Carolina Panthers: Ron Rivera Needs to Put Cam Newton in a Position to Succeed

Ron Rivera is a rookie head coach who has the task of grooming rookie quarterback Cam Newton. The success of Rivera's career will most likely be tied to how Newton performs on the field over the next few years. In Carolina, the team has attached its future on the right arm of Newton and have gone all-in with him in the hopes he can develop into a franchise-type player.

Through three preseason games, there have been plays made by Newton that shake your head in both a good and a bad way.

The good would be his preseason debut, when he made a nice throw to Greg Olsen and showed surprisingly good poise in the pocket, as well as his 16-yard scramble into the end zone this past Thursday against Cincinnati.

The bad would have to be the poor mechanics that have led to a number of erratic throws.

There was no question when the Panthers drafted Newton that it would be a work in progress. Despite the poor mechanics—and by poor, I mean atrocious at times—there is no denying that Newton is the best option at quarterback for the Panthers.

Jimmy Clausen has shown no signs that he can handle a starting role in the NFL, and Derek Anderson was brought in as a mentor, not to challenge for the starting job.

What this means is that Newton will be forced into action earlier than he may be ready for. Some players can handle the failures of a tumultuous rookie season, and some can't.

Clausen is a good example of a player who was thrown into the fire way too early and had his confidence shattered. Whether or not that will forever haunt the former Notre Dame standout is to be unseen. 

Newton appears to be a different breed than Clausen is, though. Confidence borderlining on arrogance is a trait almost all good quarterbacks carry. There's no doubt that Newton believes in his own ability to be a great quarterback, and that is one of his stronger traits. A poor rookie season doesn't appear like it would have the same affect on Newton as it has with Clausen.

Nevertheless, the Panthers' coaching staff needs to put Newton in an optimum position to succeed. That hasn't been the case in his three preseason games, most notably this past one against the Bengals.

It may be just preseason, but there are some troubling signs from the coaching staff—especially the play calling by offensive coordinator Rod Chudzinski. 

Under John Fox, Carolina was well known for its conservative play calling and run-the-ball mentality. Rivera and Chudzinski have preached a more up-tempo passing attack that will put pressure on the opposing defenses.

The problem with this is that a rookie quarterback is under center. Even though Newton has a strong arm, he isn't accurate, which makes it all the harder on him when the defense is dropping back in coverage expecting a pass.

Against the Bengals when Newton was in the game, they ran 16 designed runs for Jonathan Stewart, DeAngelo Williams and Josh Vaughan. Comparatively, Chudzinski called 20 pass plays in which Newton took off and ran on four of them.

This may look like a balanced attack—and it is to a degree—but it isn't a formula that is going to be successful for Newton.

Carolina needs to be a run-focused attack that runs Newton off bootlegs to get him out and moving where he has the option to run, deliver a high percentage throw or take a shot down field.

As is, the Panthers have had Newton in shotgun formation a distressing amount. At Auburn, he regularly ran out of the shotgun, but in the NFL it is vital to be an effective passer from under center.

The reasoning for the lack of running could be to keep the running backs as fresh as possible and give Newton as many reps throwing the football in preseason as possible.

In theory, it sounds like a smart idea, but consider that the Bengals also have a rookie quarterback in Andy Dalton, and they ran Cedric Benson 16 times. Dalton ended up with only six incompletions in 17 tries and 130 yards passing, along with a nice touchdown toss to A.J. Green.

The Bengals established the running game from the first snap and ran high percentage routes for Dalton early in the game. Once the Panthers' defense started to play the run heavily, Cincinnati opened the playbook up a little more and took some chances down the field. Of course, a large part of the Bengals' success could be attributed to poor defense by the Panthers. 

It wasn't the result on the field so much as the game plan that was set in place by the Carolina coaching staff. The Panthers should be running high-percentage passes such as screens and slants to build Newton's confidence. Instead, they've opted to put him in shotgun and let it fly like he is a six- or seven-year veteran. 

Poor offensive line play hasn't helped either. Rarely on Thursday was Newton able to drop back, set his feet, have a chance to look over his reads and deliver a strong throw. The Bengals' defensive line was able to create pressure at will, making it nearly impossible for Newton to get into a rhythm. 

If the Panthers want Newton to become the quarterback they think he can be, they are going to have to a better job of putting him in a position to succeed. The best way to do that is to put the ball into the hands of two former first-round picks in Williams and Stewart.

After that, everything should come just a tad bit easier for Newton and the passing game.