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Cam Newton's second NFL season thus far epitomizes the term "sophomore slump."

And last year's offensive rookie of the year is enduring as much criticism for his postgame demeanor following losses as he is for being the centerpiece of a 1-5 Carolina Panthers team that just canned general manager Marty Hurney.

But though teammate Steve Smith has previously ripped into Newton (who is completing just 58% of his passes) for his sideline sulking, and even the quarterback's father has suggested an attitude adjustment for his press conferences, one Hall of Famer believes that at least some of Newton's detractors are racially motivated.

"I don't understand it," Warren Moon, who's served as a mentor to Newton, told Yahoo!'s Michael Silver. "I heard somebody compare him to Vince Young. It's the same old crap â?? it's always a comparison of one black to another black. I get tired of it. I get tired of defending it.

"If you want to compare him to someone because of his demeanor, compare him to Jay Cutler. There are a lot of guys who whine and moan. Cam's not biting anybody's head off or pushing his linemen. He's just disgruntled, and not handling losing well, because, think about it, he basically didn't lose in college.

"I don't think Cam's as bad as Cutler, because Cutler looks like he doesn't give a damn sometimes, or he's yelling and cussing at someone. Cam, he just looks down when they're losing."

Timeout.

First, let's compare Newton to VY. Both won big in college, including garnering national championships for long-starved programs; both had immediate success out of the NFL chute, earning rookie of the year honors and playing in the Pro Bowl as first-year players; both can make spectacular plays with their feet and arms, even if their accuracy is sometimes spotty; and, yes, both have been susceptible to repeated displays of immaturity â?? and wouldn't be the first twentysomethings guilty of that.

(Notice race never entered into what is in many ways an apples-to-apples analysis.)

Yet Newton's visible frustration actually has garnered comparisons to Cutler, even though Moon partially discredited his own correlation to the Chicago Bears passer given Newton, to his credit, hasn't been lashing out at teammates.

And another thing â?? how many NFL observers are falling over themselves in praise of Washington Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III? Many are saying he's bypassed Newton as the game's best young quarterback star.

"Cam Newton â?? right now â?? I think he's not only pouting because they're 1-5, I think he also realizes he's not the prettiest girl in the room anymore," former Baltimore Ravens coach and current NFL Network analyst Brian Billick said Monday. "RGIII's kinda taken some of the attention away from him â?? I don't think he likes that."

A speculative comment ... as are the ones from pundits who wonder whether the Indianapolis Colts should've taken RGIII instead of Andrew Luck. And we'd like to think none of this pontificating is racially motivated.

But still, it seems Newton is largely a victim of his own success â?? not the color of his skin â?? and asking whether you'd want Newton or RGIII running your offense is in many ways a complimentary acknowledgement of Newton's widely praised ability, though it doesn't seem Moon would necessarily buy that argument, either.

"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."

Much of the Panthers' and Newton's struggles stem from the defense's problems and perhaps questionable gameplanning on offense, issues Moon references.

Newton will always be a black quarterback â?? and so what â?? but he'll also likely be an excellent quarterback again, and that's an area where perhaps Moon should focus his own effort.

"Cam's an emotional player," said Moon. "He needs to learn to saddle that. If I was to talk to him â?? and I need to give him a call â?? 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.

"He just doesn't like losing. Is that bad? No, but you can't show it â?? not in this era where there's so much television coverage. You can't have a bad moment on the sidelines anymore. But if that's the worst thing he does, he's fine. That's fixable."

Amen, Mr. Moon.