Newton sees room for improvement ahead of preseason

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his own admission, Cam Newton hasn’t arrived. The Panthers’ 23-year-old quarterback sees plenty of room for improvement this preseason even after a record-setting rookie campaign which culminated in a trip to the Pro Bowl. Newton combined for 35 touchdowns last season for Carolina, but said there are still “a lot of holes” in his game.

He hopes to work those out in Saturday night’s exhibition opener at home against Houston.

Newton won’t have to worry this summer about beating out Jimmy Clausen or Derek Anderson for a starting job. The job is clearly his.

He said his focus is on limiting turnovers, improving his ball placement on passes and making key plays throughout the game, including the third quarter — where the Panthers struggled at times last season.

“Anybody can make a play the first play of the game when everybody is energized, but what about the third quarter when we’re playing very lethargic and you have to come out and make a good play?” said Newton, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. “That’s what separates the good teams from the bad teams.”

The Panthers finished seventh in the NFL in total offense last season and fifth in points scored.

It stands to reason they’ll only improve with Newton, offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, quarterbacks coach Mike Shula and almost the entire offense returning this season.

However, Newton wouldn’t say if the offense is further along than last year and offered no predictions on how they’ll perform. He just said he’s anxious for the team’s first “pop quiz” against a talented Texans defense that finished second in the league a year ago.

“Right now is not the time that you grade yourself,” Newton said. “Saturday is the first time we can put a product on the field and test what’s going on. Going against each other in practice, that’s only going to take us so far.”

Shula said he sees a “huge difference” in Newton’s comfort level compared to last summer.

Newton arrived at training camp last year never having been through an NFL practice because the owners’ lockout wiped out all off-season practices. He was thrown into the mix right away and wowed coaches with his athleticism.

Shula said Newton improving ever since.

He said Newton has worked extremely hard in the off-season working on the mental part of the game, but, like Newton, still sees areas he can improve in.

“Probably the decision-making, the quickness of it — that’s a big thing,” Shula said. “That ties in with coverage recognition. We hope he can become more familiar with what we’re doing so that on game day he’s thinking less about what we’re doing and just reacting to what the defense is doing. And then mechanically working to be more consistent in the pocket with his feet because that will help his accuracy.”

Offensive tackle Jordan Gross has been impressed with Newton so far this summer.

“Cam is better than I ever thought he was going to be when we drafted him,” Gross said. “You hope for a certain level of success out of him, and he went above and beyond that last year. And the leadership qualities he has are outstanding, just what you want your quarterback to be. His work ethic was great. Physically, mentally, all that. He set the bar high last year.”

Shula knows there’s a learning curve to deal with when it comes to every young player.

And Newton, no good, is still young.

Newton threw 17 interceptions last season and Shula said it’s imperative he works to “avoid the negative play.” Newton knows that. What he doesn’t know is just how good the Panthers will be this season on offense. That’s a question he dodged like a would-be tackler.

“Only time will tell,” he said.

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