Elite Quarterback Club: The Newest Member

The Carolina Panthers will go as far as Cam Newton can carry them on his broad shoulders, rifle-like right arm and nimble wheels. Admittedly, this is not a small, feeble limb on which I have climbed. Quarterback being the most important position in football, the same statement might be made about other, if not most, teams in the League. But the 2015 version of the Carolina Panthers is different. Following the season-ending injury to Kelvin Benjamin, the receiving corps lacks a dominant threat, let alone a true #1 wideout. Indeed, it is a patchwork of oddly mixed players masquerading as a receivers group. Just listen to most, if not all, pundits and you are quick to learn the consensus that the Carolina Panthers – while still undefeated – will ultimately be undone by their offensive mediocrity.

Of course, teams of glory past have ridden uninspiring offenses to the highest of heights. The Baltimore Ravens won a Super Bowl in 2000 relying on the limited ability of quarterback Trent Dilfer and a don’t-mess-things-up offensive philosophy. Like those Ravens, the Panthers boast a stout defense led by middle linebacker Luke Kuechly – their very own version of Ray Lewis. On offense, though, these Panthers lack the type of weapons that one would typically associate with a Super Bowl contender. Running back Jonathan Stewart is running hard and tough, but is averaging a somewhat pedestrian 3.77 yards per carry. In his (and the offensive line’s) defense, it is tough sledding against primarily 8 man boxes. Cam Newton’s security blanket, and clearly his most trusted target, is tight end Greg Olsen, who is undoubtedly among the League’s best. Besides Newton, Olsen represents the only legitimate threat on offense.

Cameron Newton is currently immersed in his fifth season as the Carolina Panthers quarterback after being selected first overall in the 2011 NFL draft. The results to this point can best be characterized as uneven. Panthers’ fans have been treated to spectacular play in the previous four years, interspersed with stretches marked by inaccuracy, poor decisions and, according to many detractors, immaturity. Nevertheless, for the first time in franchise history, Newton has led the Panthers to back-to-back NFC South championships and a corresponding spot in the NFL Playoffs. But in neither year were the Panthers able to get past the second round. All this is to say, at least in my view, that Newton has been a good – sometimes very good – quarterback over his first four years, but not an elite one.

So far, through five games of Year 5, Cam Newton has climbed into the realm of the elite – that stratosphere of quarterback nobility where only Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady currently reside. Cam became a card-carrying member of this group as a result of his heroics in Sunday’s road win in Seattle. Every championship team, and every transformational player, has a defining moment – a particular play, set of plays, or entire game in which adversity is at a fever pitch, yet is met with a calm resolve and is valiantly and heroically overcome. For Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, this moment came last Sunday in the Pacific Northwest.

Great players, and great teams, inevitably have a nemesis – a villain that ultimately must be vanquished if you are to reach the pinnacle. Though not a division rival, the Seattle Seahawks play this role for these Panthers. Prior to Sunday, the Seahawks and Panthers had faced off 4 times the past 3 years, with three of the four being in Charlotte. The 3 regular season games were decided by a combined, and miniscule, 13 points; despite this, the Panthers tasted victory in none. In the 4^th game of this set, the Seahawks ended Carolina’s playoff run last year with a workmanlike 31-17 victory in which Carolina, and Cam Newton, came unraveled under the intensity of the 4^th quarter pressure. For Panthers fans, Seattle is where many a nightmare begin and end. So much so that I have given up Starbucks, and refuse to order my books from Amazon.

Setting aside the historical record, Seattle is a tough place to play for any team, but especially for an East Coast team. There is the lengthy flight across the continental U.S.; the 3 hour time difference; and in this case, a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call as a result of someone’s having pulled the fire alarm – coincidentally, I’m sure – on only the Panthers’ floors of the team hotel. Sleepless in Seattle, Part Two. Once at the stadium, Seattle’s vaunted 12^th Man is notorious for making the opposition’s ears bleed with noise which regularly registers on the Richter scale. Rising above all this, however, is the simple fact that Seattle is a darn good team. Until Sunday, quarterback Russell Wilson enjoyed a career record of 24-2 within the friendly confines of CenturyLink Field. Oh, and there is the minor detail that the Seahawks have participated in the last two Super Bowls.

It was against this ominous backdrop that Cam Newton led his undefeated Carolina Panthers to Kings County, Washington to face a familiar foe. Through three quarters, the game played out as a sequel to the others, as if the script had been plagiarized. Carolina played well for much of the game, but Seattle was even better – playing opportunistic defense, moving the ball methodically on offense, and mixing in big plays throughout. This movie, it seemed, would have the same ending.

With a nod to Lee Corso, not so fast my friends. Particularly impressive against Seattle’s formidable defense, the Panthers used four 80 yard touchdown drives to ultimately best the Seahawks on this day. The Panthers offense is like my mom’s Camry – it gets nowhere fast, but get there it will. Cam saved the final two beauties to erase a 9 point deficit with just over 5 minutes left in the 4^th quarter. After pulling within 3 points with 3:55 to play, Ron Rivera kicked the ball away thereby entrusting his reliable defense to get the ball back a final time. The defense contained the ever-elusive Wilson, and the Seattle offense, rewarding Coach Rivera’s trust. With two minutes and 20 seconds with which to work, Cam brought the offense back on the field secure in the knowledge that a field goal would be good enough to send the game into overtime. Eschewing such mundane thoughts, Cam, unbelievably, completed passes to six different Panthers, culminating with his 26 yard strike to Greg Olsen for the winning score.

During the two 4^th quarter 80 yard touchdown drives, Cam was 11 for 13 passing. Notably, however, the two incompletions were a drop by Devin Funchess on a perfectly placed ball on a dig route, and a spike into the ground to stop the clock. In other words, Newton was perfect. Consider: all this without his best receiver, with the weight of history on his shoulders, the intensity and glare of the moment, and the Seattle crowd in a state of euphoria. Perfection despite the elements.

Following the winning touchdown to Olsen, Cam’s frantic celebration with his teammates, Carolina fans in the crowd, and the suddenly stunned Seattle fans, underscored just how big a moment this clearly was.   The unthinkable had just happened. The nightmare that was the Seattle Seahawks had just ended. In an instant, Goliath was lying helplessly on the ground, in his own forum no less. For Carolina fans, it was hard to know exactly what to do with themselves. As for me, I celebrated the victory by visiting two old friends: I ordered an iced caramel macchiato (one shot of Joe) from Starbucks, and my newest book – Napoleon: A Life – from Amazon.

While Sunday’s win will only count once in the standings, all victories are not created equal. What we witnessed at CenturyLink Field might well have been the Carolina Panthers casting aside old demons, gleaning an infusion of new confidence, and getting over the proverbial hump. The remaining 11 regular season games together with any playoff games will shed light on this hunch. But what I am sure we undoubtedly witnessed in Seattle last Sunday was the emergence of a star. A star who now happens to be the newest member of the Elite Quarterback Club, rendering this year’s Club a Triumvirate. Will Cam keep his seat beside Brady and Rodgers at this ultra-exclusive club? Of course, only time will tell. If Sunday was any indication, he will be a longstanding member.