Titans not fans of Carolina’s Cam Newton, dancing man

Few quarterbacks in the NFL celebrate big plays like the Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton. You might get an exaggerated first-down signal from Tom Brady in a big moment, or Peyton Manning’s fist pump, but Newton does more.

And for the Tennessee Titans, Newton’s more on Sunday was too much.

After stretching over the goal line for a 2-yard touchdown that put the icing on a 27-10 Panthers win in Nashville, Newton did an extended dance. Linebacker Avery Williamson approached Newton as he was wrapping up and teammate Wesley Woodyard also went after Newton, and had to be held back by referee Walt Anderson.

Williamson explained why Newton’s behavior bothered him: “I don’t like it personally. You saw my reaction to it. He wants to be the man, so he wants to celebrate because he scored. But I don’t personally go for that stuff,” he said.

While lineman Jurrell Casey took the tried-and-true tactic of knocking Newton’s performance on Sunday, saying “the players around him” put the quarterback in a good position (Newton was 21-of-26 passing for 217 yards and a touchdown, plus carried the ball nine times for 23 yards and the fourth-quarter touchdown though he was sacked five times), he did acknowledge that it wasn’t a big deal and if the Titans didn’t want to see Newton celebrate, they should have kept Newton out of the end zone.

Newton said much the same in his postgame news conference.

“I heard somebody say, ‘We’re not going to allow you to do that’,” Newton said “But I’m a firm believer, if you don’t like me to do it, then don’t let me in. I just like doing it, man, it’s not to be boastful. And from the crowd’s response, they like seeing it.”