by Cian Fahey

For five years, the perception of Cam Newton as a person has mattered more than the reality of Cam Newton as a player.

Newton entered the NFL amid a storm of character concerns that stemmed from draft evaluators attempting to act as psychoanalysts and a handful of (relatively minor off-field incidents from his past. Since the Carolina Panthers selected Newton with the first overall pick in the 2011 draft, the quarterback has done nothing to suggest he has character issues (unless nearly dying in a car accident that wasn't his fault counts as a character issue). Instead, he has continually improved as a player on the field.

Newton's development from his first year in the NFL to this season has truly been a thing of beauty. It's the kind of development that teams dream of when they select a physically talented quarterback. It was fair to call Newton an athlete playing quarterback when he was a rookie. He threw for more than 400 yards in each of his first two games, but he wasn't showing refined technical ability or discipline as a passer. He finished his rookie season scoring 35 total touchdowns, including 14 as a runner. Newton had the ability to find receivers downfield with his arm talent, and he had enough awareness to run a relatively simple offense. He was a very talented and impressive rookie, but he was still a typical rookie in that he repeatedly made mistakes that smart quarterbacks don't make.

Over the next couple of seasons, Newton would begin to show flashes of what he could become.

He went from primarily focusing on one receiver, to consistently making half-field reads, to finding the comfort required to read coverages from sideline to sideline. The more he did it, the quicker and smarter he became. His instinct to run the ball remained, but it began to slowly dissolve as well. Instead of panicking when the pass rush closes in on him or rushing his throw, Newton now shows the kind of poise that has allowed quarterbacks such as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning to sustain their success for more than a decade. When Newton does move his feet, he does so subtly to reset in the pocket or escape from a free defender to extend the passing play -- the passing play, not the play. Newton extends plays to throw the ball downfield. He keeps his eyes up while on the move and only runs when running is the best option. This maximizes the potential gain of each play.

Newton's development has been such that it will be an injustice if he doesn't win the MVP this season. Sure, there are many players who have played well in 2015 -- Carson Palmer particularly stands out -- but nobody has done as much as Newton. The quarterback's consistency over 16 weeks, his performances while playing with a limited supporting cast in an offense that puts a huge amount of stress on the quarterback, and his ability to perform in big moments at the end of games have separated him. Nobody else stacks up. Nobody else could even run the offense that the Panthers ask Newton to run. That's not just about athleticism; the rookie version of Newton would have had no chance of playing well in this offense.

In 16 games this year, Newton threw for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while rushing 132 times for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns. He completed just 59.8 percent of his passes, but he wasn't an inaccurate passer. Newton's low completion percentage can be attributed to the quality of his receivers and the system in which he plays. While most of the NFL has become fascinated with efficiency, the Panthers have focused on finding big plays.

As the above chart shows, the Panthers have been extremely aggressive in pushing the ball downfield this year. Newton didn't have a single throw that landed further than 50 yards away from the line of scrimmage, but he did have 15 that landed 40 or more yards from where the ball was originally snapped. With Greg Olsen, Ted Ginn, Jerricho Cotchery, and Devin Funchess as his primary targets, the Panthers weren't built to be a short-passing offense. They couldn't rely on their receivers to run precise routes or consistently catch the ball to incrementally move down the field. Instead of trying to force them into an offense that would make the quarterback's job easier, they put the onus on Newton to complete downfield throws.

Furthermore, he had to do it while throwing to players with limited catch radii and without a great offensive line to give him time and space. The Panthers were so concerned about their offensive line that they regularly used seven-man pass protections to tip the coverage numbers further in favor of the defense.

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On this play against the Indianapolis Colts in overtime, Newton throws what should have been a walk-off touchdown to Ted Ginn. He does everything perfectly, but Ginn watches the ball bounce off of his hands. It's something that happened with great regularity for Newton this season. This drop cost him a momentous play because it would have led directly to a victory, but it didn't take away from how impressive Newton's actions were. His pass protection broke down immediately, allowing a defender to run clean through the middle of the pocket. Interior pressure rattles most quarterbacks, but Newton shows poise to hold the ball just long enough so he can release it cleanly downfield.

While releasing the ball with that defender in his face, Newton throws a perfect pass to Ginn. The velocity stands out, but so does the placement, as the pass could not have arrived in a better way for his receiver to simply run through the ball and into the end zone. Ginn's drop was completely a result of his own poor hands and concentration.

For most quarterbacks, this play would easily have been one of their best for the whole season. For Newton, it's just one that he was expected to make on a regular basis. Newton completed just 60 percent of his passes, but his accuracy rate was 77.1 percent. And a 77.1 percent accuracy rate while throwing the ball downfield under pressure isn't logical.

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This play comes from the fourth quarter of the Dallas Cowboys game. Newton and the offense are facing a second-and-19, but down-and-distance is less important to an offense that can consistently get chunks of yardage. On this play, Newton recognizes that the defense is in Cover-3 and uses his eyes to hold the deep safety to the wide side of the field. Newton knows that he is coming back to Greg Olsen on the back side of the play, but he has to hold the ball to give his tight end a chance to get downfield. The offensive line doesn't blow a protection completely this time, but the left guard is beaten quickly so there is a defender in Newton's face as he releases the ball.

Newton knows where the window he wants to hit is, and he is able to fit the ball in perfectly to Olsen despite the defender in his face. Olsen catches the ball at the first down marker, so this throw travels more than 20 yards when you consider the angle and where Newton releases the ball from.

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Of all of Newton's throws from this season, many of which could be argued as his best, this one against the Atlanta Falcons was probably his toughest. The quarterback had another throw from this game, a touchdown to Ed Dickson, that drew a lot of attention and was also extremely impressive, but the precision required on this pass while facing pressure should have been overwhelming. Newton put the ball in a spot where only his receiver could get it and pushed it away from the defender recovering from the outside. The Falcons were playing Cover-3 on this play and Corey Brown ran a corner route from the slot. The cornerback outside played his coverage perfectly, covering the shallow receiver while reading Newton's actions, turning to close on the corner route as Newton began his throwing motion.

Because Newton can control the ball with such velocity and still control the trajectory and accuracy, he could beat the cornerback's coverage. Newton's pass should not have been able to get to its final spot before the defensive back, but it did. Your typical starting quarterback in the NFL is forced to take a sack on this play or attempt to check the ball down to a covered receiver.

While these throws are the foundation of the Panthers' passing game they alone are not what has made Newton so impressive this season. They are a big part of it, but if the quarterback wasn't also playing with intelligence and precision in everything else he does, he would be limiting the output of the offense more than he was elevating it.

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The structure of the Panthers' offense means that Newton does not always have to diagnose coverages at the snap to get rid of the ball instantly. Because they so often prioritize keeping eligible receivers in to block, Newton's job is often about finding a way to get the ball to a specific receiver rather than finding the open receiver. This means he has to be very smart in how he attacks coverages, sometimes fitting the ball into tight windows with anticipation and other times manipulating the coverage with his actions in the pocket. On this play against the New York Giants, Newton has just three receivers running routes downfield while seven blockers stay in to protect him. The Giants don't blitz, so it's three receivers against seven defenders downfield.

Newton knows that he will have time, but he also knows that his receivers' routes are going to play into the thick of the Giants' coverage. The Giants showed Cover-3 before the snap. Corey Brown, lined up to the right of the field, is the receiver Newton focuses on from the beginning of the play. Brown is either running an option route or a double-move. Either way, Newton has to set up his route with a hard pump fake to impact the defensive back to his side of the field. His pump fake is perfectly timed with the receiver's break to bait the defender into jumping forward.

This play was all about Newton's intelligence. The throw was made much easier by his arm talent, but Newton had created a huge amount of separation for the receiver outside.

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Patience has been a huge part of Newton's success this season. He knows when to get rid of the ball, but the structure of the offense requires that he doesn't rush his throws. On this play against the New Orleans Saints, Newton drops back in the pocket behind a seven-man protection. His receivers downfield are well covered, so the quarterback has to hold the ball. His protection doesn't hold up despite the numbers advantage. Newton shows off impressive awareness and athleticism to evade the pass rusher who comes off the right side of the offense. Once Newton evades that sack, he is in position to threaten the line of scrimmage as a runner.

In previous years, Newton likely would have attempted to run through the two defenders converging on him. With his extra experience and comfort, he understands that his tight end who had initially stayed in to block has now leaked out as a receiver. Newton threatens the line of scrimmage to draw the defenders further towards him before throwing the ball outside. Ed Dickson is the tight end that catches the ball. He has a simple task of turning upfield to run down the sideline unopposed.

On a play where the Saints defense covered the Panthers receivers and got pressure in the pocket, Newton created a 20-yard gain.

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Athletic quarterbacks who are reluctant runners are extremely difficult to defend. Not only do they force defensive backs and linebackers to stay in coverage for longer than expected, they also change the point of attack and threaten the line of scrimmage while staying aware of options downfield. When that quarterback is smart enough to understand situational football, he can become impossible to defend. On this play against the Giants, Newton should be sacked, but he is able to use his awareness and athleticism to escape the pocket. It's notable how he keeps his eyes up from the moment he escapes into the flat.

Newton keeps his eyes up because he knows he won't immediately have a chance to run for a first down. He understands the coverage from when he surveyed it in the pocket. He understands that the defense is in zone, waiting to react to him when he scrambles. Had he dropped his eyes to run once he left the pocket, the Panthers would likely have forced a fourth down. Instead, he locates an uncovered Jerricho Cotchery on the sideline for a first down.

Ron Rivera and Dave Gettleman deserve a lot of credit for turning the Panthers into a team capable of winning 15 of 16 regular season games. It may not be the greatest year for the NFL in terms of quality across the board, but that is still a significant achievement for any team. What makes it fascinating is the team wasn't really built to be this consistent.



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When the New England Patriots went 16-0 in 2007, it wasn't necessarily expected, but it wasn't a complete surprise either. The Patriots had quality throughout their whole team. Every position could point to a quality player or two to contribute positively to victories on a regular basis. The Panthers aren't built like that. The Panthers are a team that is reliant on using their areas of great strength to elevate their areas of weakness. It's much tougher for teams that are built like that to be consistent over a full season because a handful of players have to play extremely well every single week or they have no chance of winning. It's not rational to expect any player to consistently play to that level for more than a couple of weeks at a time. Along with Luke Kuechly, Kawann Short, Thomas Davis, and Josh Norman, Newton has managed to sustain that level of play for the whole season.

Newton stands out more than his teammates on the defensive side of the ball though. He is the only superstar-level player the offense boasts. He was tasked with the toughest assignments of anyone on the roster because of this. He was immediately able to elevate his teammates from the start of the season. That wasn't surprising, but it was surprising that he was able to sustain that ability. It was shocking when he began to elevate his own play further over the second half of the season.

We can compare his efficiency numbers to the other quarterbacks in the league. The quarterbacks who thrive from completely clean pockets. The quarterbacks who have ball-winning receivers who erase the need for accuracy. The quarterbacks who throw to dynamic, creative runners who can create yards after the catch on screens and other simple throws. Or we can be realistic. We can actually assess how rare a talent the Panthers passer is. We can actually acknowledge how high his performance level has been each week. We can appreciate how important he has been to his team's 15 victories this season without feeling compelled to diminish it by pointing to Luke Kuechly and Josh Norman.

Maybe it's inconvenient for some, but Cam Newton is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL now. He was the best in 2015.