Browns face big challenge with Newton, run or pass
BEREA — To illustrate the challenge the Cleveland Browns will encounter on Sunday against Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, interim coach Gregg Williams told his players to look at defensive end Myles Garrett.
"Cam is extremely powerful," Williams said. "He's bigger than Myles."
Newton is listed as 6 feet 5 and 245 pounds.
"I’ve got probably like 30 pounds on him, but he’s fullgrown," said Garrett, the first overall pick in last year's draft who is listed at 6-4 and 272 pounds.
The No. 1 overall choice in 2011, Newton has completed 69.5 percent of his passes this season for 2,999 yards and 24 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, rushed 91 times for 450 yards (a 4.9 average) and four touchdowns and fumbled six times without losing any.
He needs to throw for 1 yard to join Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks to start a career with eight consecutive 3,000-yard seasons. He ranks third among quarterbacks with 4,770 rushing yards, behind only Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham.
"A guy that big and (who) can move that well and is so nimble, it definitely creates a problem in terms of bringing him down in the pocket or even when he gets out on those designed quarterback runs," safety Jabrill Peppers said. "He can be a problem. He's 6-5, 250-260. He's bigger than most running backs. We're just going to try to make him beat us with his arm."
Newton's arm is freakishly strong — when healthy. He has admitted that he has lingering pain in his right shoulder after having a partially torn rotator cuff surgically repaired a year and a half ago. He was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday before fully participating on Friday.
"He doesn't look like he did at the beginning of this season and last year, so it might be biting at him," Garrett said. "But we've got to play him like he's Super Cam. It just looks like he's kind of exerting himself more than usual to get off those longer throws. He's forcing the ball."
Although the Panthers (6-6) have much more realistic playoff hopes than the Browns (4-7-1), they have lost their past four games with Newton throwing four interceptions last Sunday in a 24-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"It's unusual of him," Garrett said. "We've got to take advantage of that. If he's going to throw some our way, we've got to make sure we give our offense good field position or maybe even score."
Still, the Browns can't afford to underestimate Newton's arm.
"Every once in a while when I think maybe his shoulder is sore, I see him just absolutely throw it lights out right down the middle of the field and stick it in some tight windows the way he has always been able to do that," Williams said.
Under offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who spent the 2013 season with the Browns, the Panthers have relied heavily on short and intermediate passes instead of deep throws. They are ranked 11th in yards (376.8) and 21st in points (25.5) per game. Newton's completion percentage and passer rating (99.8) are career highs.
"He has done a very good job of buying into the quick releases," Williams said. "He has not held the ball as long as he was earlier in his career. He has done a very good job of recognizing and defining coverage, getting the ball out of his hands and making good plays that way."