Remember a couple of hours ago when Cam Newton getting in a practice fight with a teammate was a big deal? Yeah, that was fun.
But 24 hours after the Panthers quarterback went to the ground during a scrap with cornerback Josh Norman, Newton insisted that nothing that happened with him was that big of a concern.
“It’s football,” Newton said, via Bill Voth of Black and Blue Review. “Let’s not get it twisted about football. Emotions are going to flare. For what I see it, it’s two people, I see multiple people getting involved and practicing their tails off. From the outside looking in, you see a scuffle, but there’s more to it than what people may look into. I see guys that’s challenging each other and getting better. We’re not just going through the motions at practice.
“Coach always says, make practice game-like. As well as in the game, and in life, and in every day, tempers are going to flare, but they’re not going to flare when guys are just walking through the motions, and that’s a good sign for us.”
Newton insisted there were no festering issues between himself and Norman, and that if anything, yesterday’s incident brought the team closer together.
“This is probably the closest team I’ve ever been on in the National Football League,” Newton said, invoking the classic “fight with family” line. “We’re better from it. There’s no hard feelings between anyone in the locker room, including myself and Josh. I’m bringing the best out of Josh, and Josh is bringing the best out of me. It’s an attitude you have to have. It’s a conscious attitude that even though it’s hot outside and even though we’re going through monotonous meetings, and we’re going through the things that may seem repetitive each and every day. You have to find yourself and push yourself to be better and find that edge and play with that edge.”
The Panthers seem to have found that appropriate edge today, and they were fortunate that their $100 million quarterback wasn’t injured in the pile. That’s also what could separate them from the dysfunction that is the Jets at the moment.
