There are fewer things cooler than an athlete calling his own shot. The infamous Babe Ruth home run in the 1927 World Series that may or may not have actually happened took place nearly a century ago and remains one of baseball’s most iconic moments.
You can now add Cam Newton to the list, albeit on a much lesser scale, who called a shot of his own to the Packers defense in the first quarter on Sunday. The Panthers quarterback led the team into the red zone and, in true Cam Newton fashion, started talking trash to some defenders.
Before the play begins one can see (and hear if you turn the volume all the way up) Newton talk to a defender. Newton chirps at a Packers defender, “You been watching film, huh? That’s cool. Watch this.” Within a few seconds the ball is snapped and Newton finds rookie Christian McCaffrey for the seven-yard TD reception.
https://twitter.com/NateFreemanNFL/status/942578648594427904
Newton’s braggadocio is known to rankle traditionalists, but this is undeniably awesome. In this case Newton not only talked the touchdown up, he also made it happen. Newton clearly was in a zone and knew what he was seeing from the New England defense was going to yield six points for his Panthers with that play call.
Newton kept that rhythm throughout the game, going 20-of-31 for 242 yards and four touchdown passes in a 31-24 win over the Packers, bringing the Panthers record to 10-4. That keeps pace with the New Orleans Saints for the NFC South lead, and a division title would bring them at least one home game in the upcoming NFC playoffs.
