Auburn without Cam Newton

So Im riding in the car with three of my good friends who just happen to be Auburn fans. We get into the discussion about what Auburn would have been last year without Cam Newton. Knowing that they are Auburn fans, I knew this wouldnt turn out well and we wouldnt agree on hardly anything.

The one thing I managed to get them to agree on was that losing Cam Newton (and by this I mean having a different player in there at quarterback, most likely Trotter) would be the most substantial a loss out of losing any any other player or group of players (like the d-line, running backs, etc.). Even getting them to agree with this was difficult.

However, they went on to say that even if they had a different QB, they still would have been a 10-2 or 9-3 team because of the other players on the team and the coaching staff.

Having to listen to these outrageous remarks, I countered saying that Auburn, without Cam Newton, would have lost for sure to Alabama, LSU, and Kentucky; most likely lost to South Carolina (the first time) and Miss. St.; and possibly lost to Clemson and Arkansas. And I was being generous with these predictions. So that would have left Auburn with at best an 8-4 record, but would have been more like 7-5 or 6-6. No SECCG, no BCS bowl.

Surprise surprise they think that's crazy-talk. They say that Auburn's offense would have been good enough to win those games because they have "the best offensive coordinator in the nation" with Malzahn. My friend also said that they hate when people say that Auburn's offense was just "give Newton the ball and let him do what he wants" last year.

Ok, ok. That wasnt true for the most part. Surely the offensive line has to block well and the running backs and receivers have to do their job...understandable. But I remember watching Auburn games last year in the 4th quarter, especially the LSU game, where they would snap it to Cam, and he would literally just run to wherever there was an opening in the line for 10+ yards nearly every play. This was their 4th quarter offense in my eyes. When the game was on the line, they gave it to him and he did whatever he wanted to do with it. And it worked out for them, solely becuase they had a player that could do that. Any other QB they put in their could not finish a game like Cam could.

Their defense played well at times, But Cam Newton took pressure off the D, gave them time to rest with the long drives, and gave them several opportunities to make plays. All they really needed to do was stop the other team a few times down the stretch and they would win. Is it me or do Auburn fans not realize how HUGE of an impact having a player like Cam Newton had on the whole football team, not just the offense.

Just watching the Auburn games this year you can see how much they struggle without him. Hopefully their losses this year will make my point to my friends more clear.

I hope all Auburn fans dont think this way.

Any thoughts?