The Facts: Three summers ago, when few in the Carolinas knew much about Dave Gettleman, they weren't yet aware the new GM had limited experience with reporters. So when he carefully answered a question about whether Newton was a franchise QB, off went the panic button. Three playoff appearances, a $100-million contract, an NFC Championship and an MVP later, Gettleman isn't as deliberate when asked about Newton. "Cam's going to continue to get better," Gettleman said, "and he was the MVP of the league last year. It's exciting to think that like any quarterback who's been in the league five years, he's going to get better."

Diehards Line: And how high is that ceiling? "I'm kind of interested to find out," Gettleman replied. "We'll see. ..." As BBR's Bill Voth suggests, the easy thing to do with Newton is to make the Panthers' failures his. Take, for example, his completion percentage. He'll never be as accurate as a Drew Brees, but when most see Newton completed just 59.8 percent of his passes last year they don't realize that nearly two dozen of his tosses were dropped. "When you've got guys dropping balls, it ain't the quarterback's fault," Gettleman said. "There's a reason they call them receiver. "He made so many big-time throws last year that in my mind, his accuracy shouldn't be a concern to anyone." With wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin back after last year’s torn ACL, Newton has a true No. 1 target at his disposal again. So while they didn’t leave themselves much room for improvement, that’s clearly what Newton is looking for.