CAM NEWTON in irresponsive manner

Cam Newton: 'I haven't been playing great'

By David Newton | November 12, 2014 8:55:25 PM PST
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton isn't physically hurt -- at least no more than 10 games into any of his previous NFL seasons -- but he's hurting.

He hurts because his team is losing.

He hurts because his performance hasn't been good enough to stop the losing, because his performance is one of the reasons for the losing.

He understands no matter how many times he or head coach Ron Rivera say it's a team game and no one player is responsible for the losing, ultimately the fingers will point at him.

"I know it all comes down to me," Newton said on Wednesday. "Everyone wants to ask questions about why the Carolina Panthers [are] struggling on offense. And the first person you usually are going to look at is the quarterback. I understand that.

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"If you are asking me am I hurt right now? Yeah, I'm hurt. I haven't felt 100 percent for a long time," Cam Newton said. "But is that going to be my excuse as to why we're on a losing streak? No. Absolutely not."
"I'll be the first person to admit I haven't been playing great. I know that. I take that responsibility and I will tell you that things will be better in the future."

This was as candid as Newton has been all season. He wasn't trying to come up with big words or clichés with which he sometimes gets awkward.

He was taking responsibility for his part in Carolina's 3-6-1 record as they prepare for Sunday's NFC South showdown against the Atlanta Falcons.

He was defusing reports that his struggles were connected to his right ankle being sore because he'd leaned on it so much while rehabilitating his left ankle that was surgically repaired in March.

"Does your right foot hurt?" a reporter asked.

"No sir," Newton said.

"So you're not injured past bumps and bruises?" a reporter asked.

"I'm great," Newton said.

"Are you being as open and honest as you should be?" a reporter asked.

"If you are asking me am I hurt right now? Yeah, I'm hurt. I haven't felt 100 percent for a long time," Newton said. "But is that going to be my excuse as to why we're on a losing streak? No. Absolutely not.

"But if you ask me a question, ‘Is Cam Newton hurt?' Yes, I'm hurt. That is all honesty. But can I play? Yes, I can play and I will be playing."

Newton and Rivera, understanding the physical toll Newton takes being a running quarterback, said before the season Newton probably wouldn't be 100 percent healed from ankle surgery until after the season.

That hasn't changed. When you've been hit more than 500 times -- twice as many as any other quarterback -- in three-plus seasons you're going to have aches and pains.

But Newton's ankle was hurt all of last season when the Panthers went 12-4 and nobody said a word.

"I just want to win. Simple. Plain. I just want to win," Newton said. "I want to get back to everybody having a smile in the press conference. This gloomy feeling ... the walls even look bland. They've always been the same color, but I just want to have that colorful vibe back in the room.

"How are we going to get there? The Panthers win."

That Newton plays through pain in an era when many players don't impresses his coach.

"He's the type of young man you want on the football field, and that's leading by example," Rivera said. "When you get players that want to step up and play hurt, that is quote, unquote warrior mentality that seems to be lost a little bit."

Newton doesn't use his pain as an excuse for "playing the type of football that I'm playing."

And that, as he's quick to remind, hasn't been good.

Newton had three interceptions and lost two fumbles in Monday night's 45-21 loss to Philadelphia. Over the last four games he has a passer rating of 61.12, which would rank last in the NFL if that was his season rating.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Newton's 19.8 Quarterback Rating (QBR) is by far his worst four-game stretch of his career. Next was a rating of 26.3 from Week 7 through 10 in 2012.

"Is Cam hurt?" Newton said. "It's not affecting my game play. The truth of the matter is, it's not important. The more important thing is my main focus is to try to find a way to win and that is the only thing that matters."

That's because not winning is what really hurts Newton.

"If you want to put the blame on me not being 100 percent, then so be it," Newton said. "But I know if we were on a four-game winning streak nobody would be caring about that. It's all about getting a win. When you win, everything else works out fine."