As the Panthers hurtle headfirst towards Dallas on Sunday to open their 2018 season, much has been made of the weapons added to Cam Newton’s arsenal on offense, from Torrey Smith to DJ Moore to a back to full health Greg Olsen; perhaps the most important addition was the hiring of offensive coordinator Norv Turner – the term “genius” has been thrown around by multiple players after going through training camp and the preseason with the coach that’s been in the NFL for over a quarter-century. Norv sat down – well, stood up – with the media Thursday and answered questions about not only Dallas, but his plan for running Cam Newton, how he envisions DJ Moore fitting into the offense and his feelings about Curtis Samuel’s medical situation.
How was it having Steve Smith at practice [Thursday]?
It’s always fun having Steve around – unfortunately, I had to see him on the other side of the field a few times. He’s good for our guys, they like having him around.
How would you assess the offensive line, given the injuries, how do you think it will flesh out?
It’s been pretty amazing with the number of guys we’ve had to interchange and Coach Matsko has done a great job of getting those guys ready and it’s been good in the preseason – obviously, it changes a lot when you get in the regular season and you play an entire game against the other team’s best players but I think our guys are ready to go.
Any sense of how that right side will look with Daryl working his way back?
I don’t know – Coach Rivera’s got some decisions to make. We’ve had a little bit more time, we’ve had a couple of more days – we have a plan, whatever happens in terms of those decisions; I think our guys will manage it well.
What are your impressions of the Cowboys’ defensive ends and the pressure they bring?
They’re dynamic – when you watch them play in the preseason, they’re special. They give you problems and we can’t let them disrupt the game.
When you played against the Pats in the preseason, starting fast really gave this team an edge, what kind of team are the Panthers when they start fast?
You know, it’s funny. Starting fast – in that game, we had a third-and-4; we convert the third-and-4 and bang, we get a drive together. If you don’t convert that third-and-4, then it looks like you’re starting slow – our guys will be ready to play and I think we have a good plan. We want to get off to a fast start, keep the ball and move the ball – we want to score points.
Does bringing in Jarius Wright help with those third down conversions?
No question. It’s another guy the defense has to defend – if they feel like they’ve got Greg Olsen, they’ve got Jarius running routes in behind him, Funchess on the outside, they’ve got Christian coming out of the backfield, they have a lot more things to deal with than if you just have one guy you’re going to.
Christian was so active in the preseason, clearly he’s going to be a big part of this offense, but was part of that the looks you were running in the preseason?
I think it’s a combination of both. The way we wanted to get some things run with him involved and then a big part of getting everyone involved is the QB making good decisions. Cam did a great job of getting the ball down to Christian when things were covered upfield; he made some throws up the field when they were worried about our backs underneath. We need to do that the entire game, make good decisions and we’ll get everyone involved.
When you have a long drive like the 16-play drive to open New England that featured Christian so heavily, what does that do to a defense on the second drive?
You give them more things to look at – we’re going to always try and vary it and give them all different formation looks and personnel looks and we’re fortunate in that we have a lot of guys that can make plays – they know I want to get them all involved.
Cam made a point yesterday to say that we don’t know what the Panthers have on offense, how accurate is that or is do you know what you have when you see it in practice?
Well, we haven’t played in a real game. Cam is awfully aware and he’s been through this a lot – he’s talking to our guys and telling them ‘Hey, we need to go prove who we are and what we are’ – that’s the way this league is. You have to do it in the first game and you have to do it in the last game and you have to do it every game in between. I’m confident in our guys, I think we have an outstanding group and as we go through this thing, we’re going to be an outstanding offense.
What can we expect from DJ Moore on Sunday?
I hope when he’s called on, he makes plays – he’s ready to go. DJ’s ready to play, he’s going to be a bigger part of what we do.
Is there a number of runs that is too many for Cam?
My background, and Coach Rivera and I have talked about this, is that you do what you have to do to win the game. After that game, if you’re fortunate enough to win the game, if you look back and say ‘Hey, we probably overdid it’ then you look back and adjust it, but when you get in the heat of the game, we’re going to do what it takes and I like that about Cam, because he’s certainly willing to do what it takes.
What about Curtis Samuel? He had such a strong preseason, what does it mean now that he’s not going to a part of this offense?
Well, we’re lucky that we have guys – we plan on playing all of our receivers and we have guys that can go play. I feel bad for Curtis because he’s worked awfully hard, he had an outstanding training camp and I’m glad it’s a temporary thing and he’ll be back with us and ready to crank up and pick up where he left off.
You haven’t been in the game for a bit, how are you feeling three days ahead of a season opener?
I’m excited about it. I’ve been excited the last ten days since we played our [final preseason game] – you miss it. You miss doing it; the key is if you’re doing it with great people. We’ve got good young players that are excited about playing and we’ve got an outstanding staff.
When we spoke to you at training camp, you said you were just getting to know Cam and developing that relationship; what have you learned about him from then to now?
He works at his craft as well as any guy I’ve been around. He takes it very seriously and it’s important to him – he wants to go out and perform at a high level and you can see that in the way he prepares everyday. That’s what you have to do when you’re playing that position.
Are you someone that works with a script?
We’ve done a script where you have it and stayed on it the first nine plays and we’ve done a script where you get off of it the second play and go in a completely different direction. It’s more about preparation – you have an idea of what you want to call in the first part of the game, but it can change real fast.
