Carolina quarterback Cam Newton has guided the Panthers back to the playoffs after a 6-10 season.
The former Most Valuable Player of the 2015 season and Super Bowl 50 runnerup from College Park and Westlake High is flourishing while passing and running the football.
With a chance to improve their playoff seeding, Newton and the Panthers (11-4) are set to face the Falcons (9-6) at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here’s what Newton had to say to Charlotte media on Wednesday:
RE: Team’s plan with Damiere Byrd out
It’s just a football player. We all rush to judgement a lot. I’m not panicking. Obviously, you feel for Damiere….little bud. Obviously, the last couple of games he has been big, not just for him but for us as a team. But that is how the NFL game goes. When one guy goes down and gets hurt in battle, somebody has to pick up the slack. We aren’t just depending on one person….in west coast Clay [Kaelin Clay], but we are depending on the whole receiving core as a whole to lift their game up.
RE: Summing up the wide receiving core
This is nothing new to me. You have a lot of hungry guys in that receiving room who are ready to prove their selves. Proving it to the outside world is irrelevant. Proving it to their selves and this team is more important and that is what they are trying to do.
RE: Any big game stick out to him in Atlanta
This is a new dome so I think it’s time to create lasting memories.
RE: Him and Daryl Williams being on the same page
You see them flinch, you flinch. That is the rule. I think it’s just the sameness and the cadent…..we just try to get the five yards the easy way.
RE: Are they practicing jumping
No. I would love to talk about that but I can’t give you all of my tricks of the trade. I think that is a big attribute that we have going for this offense the last couple of games. I hope we can get more jumps.
RE: Living in Atlanta in the offseason
Just depends on which offseason, because every offseason is different. Last year’s offseason was extremely miserable. But the fact that [The Falcons] didn’t win the Super Bowl was like okay finally. It was a lot of people coming out the wood works claiming to be Falcon fans. Atlanta is home and Charlotte is home too. You can expect the trash talk and you can expect certain things to be said. It’s no harm done. I understand the position I am in. In a lot of ways I am a target to get people’s reactions. It’s kind of fun to hear certain things but I guess it’s put up or shut up time come Sunday. That’s the only time that no talking can affect the game play or the outcome of the game. I’m hoping the outcome of the game is greater.
RE: Seeing other players in Atlanta during the offseason
Atlanta is a hub for a lot of people. For the movie industry, for the music industry….it’s a lot of workout facilities for people to go to there. You never know who you might see.
RE: Getting Charles Johnson back
We get a lot of guys back this week. We are excited for it. We are trending up as far as getting more hands on deck to make an impact on this game. We get Trai back. We hopefully get Trai back. We get TD [Thomas Davis] back. We get Chuck [Charles Johnson] back as you said. For us we get more leadership guys that we will be pulling from.
RE: Catching up with Dallas Allen, his old high school coach
To be honest with you, I haven’t really spoken to….I see him here and there but the fact he doesn’t coach at the high school anymore has parted us. My respect goes unmatched not only to him but numerous coaches who coached at my high school and throughout my college career and everything. My heart is always with West Lake and trying to do every and anything that I can when I have time to give back to those guys.
RE: Did he ever play in the Atlanta Dome in High School
My first time playing in the Dome was the SEC championship.
RE: Has he been in the new stadium yet
No I haven’t. I wanted to make it more special. I had opportunities to go but it doesn’t feel the same. I’m pretty sure I’ll see it when we go down there Saturday or Sunday.
RE: Thoughts on resting during the final game
Oh we are playing for a lot. We are playing for a lot. Best case scenario we can get second or third seed. To be honest with you, offseason feelings….for whatever that is worth too. There are no free give-me by no means. We go into each and every game trying to win football games and this game is no difference.
RE: The level of play of the NFC South
I can’t speak on the outside of another division but we have a very stout division. Led by, I look at every single team, by a talented quarterback. You get hedged upon how the quarterback plays. You have myself, Jameis [Winston], Matt [Ryan], and as well as Drew [Brees]. Everyone is capable of being a franchise quarterback and that is what you are seeing.
RE: Having a revolving door of wide receivers this season
Who cares? I have one job and that is to win football games. With receivers, without receivers, running the football, without running the football, passing the ball, not passing the ball, or just running the ball. It doesn’t matter, just win football games. That is what this team is based upon. No matter what statistics that people are trying to point out, the most important statistic is wins and losses.
RE: The success of the NFC South
It’s just how it is playing out. You have a really confident team in New Orleans, a very hungry team in Atlanta, and Tampa is eliminated. For us, we are trending up as well. That is special in itself. For it to still be an open discussion of who the division leader is going to be during the last week of the season, that is special.
RE: Scoreboard watching during the game
I’m pretty sure their game will be done by the time we play. That is a good thing playing at 4:25pm. We are going to control what we can control and everything else will be taken care of.
