I see a few vague comments about dumbing down the offense, or good schemes, or bad schemes, whatever that nonsense means...
I'll be more specific....
In Cam's first year, the one where he broke all those records.....we had two things going:
1) Olsen and Shockey killing it on the line.
2) More designed QB runs.
So why not rip a few pages out of Cam's rookie year playbook, and do them again? Use Tolbert at TE2 if you have to, HE CAN ACTUALLY CATCH A PASS.
To hell with QB protection, that is what you do when you have Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees. It is not what you do when you have Ben Roethlisberger or Cam Newton. Sorry, but Cam isn't and may never be as accurate down field as the "elites". We have to use the skills we have, not the ones we wish we had. NFL defenses are going to beat any offense we put out that isn't running the ball ten ways to Sunday, and beating them with short passes when they load the box (put linebackers closely behind the defensive linemen).
Here's something about Cam that can be fixed:
How about not being so obvious and apathetic during a fake or hand-off to a running back? The QB should never turn around and watch a running back to whom he just handed the ball. He should run in the opposite direction, without flinching, without turning back, and look like he is running had to get to the other side. This is what will sometimes fool a Mike linebacker for about 1 or 2 seconds, especially with a Quarterback who leaves the pocket. But Cam seems to routinely do the exact opposite. He will hand the ball off to Tolbert or DWill, and take two skimpy looking steps, turn his body around, and watch the Mike tackle the running back. Is Newton secretly pleased that his teammate failed to make a play? Hate to say it, but when a Quarterback can't be troubled to put forth a convincing sell or act in the transfer of the ball behind the line of scrimmage, it feels to the observer like SELFISHNESS. And that my friends, is something that can totally destroy an organization if it is not STAMPED OUT WITH IMPUNITY by the coach/manager. Teaching CAVALIER CAM how to act is a challenge, and Rivera may not be up to it, I would dare say that others have tried and failed, but acting in the game and out of it is part of the identity of a franchise. I'm sure that I have overstated my point, so take it with a grain of salt PLEASE. Put simpler, Newton needs to work on faking until he can convince me that he is trying to actually fake someone out. As a backseat driving, TV watching fan, it looks to me like he doesn't give a poo at all once he's not immediately involved in an offensive play.
