Lifelong Panthers fan AMA (ask me anything) Cam Edition

[Conflicted Panthers fan]

Hello Pats Nation all the way from North Carolina. As you can see by my username, I am a Panthers fan who as of a few weeks ago became a Pats fan as well. Full disclosure, in the past I HATED the Pats, going back to when you guys beat us in the Super Bowl in 2003, which was a hell of a shootout. That said, as time past I gained respect for the sustained success (asterisks be damned), and by the time NE was playing Atlanta in the Super Bowl I was all aboard. We still owe you guys for denying Matt Ryan and the Failcons a championship.

All this to say, now that Mr. Cameron Jerrell Newton has signed to New England I am fully on the Pats wagon as the team I'm pulling for the most outside of the Panthers. If Carolina isn't winning the Super Bowl (highly likely they won't), I want the Pats to win with Newton at QB.

Since Cam has been signed, I've been reading this forum and the discussion surrounding the signing. I have to say, you guys are having the some of the exact same conversations and concerns (on and off the field) Panthers fans have been having going on ten years.

So as someone who has seen virtually every single Cam Newton snap since his first preseason game in Carolina and followed him closely, I humbly offer my thoughts and insight from the point of view as a lifelong Panthers fan (I was ten years old when the franchise began).


TLDR version: What do you want to know about Cam Newton from someone who has seen damn near every snap he has taken since being in the NFL?

 

[Joey007]

Why are you so conflicted?

 

[Conflicted Panthers fan]

Why are you so conflicted?

*insert TO voice*

because that’s my QB man

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

There must be reasons why Carolina decided that he was washed up. What were they?

 

[notex]

As a Panthers fan, do you wish you still had Cam vs. Bridgewater THIS YEAR?

Will I ever get used to his "flamboyance" as some have described it, or will it always annoy me?

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Tell us about Cam and what he'll bring. We don't know much about him...

 

[Joey007]

*insert TO voice*

because that’s my QB man

Respect that. I should go to the Bucs forum and do the same thing.

But actual question: thoughts on Panthers defensive rebuild? Kuechly gone, drafted exclusively defensive players in the draft. A lot of new faces on that side of the ball. But I still do see a lot of talent on that side. Derrick Brown will be a beast, Brian Burns looks good too.

 

[neuronet]

Welcome to the forum. I'm in Durham NC (from New Hampshire originally). I've seen the Panthers play with Cam, and know he is a force of nature in ways that come across pretty well (but not 100%) on TV (for instance with Brady it doesn't come across on TV just how good he is).

If you had to put a number on it, how much do you think he can play like he did when he was full tilt Cam? That is, mobile, but also able to stay in the pocket and beat you with his arm? Or are the days of RB-Cam over?

 

[tasmlab]

Welcome to the board @Conflicted Panthers fan !

If we have some Carolina fans rooting Pats and some Pats fans rooting Tampa Bay, does it become a Mexican standoff when it's Carolina vs. Tampa?

FWIW, I've lived in South Carolina for seven years and I have yet to have met or seen a Panthers fan.

 

[WinstonSmith]

How limited is Cam due to repeated shoulder injuries? How limited is Cam due to foot injury? Is it true that 44 year old Chad Pennington currently has a better arm than Cam?

 

[203Pat]

If you're anything like half this board you will trash him for everything he did for your team and claim all the success was due to everyone else and the QB just got lucky.

 

[tasmlab]

*insert TO voice*

because that’s my QB man

I wish you still had your QB, and I wish we still had ours.

2020 really sucks.

 

[Conflicted Panthers fan]

There must be reasons why Carolina decided that he was washed up. What were they?

First I wouldn't say Carolina decided he was "washed up". I think they legitimately gave a hard look at bringing him back, BUT there was so much turnover in Carolina including an entirely new coaching staff and a relatively new owner, and I think for them it made sense to go with a known commodity in Teddy Bridgewater.

Does that mean Teddy Bridgewater is better than Cam Newton? I don't think so, but you have to get into the details to see why Teddy makes sense for the Panthers. Carolina was able to lure offensive coordinator Joe Brady away from LSU, and Brady had spent the previous year with the Saints as an offensive assistant, where Teddy was the backup for Drew Brees. Joe Brady knows exactly what he is getting with Bridgewater, and he knows he can use a similar offense they run in New Orleans, and that they ran at LSU, in Carolina.

From what I've heard, Carolina didn't expect to have a shot at signing Teddy, but when the opportunity presented itself I think they made the decision to go with what they viewed as a known commodity versus what had been a hobbled Cam Newton.

Will that turn out to be the right decision? We'll find out depending how Cam does in NE. I personally would have loved to see Cam with an offensive guru like Joe Brady calling the shots, but it wasn't to be.

 

[Dr Pain]

As a Panthers fan, do you wish you still had Cam vs. Bridgewater THIS YEAR?

Will I ever get used to his "flamboyance" as some have described it, or will it always annoy me?

Haha I think it is a wash vs Brady's weirdess

 

[Conflicted Panthers fan]

As a Panthers fan, do you wish you still had Cam vs. Bridgewater THIS YEAR?

Will I ever get used to his "flamboyance" as some have described it, or will it always annoy me?

Yeah if it were up to me I would have loved for Carolina to have rolled with Cam for at least one more year with this new coaching staff. It's a long story, but Carolina did a pretty awful job of building around Cam for his entire career, right up until they drafted CMC a couple years back. Prior to that, the offensive firepower they placed around Cam included such names as Kelvin Benjamin, Devin Funchess, Ted Ginn, Philly Brown, a Brenston Bersin etc. Not to mention the offensive coordinator for most of his career has been the god awful Mike freaking Shula.

So it is pretty comical in a sad way how the Panthers finally have legit offensive weapons (and legit coaches) on their offense now and Cam is gone.

Oh and the flamboyance thing. For some people, they'll never get over that. They have an image of how they imagine a "starting quarterback" should look and act, and they'll never waver.

Me personally? I think Cam brings a joy and passion to the game like no other player. It's a shame that there won't be packed stadiums this year, because seeing a fully healthy Cam live in person during a home game is a site to see. The only thing I've seen come close to it in person is a WWE event. Cam hypes the crowd and feeds off that energy between timeouts, during the game, and before and after. It's entertainment personified, and there's nothing fake about it. To me it's what sports are all about.

As for the post game attire and fashion and hair style.....if people are upset about another man's clothing and hair I don't know what to tell them. Cam is into fashion. It's a passion of his. I don't get everything about the world of fashion and what not, but Cam does his own thing and doesn't give a dang about what anyone else thinks, and I think that is refreshing.

 

[Conflicted Panthers fan]

Tell us about Cam and what he'll bring. We don't know much about him...

If you get Cam at 70-80% healthy, you'll be contending for the AFC championship without a doubt. His health is really the x-factor, and I think the main issue is his throwing shoulder. If that holds up, look out. The thing is that shoulder isn't something you'll know can hold up until you get late into the season. I will be holding my breath with cautious optimism every snap and enjoying the ride.

 

[Conflicted Panthers fan]

How limited is Cam due to repeated shoulder injuries? How limited is Cam due to foot injury? Is it true that 44 year old Chad Pennington currently has a better arm than Cam?

Like I said in the previous post, I think the main issue is his shoulder. The Panthers and Ron Rivera completely mismanaged that shoulder injury going back to 2016 when Rivera kept playing Cam in meaningless games with a torn rotator cuff.

From what I've read, the foot should be healed and Cam should be as mobile as he needs to be. My concern is the shoulder.

 

[Conflicted Panthers fan]

Respect that. I should go to the Bucs forum and do the same thing.

But actual question: thoughts on Panthers defensive rebuild? Kuechly gone, drafted exclusively defensive players in the draft. A lot of new faces on that side of the ball. But I still do see a lot of talent on that side. Derrick Brown will be a beast, Brian Burns looks good too.

Yeah I have similar thoughts on the defense. They will be very young, but it seems like they'll be fast and the defensive front does look impressive at least on paper.

I think they'll be going through some growing pains on defense, and probably be in the bottom half of the league. If they end up between 15-20 in defensive ranking I'll count that as a win. That said, I'm telling everyone to bet the over on every Panthers game, as I think we'll have a high scoring offense and a defense (secondary) that gives up a lot of points.

 

[Conflicted Panthers fan]

Welcome to the forum. I'm in Durham NC (from New Hampshire originally). I've seen the Panthers play with Cam, and know he is a force of nature in ways that come across pretty well (but not 100%) on TV (for instance with Brady it doesn't come across on TV just how good he is).

If you had to put a number on it, how much do you think he can play like he did when he was full tilt Cam? That is, mobile, but also able to stay in the pocket and beat you with his arm? Or are the days of RB-Cam over?

I think Cam is still going to have a hearty dose of running in his game. It's just who he is and what he brings. He's still only 30 years old and judging by his workout videos he's in as good a shape as he's been in. Of course the question of the injuries comes into play. If the foot is healed as it should, he should be around 70-80% healthy at least. I'm afraid the shoulder issue may be more permanent, but it could take well into the season for that to show up.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Statwise, Cam was never a particularly accurate passer, until 2018 with Norv Turner. It seems noteworthy, but odd, that Cam was suddenly a 67% completion QB, before injury.

Was that a fluke, did he mature, have better talent, or what? Norv is a great OC but has a reputation for stretching the field, not for necessarily having QBs with high completion percentages and a ball control philosophy.