Even before watching him disintegrate in All or Nothing, it was clear last season that Cam Newton was not himself (Source: My two eyes).
But the Panthers quarterback can admit now, after having surgery to correct the shoulder problem that was obviously a major reason his team fell apart around him, that he shouldn’t have been playing late in the season.
“As a quarterback in this league, you’re unanimously the leader, right?” Newton told Peter King of NBC’s Football Morning in America. “We needed that game. I felt as if I wanted to give my team everything that I had honestly. Being hurt, being injured . . . looking back at it, it probably wasn’t the smartest, efficient thing, knowing that I left it all out there on the field.
“And if you asked me if I’d do it again, I’d do it again. I just know my worth to this team—know how much these guys believe in me and how much I believe in them. If I’m willing to do that, and I know I’ve seen other guys do the same thing, too.”
Newton was barely throwing at all during the week because of the pain caused by the scar tissue in his shoulder, and as it turns out, practicing helps people play better. He acknowledged after surgery that he couldn’t throw the ball 30 yards downfield. It’s easy to draw the line from there to a 6-2 start turning into a seven-game losing streak.
He can wing it again now, as early reviews on practice have been good. But he also knows that at 30 years old he has to grow as a player to succeed — no longer simply relying on his unique gifts.
“This is what I do know,” Newton said. “You can look back at any type of player. You can look back at any type of sport and as a player grows, your game has to change. I remember reading and seeing a lot of clips about Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Brett Favre, even Peyton Manning to a degree. When you get old, you have to change certain things. It kind of keeps you young.
“I actually look forward to it. I embrace this whole process because it’s made me feel like a rookie again. Learning certain things, learning new mechanics, focusing on the little nuances of playing a quarterback position and trying to master it. So at this point in my career, it’s not about velocity. It’s not about throwing a ball 70 yards. It’s about efficient football that’s gonna win football games.”
Newton was completing passes 10 percentage points higher than his career rate last season before the shoulder fell apart, so there’s reason to believe he’s embracing the addition of Christian McCaffrey — and more importantly offensive coordinator Norv Turner. That’s made him a different player, and he’s learning to be a more efficient one.