

As the loudest, most conspicuous Cam Newton defender of 2011 – not to mention one of the most productive passers in pro football history – Hall of Famer Warren Moon has a fair amount of credibility when it comes to critiquing the Carolina Panthers' struggling second-year quarterback.



After Panthers owner Jerry Richardson reacted to the team's 1-5 start by firing longtime general manager Marty Hurney on Monday, plenty of fingers were pointed at Newton – who has followed up his record-setting rookie season with a baffling sophomore slump.

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While Moon believes placing the bulk of the blame on Newton for the franchise's struggles is a stretch, he does feel that criticisms of the young player's demeanor have been valid and believes it's an issue that must be addressed.

"The big thing with him is he doesn't like losing," Moon said Monday. "He doesn't handle it very well. I don't see anything wrong with that; it's OK not to like losing. You just can't show it as the leader of the football team.

"You have to project optimism and calmness to the players around you. You can't be demoralized. He's not showing optimism. He's looking puzzled. He looks like a guy who doesn't have all the answers, and his teammates see that."

In fact Moon, who helped prepare Newton before the Panthers selected him with the first overall pick of the 2011 NFL draft, would like to see Newton emulate the young quarterback he's currently mentoring: Seattle Seahawks rookie Russell Wilson.

"You wouldn't know if we won or lost when you listen to him talk after a game," Moon said of Wilson. "That's what you want. Listen to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning after a game. They keep everything even-keeled. They never get too high or too low.

"Cam's an emotional player. He needs to learn to saddle that. If I was to talk to him – and I need to give him a call – I would tell him his demeanor's got to change in the face of adversity. It's more of a maturity thing; he's got to grow up in this area. He's got to get realistic that they're not a good football team right now and it's going to be tough to win as much as he thinks he should, until they get some more good players."

[More: Here's a 'suggestion' for Cam Newton: Stop throwing people under the bus]

Newton's visible pouting, which became an issue as the Panthers went 6-10 during his rookie campaign, has drawn even more scrutiny this season. Moon understands that, though he believes the criticism thrown Newton's way is disproportionate to the problem, especially in the wake of Hurney's firing.

"I think a lot of this is because so many people want to say 'I told you so' about him, but couldn't because he was so good last year," Moon said. "I think people are overreacting. How can he be a bust? He just had one of the great years a rookie has ever had, and now he can't play? Come on."

Moon, who went undrafted after a stellar career at Washington and starred for five seasons in the Canadian Football League (leading the Edmonton Eskimos to five Grey Cup titles) before getting his NFL shot, remains attuned to the stereotyping of African-American quarterbacks and is convinced race is one reason Newton has become so polarizing.

"I don't understand it," Moon said. "I heard somebody compare him to Vince Young. It's the same old crap – it's always a comparison of one black to another black. I get tired of it. I get tired of defending it.