A look at Cam Newton’s MVP-caliber season
By Stu White
Barring some sort of bizarre failure on the part of the voters, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton should and will win the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player award. With all apologies to Carson Palmer, who posted some bonkers numbers during the regular season, and Tom Brady, who once again did his usual ol’ Tom Brady thing, eviscerating defenses and leading the New England Patriots to a high playoff seed, Newton was the best player in the league this year. Sound arguments can be made for those other two quarterbacks, and in other years they’d likely take home the hardware, but Newton is clearly this season’s MVP.
Think about the position Newton was in back in August. Stud wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, one of the best young talents in the league, a player who hauled in 73 catches for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns in 2014, eye-popping numbers for a rookie, tore his left ACL during a preseason practice. Outside of all-world tight end Greg Olsen, that left the cupboard pretty bare for the Panthers. Newton entered his 2015 campaign with a receiving corps of Ted Ginn Jr., Corey Brown, Jerricho Cotchery — combined 2014 stats for the trio: 83 catches for 1,066 yards and a measly three touchdowns — and rookie Devin Funchess. That’s not a whole lot to work with.
How did Newton respond? By squeezing great seasons out of the talent at his disposal. The aforementioned trio, lackluster in 2014, finished the regular season with good combined numbers: 114 receptions for 1,671 yards and 17 touchdowns. Ginn, often maligned throughout his NFL career, the target of numerous jokes, became a breakout star, bringing in 44 receptions for 739 yards and 10 touchdowns — stats nobody thought he was capable of achieving. Newton turned lemons into lemonade in 2015, his team’s 15-1 record and No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs a testament to his abilities.
Yes, other quarterbacks — many others, in fact — had better raw numbers than Newton. Newton completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns during the regular season — numbers that put him 28th, 16th, and tied for second in the league, respectively. His touchdown total was the best he’s had since coming into the NFL in 2011, and his 10 interceptions marked the least he’s thrown in a season, but overall his passing numbers weren’t of the earth-shattering, record-rewriting variety. They were good, great, but not exceptional. (However, it is worth noting that Newton’s 7.1 touchdown percentage
Yes, other quarterbacks — many others, in fact — had better raw numbers than Newton. Newton completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns during the regular season — numbers that put him 28th, 16th, and tied for second in the league, respectively. His touchdown total was the best he’s had since coming into the NFL in 2011, and his 10 interceptions marked the least he’s thrown in a season, but overall his passing numbers weren’t of the earth-shattering, record-rewriting variety. They were good, great, but not exceptional. (However, it is worth noting that Newton’s 7.1 touchdown percentage
Yes, other quarterbacks — many others, in fact — had better raw numbers than Newton. Newton completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns during the regular season — numbers that put him 28th, 16th, and tied for second in the league, respectively. His touchdown total was the best he’s had since coming into the NFL in 2011, and his 10 interceptions marked the least he’s thrown in a season, but overall his passing numbers weren’t of the earth-shattering, record-rewriting variety. They were good, great, but not exceptional. (However, it is worth noting that Newton’s 7.1 touchdown percentage did lead the league.)
This is where Newton’s running ability comes into play. Possessing an uncanny combination of speed and strength, Newton has been a headache for defensive coordinators ever since his rookie season. 2015 was no exception. Newton’s finished ninth in the league in rushing averaging — 4.8 yards per carry — and his 10 rushing touchdowns put him in a tie for fifth. When you have a quarterback who can post rushing numbers comparable to the best running backs in the league, a quarterback who is the only player in league history to throw for at least 30 touchdowns and rush for 10 in the same season, it’s hard to imagine someone more valuable to his team, more capable of turning the tide of any given game.
And speaking of games, Newton had a slew of amazing performances in 2015, especially in the last two months of the season. He annihilated the Washington Redskins in late November, throwing for 246 yards and five touchdowns (and no interceptions) en route to a 44-16 blowout win. A few weeks later, Newton led the Panthers to a 41-38 road win over the New Orleans Saints, a game in which Newton completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 331 yards and five touchdowns. Then there was his signature performance against the New York Giants on Dec. 20. Not only did Newton lead the Panthers on a game-winning drive in what was a gutsy 38-35 road win, he did it in unprecedented style, throwing for 340 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 100 yards (with a long of 47). If you’re struggling to think of how many players in NFL history have ever rushed for 100 yards while also throwing five touchdowns in the same game, well, know there is just one: Newton.
Newton was transcendent on the field in 2015, his team’s exceptional record proof of his greatness and leadership, and he did it all while dealing with the series of ridiculous off-field controversies. There was the time a concerned mom wrote a letter to the Charlotte Observer because she took umbrage with Newton’s on-field celebratory dancing. (You know, because when it comes to all the parts of football that are bad, dancing is definitely the biggest of the evils.) There was an Instagram photo that sent people into shrieking hysterics — “He’s a thug! A gangsta! Won’t somebody please think of the children?!” — an inane controversy to which Newton responded in the best way possible. Most recently there was another idiotic letter to the Charlotte Observer, this one criticizing Newton for having a child out of wedlock. These were not self-inflicted controversies resulting from poor behavior on Newton’s part. No, these were controversies stemming from ugly societal attitudes regarding race, attitudes that extend far beyond the world of football, and Newton handled everything with admirable strength and humor. The MVP is meant to reward on-field performance, sure, but the off-field context is impossible ignore with Newton, and he should be commended for how he navigated the year. A lesser person would’ve crumbled.
Newton’s 2015 regular season, full of jaw-dropping plays and clutch drives, won’t soon be forgotten. Right now the oddsmakers in Vegas have Newton as the favorite to be named MVP, and it’s hard to think of anyone else more deserving. He’s earned it.