Carolina quarterback Cam Newton said Thursday that he does not want to hear the word “playoffs” anymore because the reality of the Panthers’ situation is they have a must-win game on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
“Can we please stop mentioning that word? I’m trying to get a win. Hell, I’m 0-2,” Newton said. “Yeah, we know what the grand scheme is but the reality is I’m 0-2. This ain’t no Cinderella story. I’m here to win football games. All the feel-good stories of how we met and this, that and the third. I’m here to win. And when you don’t, a lot of people are going to get cut along the way.”
A blunt and to-the-point Newton said the NFL is a “results-based league” three times during his weekly press conference. The Panthers (5-7) are coming off a bye week following consecutive losses to Washington and Miami, which prompted coach Matt Rhule to fire offensive coordinator Joe Brady on Sunday afternoon.
Senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon will take over play-calling responsibilities. As a competitor, Newton said he feels responsible for what happened to Brady, though he is excited for Nixon’s opportunity.
“You don’t lose your job because of success. Where I am at now is doing what I can control to make sure that I have a job, too,” Newton said. “There is no perfect scenario in life, let alone in this league. I knew what I was getting into Day 1. We have to put a better brand of football out there, offensively and personally.”
Newton is coming off an all-time bad performance against Miami where he completed just five passes, threw two interceptions and finished with a passer rating of 5.8. The offense hasn’t developed a rhythm or found an identity. Rhule expects Newton and Nixon to change that this Sunday.
“He has an adequate resume being a signal-caller to some capacity. This is the NFL. It is a results-based league,” Newton said of Nixon. “I know he wouldn’t have this opportunity if he didn’t know what he was doing.”
The first time Newton met Nixon, he knocked him over.
The two crossed paths at the 2011 NFL combine and the 6-foot-6 Newton accidentally bumped into the much smaller Nixon, sending him to the ground. Now it’s up to Nixon to use Newton’s size to implement a run game that Rhule feels best compliments the Panthers’ defense that ranks second in yards allowed, fourth in sacks and fifth in third-down efficiency.
Rhule wants Carolina to play stout defense and control the ball offensively. Several times, he challenged his former offensive coordinator to call at least 30 rushes per game, a mark the Panthers have hit only three times.
“I think he feels comfortable with me that we can be on the same page with how the game will be called. We are not all of a sudden going to put in a brand new offense in two or three days,” Newton said. “He feels comfortable with how I’m going to call the game and how he wants our offense to look these next five or hopefully more Sundays of the season.”
The Panthers’ offense may not look drastically different but it can be coached better. Carolina ranks third in penalties and last in third-quarter points: Two areas Rhule, Nixon and Newton all identified as key reasons their offense struggles sustaining drives.
“The biggest thing with being a coordinator is getting everyone on the same page,” Nixon said. “That is staff and players on the team, getting everyone moving in the right direction.”
Newton knows what is at stake, adding “shoot, let’s be honest.” when he said winning creates promotions and losing results in cuts. He and Nixon have five regular-season games left to prove themselves.
