Introspective Cam Newton "My Prime Better Be Now"

[Hogmolliesmaht]

http://www.panthers.com/news/article-2/Introspective-Cam-Newton-My-prime-better-be-now/0d2fe830-df07-4bd6-a9a0-f8a20467e484

 

When fans point this out, they are accused of being Cam haters, but even he admits he could have gotten the ball out of his hands faster...

Just last summer, Panthers Owner/Founder Jerry Richardson echoed the angel when he suggested his quarterback take more "layups." Newton then sputtered to career lows in completion percentage and passer rating. It didn't help that his offensive line was banged up for half the season and he played the final month with a partially torn rotator cuff. 

Because Newton has been slow to change, the Panthers are making themselves adjust. It's too tempting to continue leaning on his superior athleticism, so they've committed to a planthat's less about zone-reads and deep drops and more about roll outs and quick passes.

"I look at a Curtis Samuel, I look at a Christian and all these guys that are new additions on this offense and it's on me now," Newton says. 

"I look at the things that I need to work on – obviously getting the ball out of my hands – at times, it could've helped and I know that. That's all about growth."

 

Believe it or not, it's not all on the O-line or Shula.

 

Having said that, I think Cam is about to blow up this year. This article proves he's growing up and is finally admitting to himself that he doesn't have to try to do it all on every play. I'm as excited about this team as I've ever been.

[Saca312]

Quote

And maybe that's why, despite years of trying to rein himself in, the Panthers quarterback has too often listened to the voice suggesting he has to make every play. 

Shula's offense IS literally Cam making every play.

[Jeremy Igo]

3 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

Shula's offense IS literally Cam making every play.

Yep, has always been as such. 

 

Why do you think Shula has gotten ZERO interest at a head coach?

[Saca312]

Jokes aside, this quote says a lot. Gives me a lot of hope for Cam's future:

Quote

"The thing I have to realize is my job is not necessarily to always be the playmaker," Newton says. "I have to give other people opportunities to make plays. That's the hardest thing about maturation, especially for me.

"So having more comfort in trusting the guys around me is the biggest thing. Trust and knowing my job is giving everybody a chance and letting them do their job as well." 

 

[LinvilleGorge]

Yep, I think every knowledgeable Panthers fan realizes Cam has been floating Shula. I don't think a team with a young OC with the #1 offense and MVP QB has ever not had that OC then be the hottest up and coming HC candidate in the NFL. Shula barely got any interest at all.

[Jeremy Igo]

Camitus Prime?

 

I always suspected he possessed the Matrix of Leadership. 

 

[csx]

13 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

Jokes aside, this quote says a lot. Gives me a lot of hope for Cam's future:

 

So he clearly states it but it's still all on Shula? Makes no sense.

He has said this a few years in a row now it seems. If he means it then it's time to do it.

[Saca312]

7 minutes ago, csx said:

So he clearly states it but it's still all on Shula? Makes no sense.

He has said this a few years in a row now it seems. If he means it then it's time to do it.

Film shows deep passes on near every play. Article coming up soon showing how Cam's situation was rough.

[KillerKat]

32 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

Jokes aside, this quote says a lot. Gives me a lot of hope for Cam's future:

 

This is what I've been telling all the haters. That Cam tries to make every play because Shula's calls are god awful, along with the line and WRs. He feels like he had to make a play because most everything around him is crap. His explanation confirms that.

[theDIRTYcode2]

Sooo....are we are about to see Cam in a WCO? (Quick passes, and rollouts)

[RumHam]

Well when we had the protection we had two years ago versus last year, it's called timing. You get comfortable. This happens to Matt Ryan, Brees, Manning, but they don't get thrown under the bus. Ryan has had some terrible lines and has looked completely laughable at times. 

[rayzor]

14 minutes ago, theDIRTYcode2 said:

Sooo....are we are about to see Cam in a WCO? (Quick passes, and rollouts)

Probably something that looks like a hybrid Coryell and WCO but with much simpler and shorter play calls. WCO is overly and unnecessarily complex in those areas.

[Ricky Spanish]

Great article by Voth, as usual. 

While the offensive line certainly didn't help, and Shula is a turd at play calling, there were multiple occasions where Cam did not make the right reads and tried to force the ball into places he didn't need to last season. I'm not saying every play, but it was obvious he tried to force Benjamin the ball when Benjamin didn't deserve it, or he went deep when a safer option was available. 

And this entire section stuck with me:

Quote

Whether it's playing to dominate versus letting others chip in, or a king-size bag of candy following a grilled fish dinner, Newton can be contradictory. But while he's long been an easy target of criticism – both on and off the field – he's much more self-aware than it may appear. 

"The more I reflect on who I am or what I have become and what I can still become – I need to be better. I know I need to be better," Newton says. "I want to be better because me being my best me helps everything else around me, including this organization.

"Here I am at 28, and I'm probably the happiest I've ever been. Not saying that I've ever been depressed or anything, it's just life has come full circle. I rarely have days where I'm just, 'All right fellas, we're going out.' That's weird because I've always been such a social person."

It's not like Newton has turned into a hermit. Mostly, his social calendar is a lot different as a father, and he's now spending more time with teammates. 

"Having a football team is no different than running a Fortune 500 company," Newton says. "If you don't like the person next to your cubicle, that's going to show. I'm not saying we've got guys on the team that hate each other; it's just I don't think we maximized knowing each other last year as we should have.

"Doing certain things off the field helps that. Going to Topgolf or going to concerts together, having game night, whatever – it's important. It makes guys realize you know this person outside of football and that relationship becomes stronger when you get into a game."

This made me happy. It shows that Cam doesn't plug his ears to all criticism and shows he's willing to grow as a person. He's not a kid anymore, he's a vet and the young guys are going to look up to him, and it's important to build camaraderie through the team like we had in 2015. Last offseason, Cam was coming off a Super Bowl appearance and MVP award, and he was constantly running around doing his own things and promoting his own brand. That's great and good for him. I won't knock the guy for capitalizing on his situation. But this offseason, it's almost like he was humbled a bit through his down year and injury. He understands that what the team had in 2015 wasn't going to magically come back again, it had to be built again. This offseason he is still doing his own thing with his brand and birthday video and what have you, but I've seen far more candid photos of him and the rest of the guys on the team just goofing off and hanging out than I have in years past. Not nearly as many photoshoots and poses with captions about "winning his way", or even a TV show. 

It seems like he's taking a different angle on how he is perceived from the outside world. Maybe I'm over-analyzing it because I try to do that myself, but it kind of resonated with me that he realizes he isn't perfect, that not all criticism against him is noisy hater BS and that there are some things he could do different to better himself. 

[Peppers90 NC]

59 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Yep, I think every knowledgeable Panthers fan realizes Cam has been floating Shula. I don't think a team with a young OC with the #1 offense and MVP QB has ever not had that OC then be the hottest up and coming HC candidate in the NFL. Shula barely got any interest at all.

when did we have the #1 offense?