Grüße und Vorstellung » if things don't change.

An optimistic Cam Newton says he's adjusting well to a new offensive scheme and boldly proclaimed it's time for the Carolina Panthers to "take back the division."

Wearing a "Change the culture" t-shirt and a "Keep Pounding" hat Sam Hubbard 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," 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 Nate Hairston Jersey , 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," 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.

No, Vance Joseph never felt as if he was drinking out of a firehose when the Denver Broncos stumbled through a 5-11 season in his first year as head coach last year.

That's how general manager John Elway has repeatedly described what it must have been like for a first-year head coach in the NFL.

"That's not my personality, so I didn't feel that way," Joseph told The Associated Press. "My focus was purely on trying to flip it and get us back on a winning path. I think being a young head coach and being a young coach is a different deal. I'm not a young coach. I've been a part of teams that have gone through adversity so I kind of knew what the issues were."

Turnovers.

A sieve of an offensive line.

Locker room rifts.

A lack of chemistry, the byproduct of another protracted quarterback competition.

Still, "I think overwhelmed Shane Lechler Jersey , that's not the word," Joseph said.

Denver's dive, which included eight losses by double digits, was a shock to a city and a franchise that had a ticker-tape parade just two years earlier, and Elway acknowledged that he pondered firing Joseph at season's end.

"That's the direction I want to go, but it's my responsibility to think about other options to see what would be best for the football team," Elway said in January. "We thought about different options, but ultimately, my goal was to stick with Vance and give him that shot."

Elway, who had riled up his players by calling them soft during an eight-game skid, said he shared in the blame for Joseph's deficient debut and needed to surround him with better personnel.

Joseph replaced nearly half of his coaching staff while Elway embarked on a massive roster upgrade .

He signed quarterback Case Keenum in free agency and all 10 members of his ballyhooed 2018 draft class spent four years in college and most were captains. That's a far cry from the previous two classes that were loaded with raw athleticism, long-term projects and plenty of question marks.

Joseph seems much more comfortable in his second season.

"I don't see it as a do-over. It's hard in this league. You don't get do-overs, unfortunately. But it's a new year and obviously last year wasn't good enough," Joseph said.

The hands-off philosophy Joseph brought to Denver last year has vanished.

"I think it's a fine line between micromanaging and coaching coaches. And I didn't want to ever be micromanaged as an assistant coach because in my mind I was doing the best I could for that head coach and the best I could for that football team. And I took great pride in coaching my guys and being the best group on the field every day in the meeting rooms or on the field Logan Cooke Jersey ," Joseph said.

"So, in my mind every coach would feel that way and every coach would want to coach that way. So, I was cautious in interrupting coaches' drills, interrupting coaches' ways of doing things because I had an experienced staff."

That led to the notion that Joseph was still acting like an assistant coach last year while offensive coordinator Mike McCoy continued operating as though he were still a head coach before getting fired at midseason.

Joseph vehemently denies that was the case.

"I thought Mike did a great job every week of accepting his role and we talked every week about the game plan, so that's not true," Joseph said.

"I worked for a lot of coaches who didn't micromanage me, Gary Kubiak, Marvin Lewis, great guys who have won a lot of games. So, that's not true. Our staff last year we discussed every game plan that we put forward and again it was the best thing for our players at the time.

"So, our thought process early on was to be an explosive offense. We were 3-1. It wasn't perfect. But it was working. Now, turning the ball over, not protecting the quarterback, those things affected how we played on offense. But not Mike trying to be in total control Dan Skuta Jersey , that's not true."

Still, Joseph said he has to coach his coaches better, and by that, he means challenging them.

"I don't coach the receivers, I don't coach the running backs or offensive line. I'm a defensive backs guy, I'm a defensive guy. So, I think asking the right questions and triggering more thought process on how we can do things better. Or simply seeing it differently than the coach and saying, 'Why don't we do it that way?'" Joseph said.

"Now, I can be wrong, but I think simply asking more questions is a simple way of helping the coaches get better and helping our football team get better and not letting anything slide."

Joseph realizes he won't get another chance if things don't change.

"Winning football games is a must this year," he said. "We have to do that. That's why they hired me."

And why Elway stuck with him.

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