Unfortunately, Newton had to carry much of the load on his own, which is partly attributed to his novice judgement and the offense around him. His 14 rushing touchdowns set another record for quarterbacks, rookie or veteran, and he is the only player in the history of the NFL with 4,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards in a season. Newton set a new mark for passing yards by a rookie quarterback, shattering Peyton Manning's old record with 4,051 yards. It made it that much sweeter for Panthers fans to witness one of the best seasons from a rookie quarterback in NFL history. Analysts raking Newton over the coals, and even the veracity of his smile was scrutinized as much as his forty time. The lead up to the 2011 NFL Draft set new lows in punditry. Rivera's club entered Thanksgiving week with a 2-8 record however, in those eight losses, only two were decided by margins of more than seven points. Just a quick look at the Panthers' record reveals exactly what you would expect from a team in the first year of a reboot. The biggest task was to repair a defense that allowed almost 27 points per game and an average of 377 yards to opposing offenses. Carolina entered the 2012 offseason needing to add the right mix of offensive talent to go with their franchise quarterback in order to give them enough weaponry to finish on top in the close games and dominate the others. Newton, despite the his impressive feats, is just one player. After all, their rookie quarterback, Cam Newton, etched his name all over the record books, and they finished the season on a very promising 4-2 run.
It was the first year of a rebuilding process that offered far more highlights and signs of hope than most teams in the first season of such an undertaking.Ĭarolina entered this offseason with weighty expectations for 2012. This season is the second year of a rebuilding project that started in January 2011 when the team hired Ron Rivera to be the fourth head coach in franchise history. The reasons for that should be fairly obvious. An era of good feelings has settled over the Carolina Panthers and their fan base.
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