© Copyright 不及格社區
Wearing a "Change the culture" t-shirt and a "Keep Pounding" hat Case Keenum Jersey , an upbeat Newton was budding with enthusiasm on Saturday even after starting right tackle Daryl Williams went down with a knee injury earlier in practice.
In his first football-related interview in six months, Newton set a positive tone for training camp for a team that hopes to recapture the NFC South it won in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Carolina went 11-5 last season, but New Orleans won the head-to-head tiebreaker and took the division title.
Part of Newton's optimism surrounds the hiring of offensive coordinator Norv Turner and the addition of wide receivers D.J. Moore, Torrey Smith and Jarius Wright.
Newton said Turner has been "extremely easy" to work with and joked that his offense is "Boogie approved."
The 2015 league MVP said he likes that Turner is open to listening to suggestions about what plays may work best, even to the point to keeping the names of some of the predecessor Mike Shula's play calls.
"I think the onus is on (Turner) more so than us to take what we have done good and expand on it, rather than just ripping the sheets of paper up and having a this-is-my-way-or-the-highway mentality," Newton said.
Newton said it didn't take long to realize Turner has a high football IQ.
But he added that it's still a little too early to know exactly what to expect from the Panthers offense when the regular season arrives.
"I can't tell you that, (but) I know that the transition as far as philosophies has almost been as easy as anyone could expect Dawuane Smoot Jersey ," Newton said. "He is super relatable and is someone who has been around this league and been around a lot of egos and lot of different players and knows how to adjust. That alone makes my job easy knowing that he is a person who you can go to and say, 'This is how I feel about certain things.' And (he'll say), 'OK, let's find out how we can implement it.' He's not a guy who is so egotistical who says, 'No, this play is going to work versus this.'"
Turner has already talked about wanting to improve Newton's completion percentage.
Newton's has completed just 58.5 percent of his career passes, but Turner would like him to be above 65 percent.
"That's a goal of mine and it is certainly attainable," Newton said.
Newton said that means learning to accept what the defense gives him, even if it means short dump-offs over the middle and to outlet receivers.
"That has to be my mentality Daeshon Hall Jersey ," Newton said. "We have a lot of guys who can take two yards and turn it into 20 yards, or more. But it starts with me and I have to trust those guys and get the ball to them."
The 29-year-old Newton said he's feeling healthy heading into the season.
That's a big difference from last season when he underwent shoulder surgery and missed all of OTAs and minicamp and a large portion of training camp undergoing rehab.
"It was very big for me making the proper steps this offseason knowing that I am full go," Newton said. "My body feels great and I always have to mention to TD (linebacker Thomas Davis) that I even look great. I am in a position where I am all smiles."
Newton also addressed new owner David Tepper, teasing that "I'm up for an upgrade" after seeing he paid $2.2 million to purchase the team from founder Jerry Richardson.
"The excitement is something we all should get prepared for knowing we have a lively owner," Newton said.
Very little separated San Jose and Anaheim in the regular season, with the Ducks edging out the Sharks by one point for second place in the Pacific Division.Their first-round series wasn’t nearly as competitive.
The Sharks rode their superior depth, potent power play and stellar goaltending from Martin Jones to the second sweep in franchise history, knocking out the Ducks with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night.
”We’re playing well going into the second round,” defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. ”Everybody is contributing if it’s offensively T.J. Green Jersey , blocking shots, taking a hit. Everybody is doing what they have to for us to win.”
After jumping on Anaheim early to win the first two games on the road, the Sharks earned a lopsided win in Game 3 thanks to undisciplined play by the Ducks and then withstood a strong push to end the series in Game 4.
Jones kept Anaheim at bay for long stretches in the second and third period before finally allowing a tying goal to Andrew Cogliano. San Jose then took 1:16 to answer and scored the eventual series-clincher when Vlasic’s point shot deflected off Tomas Hertl and into the net.
”The response goal was huge,” coach Peter DeBoer said. ”We were on our heels. They were pressing. It’s tough to play an elimination game when you get an opportunity to sweep a really good team like that.”
The Sharks were in control for most of the series, outscoring the Ducks 16-4 in their most lopsided series in franchise history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
San Jose got as many goals from its fourth line in the series as Anaheim had from its entire team with Marcus Sorensen scoring his third of the series to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead in the first period of the clincher. Eric Fehr also had a goal from the fourth line in the series.
”Every night they hopped over the boards with energy and grabbed momentum for us, drew penalties,” DeBoer said. ”They were fantastic, but I’ve said from Day 1 we need to be a four-line team if we’re going to have success. And I think the teams that are moving through are. I watched Vegas a little bit last night. They’re a four-line team.”
The expansion Golden Knights are also the next team in the Sharks’ way. The two will meet in the second round starting sometime next week in just the second series in the past 22 years featuring teams coming off sweeps in the previous round.
Vegas finished off the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night Denzelle Good Jersey , part of a record-setting inaugural campaign that included a Pacific Division title in the regular season.
The Sharks will likely need another strong defensive effort next round led by Jones. He was brilliant in the clincher, making several tough saves against Corey Perry. He also had a shutout in Game 1 and set a San Jose playoff record with 45 regulation saves in Game 3.
He finished the series with a .970 save percentage, helping the Sharks earn their second sweep in franchise history after also doing it in the first round against Vancouver in 2013.
”Goaltending wins this time of the year,” forward Logan Couture said. ”He was fantastic. He made a lot of Grade A saves. He was our best penalty killer. They had some really good looks. Perry had a lot of chances that Joner made some big saves on.”
By extending their season another round, the Sharks may be able to get star center Joe Thornton back in the lineup. Thornton has been out since injuring his right knee on Jan. 23. He has resumed skating and took part in warmups throughout the series but has said he doesn’t want to return until he knows he’s healthy enough to help the team and make it through what he hopes will be a run to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Sharks have time now to figure that out.
”That’s all hypothetical,” DeBoer said. ”That doesn’t even cross our desk. Those decisions will be something if he is healthy we’ll make then. Sometimes those things sort themselves out. I’m just really proud of our group, the resiliency, the composure.”
—
The Wall