Someone Finally "Gets" Cam Newton

[Davidson Deac II]

I love Cam but he almost cost the game last night as well

In the NFL, wide open receivers don't happen that often, and when they do, he must hit them.

I believe a valid point was made by Jaws several months ago that the Panthers style of offense hurts Newton and hurts his growth and he is asked to do too much and as the games wears on he wears down.

I don't know what the reason is but it has got to be fixed if the Panthers expect to continue he to win

Bear in mind I was at the game, the tape may show some thing different then I saw on the field and replays

 

Every qb misses wide open receivers once in a while.  Are you certain that Cam does this more than most?

 

I do think Cam has streaks where he misses a lot and he tends to miss high when he does.  Its really his only significant flaw as far as I can tell. 

[Happy Panther]

One thing I learned about Americans is that they dislike super confident individuals.  They want to see you do your job and shut the hell up or act like nothing happened. They want you to make a great play then pretend to be intensely docile and focused on the next play.  People dont like seeing people having more fun than them.  Deon Sanders would have been hated here in Carolina too. 

Where are you from? Because this is actually much more of an English thing. We Americans are viewed as showboaters. Stiff upper lip and all that.

[Chief_Chokeaho]

Those two long 3rd down runs last night saved the game for us IMO. He didn't get up smiling or pointing like he does on first down conversions. He got up with intensity and determination to put the team on his back. Whoever Cam needs to be to be successful for the Carolina Panthers, I'll take it.

This. The look on Cams face said it all. While he didn't play well he put it all on the field and put the team on his back. That's all you can ask for. I'm sure he will play better next week. You have to keep it in perspective. This was a playoff game. Regardless of Arizona's QB issue they still field a very good and swarming defense.

[lightsout]

Every qb misses wide open receivers once in a while.  Are you certain that Cam does this more than most?

 

I do think Cam has streaks where he misses a lot and he tends to miss high when he does.  Its really his only significant flaw as far as I can tell. 

Notice how Cam seldom misses at Olsen at all? He puts the ball right on him 99% of the time, really. Whether he be middle of the field standing still, running down the seam, running an out right, or a flag route, he hits Olsen when he throws it to him. Same thing with Smitty, generally. He would drop deep balls on a dime to Smitty. Did it several times for TDs. What about Lafell? Hit him a lot, but Lafell also dropped a lot.

What do you think causes this? Repetition. Confidence in that receiver. Look at Cam's weapons from his rookie year to now.

2011: Steve Smith, Greg Olsen, Jeremy Shockey, Seyi Ajirotutu, Lafell, Pilares, Gettis.

2012: Steve Smith, Greg Olsen, Lafell, Joe Adams, Gettis, Louis Murphy, Pilares

2013: Steve Smith, Greg Olsen, Lafell, Ginn, McNutt

2014: Greg Olsen, Kelvin Benjamin, Philly Brown, Ed Dickson, Cotchery, Bersin, Avant

So, what do we see? The names I mentioned (Olsen, Smith, Lafell) had 3 years, 4 for Olsen, with him. He knew their speed. He knew their window on any given route. He knew their capability and trusted it and learned from it each year. This year? He knows Olsen well, but he's still feeling out the others. He is able to get the ball consistently in KB's catch window because KB is freakishly large and can get his hands on it as long as you put it anywhere near him (though he's still working on the catching consistently part). 

Give Cam time with these weapons. He's already appearing to have a good grasp on Philly. Still struggling with Dickson, since Dickson hasn't seen much time on the field running routes. He's also seeming to get a grip on Cotchery, even though Cotchery hung him out to dry yesterday. Keep Olsen, KB, Philly, Cotch, and add another reliable receiver with some speed, and next year you'll see Cam's numbers improve. I'd bet on that.

[TANTRIC-NINJA]

I wish the media would stick with a narritive. Just pick one and stick with it. In all honesty only Phil Simms during the Atl game had the whole story and explained it well during the game. He saw the difference in the offesive set, the improved execution and total improvement on defense. He played up Bene, Norman and the secondary overhaul as well as OL.

Is Newton being sold out by the GM by having a total overhaul of his Oline, WRs which is setting him up for failure?

Couple that with Newton's late offseason surgery, longer than expected recovery, minimal offseason reps and rib injury

Now that Newton is still around and in the Playoffs have these other things disappeared? Did the GM surround Newton with better weapons? Did they lose 7 straight games bc the Defense was dominant all season? Were the shutouts of Atl, No, AZ all unimpressive despite Carolina being picked overwhelmingly blown out in two of those?

[Montsta]

Been saying it forever. Cam does so much better when he is relaxed and having a good time. When we three and out on the opening drive and Cam gets sacked three times, things tend to snowball until he scrambles for a first down on third and fifteen.

[KendrickPanther]

I'm not a fan of the saying "Act like you've been there before". We haven't been here before. Let us enjoy it because you may never get another chance. Something Gruden said about TD resonated with me "He is not going quietly". He didn't go quietly through three ACLs. Tomorrow is not guaranteed, he is going to enjoy every moment.

[OneBadCat]

One thing I learned about Americans is that they dislike super confident individuals.  They want to see you do your job and shut the hell up or act like nothing happened. They want you to make a great play then pretend to be intensely docile and focused on the next play.  People dont like seeing people having more fun than them.  Deon Sanders would have been hated here in Carolina too. 

 

I completely agree. I wouldn't care if Cam was being arrogant either way. He has a right to act the way he wants to and he backs it up on the field. Not to mention this team needs players with that kind of confidence. It's that sort of thing that will uplift the Panthers into the upper echelon of the NFL.

 

We are already building a roster of characters and personalities right now. Cam, Luke, TD, Hardy*, Norman, This team has a chance of being a big time team for the next decade, one like we haven't seen before.

[Fan01]

Here's my opinion.

 

Cam has a canon and a lot of power so because of that his mechanics have to be spot on or it's easy for him to overthrow because of his power.  It also makes it harder for him to throw touch passes.  Proper mechanics solve all this.

 

So now we have to look at what causes Cam to lose focus on his mechanics.  The biggest thing is pressure and perceived pressure.  Yesterday the O-line was playing very well and picked up a low of blitzes but Zona blitzes all the time so that perceived pressure makes Cam rush and lose his mechanics.  You can see how many times he threw off his back foot and/or leaning back because he could feel/sense that pressure.

 

Cam has to learn to stand tall in the pocket and that's easier said then done.  It's knowing you're about to get blasted by throwing like you're not.  That goes against everything your brain tells you.  

[Davidson Deac II]

Notice how Cam seldom misses at Olsen at all? He puts the ball right on him 99% of the time, really.

 

I agree that Cam doesn't have an idea group of receivers.  Its an area we need to improve if we intend to become a consistent contender.  But when Cam gets on one of his streaks where he is throwing high, he misses Olsen or whomever he is throwing at.  As I said, its his only flaw, and in truth I am not really sure its even a flaw since I can't say for certain that many other qb's don't do the same thing. 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

That also may be why he was a little off last night. (Rainy conditions too)

Ball was definitely slipping out of his hands on a few throws. Some of the people bitching about his accuracy also didn't take into account how wet the field was. I think that was the main cause of the fumble as well. The camera constantly showed Cam running to the sideline to dry his hands off.

[JARROD]

Ahhhh, Cam is such an incredible athletically gifted talent that was unfortunate enough to be centered in SEC haterade. His abilities and clean looks polarize people.  EIther they love watching him play and say WOW,.. and when he makes mistakes hes human,.. or they hate out of severe jealousy and feed themselves when he has his downs.

 

Cam is a bigger Brett Favre,.. just let the dude have fun, let him play his game but give him aiming stakes so he doesnt get too wild.  Notice when that formula is on, Cam is on. He throws guys open, takes off at the right times then comes back with impossible throws.  When hes like that the entire team responds.

 

When we get it wrong, take him out of his game, and hes not having fun,... a supporter will say hes human,.. a hater will say "see I told you he would suck if we drafted him"  

 

Polarizing guy,.. like Brett Favre.

[Silent Majority]

We tell kids that having fun is the most important thing, when introducing them to the game. Then proceed to poo on them when they enjoy everything about playing/being involved with the game at it's highest level.

[firefox1234]

Here's my opinion.

Cam has a canon and a lot of power so because of that his mechanics have to be spot on or it's easy for him to overthrow because of his power. It also makes it harder for him to throw touch passes. Proper mechanics solve all this.

So now we have to look at what causes Cam to lose focus on his mechanics. The biggest thing is pressure and perceived pressure. Yesterday the O-line was playing very well and picked up a low of blitzes but Zona blitzes all the time so that perceived pressure makes Cam rush and lose his mechanics. You can see how many times he threw off his back foot and/or leaning back because he could feel/sense that pressure.

Cam has to learn to stand tall in the pocket and that's easier said then done. It's knowing you're about to get blasted by throwing like you're not. That goes against everything your brain tells you.

Hard to do when your LT is as useful as a box of poo....