What Cam Newton Must Do To Avoid Sophomore Slump

The Carolina Panthers have a franchise cornerstone for the next decade or longer in quarterback Cam Newton, but this season, the former No. 1 pick faces the challenge of avoiding a sophomore slump. 

Newton had a fantastic rookie season, throwing for 4,051 yards, 21 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions. He also gained 706 yards on the ground and scored 14 touchdowns.

These incredibly impressive numbers earned Newton the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Since 2000, four quarterbacks have won the award: Ben Roethlisberger, Vince Young, Matt Ryan and Sam Bradford.

Among those four passers, only Roethlisberger did not experience a significant drop in his sophomore campaign. Ryan posted the lowest quarterback rating of his career, Bradford’s numbers declined across the board, and Young threw fewer touchdowns, more interceptions and also was not as productive when he ran the ball. 

In order for Newton to follow in Roethlisberger’s footsteps and not take a step back, he must continue to use his legs as an asset.

Vertical passing is an important part of the Panthers offense, as head coach Ron Rivera notes, via Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer. He said, “We attack a little bit more vertically as opposed to throwing the ball sideways. And our quarterback stays more in the pocket,” when comparing Newton to Robert Griffin III.

But defenses are expecting this from Newton and the Panthers’ passing attack, and this showed last season when his numbers declined in the second half of the schedule. Newton averaged 8.34 yards per attempt in the first eight games of the season, but that number dropped to 7.21 yards per attempt in the second half of the year.

While his yards per attempt dropped over a full yard, his yards per carry rose by nearly the same amount. In the first eight games, Newton gained an average of 5.1 yards on his 63 carries, and then he gained an average of 6.1 yards on the same amount of carries for the remainder of the year. 

Even though he threw the ball 57 fewer times in the first half of the season than the second, he ran the ball the same amount. Had he run more often, his legs would have posed a greater threat to the defense, and it would have opened up more space in the passing game.

In the first game of this season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Newton ran the ball just five times. He did manage to complete 69.7 percent of his passes, but he averaged 9.18 yards per attempt.

In Week 2, he ran 13 times against the New Orleans Saints, and his average yards per attempt rose to 12.65.

Newton threw the ball 13 fewer times against the Saints than he did against the Buccaneers, but he was significantly more effective when he did take to the air. The biggest difference was that the Panthers offense put up just 10 points against the Bucs and lost, whereas the unit scored 28 points against the Saints and earned a victory.

While Newton is a fantastic passer, his running ability opens up the passing game and allows the offense to be more effective. To avoid a sophomore slump, he must establish himself on the ground in every game this season.