With the Panthers out of the playoff mix, growth among the youth on the team is a more-than-welcome event. That’s the sign of growth-at least one of them-in a young quarterback. He’ll also drastically reduce his interception rate. If Newton continues on this pace for the next three games, he’ll surpass his touchdown total from his rookie season-at least through the air. After weeks and weeks of Newton acting like any sign of maturity was Kryptonite, the light bulb went off. That’s all a sign of the maturation process. He’s also not taking off at the first sign of trouble, even though he can. He’s not settling on his first read, even if it’s a forced-through situation. As is a more fluid path through his progressions.īecause he’s more comfortable in the pocket, he’s able to make better decisions. That’s a relatively new feature of Cam 2012. He’s stepping up and taking another look at possible receiving targets before he takes off on the ground. Newton seems to be more comfortable in the pocket. And now he’s flourishing under the tutelage of his coaching staff, even though it might be a lame duck staff. The initial exchange didn’t do much good. “I told (Newton), ‘You can get some mental reps or you can sit on that bench and sulk.’ ” “And they get up and they observe and learn and get those mental reps,” Smith said Friday. and Jimmy (Clausen), they don’t play in 20-something games last year,” Smith told The Charlotte Observer after Newton pulled himself from a Thursday night game. Wide receiver Steve Smith called him out. An NFL quarterback doesn’t do a whole lot of cheerleading when his defense is on the field, but what Newton was doing was detrimental to the team. He preferred to sit with a towel on his head and pout through rough patches of a game. There were some critical mistakes glaringly obvious to anyone watching. And this was more than a sophomore slump. Newton didn’t flounder through the first seven weeks of the 2012 season, but he was definitely regressing. How much coaching does a guy like that need? Newton was good enough with no offseason workout program last year to walk into training camp and set the NFL on its ear. Even in the NFL, where everyone’s an elite player, Newton’s more gifted.įor the elite, coaching can sometimes be difficult. Every day of Newton’s life, he’s been better on the field than everyone else. The full extent of the teachings won’t come through.Įspecially for a guy like Newton, who has all the natural athletic ability in the world. If the message isn’t well received, it doesn’t matter how great the concepts are. Now that’s the operative phrase in Rivera’s message.įor coaching to really grab hold and make a difference, the player has to be willing to listen and work. And he's really accepting it and working."Īccepting it. I think what coach Shula and Chud have been doing with him has been right on. "These last five weeks have been pretty doggone solid," said head coach Ron Rivera during his postgame press conference Sunday. So, what’s caused the makeover of last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year? He can now leap over tall defensive linemen in a single bound. Over Newton’s last six games, he’s only fumbled once and the Panthers fell on that loose ball. Matt Ryan would lead the enemy down the field for a game-winning field goal. He fumbled the ball eight times in Carolina’s first seven games and lost three of them-including a devastating fumble in Week 4 against Atlanta that gave the Falcons the ball back with a minute to play. Not only has Newton become more efficient when throwing the ball, he’s stopped his fumbling problems.
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