Panthers Front Office, Cam Newton Both to Blame for Horrendous Showing on MNF

Cam Newton has to be somewhat complicit in his own 25-of-40, three-interception performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. But there was a host of factors surrounding him that worked against the Carolina Panthers starting quarterback all night, and in fact have all season.

It boils down to this: General manager Dave Gettleman has not surrounded Newton with a team that can win games, and Newton is just as much a victim of that circumstance as he is one of the myriad issues within it.

Beginning essentially at kickoff in the Eagles' drubbing of the Panthers, Newton hardly stood a chance. He was operating behind a liability of an offensive line, one that, even without the numerous injuries, Gettleman had no business putting on the field this season. 

The Panthers have used five different line combinations this season, as Joseph Person of The Charlotte Observer noted prior to Monday night's game. Injuries have hit the line hard in 2014. 

Left tackle Byron Bell didn't play against the New Orleans Saints with knee and elbow injuries, while left guard Amini Silatolu strained his calf against the Cincinnati Bengals. Guard Trai Turner injured his calf against the Green Bay Packers. 

But some starters were back in action against Philadelphia, and yet the line was still in shambles. Newton was sacked a career-high nine times. In fact, seven would have been a career high; nine was gratuitous.

Many fans and writers alike wondered aloud on Twitter Monday night why Newton, who appeared to be in pain throughout the game despite an examination by trainers at halftime turning up nothing, was still in the game long after it became a blowout. 

Newton's nine sacks put him at 30 on the season, moving him into the undesirable position of having the second most in the league after Colin Kaepernick. 

He was in eighth place prior to the loss. 

Heading into Monday night's game, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) listed the Panthers among the worst teams in the league at protecting the quarterback with a Pass Blocking Efficiency rating of 75.1. The rating measures pressure allowed on a per-snap basis. 

The table below outlines how many pressures the Panthers had allowed prior to Monday night's game. When those totals are added in, it won't be pretty. 

Passing Plays	Sacks Allowed	Hits Allowed	Hurries Allowed	Total Pressures Allowed
356	19	13	80	111

In the days leading up to the Week 10 matchup, head coach Ron Rivera underscored the need for consistency on the offensive line if the Panthers were to have a chance. “In order for us to make a run...we’ve got to have some groups have some continuity, that (line) being one of them,” Rivera told Person. “It’s a group that’s been up and down because of the injuries.”

The problem is, it's never really been up. Back in Week 3, Carolina was 16th in the league in Pass Blocking Efficiency, per Pro Football Focus. It has continued to regress regardless of the personnel groupings. 

Wide receiver and offensive line were two of the Panthers' biggest needs heading into the 2014 NFL draft. After releasing Steve Smith and letting Brandon LaFell depart in free agency, the defensive-minded Gettleman did use his No. 1 pick on rookie receiver Kelvin Benjamin and selected Turner in Round 3. 

But the remaining picks were as follows: defensive end Kony Ealy, safety Tre Boston, cornerback Bene' Benwikere and running back Tyler Gaffney. 

In Week 17 of the 2013 season, the Panthers offensive line consisted of left tackle Jordan Gross, left guard Travelle Wharton, center Ryan Kalil, right guard Nate Chandler and right tackle Bell. (Center Geoff Hangartner played two snaps.)

In Week 1 this season, the line was configured as follows: left tackle Bell, left guard Silatolu, center Kalil, right guard Fernando Velasco and right tackle Chandler. Only one player was in his original position from the previous year. 

Gettleman needed to draft more than one offensive lineman. 

As for weapons, it's a good thing Gettleman managed to curb his desire for defensive playmakers in the first round because his rookie selection is Newton's No. 1 wideout. Benjamin has played 510 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, followed by Jerricho Cotchery (442) and Jason Avant (346). 

His main pass-catching weapon, of course, is Greg Olsen, who has played more snaps than any wide receiver. Gettleman put a lot of eggs in the Olsen basket when he released Smith and let LaFell walk, and while Olsen has found the end zone five times this season, Newton needs more than a tight end and a rookie receiver as his go-to threats. 

In his obsession with building a formidable defense, Gettleman failed to deliver when he restructured the offense around Newton this offseason. Now, Carolina has a limping defense and a weak offense to show for it, while Rivera, even with his questionable play-calling at times, has little to work with. 

Newton's potential has been obvious since his first year in Carolina, but his playing style requires a stable and solid offensive line first and foremost. His completion percentage when under pressure is just 41 percent, per Pro Football Focus—one of the lowest in the league. 

Some distressed fans will whisper Gettleman wants to bring in his own coach and quarterback and thus is unaffected by the failures of the offense this season. Even if the situation is not that extreme, Gettleman needs to adjust his priorities and his team-building philosophy for Newton to reach the lofty peak that has been pinned on him. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are, of all the teams remaining on Carolina's schedule, the one with the best pass rush, which means Newton might get a reprieve. But don't mistake the lack of a defensive threat for a high-functioning offensive line later this season; on this team, it wasn't built to exist.