Fansided

Ron Rivera: ‘Very Difficult’ To Blame Cam Newton For Carolina Panthers Woes

By Patrick Schmidt

Nov 30, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) scrambles against the Minnesota Vikings in the second quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) scrambles against the Minnesota Vikings in the second quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is not ready to give up on Cam Newton despite the former No. 1 overall pick having a miserable season and the team struggling mightily

More from Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton is having the worst season of his NFL career with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for the 3-8-1 Panthers but head coach Ron Rivera thinks it would be very unfair to lay all the blame on the former No. 1 overall pick who led the Panthers to the NFC South division title last season.

The Panthers had the second best record in the NFC last year when the defense was dominant and Newton threw for a career-high 24 touchdowns and an 88.8 quarterback rating. Things haven’t been as fortuitous this year without Jordan Gross at left tackle and Steve Smith lined up wide and Newton had offseason ankle surgery and later had broken ribs in the preseason that cost him the season opener.

All of those factors are why Rivera thinks it would be very difficult to give up on Newton now like the Washington Redskins appear to have given up on Robert Griffin III.

“Judge him. Judge the team. Judge the players on the team. Judge the coaches,” Rivera said. “There’s going to be a lot of evaluations we have to go through, not just us as players and coaches but our scheme, what we’re doing, what happened, what people did to us.”

The Panthers have already picked up the fifth year option on Newton and talks for a contract extension could be revisited in the offseason, but a divorce after 2015 would appear to be the last thing on Rivera’s mind as he tries to rally in a weak NFC South where they are still alive in the division race.

For more football coverage this week stay on FanSided.com to stay on top of the latest updates around the world of the NFL, including the latest scores, news, injury updates, videos and gif’s, so be sure to follow @FanSidedGIF on twitter so you don’t miss any of the jaw-dropping plays.

More from FanSided

Home/Carolina Panthers