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Cam Newton of Carolina Panthers among NFL awards winners
SAN FRANCISCO -- Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was named NFL MVP at Saturday night's NFL Honors show.
"It means so much, but not just for myself,'' Newton said in a video acceptance speech for the MVP award. "To be the first person in Panthers history to win it -- that's what I'm most proud about. I've received a lot of awards, but to be able to get this organization here, I'm really proud. We didn't get in this position by happenstance. It took years of hard work and dedication, and now we are reaping the benefits."
Newton was a landslide choice for MVP, with 48 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who regularly cover the NFL. Fellow QBs Tom Brady and Carson Palmer each received one vote.
In his fifth pro season, Newton also earned the Offensive Player of the Year award, which his father, mother and two brothers accepted Saturday night.
"Cam took an unconventional journey to get here, and we're just so proud of what has happened, my family and I," Newton's father, Cecil, said. "So many thanks go out to so many people, from Pop Warner to the Panthers. I don't have time to tell you all 'thank you.' You know who you are. We know who you are."
Newton earned 18 votes for top offensive player. Steelers receiver Antonio Brown was second, with 10.
Newton became the first black quarterback to win The Associated Press MVP award outright. Tennessee's Steve McNair shared the award with Peyton Manning after the 2004 season.
If Newton and the Panthers win Sunday, it would make Newton the first quarterback and second player ever to win a Heisman Trophy, college football national championship, NFL MVP and Super Bowl.
Running back Marcus Allen led USC to the national title in 1978, won the Heisman in 1981, led the Los Angeles Raiders to the Super Bowl in 1983 and was named league MVP in 1985.
Newton won the Heisman and led Auburn to the national title in 2010.
Manning, a five-time NFL MVP, said Newton is the future of the league.
"Anything that the sheriff has to say, you can probably ink it in gold,'' Newton said during Super Bowl media night. "It's just a tremendous honor to be even mentioned and affiliated with the face of the league.
"But yet, I think I have bigger fish to fry on Sunday, and then we'll worry about the rest of the eight to 10 years after that."
Newton guided the Panthers to an NFL-best 15-1 record with a career-best 35 touchdown passes, as well as 10 rushing touchdowns during the regular season.
He had a career-best 99.4 passer rating and threw five touchdowns in a game three times in a five-game stretch. In his past 10 games, including the playoffs, he has thrown 26 touchdowns with only three interceptions, for a rating of 119.1.
At 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, Newton has redefined the quarterback position as a runner and a passer out of Carolina's read-option offense.
"God's not making another Cam Newton for a long time,'' Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter said. "He broke the mold when He made him.''
Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian said Newton is a combination of New England tight end Rob Gronkowski and three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Steve Young.
"He's got a rocket of an arm, which he has learned to harness,'' Polian said. "He can do things in the run game that no other quarterback, perhaps in the history of the game, can do.''
Newton has gotten a lot of publicity for his touchdown dances this season. The "dab" became a phenomenon across the country after Newton celebrated a touchdown Nov. 15 against Tennessee with the dance that originated in Atlanta.
Rivera said that shouldn't detract from what the quarterback has done on the field. He called this season Newton's "moment.''
"This is a young athlete that has such a skill set and such a football mind that he can take it to the next level, do things differently,'' Rivera said. "He can be the Super Bowl champion, the MVP and all that, and at the same time be able to show people how to do things.''
Newton is on a Hall of Fame pace as the first quarterback to throw for at least 100 touchdowns (117) and run for 25 or more touchdowns (43) in his first five NFL seasons. He broke Manning's record (21,174) for combined yards by a quarterback in his first five seasons with 21,470.
"When Cam steps into that locker room and that huddle, everybody's chest gets a little bit more puffed out,'' two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner said. "Everybody believes a little bit more that we can get something done.
"That's what the great ones have. ... That's what I've enjoyed watching Cam in his ascension to an MVP-type year.''
"It means so much, but not just for myself,'' Newton said in a video acceptance speech for the MVP award. "To be the first person in Panthers history to win it -- that's what I'm most proud about. I've received a lot of awards, but to be able to get this organization here, I'm really proud. We didn't get in this position by happenstance. It took years of hard work and dedication, and now we are reaping the benefits."
Newton was a landslide choice for MVP, with 48 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who regularly cover the NFL. Fellow QBs Tom Brady and Carson Palmer each received one vote.
In his fifth pro season, Newton also earned the Offensive Player of the Year award, which his father, mother and two brothers accepted Saturday night.
"Cam took an unconventional journey to get here, and we're just so proud of what has happened, my family and I," Newton's father, Cecil, said. "So many thanks go out to so many people, from Pop Warner to the Panthers. I don't have time to tell you all 'thank you.' You know who you are. We know who you are."
Newton earned 18 votes for top offensive player. Steelers receiver Antonio Brown was second, with 10.
Newton became the first black quarterback to win The Associated Press MVP award outright. Tennessee's Steve McNair shared the award with Peyton Manning after the 2004 season.
If Newton and the Panthers win Sunday, it would make Newton the first quarterback and second player ever to win a Heisman Trophy, college football national championship, NFL MVP and Super Bowl.
Running back Marcus Allen led USC to the national title in 1978, won the Heisman in 1981, led the Los Angeles Raiders to the Super Bowl in 1983 and was named league MVP in 1985.
Newton won the Heisman and led Auburn to the national title in 2010.
Manning, a five-time NFL MVP, said Newton is the future of the league.
"Anything that the sheriff has to say, you can probably ink it in gold,'' Newton said during Super Bowl media night. "It's just a tremendous honor to be even mentioned and affiliated with the face of the league.
"But yet, I think I have bigger fish to fry on Sunday, and then we'll worry about the rest of the eight to 10 years after that."
Newton guided the Panthers to an NFL-best 15-1 record with a career-best 35 touchdown passes, as well as 10 rushing touchdowns during the regular season.
He had a career-best 99.4 passer rating and threw five touchdowns in a game three times in a five-game stretch. In his past 10 games, including the playoffs, he has thrown 26 touchdowns with only three interceptions, for a rating of 119.1.
At 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, Newton has redefined the quarterback position as a runner and a passer out of Carolina's read-option offense.
"God's not making another Cam Newton for a long time,'' Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter said. "He broke the mold when He made him.''
Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian said Newton is a combination of New England tight end Rob Gronkowski and three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Steve Young.
"He's got a rocket of an arm, which he has learned to harness,'' Polian said. "He can do things in the run game that no other quarterback, perhaps in the history of the game, can do.''
Newton has gotten a lot of publicity for his touchdown dances this season. The "dab" became a phenomenon across the country after Newton celebrated a touchdown Nov. 15 against Tennessee with the dance that originated in Atlanta.
Rivera said that shouldn't detract from what the quarterback has done on the field. He called this season Newton's "moment.''
"This is a young athlete that has such a skill set and such a football mind that he can take it to the next level, do things differently,'' Rivera said. "He can be the Super Bowl champion, the MVP and all that, and at the same time be able to show people how to do things.''
Newton is on a Hall of Fame pace as the first quarterback to throw for at least 100 touchdowns (117) and run for 25 or more touchdowns (43) in his first five NFL seasons. He broke Manning's record (21,174) for combined yards by a quarterback in his first five seasons with 21,470.
"When Cam steps into that locker room and that huddle, everybody's chest gets a little bit more puffed out,'' two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner said. "Everybody believes a little bit more that we can get something done.
"That's what the great ones have. ... That's what I've enjoyed watching Cam in his ascension to an MVP-type year.''