Cam Newton brushes off expectations on Panthers

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has high expectations for this season.

Cam Newton is one of the most physically gifted quarterbacks in the NFL, perhaps ever. But his physical abilities haven’t translated in the passing game on a consistent basis in his tenure with the Panthers. The Panthers this offseason went out and hired Norv Turner to revamp their offense. Expectations are high for Newton, second-year running back Christian McCaffrey and first-round draft pick D.J. Moore at receiver.

While Newton understands why a lot of observers think this year will be different for the Panthers offense, he’s trying to stay focused on the game and not get carried away with speculation.

“We don’t know what we have yet,” he said, per the Charlotte Observer. “That’s why Sunday is so important. … Before we start foreshadowing things, and kind of expecting things, you know ‘you said this’ or ‘that said what,’ we’re all just trying to focus on winning football games. And as that comes, a lot of things will show (their) hand.”

Cam Newton has the weight of the Panthers on his shoulders and he knows that execution must come before winning games. Newton, who won the NFL MVP award in 2015, has remained dominant in the run game but is looking to take his passing game to the next level.

The last two seasons, Newton has completed just 56 percent of his passes, for 41 touchdowns but 30 interceptions. He nearly replicated the number of touchdowns thrown in his MVP season (35) in his last two seasons, so it’s easy to see why Newton is taking the pragmatic route.

The Panthers face off against the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday, Sept. 9, so we’ll get a chance to see if the Panthers and Newton are indeed focused on winning.