SmashMouth

Few would dispute the value Cam Newton has for the Carolina Panthers.

He was the NFL's most valuable player during a season in which he had 50 touchdowns passing and rushing in the regular season and playoffs to help the Panthers reach the Super Bowl.

But does that make him a better quarterback than one of the league's all-time greats?

CBS Sports appears to think so with Newton rated two spots ahead of Drew Brees in a 1-to-32 listing of the league's starting quarterbacks.
Brees in 2015 completed 68.3 percent of his passes for an NFL-leading 4,870 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. That passing yardage total might well have eclipsed 5,000 for a fifth time had he not missed a game to injury for the first time in his pro career.



Newton as a passer rated well below the prolific Brees in some of those categories, with a 59.7 completion percentage for 3,837 yards. Where he matched Brees was in his touchdown-to-interception ratio of 35 and 10.

The main difference between the two is what Newton can do with his feet, as he ran for 636 yards with a 4.8-yard per-carry average and 10 touchdowns.

But as a pure passer, the 37-year-old Brees would appear to rank ahead of the 27-year-old Newton.

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