Cam Newton threw for almost 8,000 yards over his first two seasons and, though there wasn't a drastic sophomore slump like some had expected, there's still plenty of work to be done as Newton enters his third year with the Carolina Panthers.
Cam Newton’s accuracy still a stumbling block for Panthers QB
Carolina’s quarterback had an impressive two seasons, but there’s plenty of work to be done.
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James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The most work has to do with his accuracy as Newton was "too scattershot" with his throws in 2012, according to ESPN's Ron Jaworski, and so he needs to become less erratic.
Newton has averaged a completion percentage of 58.9% through his first two season and boasts an impressive 7.90 yards per completion, but showed inconsistent accuracyty through much of his 2012 season. He registered a QB rating of 100 or better on six occasions, while he also finished with less than 65.0 in another four games.
Jaworski noted that Newton improved as the season went on, where he finished the last five games with eight touchdowns, and just two interceptions.
The Panthers are hoping a switch in offensive coordinator will allow Newton to flourish. Former OC Rob Chudzinski left to become head coach of the Cleveland Browns, but showed a propensity in Carolina to be more attached his his scheme than Newton's skill set. This resulted in mismatched plays, and too often leaning on the read-option offense.
Moving forward Carolina will lean on Mike Shula, whose preached comfort since inheriting the job. Shula has talked about the team’s need to run the ball move in order to open up the play-action offense, while giving Newton a playbook that leans more on his safety valves than consistent deep passing he saw under Chudzinski.
In order to improve in his third year Newton will need to improve that completion percentage to better move the chains, while also limiting his turnovers. Much is made of Cam’s running numbers, but his career 40 TD/29 INT ratio will need to improve if the Panthers hope to make the playoffs in 2013.
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