Carolina Panthers
Newton: 'I hate to lose'
Published: 2012-02-03 10:23:00
Updated: 2012-02-03 17:11:46
Feb 3, 2012
Indianapolis — Cam Newton got a lot of attention for the way he handled the 10 losses the Carolina Panthers suffered during his rookie season. Some wondered if it was a question of maturity.
Others called Newton, a quarterback who didn’t deal with much adversity on the field during his college career, a sore loser. Newton’s fine with that – especially the sore loser part.
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“That’s me, I’m a competitor and I hate to lose,” Newton said in an interview with Adam Gold and Joe Ovies Friday on 99.9 FM The Fan from the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. “For me to accept losing…that will never be in my book. For anybody to say I’m a sore loser, I can deal with that.”
Aside from the losing, however, Newton didn’t have to deal with many other negatives during his first campaign in Charlotte. The No. 1 overall selection completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 4,051 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also rushed for 14 touchdowns, the most ever by an NFL quarterback in a single season.
Those numbers earned him a Pro Bowl berth after New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning won his NFC Championship game appearance against the San Francisco 49ers. Newton said going to the Pro Bowl was just another learning experience in a rookie year full of them.
“I was out there with Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, the most unbelievable guys that I could have learned under,” he said. “Just learning how to be a professional, on the field how they prepare and off the field, how they take care of the fans.”
If Newton can sustain or even build on the record-breaking numbers he put up in 2012 and apply some of the lessons he learned from Brees and Rodgers, two of the game’s best signal-callers, the Panthers may become a contender in the NFC South and the NFL quicker than most expected. That’s certainly Newton’s goal.
“Six and 10 is not acceptable in my book and it will never be acceptable, so if we can change that number and flip it to 10-6, then we may be talking about making ourselves a playoff contender, hopefully for years to come.”
Another thing that should help Newton and the Panthers move toward that goal is the retention of offensive coordinator Rod Chudzinski, a hot name in coaching search talk throughout the offseason.
“I’ve never had a system for more than one year,” Newton said. “I’m taking pride and to be able to say I’m going into the same system and learning rather than throwing that system out and coming into something new.”
He’ll also have a familiar face on the outside in receiver Steve Smith, who is entering his 12th year in the league. Newton said Smith’s veteran presence on the sideline helped make his rookie season smoother.
The two weren’t bad on the field either, with Smith overcoming a couple sluggish years by his standards to pull down 79 catches for 1,394 yards and seven touchdowns.
Listen to the full Cam Newton interview on 99.9 FM the Fan ESPN Radio Friday afternoon at 3:15 and 5:15 p.m.
Copyright 2013 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Most Recent Comments
RE: Newton: 'I hate to lose'
"Cam's actions on the sidelines shows just how much he hates losing, it has nothing to do with a me first attitude. You don't see that from many players in the NFL, sure they hate to lose, but their attitude is oh well. He does need to associate more with the team on the sidelines, but I and I'm guessing none of you know what goes on in practice or in the locker room."
This is highly amusing.
RE: Newton: 'I hate to lose'
I really don't know what Cam some of you are watching. First he had a great year, not just as a rookie, but as a NFL qb. How many ints did Manning throw in his first year? How many tds did he score or was responsible for? Cam's actions on the sidelines shows just how much he hates losing, it has nothing to do with a me first attitude. You don't see that from many players in the NFL, sure they hate to lose, but their attitude is oh well. He does need to associate more with the team on the sidelines, but I and I'm guessing none of you know what goes on in practice or in the locker room. He has some maturing to do, but what is he 21? Straight from college to the pros without much time to adjust due to the lockout. I don't see where he thinks hes superman on the field, I see where he does what he thinks he needs to do to win a game. I don't think you could blame him for more than a couple of the losses this year, but you could have credited him with 10-12 wins if they had a defense this year. How many games did they lead in the 4th quarter, how many games did he lead them to the go ahead td in the 4th quarter, and how many games did the defense give up the losing td in the 4th quarter. The defense lost the majority of the games. All of you haters hated him before he stepped on the field so it doesn't matter how he played, but the stats and game records don't back up much of your critizism of him.
RE: Newton: 'I hate to lose'
"If you're a true Panthers fan you will admit that and support our guy"-subzero39
ha ha ha! man, you've gotta love that ridiculous arguement - if you don't think exactly like i do, then your opinion is invalid and you're not a real fan!
heh. i guess middle school must've let out early today...
RE: Newton: 'I hate to lose'
"Say what you want to about his body language and rhetoric, but I'll take a sore loser over someone who doens't mind losing any day."
You make a lot of assumptions with that statement, both about Cam and anyone else. How do you know either is true? Are you clairvoyant?
RE: Newton: 'I hate to lose'
People that are still hating on Cam are just plain stubborn. Not everyone wanted the Panthers to take him 1st overall, and just as many people thought he'd be a bust. Well guess what-- he wasn't. He pretty much single handedly flipped our offense from worst to top-5 in the league. Say what you want to about his body language and rhetoric, but I'll take a sore loser over someone who doens't mind losing any day. Cam is a SUPERSTAR and will be for the next 10+ years. If you're a true Panthers fan you will admit that and support our guy. If you don't like him, then take what he said and "Sit at home and enjoy the show."
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