory. "They don’t call him 'Matty Ice' for nothing," Turner said. "We have faith in our quarterback, no matter what the situation." Maybe, someday, Newton will get to that point. He put his team in position to win the game, but didn’t quite finish the job. In the Carolina locker room, there were no Superman poses. Instead, Newton was putting all the blame on himself. "Personally, it should have never gotten to that situation," Newton said. "That’s how I feel. There’s no finger pointing in this game, especially not on this team. So, if you expect me to point somebody out ... if anything, you can point the finger at me." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcons_own_nfc_south Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Good Read... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dozer Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 "If you measure the success of an NFL quarterback by wins and losses -- and, really, there is no better indicator -- Ryan has built a résumé that truly is super. Newton’s is nice, but he has only won seven games as an NFL quarterback." - Pat Yasinkas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcons007 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff_Man Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Matt Ryan is revolutionizing the quarterback position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuswap Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Matt Ryan is revolutionizing the quarterback position.reported Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FormerFan-RobertAP Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Cam Newton is Vick 2.0. He could be great, but he has bought into his own hype way too much. When he scored to bring his team within 3, he was doing his superman pose. They were still losing... If he wants to, "make it," he needs to grow up real quick and start being a leader instead of a show off and a cry baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis York Morgan Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I felt bad for Cam today. Played a great game. Ryan just played better, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbird84 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Cam Newton is Vick 2.0. He could be great, but he has bought into his own hype way too much. When he scored to bring his team within 3, he was doing his superman pose. They were still losing... If he wants to, "make it," he needs to grow up real quick and start being a leader instead of a show off and a cry baby. I kina think he's like Vince Young then again pretty soon if he ever gets hurt we might see the owner of Carolina pushing Newton's wheelchair on the sidelines.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconsFor6 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Whatever...Pat is the same dude that was trying to pump Cam as the 2nd best QB in the division over Matt Ryan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArthursMoustache Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I felt bad for Cam today. Played a great game. Ryan just played better, that's all.You felt bad for that prima donna? Are you for real???????? This is the NFL not some psychotherapy session giving into some overgrown man child's whims... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkerFalcon8710 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 You felt bad for that prima donna? Are you for real???????? This is the NFL not some psychotherapy session giving into some overgrown man child's whims...Ya never feel bad for someone who dances like they won the superbowl after scoring a touchdown only to still be losing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Flare Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHALCONABERNATHY Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Keepin' it real with Pat Y. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcons007 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) Ya never feel bad for someone who dances like they won the superbowl after scoring a touchdown only to still be losing...You don't see grown men who are QB doing the crazy dance after a TD.Vick had a much better mental make up than Cam. He is more like Vince Young 2.0 Edited October 1, 2012 by falcons007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis York Morgan Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 You don't see grown men who are QB doing the crazy dance after a TD.Vick had a much better mental make up than Cam. He is more line Vince Young 2.0...now, come on, that's just flat out wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcons007 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 ...now, come on, that's just flat out wrong.What is wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert_Falcon Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Great read for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutofyourFalconmind Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 F that feeling sorry for Cam crap...He's an arrogant stack of butt cheese. Have no love for that dude. RGIII on the other hand is a guy I really enjoy watching play. Handles himself with a ton more class than Ham....RGIII will end up having the more impressive career of the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayoh Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I agree with the VY assessment, but at least he had some humility. VY had the same talent & mentality coming out of college, but he wasn't the #1 pick, he didn't wear #1 (talk about a head case), and he actually had a successful rookie season. Cam is all hype and hasn't had any level of success in the NFL yet, but he's still the media darling, people are saying that they'd rather start an NFL franchise with him than Andrew Luck or RG III. He's a media darling, a fantasy darling, and an overall product of hype who still hasn't proven that he can win games consistently in the NFL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis York Morgan Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 What is wrong?Plenty of grown men have a TD celebration. I'm fine with ours not having one, and Cam's annoys me, but that's more because he's a division rival than anything...Aaron Rodgers has TD celebrations all the time. And before you pull a "JESUS TITTYSUCKING CHRIST CAM IS NOT RODGERS," I know, that wasn't the point you were making though.Saying Vick had a better mental makeup that Cam? Heck no. Cam is driven to win at least, and is roughly on the same level intelligence-wise. You can't say Vick had a better mental makeup though, he was unmotivated here.The Vince Young thing? Too early to say, but he's more talented and driven. I see parallels, but Cam has a better arm by far and can carry his team if need be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayoh Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Plenty of grown men have a TD celebration. I'm fine with ours not having one, and Cam's annoys me, but that's more because he's a division rival than anything...Aaron Rodgers has TD celebrations all the time. And before you pull a "JESUS TITTYSUCKING CHRIST CAM IS NOT RODGERS," I know, that wasn't the point you were making though.Saying Vick had a better mental makeup that Cam? Heck no. Cam is driven to win at least, and is roughly on the same level intelligence-wise. You can't say Vick had a better mental makeup though, he was unmotivated here.The Vince Young thing? Too early to say, but he's more talented and driven. I see parallels, but Cam has a better arm by far and can carry his team if need be.Think back to 2006 when VY was coming out for the draft. He had just as much of a hype machine as Cam. People were saying he was way more talented than Vick or McNabb, which apparently were the only QBs the media could compare him to. Now you're saying the same thing about Cam. VY won 8 of his first 13 starts. Cam won 6 of his first 16. You can't call Cam more talented and driven until he proves it, and he hasn't yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis York Morgan Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Think back to 2006 when VY was coming out for the draft. He had just as much of a hype machine as Cam. People were saying he was way more talented than Vick or McNabb, which apparently were the only QBs the media could compare him to. Now you're saying the same thing about Cam. VY won 8 of his first 13 starts. Cam won 6 of his first 16. You can't call Cam more talented and driven until he proves it, and he hasn't yet.That's the funny thing about opinions......and well, I'm just saying what my eyes are seeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS91 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 The Vince Young thing? Too early to say, but he's more talented and driven. I see parallels, but Cam has a better arm by far and can carry his team if need be.I agree that it is too early to say, but the red flags are there. The constant sulking and pouting when things go badly are straight off page 1 of the Vince Young playbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcons007 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) Plenty of grown men have a TD celebration. I'm fine with ours not having one, and Cam's annoys me, but that's more because he's a division rival than anything...Aaron Rodgers has TD celebrations all the time. And before you pull a "JESUS TITTYSUCKING CHRIST CAM IS NOT RODGERS," I know, that wasn't the point you were making though.Saying Vick had a better mental makeup that Cam? Heck no. Cam is driven to win at least, and is roughly on the same level intelligence-wise. You can't say Vick had a better mental makeup though, he was unmotivated here.The Vince Young thing? Too early to say, but he's more talented and driven. I see parallels, but Cam has a better arm by far and can carry his team if need be.Vick never did the crappy superman and A town dances. Rodgers had a TD dance move not a big celebration. I have never seen Vick Celebrating when the Falcons were getting blown out.Having a drive to win and being a cry baby and pouting are different. Vick was unmotivated but he never sulked in the press conferences nor sat with a towel motionless. Edited October 1, 2012 by falcons007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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