After Cam Newton’s shoulder surgery following the 2016 season, his rehab stretched well into the prologue for 2017, with the quarterback throwing minimally, if at all, during Panthers training camp last season – the first three weeks of the season belied that lack of practice, with the 2015 MVP throwing for two touchdowns against four interceptions with less than 200 yards per game in the first three contests.
When Newton returned fully healthy to this season’s spring and summer activities, new offensive coordinator Norv Turner – along with quarterbacks coach Scott Turner – focused in on improving Newton’s game in multiple aspects, but there was one thing they focused in on.
Timing.
With the Turners focusing on getting the ball out quickly throughout training camp and the preseason, the Panthers jumped out to an early 6-2 record, with Newton’s early-season numbers rivaling those of his 2015 MVP season and the quarterback set to record franchise bests in multiple categories – from highest completion percentage to best passer rating to fewest interceptions; but after a fourth quarter in Week 7 in which Newton threw the ball 22 times as the Panthers rallied back from three scores down to win on the road, Newton faced some shoulder soreness and when that soreness lingered, his practice schedule changed – from full participant on a daily basis to the dreaded “new normal” of 2017 – limited on Wednesdays and Thursdays and a full go on Friday.
And the timing in the passing game has suffered – maybe not in Week 8, where Newton went 21-of-29 in a 36-21 victory over the Ravens or in Week 9, where the Panthers scored five touchdowns in the first half en route to a 42-28 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but as the weeks without practice wore on, so did the effects.
“Obviously, we made a strong commitment to the footwork, getting back and getting the ball out quick throughout all of training camp, throughout all of the early part,” said Norv Turner this week. “I think you can talk about it and talk about emphasizing it, but if you’re not doing it Wednesday, Thursday, Friday – you’re not doing it every time you go back and throw, you’re going to lose a little bit of that.”
It gets harder when you’re playing young guys at key positions – while Turner looked to get the ball into playmakers like DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel’s hands through trick plays like double reverses and that ilk early in the season, as their roles have grown, the timing between themselves and the quarterback hasn’t quite been there.
“DJ’s a rookie, Ian’s a rookie, Curtis is basically a rookie – he didn’t play last year – and you’ve got Cam who really hasn’t practiced on Wednesdays and Thursdays in a month. I think over a period of time, there’s a trickle-down effect,” said Turner.
“You lose some of that continuity, you lose some of that consistency.”
Moore, who leads all rookie wide receivers in yards from scrimmage in 2018 with 826, says he feels like his knowledge is constantly growing – he’s up to 85% of the offense and constantly leaning on veterans like Jarius Wright, Torrey Smith and Devin Funchess – all of whom have seen their roles decrease as Moore and Samuel’s go up – for advice.
“It’s me having a better understanding of what’s going on; I still ask questions and try to make sure that I’m doing everything right,” said the rookie. “It’s a blessing, they’re all so helpful – whenever I don’t know something, I can ask them without them getting mad, so that’s always a plus.”
Ian Thomas is the same way – after not playing for much of the season as Greg Olsen took the lion’s share of the snaps throughout 2018, when Olsen went on injured reserve ahead of last week’s game in Cleveland, the first pick of the fourth round responded with the second-most receptions for a tight end in Panthers franchise history.
Thomas’ nine receptions for 77 yards weren’t only his NFL career high – he hadn’t had that many catches in any game during his college career, either; his limited reps in college in a spread offense and in the pros make every rep, especially in practice, hugely important.
“This is a whole new deal for Ian – he came out of college from a spread offense with very little experience and everything he does is new to him,” said Turner. “He’s growing and he’s going to be a real good player.”
While much has been made of the lack of a deep passing game with Newton battling shoulder soreness – Newton’s longest pass from the point of release to the point of reception this season was only 40.5 yards, the second-lowest number in the NFL ahead of only San Francisco’s Nick Mullens, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats – miscommunications between quarterback and pass catcher has led to interceptions – of which Cam only had four during the first eight games of the season.
He’s had eight in the past five games.
While some, like two of the picks in Tampa or the early pick-six against the Steelers, obviously came from the pressure – the Panthers allowed 12 sacks over their first eight games and 13 during the five-game slide, not to mention more pressure and population around Newton; and some, like the interception that sealed the game in Cleveland last week, were just balls that just sailed on Newton – interceptions like this one, in Detroit, where Curtis Samuel flashes open for a moment but Newton throws it a second too late, may have been helped by being able to practice that route on Wednesdays and Thursdays for the past six weeks.
Or this key incompletion last week in Cleveland on third down with the Panthers on the Browns side of the field that led to the Panthers taking a delay of game and punting it back to Cleveland after a turnover. When the team laments three or four plays per week that could have turned the game, perhaps one or two of them could have been helped with additional practice.
Newton refuses to lay the blame at the feet of fewer practice reps, saying after the game that the miscommunications between he and the receivers are unacceptable when it was suggested that the lack or reps, be they during the game or during practice, may have led to issues in the passing game.
“No. We are professionals,” said Newton. “It does not matter if you get the reps in the week or not. Do your job.”
While Funchess took the blame for this play, there are plays like this littered throughout the Panthers five-game losing streak – while the completion percentage has remained high, when the Panthers have needed passes down the stretch, like two throws to Jarius Wright that sailed high in the end zone during their losing streak that may have been game-winning scores if they’re put in the right spot. If the “new normal” is Newton not throwing on Wednesdays and Thursdays, how can the Panthers improve their timing? The rub on that is that the improvement comes with only one thing – time.
“It’s about getting his shoulder to feel better and then going from there; for everything that’s happened this year, from the weather to field conditions to the sore shoulder to limited opportunities in practice; I think he’s handled it pretty well,” said Rivera. “There was a stretch where [Cam] was playing very, very well and then the last couple of weeks we’ve had some unfortunate plays go against us – he’s doing a great job, he continues to work hard, he works on his fundamentals, but I guess I would agree with what [Turner] said.”
“Your timing does suffer, at least I believe it does, when you don’t get an opportunity to practice your craft everyday.”
Time, with only three games left in the season and likely all of them necessary for the Panthers to make the playoffs, is the one thing they’re running out of.
