As Colin Cowhered’s right-hand man, Jason McIntyre has had a few “wacky” takes of his own over the years. Just this year, he was overly impressed with “young” New York Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who, by the way, is 34 years old.
Speaking of 34-year-old quarterbacks, McIntyre was the latest sports media personality to take down Cam Newton. Last week, Newton made his case for his former Carolina Panthers teammate and current San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey to be this year’s MVP. In doing so, the 2015 NFL MVP took the controversial stance that quarterbacks Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa and Jared Goff are more “game managers” than they are “difference-makers.”
“These are game managers, they’re not difference-makers,” Newton said on his 4th & 1 with Cam Newton podcast. “If we’re really going to call a spade a spade, there’s a difference between managers of the game and difference-makers of a game. That’s not to say they can’t win the MVP, but it just is what it is.”
Needless to say, those comments didn’t sit well with McIntyre.
“Cam Newton, you had a worse career than Dak Prescott.”
— @jasonrmcintyre reacts to Cam Newton’s comments on Dallas’ QB pic.twitter.com/kN3lWSlCXR
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 13, 2023
“This is wacky one, former — and that’s a key word here — former NFL quarterback Cam Newton. He’s only 34 years old, right? He’s been out of the league for two years; remember that,” McIntyre began. “Cam Newton has a podcast now, and you know the new model is every former player gets a podcast. It used to be that the former players went into TV; as you see a bunch of guys on this network (Richard Sherman, Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Irvin, among others), they go into radio.”
“Now, everybody gets a podcast. It’s like Oprah when she used to give away cars. Now, every former player gets a podcast. Tom Brady, you got a podcast. Chad Johnson, you got one. And now Cam Newton has a podcast.
“And Cam Netwon, of course, was a tremendous player. Anytime I beat somebody up, I like to hit them with the positives first. You guys remember Cam Newton, right? What a tremendous talent he was at Auburn, leading them to the national championship, wins the Heisman, being the No. 1 pick, goes to Carolina. Listen, Cam Newton won MVP, he went to the Super Bowl, and he was an awesome quarterback. But now, he’s 34 years old and out of the league, and he’s watching a lot of older guys play quarterback, and I think he’s a little bit salty.”
So, McIntyre first praised Newton’s past achievements but then suggests he’s now feeling “salty” about older QBs still playing and his own absence from the league, possibly leading to his new podcast.
“First of all, I don’t know why he’s dressed like the conductor from Thomas the Train,” McIntyre said about Newton’s appearance. “Cam, that’s an interesting outfit. That being said, boy, ‘game manager’ sure sounds very coded. I think Tom Brady was a game manager for the first 10 years of his career until he got Randy Moss. Game manager sounds very code for unathletic. We know Cam Newton in his prime; he would run over defensive backs…”
“If you want to be dumb and go after Brock Purdy, who undeniably is the league MVP this year. I mean, if you look at the stats, even take a glance at any of the stats, Brock Purdy is your guy. If you want to bag on Jared Goff, go off, king, I don’t care. You want to bag on Tua? That’s fine. I’m not a huge Tua guy. But you’re taking shots at Dak Prescott this year, Cam?”
McIntyre didn’t want to alarm any of the audience — how thoughtful — and whispered, “Cam Newton, you had a worse career than Dak Prescott. Dak Prescott has had a better NFL career than Cam Newton…He is gonna age gracefully in this league and he’ll know how to hold a clipboard and be a backup, as opposed to being a showstopper like Cam Newton was…Look at the numbers, the numbers don’t lie.”
Well, first off, Newton played on some considerably worse Panthers teams and won an MVP the season that he had Devin Funchess, Brenton Bersin, Jerricho Cotchery, Corey Brown and Ted Ginn Jr. as his primary targets. Sure, he also had Greg Olsen and Jonathan Stewart, but that largely doesn’t change the point here.
It’s also important to remember that Newton was once considered one of the best players in the game over the past decade, even before his injuries started piling up due to his playstyle. Despite having undergone two surgeries on his shoulder, Newton still looked impressive as the New England Patriots starting quarterback for a game or two before being sidelined by COVID.
However, it’s unfair to compare Newton to Prescott, who has already established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the league and a strong contender for MVP. Pitting these two players against each other doesn’t make much sense, especially considering their different playing styles and career trajectories.
Newton’s comments, which aren’t precisely accurate, are one thing. Praising him for his accomplishments and then tearing him down as a player for said comments is another.
As for Newton, the 2015 league MVP holds the records for most rushing touchdowns (75) and most rushing attempts (1,118) by a quarterback. In addition to being recognized as the league’s top player, he was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, a First-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowl selection in 2015.
While Newton’s comments ignited controversy, his past achievements deserve recognition even as we analyze his current takes.
McIntyre’s takedown of Newton and a statement that Prescott has had a better career than him aren’t based on logic. Maybe it’ll be true if Prescott wins the league MVP this year and leads Dallas to a Super Bowl.
But there was a perception issue coming into this season about Prescott, who led the league in turnovers a season before. And that perception didn’t paint him in the light of being better than Newtown. So while Newton’s comments about Prescott were out of line, maybe we pump the brakes here a little bit before we anoint the Dallas Cowboys’ starter as holier than thou or one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks this league has ever seen.
[4th & 1 with Cam Newton, The Herd]
