Interesting article by NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell about Cam Newton

[pantherking15]

Greg Cosell talks about Cam and how the Panthers are building the offense to play to his strengths.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/greg-cosell-s-nfl-analysis--how-the-panthers-will-help-cam-newton-182139876.html

The Carolina Panthers are an interesting case. They just paid their quarterback Cam Newton a lot of money, yet they run an offense that's as close to a collegiate offense as you'll see in the NFL.

Let's talk about Newton first, because he's a fascinating player.

Newton is what I'd call a "wow" player. If you don't watch him snap after snap, then what you probably see are the "wow" plays. He's a power thrower and there's not a throw he can't make. He's not a touch thrower, that's not his game. But he can make big-time throws at anytime.

Consider a 31-yard throw he made down the seam to Greg Olsen in last season's playoff game at the Seattle Seahawks. It was as good of a throw as you’ll see.

Newton is capable of doing that. He can make throws where you say, "Oh my goodness." And he can do that at any point in the game. There might not be five quarterbacks in the league who can make that throw that he made to Olsen. In terms of arm strength, he's probably in the top five of the NFL.

But then there are the throws he misses. He misses too many routine NFL throws. As great as he can be throwing the ball, he can also be scattershot and erratic. You just don’t know. As such, he's a frustrating player.

I've watched every snap of Newton's career, and he's a hard guy to get a handle on. He has put up a lot of numbers. He did really well initially. And he has had enough success that if you don't see Newton as a great player right now you'll accused of "being a hater" or whatever. But if you watch the film you'll see that he misses open receivers. Or he won't understand the kind of throw that's required in a certain situation. Or he'll be late on a throw. Or he'll just be inaccurate. This stuff happens too often to say he’s a really consistent passer.

I'm not sure he'll get significantly better at that. I don't think in two years we'll be looking at a precision passer. Newton has had a lot of throws in the NFL by now. This may just be who he is. And there's a lot of positives within that skill set too.

That's where the Panthers' offense, and their personnel approach, come into the equation.

Late last season the Panthers evolved into mostly a college offense. A lot of people talk about the Seahawks' offensive approach, and rightfully so, but it's Carolina that's running the most collegiate-style offense among NFL teams. There were quarterback sweeps and power, some triple option even. Sometimes you'd see multiple concepts like that on the same play. Let's look at a Week 14 touchdown run by Jonathan Stewart at the New Orleans Saints. It's a fun play: an inside zone run with a well-designed triple-option concept.

I think the Panthers will continue to play that way this season. It’s what they think can work best given their personnel. They know what Newton does well and what he doesn't, so you figure out how to accentuate his strengths.

The Panthers' draft approach the last two years appears to play off Newton's strengths as well. They've drafted Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess the past two years, and both are big 6-5 receivers. That's really smart. The Panthers know Newton is not a precision passer. He doesn't necessarily make receivers better. He will be at his best with receivers like Benjamin and Funchess, who have a wide catching radius and can make contested catches on balls that aren't thrown right on target.

And the Panthers' offensive approach fits their receiving personnel too. By using Newton as a threat in the running game, defenses must bring an eighth defender into the box. And we all know Newton is a very good runner, especially for his huge size. He's a physical freak, really. Now you have to put an extra defender in the box but have to deal with two 6-5 wideouts on the outside. Theoretically that should be tough to defend. All of that takes advantage of what their quarterback does well.

There's a part of me that believes Newton needs a good team around him — and sure, you can say that about any quarterback, that every one needs a good system and talented teammates, but I think we know what we mean when we say that. Newton is similar to Seattle's Russell Wilson that way, in that he needs a strong run game and a good defense to be successful. Carolina went 12-4 in 2013 with a top defense, and last year when they started to play well it was fueled by the defense too. I don't know that Newton is just that kind of guy who can carry a team. I'm not sure I'd put him in the upper echelon of quarterbacks above the obvious ones or even quarterbacks like Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons or Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens. But Newton does some things very well, and I think the Panthers keep running the offense we saw at the end of last season that puts Newton in the best position for success. 

 

 

[Donald LaFell]

Right on the money 

[Ivan The Awesome]

The part about us running a college offense most of the time was mind blowing. 

[SurvivalSloth]

"But then there are the throws he misses. He misses too many routine NFL throws. As great as he can be throwing the ball, he can also be scattershot and erratic. You just don’t know. As such, he's a frustrating player."

 

Bingo. I love watching Ace Boogie do work on the field, but he misses these short and medium throws too often. I really believe if he connects on just half of the those missed throws, this offense is gonna be scary good. 

[pantherking15]

 

Bingo. I love watching Ace Boogie do work on the field, but he misses these short and medium throws too often. I really believe if he connects on just half of the those missed throws, this offense is gonna be scary good. 

​So many of the routine throws that Cam misses are due to shoddy footwork or bad mechanics. This is correctable with coaching during off-season practices. Being completely recovered from the ankle surgery and having more chemistry and continuity with the receiving corps will help a lot with short/medium accuracy as well.

Also, I think Cosell is forgetting to take into account just how raw Cam was coming into the NFL. He only had one year of major CFB experience, that too in a run heavy offense. So, Cam's development phase is going to be longer than those QBs with 3-4 years of CFB experience (Luck, Ryan, etc.).

[Sean Payton's Vicodin]

And he has had enough success that if you don't see Newton as a great player right now you'll accused of "being a hater" or whatever

[hepcat]

That was an unexpectedly extremely accurate article...really hits the nail on the head.  

[section543]

Spot on. And Cam can get better on accuracy and mechanics...if he wants to.

[GoobyPls]

he doesn't necessarily make receivers better???

 

yeah ok

[rayzor]

i agree with a lot of it. cam newton is a mobile gunslinger. imo, it's hard to find a more exciting QB to watch. i've always been a fan of gunslinger QBs like bret favre more than the surgical strike guys like brees. there are frustrating moments and wtf type throws, but then there are those moments where you see the most incredible throws and plays being made and your jaw drops to the floor. imo, those make the wtf moments more than bearable.

add to him being a gunslinger his running ability and you have a true spectacle.

i've said from the beginning that the sky is the limit for him, but for him to reach his potential, he has to have a system and a team built around his particular skillset and custom fit for his strengths and weaknesses. i know that's true to an extent for every QB, but moreso for cam. it's good to see that we are doing that.

i definitely don't agree with cam not being ahead of matt ryan. ryan is a solid game manager. nothing more, nothing less. he's not a guy you can put the team on his back and he takes them to the top and he's not exactly what you would consider clutch. newton is.

[LUUUUUKE]

That was an unexpectedly extremely accurate article...really hits the nail on the head.  

That's what you get when you get an actual analyst that has watched every snap of his professional career. 

[rayzor]

i get what he means by "doesn't necessarily make receivers better" like some QBs and/or some systems can make mediocre WRs look great. pass heavy teams will always make their receivers look good. add in one of those surgical strike QBs and they look even better. WCOs have always made QBs and WRs look better than they are.

but you take certain WRs with certain specific skillsets (i'm looking at teddy ginn here) and you see the best performances of their career. you also take guys like benjamin and funchess who are big guys with giant wingspans and relatively good hands and you will see some spectacular catches made that they wouldn't make with game managing QBs. cam makes them better and more exciting just because of his style of play.

[Oudaman90]

It's funny how Cian Fahey from Football Outsiders and Greg Cosell from NFL Films can draw two different conclusions about Cam. I think Cosell makes great points all around, but his analysis lacks alot of context. We run a collegiate offense because we lacked alot of talent and it masked this. Also, Cam has been very accurate when his protection is consistently good. Not terrible with the occasional good protection. 

 

 

[Kurb]

Cam is a bigger strong faster version of Brett Favre. Not a terrible player to be.

 

We all HOPE his touch and accuracy improve. Early otas tell us this may be a thing, but shorts/hats/ect