The Carolina Panthers had a very inconsistent season in 2012 and after bringing in a number of free agents, the team is ready to fight for a playoff spot in the NFC and quarterback Cam Newton showed in minicamp that he has made some strides as he heads into his third season.
According to ESPN.com, Newton spoke at minicamp about the need for a solid running game next season to help the offense and with new offensive coordinator Mike Shula in the fold, things will likely change up from what Rob Chudzinski ran last season. The Panthers have a nice and deep stable of running backs with DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert and rookie Kenjon Barner should only add to the production of the unit.
The team got off to a dreadful 2-8 start last season before finishing with a 7-9 record and that is what coach Ron Rivera is hoping carries over into next season. Newton is hoping his strong play at the end continues and he said that the play of the running backs will help him out in the passing game. Newton said that last season the team did not use its running backs as well as at could have and after using just the read option, the team changed things up and it got much better over the second half.
The Panthers have options with using multiple back sets and also putting Barner out wide, which he also did while playing at Oregon. With Barner the Panthers have one of the fastest players in the NFL and Newton has shown that he has explosive speed too and if the running game is going well, that should open things up for Newton on all sides of the field. The team has looked good so far in camp and Barner has shown the same speed he had in college and if he continues playing well the Panthers will have no choice but to get him on the field. The team likes Newton running, but they want the running backs to be the leaders in the running game this year.
Barner might get some more looks and reps as the summer goes on, as Jonathan Stewart may not be ready for the start of training camp in July. The wideout position will be one of strength for the team, as they already have Steve Smith and Brandon LaFell and have a number of players coming in to compete, including Ted Ginn, Armanti Edwards and Domenik Hixon from the Giants. The team ranked ninth in rushing and 16th in passing yards per game and Rivera wants to try and even that out for Newton.