Yahoo sports 2019 NFL preview: Do the Panthers have another run left with Cam Newton?

[Palmetto]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/2019-nfl-preview-do-the-panthers-have-another-run-left-with-cam-newton-123205036.html

 

In a Week 15 “Monday Night Football” game last season, the Carolina Panthers got the ball back with 1:44 left, trailing the New Orleans Saints 12-9. It’s a situation Cam Newton has thrived in before.

The guy wearing No. 1 in black didn’t resemble Newton once he wound up to throw. Every pass was a struggle. Each throw looked painful for him. Some missed badly. Newton looked like he was throwing a shot put. The Panthers didn’t get past midfield and took another loss. Even though they had a small chance to still make the playoffs after that loss, they smartly shut Newton down for the season. He had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in January.

Quarterbacks get hurt, even get surgery on their throwing arms and bounce back. Maybe this is just a normal part of Newton’s football journey and in September we’ll see the same cannon-arm, bulldozer-running former MVP we’re used to.

But it’s also impossible to act like Newton is a normal quarterback.

Newton is a unicorn, whose gifts as a passer and a runner make him arguably the greatest dual-threat quarterback in NFL history. Ignoring his skill as a runner would cut into his value, and the Panthers have used him a lot in the running game. His career low in rushing attempts for a season is 90, and that is tied for 42nd all-time among quarterbacks in a single season. On that all-time list of rushing attempts in a season by a quarterback, Newton ranks third, fourth, fifth, sixth, 14th, tied for 21st, tied for 24th and tied for 42nd. No quarterback has ever moonlighted as a running back as frequently as Newton.

So when Newton turned 30 years old in May, it might have been a more significant age milestone for him than any other quarterback. Do we treat him more like a running back, whose careers are generally deep on the back nine when they hit 30? It’s tough to say because there’s never been anyone like Newton in the NFL.

Watching him labor through last season with a bum shoulder — he was replaced for a Hail Mary during a game last October, which was alarming when you consider his prodigious arm strength — was tough. Credit him for playing almost all season through the injury, but now it’s fair to wonder if he’ll lose a few miles an hour on his fastball. It’s also fair to wonder if he and the Panthers will ever have another year like 2015.

The Panthers went 15-1 that season, Newton won an MVP but they lost Super Bowl 50. They’ve made it back to the playoffs just once, and lost in the wild-card round. It’s hard to put together a season like the 2015 Panthers and it’s nearly impossible to stay even close to that level. It’s even harder when your quarterback is hurting.

The Panthers looked great to start last season. They started 6-2. Then they were demolished by the Pittsburgh Steelers on a Thursday night, but that happens. Then they lost 20-19 at Detroit when a two-point conversion fell short. Then another loss. And another. They went from 6-2 to 6-9 before winning Week 17 against a Saints team playing for nothing.

The Panthers were unlucky last season. They lost close games. They had bad injury luck, ranking seventh in Football Outsiders’ adjusted games lost injury metric. If Newton bounces back and looks like his old self all season, the Panthers are in for a nice positive regression.

The part about Newton is key. The news to this point on his recovery from surgery has been good. Maybe he can bounce back to his MVP form. The clock is ticking, probably a little louder than for any other 30-year-old quarterback we’ve seen.

Offseason grades

Reason for optimism

Potential Problem and other topics covered in link

[Ricky Spanish]

One of the better write-ups about the Panthers I have read. Dude nailed it. 

We go as Cam goes and the window might be closing on Cam's career... Maybe. We don't know because there's never been a QB like him before. 

[MechaZain]

I think he's a Lebron type athlete who's capable of playing at high level for a freakishly long time, but it all comes down to all well he's protected and adjusts his game as he's ages. a 50 year old Cam Newton is probably still more athletic than 41 year old Brady, who won a ring.

 

[LinvilleGorge]

Yeah, basically what we've all been saying. The season and the Panthers' future ride on Cam's shoulder. If his shoulder issues are behind him, we should be good to go for the next 5-6 seasons before age really starts catching up to him. If his shoulder fails to hold up for a third season in a row, then the Panthers have a BIG decision to make next off-season and if they have to make that decision, I'm not at all convinced that Will Grier is the long-term answer.

[thefuzz]

1 hour ago, MechaZain said:

I think he's a Lebron type athlete who's capable of playing at high level for a freakishly long time, but it all comes down to all well he's protected and adjusts his game as he's ages. a 50 year old Cam Newton is probably still more athletic than 41 year old Brady, who won a ring.

 

I mean, I sorta see where you are coming from on this...but Cam has shown that he is vulnerable...much more so than Lebron until this past season.

It's a different sport for sure, but Lebron is a health marvel....Cam is a really tough guy who has had some bad breaks.

We just need to see if Cam can somewhat come off of "new normal", and pitch counts at some point and work through an entire season and offseason without a hiccup from that shoulder.

I'm certainly pulling for that to be the case.

 

[Seltzer]

1 hour ago, thefuzz said:

I mean, I sorta see where you are coming from on this...but Cam has shown that he is vulnerable...much more so than Lebron until this past season.

It's a different sport for sure, but Lebron is a health marvel....Cam is a really tough guy who has had some bad breaks.

We just need to see if Cam can somewhat come off of "new normal", and pitch counts at some point and work through an entire season and offseason without a hiccup from that shoulder.

I'm certainly pulling for that to be the case.

 

I'm not sure why the national consensus is that Cam is somehow damaged goods and that Luck (who had a much more serious shoulder injury), is assumed to be perfectly healthy going forward.  

Drew Brees had a shoulder injury so severe a lot of people (including the Dolphins medical staff), thought he was done after the 2005 season.  He has since played 13 seasons at a HOF level and still is playing at a high level.

If Cam is healthy, he needs to play the way he always has.  I think of lot of people on the national level b/c of their dislike of Cam are just hoping he declines.  I don't think Cam is any more likely to get hurt running than anything else.

With QB's playing into their 40's, Cam at 30 is not ancient.  TD came back from 3 ACL tears and is still playing LB.

Cam is also much further along (and after a much less-invasive procedure) than he had before the 2017 season (in which we went 11-5).

I'm not saying Cam's shoulder isn't a concern- it is for any QB that has had injury.  But Cam has not had major shoulder reconstruction or anything like it.

I see no reason as of now why he cannot play for many years to come at a high level.  He takes as good of care of his body as any of the QB's that have or are now playing into their 40's.

[TheSpecialJuan]

doink 

[thefuzz]

16 hours ago, Seltzer said:

I'm not sure why the national consensus is that Cam is somehow damaged goods and that Luck (who had a much more serious shoulder injury), is assumed to be perfectly healthy going forward.  

Drew Brees had a shoulder injury so severe a lot of people (including the Dolphins medical staff), thought he was done after the 2005 season.  He has since played 13 seasons at a HOF level and still is playing at a high level.

If Cam is healthy, he needs to play the way he always has.  I think of lot of people on the national level b/c of their dislike of Cam are just hoping he declines.  I don't think Cam is any more likely to get hurt running than anything else.

With QB's playing into their 40's, Cam at 30 is not ancient.  TD came back from 3 ACL tears and is still playing LB.

Cam is also much further along (and after a much less-invasive procedure) than he had before the 2017 season (in which we went 11-5).

I'm not saying Cam's shoulder isn't a concern- it is for any QB that has had injury.  But Cam has not had major shoulder reconstruction or anything like it.

I see no reason as of now why he cannot play for many years to come at a high level.  He takes as good of care of his body as any of the QB's that have or are now playing into their 40's.

All I was saying is that Cam...barely 30 years old has had more injuries than Lebron has.  Lebron has been a medical marvel, while Cam has been really tough playing a position differently than any of his predecessors.  Cam has been hurt, and until he can make it through an entire season, and offseason, his shoulder will be a concern.

Both Luck and Brees' injuries were worse than Cams....however Cam's is certainly lingering longer than both of theirs.

[mc52beast]

Don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that our season rides on Cams shoulder. You can basically say that any team with a franchise qb will go as far as that qb can take them.

 

[Woodie]

19 hours ago, Seltzer said:

I'm not sure why the national consensus is that Cam is somehow damaged goods and that Luck (who had a much more serious shoulder injury), is assumed to be perfectly healthy going forward.  

 

It's because Luck came back last year and played really well.  And while they are being careful with his arm, he seems to have recovered.  But prior to last year, I read this same sort of thing about Luck.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    If Cam comes back and plays well, next offseason you won't be hearing questions about his arm like we are now.  As of now, nobody really knows what to expect from Cam...he can come back strong as ever, or he could have another flare-up in his shoulder and miss time again, nobody knows.  That's why everything you see has a wait and see caveat. 

[Captain Morgan]

with Cam's new throwing motion, I could see him becoming more of a pocket passer as he gets older.  I'm going to enjoy every minute of him while I can, hopefully another 8 or 9 years.

[arbnranger]

Frank Schwab sounds like he’s done his research above the normal surface level shiit.  Good stuff. 

[Seltzer]

I just read that the Panthers were 10th in total offensive yardage last year.  I was surprised by that number, even though when I think about it I know the Panthers put up points last year, even with Cam not being 100% percent, until the last couple of games before they shut him down.

My point being, with everything that went wrong last year in terms of offensive line injuries and Cam's shoulder, the offense still produced at a high level overall.

Everything at the national level gets pointed back to Cam (and I get it), but in some respects, there wasn't that much difference between last year's team and 2017 except that we won a lot of close games in 2017 and lost those same type games last year.

Anyone who's not blind can point to the last couple of games Cam played (especially the MNF game before a national audience) and make a sweeping judgement about last year, but the truth is that the offensive system was working last year, and Cam was the catalyst behind that.

With a healthy Cam, the Panthers certainly have another run left in them.  Cam has played well enough to lead another SB run the past 2 years (regardless of the national narrative).  He was just stuck with no WR's in 2017 and no Oline last year.  Despite that, he still for the most part played well enough to get both teams in the playoffs (before his late injury).

Cam is not and has not been washed up.  Someone who has really watched his play too knows that his level of play for 2017 and most of 2018 was a lot closer to 2015 than his critics want to admit.

The only thing missing at all has been connecting on the deep ball, which I'm hoping a healthy shoulder, a decent offensive line, and adequate (if not special) weapons with correct.

[JARROD]

Damn is Cam 40 or is he 30? 

Stupid click bait from stupid haters that love polarizing for clicks,..

hey lets throw hand grenades today,... let’s see how many Nazis, liberals, neophytes, xenophobes, homers, and GD Republicans we can stir into running cars into each other while we sit back and enjoy the paycheck,...