Without a collective bargaining agreement in place, and unless they do something totally unpredictable (i.e., trading up or down), the Bengals will get 8 picks in the 2011 draft. I wrote last week that we should all get used to the idea of seeing AJ Green in stripes, because that’s who we’re taking at #4. While I still believe that it’s the most likely pick, I don’t think we can consider it an absolute lock.
Living in North Carolina, I get a chance to hear alot of rumors coming out of Charlotte on what the Panthers plan to do with the top pick. I also have a new neighbor next door from Rochester, NY who’s a life-long Bills fan and avidly follows the rumor mill there. Admittedly, my sources are not “insiders,” but they do follow their teams and keep up to date with their own respective rumor mills. According to them, there seems to be a very strong likelihood that Cam Newton is falling and will be available. With all the Cam-love bubbling from Marvin Lewis’ mouth these past few weeks, I don’t think there’s any way that he’d be able to resist the temptation of picking the most physically gifted QB in the draft.
Some have argued that they are more likely to take Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert, labeling him as the “safer pick.” While I understand the argument, I disagree that Gabbert should be taken over Newton for one very simple reason. Call it the “Fear Factor.” As I watch tape of Gabbert, I notice that he looks scared to death on nearly every play, especially when he has to drop back in the pocket. His body language coming out of the huddle and when calling signals fails to communicate the confidence you need to see in a quarterback. He acts like he can’t get rid of the ball fast enough. If opposing defenses in the Big 12 can get him that rattled, what will Pittsburgh and Baltimore do to him?
Newton, on the other hand, shows none of the fear we can see in Gabbert’s eyes. In fact, we see just the opposite. When Newton is on the field, he leaves no doubt who is in charge, and that could be a big help toward the helping rehabilitate Chad Ochocinco’s sagging career in Cincinnati. There was a time when most of us loved watching Chad’s antics, especially his end zone celebrations. But then he quit catching touchdowns. Newton could change that, but not just because he’s potentially a better quarterback than Carson Palmer. Many of us have started referring to Chad as a “diva,” and for good reason. Newton has just enough diva in his character to take charge of Chad, if only because I think Chad would be so thrilled to have Newton behind center that he’d work extremely hard to help Newton be successful.
In spite of his protestations to the contrary, and in spite of all of his public love for Carson, I think there were tensions there. Watching Chad running routes last year, it’s impossible to say that his heart was in it. For whatever reason, I think Chad, perhaps subconsciously, quit on Carson last year. Maybe he really didn’t like playing Robin to TO’s Batman. Maybe he didn’t like being the team’s SECOND leading receiver. But I have an intuitive feeling that Cam Newton’s presence on the team would inspire Chad to recommit himself to the game.
All of this, of course, will be a moot point if my sources are wrong or if the Bengals let Cam slide even further down in the draft. And it could also be a moot point if the Bengals trade Chad, a move I’ve championed since before the end of last season. With no CBA in place, we can’t trade him for any 2011 picks anyway, and I would hate to trade him for 2012 picks and run the risk of replacing him with a second or third round wideout in this year’s draft. But I would see hope for Chad with Newton at the helm. Maybe it would take a diva to tame a diva.* Besides, wouldn’t it be a shame for Chad not to retire as a Bengal? Draft Cam. Keep Chad. Let the celebrations return!
*To those who would rebut with “Well we signed TO as a diva, how did that work out?” I’d say this. TO was competition for Chad. Balls that went to TO, didn’t go to Chad. Newton’s a QB. Not only would he feed Chad the ball, in doing so, he’d also feed his ego. Maybe he’d create a new video game, replacing MAD CHAD with HAPPY CHAD.
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