Cam Newton’s Strengths And Weaknesses

Not only is Cam Newton like no other quarterback we’ve ever seen, but he’s like no Cam Newton we’ve ever seen. This is not the same guy we’ve been watching for the last five years; in one offseason, he’s gone from inconsistent talent to unquestioned MVP.

Here are PFF’s grades for Newton over the last five years: 10.5 in ’11; 24.1 in ’12; 12.3 in ’13; 16.1 in ’14; and 42.1 in ’15.

Yes, according to PFF, Newton has been nearly twice as impactful as any other season in his career. So what’s he doing so well?

Obviously, the rushing ability is a huge factor, as he’s PFF’s top rushing quarterback (14.5), but that’s been the case since the day Newton stepped into the NFL. The real difference stems from his much-improved passing.

Cam has always had the talent to be one of the league’s best passers, but he’s been inconsistent, prone to air mailing a few balls a game. This season, though, he’s been money, especially when pushing the ball downfield.

With 71 attempts this season of more than 20 yards, Cam has been one of the most efficient deep passers in the NFL, completing 47.9 percent of those passes (fourth best in the NFL). And while those deep passes are a definite threat to the Broncos defense, they also leave Cam vulnerable, as his 2.61 seconds to attempt (per PFF) is sixth slowest in the NFL; that means Denver’s pass rush should have ample time to get to the big quarterback.

It will be tough, though. As any casual viewer could tell you, Cam Newton is tough to bring down, both because of his size and athleticism. Despite taking awhile to unload the ball, Cam was only sacked 33 times on the season (12th most in the NFL). That said, he was hit while throwing on 12 different occasions, second most in the NFL.

All of this is to say that the Broncos should have a very reasonable plan of attack: (a) Eliminate the threat of Cam’s rocket arm by forcing him to work in the short passing game, where he’s not nearly as effective (PFF has him graded as an average QB at best when passing within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage); or (b) if Cam and the Panthers do attempt to push the ball down field, much like in the AFC Championship game, the Broncos’ pass rush will have to make sure they hit Cam before those 2.61 seconds are up.