Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton flips script on what an NFL quarterback should be

Cam Newton’s flip might have made the highlight shows, but the Carolina Panthers quarterback’s other runs last week against Houston were more indicative of what makes the Panthers’ offense go.

Newton ran 10 times for 76 yards in the 24-17 victory over the Houston Texans. Excluding the flip into the end zone and a game-ending kneel-down, five of Newton’s remaining eight rushes resulted in first downs.

Newton’s success on the ground also reinforced the notion that – $103.8 million extension or not – Newton is not going to quit running anytime soon.

Nor should he.

While the Panthers would like to limit the number of hits their franchise quarterback absorbs, Newton’s ability to neutralize defenses on zone-read runs and his knack for scrambling for first downs fit the Panthers’ formula for success.

Since offensive coordinator Mike Shula succeeded Rob Chudzinski as offensive coordinator before the 2013 season, the Panthers’ philosophy in a nutshell has been to control the clock with a balanced offense and keep their top-10 defense as well-rested as possible.

In his first two seasons under Chudzinski, Newton had six 300-yard passing games, including a pair of 400-yard passing efforts in the first two games of his career.

In two-plus seasons under Shula, Newton has thrown for 300 yards or more twice. During that time, the Panthers won consecutive division titles for the first time in their history.

“I think Cam is a unique guy. He’s got a strong arm. He can get very hot. And at times when he’s not, he still plays through it and can help be productive running the football or making plays on a scramble or with some of those (quarterback) runs,” Shula said. “That all factors in on more of a balance. I don’t know if having him throw it 58 times is the best thing for us.”

Through the Panthers’ first two games, Newton has rushed 24 times for 111 yards. He’s run for more yards than two teams – Detroit and Philadelphia.

“If we could limit how much he runs, we feel better about that obviously,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “Some of the things he just chooses (and) runs, and he does great for us. It’s been said that when he’s done some things effectively as a runner, it has helped us.”

Since drafting Newton with the first overall pick in 2011, the Panthers are 12-3-1 in regular-season games in which Newton has 10 or more carries, including their two victories this season.

Carolina is 18-6-1 when Newton rushes for 50 yards or more.

“It just gives the defense another thing to worry about,” Newton said. “I’ve said often that (running ability) can be my gift and a curse. A lot of times when I feel I can run and I do run, there’s an opportunity for me to throw it. ... It’s like a give-and-take thing. It’s what you practice for and hopefully the game slows down and you’re able to be aware of when and when not to run.”

Pre-emptive strike

Newton, in his fifth season, has heard the questions about whether he runs too much so often that this week he anticipated them before they were asked.

“He’s been running more than any other quarterback in the league (the last) two weeks,” Newton said, mimicking a reporter. “The rigors on his body, can he hold up throughout the whole season? How’s his ankle? How’s his ribs?’ ”

But it’s not only media members who have wondered whether Newton should do less running.

Trai Turner, the Panthers’ second-year guard, said it makes him nervous to see Newton running downfield.

“You never want to see your quarterback get hit. So that’s my biggest thing,” Turner said. “I just don’t like the hits that people try to put on him. But he’s great at running, so we have to utilize it.”

Shula tried to counter the Texans’ aggressive front seven last week by calling several quarterback draws for Newton, including his 2-yard touchdown vault over safety Rahim Moore.

But Newton also picked up positive yardage on scrambles when the pocket broke down.

“Cam, he’s a great equalizer,” Shula said. “You’d like to say it’s all scheme this, scheme that. You saw it. He made a lot of plays on his own and was decisive when he made them and helped us stay on the field where we could get some points on the board.”

Nobody in the NFL has been better at extending drives with his legs than Newton since he entered the league in 2011.

Newton has picked up first downs on 40.9 percent of his career rushes, first in the NFL over that span. The rest of the top five in that category are running backs, including Buffalo’s LeSean McCoy, a distant second at 24.8 percent.

Countering the defense

Chudzinski incorporated the zone-read attack into his offense after talking with Newton’s coaches at Auburn. And while the read option has become more prevalent across the NFL, few teams utilize it as much as Carolina, Seattle and San Francisco.

Rivera said the threat of Newton as a runner helps neutralize defenses that align a safety near the line of scrimmage.

“That’s the thing about when quarterbacks run these read options, these zone reads, they’re now the extra guy that basically counteracts that eighth man in the box,” Rivera said. “When you’re doing that effectively, now that eighth man in the box isn’t as effective. That’s part of why we’ve had success.”

The last time the Panthers faced New Orleans, their opponent Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, Newton had a big day running and passing in Carolina’s 41-10 victory last December.

Behind Newton (12 carries for 83 yards) and running back Jonathan Stewart (20 rushes for 155 yards), the Panthers finished with 271 rushing yards, the third-most in franchise history.

Saints coach Sean Payton says the Panthers run the zone read as well as anyone.

“I would say they are right up there at the top and it starts with Cam,” Payton said. “He does such a good job with his decisions on the end (of the line). ... If you’re not on point with your eyes and your gap, it can really expose you. That happened to us a year ago at home here.”

By what measure?

Newton, who has a 59.3 career completion percentage, wants to improve to around 65 to 70 percent this season. He’s at 52.9 percent through two games, a percentage that ranks above only Houston’s Ryan Mallett.

Newton’s 71.3 quarterback rating also is near the bottom statistically, ahead of only Mallett, Andrew Luck and former Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

“The No. 1 rating there is is the scoreboard,” Shula said. “So that’s a pretty good rating right now for us.”

Newton, who is 6-foot-5 and plays at as much as 260 pounds, says he’s not a typical quarterback and shouldn’t be judged as such.

Panthers safety Roman Harper, who played against Newton while with the Saints, says Newton’s skill set isn’t always by the books.

“Everybody wants to (say), ‘Oh man, maybe throw the ball away.’ But then the time he shakes a guy, spins, rolls out, throws back left and we’ve got 30 yards, everybody’s like, ‘Look at Cam,’ ” Harper said.

“You’ve got to accept all the great things he brings to the table with sometimes it’s not going to be as pretty or as drawn-up as you want it to be. And that’s the benefit of having a Cam Newton at quarterback. Because he can do things that nobody else can do.”

Former Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber, a Fox analyst who will be in the booth for the Panthers-Saints game, isn’t concerned about the hits Newton takes in the run game.

“He can take it. He welcomes it. They paid him all that money to be the guy that he is,” Barber said in an interview this week with Fox Sports 1. “He is their offense, not only throwing the football but running the ball. He has accounted for all their touchdowns and has general disregard for his body, and that’s who he is.”

Not living in a bubble

Newton missed two games, the first of his career, last year after sustaining cracked ribs in the preseason, then later with a back injury after his truck was totaled in a December accident.

He was criticized for practicing with an Australian rules football team and playing in a flag football tournament in Atlanta during the summer after signing his contract extension.

Newton responded at training camp by saying he wasn’t going to live life in a bubble.

Panthers fullback Mike Tolbert knew Newton wasn’t going to change how he played, either.

“You don’t change what’s gotten him to this point. You just hope that he takes care of himself and takes care of his body and let him do what he does,” Tolbert said.

“He’s a big part of our offense with what he does on the ground. We need him to be him.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton flips script on what an NFL quarterback should be."