SAN JOSE, Calif. - Panthers coaches ideally try to limit play calls that increase the risk of quarterback Cam Newton getting hurt, and they obviously don't want him take to absorb too much contact in their next game.

But, it is the last game, the ultimate game.

"It is no holds barred. There really is no next game," head coach Ron Rivera said. "The approach has to be that we're going to do the things we need to do. We'll have him do the things that we want him to do for us to give us the best opportunity to win."

That's certainly an approach advocated by Newton, the first player to rush for 500 yards and pass for 3,000 yards in each of his first five seasons. In fact, Newton wouldn't be opposed to such an approach all the time, not just for Super Bowl 50.

"At the end of the day, we're football players, and we need to be treated as such," said Newton, who considers himself more susceptible to injury in the pocket. "Making plays, you can't coach that. So if you have a guy who is a playmaker, it's easy for that person to thrive in moments. I don't think that gets mentioned enough."

Newton showed how devastating an unleashed version of him can be late in the third quarter of the NFC Championship game when he powered his way to an 11-yard gain around the right side on a third-and-10 and then crashed in around the same side on the next snap for a 12-yard score.

His legs could be a difference maker again versus the Broncos.

"It's his moment as well as our moment," Rivera said.

SNOOP AROUND: The first question at Newton's press conference Thursday came courtesy of entertainer Snoop Dogg, who had more media tracking him on the final day of Super Bowl interviews than most Panthers players did.

"Is the kid in you outweighing the man in you in this big game you're about to play?" Snoop Dogg asked.

"That's a good question," Newton replied. "Half of me tries to be as professional as possible, but the human in me just wants to take it all in. It's hard for me to give you a direct answer without bringing both sides out.

"Of course, the professional side, you're just trying to come up with any edge as you prepare for a team. But all the festivities leading up to the game, it's hard not to take it all in. It's a dream come true, and we'll be prepared Sunday."

Snoop Dogg, serving as a correspondent for "The Rich Eisen Show," then worked the room throughout the media session, asking many of the players questions. His final stop was with cornerback Josh Norman, who smiled from ear to ear.

"How do we get out of this joint?" Snoop Dogg asked after chatting with Norman. "Panthers got work to do."

SPEAKING OF: The Panthers players were thinking along the same lines as Snoop. Thursday was their fourth consecutive day of significant media obligations, but when the session came to an end, so did those duties - until after Sunday's game.

"No more media!" fullback Mike Tolbert sang as he headed up an escalator bound for the team buses. "We get to go to practice!"

All jokes aside, it actually is an important moment in the course of the week, one that allows the team to truly focus on itself until game time.