Cam certainly certainly was in his prime arguably the most physically gifted QB ever, so no argument there. However, he has always had a reputation as a hard worker all the way back to his Auburn days, so I disagree that he has never applied himself, you don’t win a National Championship (largely carrying Auburn on his back) followed by a NFL MVP if you don’t apply yourself.
You mention that at 32 he has begun to decline, that is certainly true, but IMHO it primarily is due to all of the hits he had taken over the years. Guess who has the most QB career rushing attempts (1071), almost 200 more than second place (for career rushes), Michael Vick?
QBRushingLeadersAllTime. It is Cam of course, and no other QB on this all time rushing list simply ran over defenders (or had the size and strength to do so) the way Can did so often. And that doesn’t count all the hits he got while trying to extend a passing play. Most RBs can take only a limited number of hits before they decline, why wouldn’t that be true with a running QB like Cam? He has just taken too many hits and suffered too many injuries over the years to remain effective.