Cam Newton Says 49ers QB Brock Purdy is Just a Game Manager
Cam Newton simply isn't impressed with this season's MVP candidates, particularly Brock Purdy.
Remember, Newton won the MVP in 2015. That season, he scored 45 touchdowns and led the Panthers to a 15-1 record while throwing to Greg Olsen, Ted Ginn Jr., Devin Funchess and Corey Brown. Newton absolutely carried that team. He had one of the most impressive seasons ever. So he's qualified to talk about the MVP Award, even if he's wrong.
"Brock, they're not winning because of him," Newton said recently on a podcast. "He's managing the game. Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff and Dak Prescott -- these are game managers. They're not difference makers. They don't have to score every time. They just don't have to throw a pick every time, either. If we're really going to call a spade a spade, a game manager is different than a game changer."
Newton is implying that he was a game changer during his peak, and he was. He deserves credit.
But he clearly hasn't watched Purdy play much. Purdy is much, much different than Jared Goff. Those two should not be in the same category. Goff is a classic game manager who can't move or make plays on his own.
Purdy makes plays on his own every game. Just because he plays in a good system and knows how to manage games doesn't mean he can't make plays when he needs to. And he's not the runner that Newton was, but he might be a better ad-libber, which is more important.
Newton should try to avoid sounding so bitter.
