Yesterday, we discussed the opinion on Blaine Gabbert held by former Bears personnel man (and current National Football Post writer) Greg Gabriel. For those who missed it: he's not particularly high on him. Gabriel's latest breakdown is, of course, on Gabbert's competition to be the first quarterback picked - Auburn star Cameron Newton.
Gabriel has had nice things to say about Newton since immediately after January's national championship game, in which Auburn won, but Newton struggled early.
"He's a big guy, he's 6'6", but he's so much more athletic than Mallett," said Gabriel at that time. "He doesn't have great speed - he's probably going to be a 4.75, 4.8 guy - but he's got real quick feet and a great feel for the rush. Then he throws well when he's on the run."
Gabriel's convictions in Newton the player have strengthened (and he owned up to his low projection on Newton's speed, as the latter ran sub-4.6 at the NFL Combine), but his misgivings about Newton the person remain.
"As much as I like Newton the player, I don’t trust Newton the person and at the position he plays there has to be trust... If he has character issues, how can he be the team leader? His teammates HAVE to respect and trust him," writes Gabriel.