Jarrett Bell

USA TODAY Sports

CHARLOTTE – Cam Newton is the face, trigger and soul of the juggernaut offense the Carolina Panthers have developed on the path to the NFC Championship Game. But when the unit really gets humming, the beauty comes in all of the shapes, sizes and formations that are attached to the star quarterback.

If not the shotgun and signature zone-read spread formations that highlight Newton’s multiple dimensions, it’s a Power-I look. Or maybe even a full-house effect, if not a classic Jumbo package.

“The things we do on offense, it’s a lot to prepare for,” Jerricho Cotchery, a crafty veteran receiver, told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s not that we ran one trick play. We run a bunch of stuff. You spend a lot of time preparing for all of this stuff. And we just have a lot of guys that embrace their roles.”

The Panthers led the NFL in scoring this season, averaging 31.3 points per game.

Go ahead, repeat that and pinch yourself.

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Defense has always been the calling card for this franchise, one of the time-honored traditions like the huge drum they roll out at Bank of America Stadium before home games, inspired by a “keep pounding” mantra that goes back to late linebacker legend Sam Mills.

Carolina still has a big-play defense, but the identity shift that has been in the works since Newton was drafted No. 1 overall in 2011 is undeniably complete.

In five years with Newton, the entire system has matured right along the quarterback.

Sure, that’s how it’s supposed to be when you draft the face of the franchise. It’s just easier said than done.

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Rivera might want to pinch himself, too. The Panthers coach grew up on defense, entering the NFL in the 1980s as a Buddy Ryan linebacker, then working his way up the coaching ladder on defense before landing his current job just a few months before Newton was picked.

Did he ever imagine he’d coach the highest scoring team in the league?

“Not really,” Rivera acknowledged on Monday.

This isn’t about altering the basic philosophy. Rivera still wants tough defense and a physical offense that can win in the trenches and run when it needs and wants to, which is embodied with power back Jonathan Stewart, who set the tone in Sunday’s win against the Seattle Seahawks with his 57-yard run on the first snap.

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But it’s the layers on top of that, triggered by Newton. It’s the explosiveness that has taken the offense, coordinated by Mike Shula, to this higher ground.

“The play of our quarterback has been special,” Rivera said. “I didn’t know if we’d ever be like that, but it sure has been fun.”

Fun is one of the buzz words linked to the Panthers. Ask the kids who have been in the front row and received footballs from players who score touchdowns – a new tradition, inspired by Newton.

At this rate, they may run out of footballs.

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Two essentials are striking when considering the Panthers offense.

-- Continuity. Shula, who must get a creative rush when calling the plays, has been with the Panthers since 2011, too, when he was the quarterbacks coach under then-coordinator Mike Chudzinski. He, Newton, Rivera, and a number of other assistants have grown together.

-- Versatility. If the Panthers aren’t pounding with Stewart, they are stretching the field with Ted Ginn, Jr., or doing any other number of things in between. One reason why fullback Mike Tolbert made the Pro Bowl (beyond his skill), is that the Panthers are one of the few teams that actually deploy a fullback in a vital role. Cotchery, meanwhile, is a slot target who works the seams and is trusted in times of third-down crisis. There are a lot of players with a lot of roles that they play to a tee.

“We’ve been able to build on our foundation,” tight end Greg Olsen, who emerged as the team’s leading receiver in an expanded role, told USA TODAY Sports. “Obviously, the first couple of years, you’re trying to get things settled. You’re getting new guys. Fitting everybody. Because of the continuity we’ve had with our guys and our staff, we’ve been able to continue each year to add layer on top of layer. I think it’s all culminated to now.”

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A few months ago, this was hardly predicted. The Panthers’ top receiver last year, Kelvin Benjamin, had his season wiped out in training camp, to a torn ACL. As a rookie in 2014, Benjamin formed such a big-play bond with Newton, and caught 73 passes, with 9 TDs.

In the ensuing months, Newton was forced to make up for the loss by relying on other targets, like Olsen, and a cache of receivers, which include Corey Brown and rookie Devin Funchess.

At times, it has seemed that the Panthers have taken turns featuring one target or another – which is what happens when Newton throws for 35 TDs (tied for second in the NFL behind Tom Brady’s 36).

Shula realizes Newton’s MVP season reflects his comfort in the offense. And part of Newton’s command flows from the increasing input into the scheme that he’s had as he’s grown up in the NFL.

Newton points to another factor. The confidence that comes with success.

“When you see guys making plays,” Newton said, “it’s contagious.”

And it wins, too.

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