We've sure come a long way from the seven-second pause.

Of course, there was never much substance to a storyline that was part media creation and part paranoid fan base.

Three summers ago, when few in the Carolinas knew much about Dave Gettleman, they weren't yet aware the heavily-accented "Yankee" had limited experience with reporters. So when the Panthers' new general manager carefully answered a question about whether Cam Newton was a franchise quarterback, 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.

"I told you guys a year ago that he can take us to the promised land. He did. Now we've got to just take one more step," Gettleman told BBR Wednesday.

"He's very capable of doing that, but the other guys have to do their part, too."

In what may be news to many, Newton didn't lose the Super Bowl by himself. He certainly didn't play his best game, and he's never clearly explained what happened during a fourth-quarter fumble that fell near his feet, but he had help losing to the Broncos. Some of it was right tackle Mike Remmers. Much of it was Denver's defense. None of it was one guy's fault.

For example: If receiver Jerricho Cotchery didn't bobble a slant from Newton in the opening quarter. It wouldn't have been an incompletion that was upheld by replay moments before Von Miller's strip-sack completely changed the complexion of the game.

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."

That's a nice thing to say, but again, Newton's efficiency won't be mistaken for Brees' and his mechanics won't be compared to someone like Aaron Rodgers. There's a reason why Newton continues to work on the technical portion of his position during every practice.

Because a seven-second pause turned into questions about his commitment to his quarterback, it's understandable why Gettleman remains cautious about what he says about Newton. But what Panthers' coach Ron Rivera said last month is true — Newton may have just started to "scratch the surface."

"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."

And how high is that ceiling?

"I'm kind of interested to find out," Gettleman replied. "We'll see."