Ron Rivera recalls how unstoppable Cam Newton was on 4th down, Super Bowl stories

The Carolina Panthers have found out the hard way that no number one overall draft pick is a slam dunk. While the jury is still out on Bryce Young, they at least got it right back in 2011 when they took Cam Newton out of Auburn with the first pick in what became an all-time great draft class.

Newton went on to have one of the most-impressive rookie seasons by any quarterback in modern NFL history, then he made three Pro Bowl teams, earned one All-Pro honor and won an MVP award and an NFC Championship. Newton’s greatest claim to fame may have been as the greatest dual-threat quarterback of all time, but he’s since been surpassed by Lamar Jackson by his own admission. However, when it comes to converting short-yardage situations, Newton is still in a class all his own among QBs.

Here’s former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera talking about how great Cam was on fourth down, and how much harder it became without him.

Before he became a coach, Rivera also enjoyed a storied career as a player. While he never made a Pro Bowl team Rivera played linebacker pretty well from 1984-1992 for the Chicago Bears, including being a part of the greatest team of all time in his rookie season.

In addition to being the most dominant defense ever, those Bears came with a host of legendary personalities and larger-than-life characters. Here’s Rivera talking about an epic Super Bowl week hangover from quarterback Jim McMahon.

After getting fired from his job in Carolina, Rivera went on to coach the Washington Commanders for four seasons, but he was fired last year. All together Rivera has a 102-103-2 career record, but he also has won two Coach of the Year awards.

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