The Carolina Panthers do not have an elite offense. Much of the play will have to be executed by committee this season, especially without star wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin on the field. Very few quarterbacks have been as criticized nearly as much as Cam Newton.
Drafted in 2011, Cam has had tremendous success in Carolina. Cam is possibly the most physically gifted quarterback in the NFL. He has an arm that can hit receivers far downfield, and the legs to get himself out of trouble.
Since entering the league, Cam has accumulated 34 rushing touchdowns and nearly 2,715 yards rushing. His completion percentage has been a modest 59 percent, something that Cam will have to improve on if he wants to be successful as he enters the latter half of his career. Regardless of completion percentage, Cam has thrown for over 14,000 yards and 85 touchdowns in just four seasons.
Much of the conversations surrounding Cam have been directed at his urge to run the football. Cam's new contract includes numbers north of 100 million dollars. Inherently, running the ball would be a risk to the Panthers investment, due to the inevitable contact that's going to occur on a running play. In all honesty, Carolina should cut the reins loose and let Cam be Cam. So far this season, they have done a good job of letting Cam play free. Many, including myself, felt that the franchise was restricting Cam from running the ball at times last season.
The problem with telling Cam to not run is that you are telling Cam to ignore his instincts. This man was a machine at Auburn. He was able to toss the ball downfield and run over defenders with his size and speed. He duplicated this during his rookie season, which was a cause for concern.
Running over college players is very different when compared to attempting to do the same in the NFL. Cam's rookie season featured many running plays that made Panthers' fans cringe. Instead of protecting himself, the franchise quarterback would attempt to run over defenders. This is likely the reason for why Carolina has been hesitant in recent years to let Cam run. Luckily, Cam has learned to now avoid contact and slide to the ground at the end of runs. With all of this in mind, expect Cam's responsibilities on offense to increase as the season goes forward. This isn't the best receiving corps that Cam has worked with, so expect an offense that includes more running plays for Cam.
Rest easy because Cam has learned to protect himself on run plays. Cam has the size of a linebacker and his ability to run will keep the defense honest when playing a Carolina offense that will struggle to find targets on passing routes. Look for Superman to be making his most memorable plays with his feet this season. #KeepPounding
