Panthers have perfect response to Colin Cowherd's dumb Cam Newton hot take

Written By Zac Al-Khateeb
Colin Cowherd-Cam Newton-072817-GETTY-FTR
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It seems the Panthers have had just about enough of Colin Cowherd's hot takes for the 2017 season - and it hasn't even started yet.

Earlier on Friday, Cowherd made an inflammatory hot take about Cam Newton's quarterback style: namely, that he has chosen the "easier, lazier way" to play the position by using his running ability instead of being solely a pocket quarterback. His comments came after Newton defended his style earlier this week.

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Carolina had the perfect response:

That's certainly not an incorrect statement. Cowherd knows he's doing his job if he can rile people up. Here's a sampling of what he said Friday:

"Running is an easier, lazier way to play quarterback. It'll beat you up physically, but it's easier," Cowherd said. "You don't have to sit in the film room forever to run. You've got to sit in the film room forever to be a pocket quarterback. You've got to read a lot of tape."

Cowherd's comments smack of the foolish "you can't have a black quarterback" mindset that for so long prevailed in the NFL before players like Doug Williams and Warren Moon helped erase the stereotype. Cowherd later went on to compare Newton to mobile quarterbacks Michael Vick and Johnny Manziel, saying he could have a 65 completion percentage if he just "put the work in."

Let's ignore the fact that Newton is a three-time Pro Bowler and the 2015 MVP. Let's ignore the fact that Newton has decreased his number of rushes every year since entering the league (barring his 2015 MVP season). Let's also ignore that Newton has 48 rushing touchdowns to 136 passing touchdowns, and has never had more of the former than the latter.

Newton's style of play isn't indicative of a lesser form of quarterbacking. It's a natural progression that sees players on both sides of the ball getting bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic. If Newton hadn't run as often as he did in 2017, the 36 sacks Carolina gave up (tied for 13th-most in the league) could have been even worse. Cowherd could have mentioned that, but then, that requires some nuanced thought and about 30 minutes' worth of research.

Like the Panthers said, he seems to have taken the easier, lazier way to cover sports.