I like Warren Moon.

I liked him when he was tearing it up with the Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans) running that “Run and Shoot” offense to perfection – not so much when he torched my Steelers’ secondary, but I digress.

However, I think Moon was a bit off-base with his assertion that the criticism sent Cam Newton’s way is racially motivated.  Nolan Nawrocki, a scout from ProFootballWeekly.com, had some harsh words to say about Newton while giving his observations on Newton.  Here is part of the criticism of Newton that made Moon upset.

“Very disingenuous — has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law — does not command respect from teammates and always will struggle to win a locker room. Only a one-year producer. Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness — is not punctual, seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable.”

While Nawrocki may have been a bit overly-hard on Newton (I mean, “a fake smile”?  Seriously?), I think he was doing his job.  Nawrocki also made harsh judgments on other white QBs.  Last year he said Jimmy Clausen had an elitist attitude.  He also had not too nice things to say about Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy last season.

Newton does have some red flags from his recruiting scandal to his days at Florida where there was a stolen laptop here, cheating grades there.  Plus Newton did not help himself by calling himself an “icon” and kept referring to himself in the 3rd person.

I also think that Moon, who also serves as Newton’s adviser, did not do Newton any favors with NFL general managers.  Do those GMs think that Newton will come with a HUGE chip on his shoulders.  Just another unwanted bulls-eye for Newton.

Now I will never accuse Moon of being the second coming of Reverend Al nor Jesse Jackson.  It just makes Moon look just a bit worse…

Categories: NFL, sports story