Panthers' Ron Rivera: Cam Newton has 'an awful lot of room to grow'
Even though Newton already won an MVP award, Rivera thinks the Panthers quarterback will improve as he continues to gain experience
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So here's a scary proposition: Cam Newton, the league's MVP who dragged the Panthers offense to the Super Bowl, hasn't even peaked yet.
According to Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, his quarterback still has room to improve. Appearing on ESPN 730 AM on Wednesday, Rivera expressed his belief that Newton still holds untapped potential.
"He's got an awful lot of room to grow,'' Rivera said, according to ESPN.com. "He can really transcend this game in many different ways because of the way the game is played today.
"The game is played at an up tempo, it's played from a spread offense, it's played from the shotgun ... the quarterbacks makes the opportunity to whether run, throw or pass. I mean, he truly is a triple threat now.''
Last season, Newton completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 3,837 yards, and a 99.4 passer rating. He accounted for 45 touchdowns, with 35 of those coming through the air. So, clearly, Newton is already a triple threat. This isn't a new development either, as Newton has rushed for 43 touchdowns in his career. For context, it took Steve Young his entire career to reach 43 rushing touchdowns.
And, remember, he won MVP last year even though he played without top wideout Kelvin Benjamin, who tore his ACL before the season. Instead, Newton was left throwing to tight end Greg Olsen and receivers like Ted Ginn Jr., Jerricho Cotchery, and Devin Funchess.
With Benjamin returning, it makes sense that Newton's numbers might jump in 2016. And as Rivera alluded to, Newton is entering his sixth season but is still only 27, meaning he's still learning.
So, Rivera expects Newton's decision-making to improve as he ages.
"As he continues to learn and understand more and more about offensive and defensive plays, his decision-making is going to be even better,'' Rivera said. "As long as he continues to stay healthy and keep getting better physically and work on his base fundamentals, I think the young man is going to get better.''
