Willie Colon is a retired NFL offensive lineman turned hot take machine, and he recently turned his sights on Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
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Newton is an easy target to pick on, especially because of some of his perceived maturity issues, but Colon took it to a whole new level recently when speaking on The Russillo Show.
Colon said that he believes Newton is actually a system quarterback. He pointed out one instance where Newton was tricked by the same blitz twice — something he said would never happen to elite quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Drew Brees — and he went as far as to say that Carolina may be "dumbing down" the offense for Newton.
"I think the powers that be, even Ron Rivera, understand that Cam — he may not be that smart," Colon said. "Things may have to be dumbed down for him. They understand that he can run the ball. They understand that he can probably just throw digs, and out routes, and posts, and drags. And that's all he can do. And he can throw the deep ball."
That's a sizzling hot take from Colon, who obviously never played quarterback. He did play nine seasons in the NFL, though, six with the Pittsburgh Steelers (with whom he won a Super Bowl) and three with the New York Jets.
.@willcolon66 with some strong words on why Cam Newton isnt, and has never been, a top 5 NFL quarterback pic.twitter.com/qCLmpJa5I5
— Carlin vs. Joe (@CarlinvsJoe) July 28, 2017
He didn't stop at that, though. Colon suggested that in order for Newton to take a step forward to be an elite quarterback he'll have to evolve and learn how to sit in the pocket and read defenses — instead of simply relying on his feet.
"If you're going to continue to run the ball and run the zone read and be that guy that's going to try to outrun defenders, you're not going to have a very long career," Colon said, still referencing Newton. "They put a hundred million dollars in you. They've given you a lot of weapons to succeed. It's not about you at this point it's about the team, and they're invested in them."
"So if he doesn't tailor his game to the needs of the Panthers than he's not going to be there very long."
That sounds similar to something Colon's fellow hot take artist, Colin Cowherd, recently said.
"Running is an easy, lazier way to play quarterback," Cowherd said when discussing Newton.
For what it's worth, Carolina's response to Cowherd was equally as hot:
"Hot takes are the easier, lazier way to cover sports" https://t.co/9T10vsdcIO
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) July 29, 2017
Also for what it's worth, Newton has won the college national championship, the Heisman Trophy, the NFL Rookie of the Year (2012), the NFL Offensive PLayer of the Year (2016) and the NFL MVP (2016).
He's also led the Panthers to one Super Bowl.
