I don’t think we’re going to see Cam Newton back in the lineup soon. Physically, he might be ready to play, but it looks like Ron Rivera is giving him the Brad Johnson treatment.
Carolina is playing well with Kyle Allen at quarterback. He doesn’t have Newton’s overall ability, but he’s in a groove right now, operating the offense efficiently. They’ve won four games in a row since he took over, making it tough to justify a switch. The next game is at San Francisco, which is really good defensively, and it would be hard for Newton to take over in that game and play well.
At least for now, Newton is being treated like Brad Johnson. In 1998, Johnson began the season as Minnesota’s starting quarterback but quickly became an afterthought when Randall Cunningham came in as an injury replacement and got the offense humming. All along, Dennis Green maintained that Johnson was injured and rehabbing, making any quarterback decision moot.
“As far as I’m concerned, we’re not going to deal with the question until it is time,” Ron Rivera says. “When the time comes, I will address it. As far as I’m concerned, he (Newton) is in the rehab program and he’s doing the program and our quarterback right now playing for us is Kyle. So we’re not going to address it.”
Newton has a Lis Franc foot sprain. He also underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason. When the Panthers sat him down after Week 2, the plan was for Newton to hopefully return after the Week 7 bye. We’re at that point now and Newton was walking around at practice prior to the game in the United Kingdom, but nobody in Charlotte nowadays is talking about Newton returning soon.
The numbers are glaring.
Including Week 17 last year, Allen has won all five of his starts, with 9 TDs and no interceptions.
Newton has lost his last five starts, with 2 TDs and 7 interceptions. (If you want to dip back even farther, Newton has lost eight games in a row.)
Allen doesn’t have Newton’s mobility. He also doesn’t have a dynamic arm. But he’s getting rid of the ball on time, avoiding mistakes and taking what’s there. He’s completed 64 percent of his passes, with 10 sacks in those five games. Newton has completed 60 percent in his last five starts, with 14 sacks.
| CAM NEWTON: LAST FIVE GAMES | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Com | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int |
| at T.B. | L 17-24 | 28 | 41 | 68% | 300 | 2 | 4 |
| at Clev. | L 20-26 | 26 | 42 | 62% | 265 | 0 | 1 |
| N.O. | L 9-12 | 16 | 29 | 55% | 131 | 0 | 1 |
| LAR | L 27-30 | 25 | 38 | 66% | 239 | 0 | 1 |
| T.B. | L 14-20 | 25 | 51 | 49% | 333 | 0 | 0 |
| KYLE ALLEN: LAST FIVE GAMES | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Result | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int |
| at N.O. | W 33-14 | 16 | 27 | 59% | 228 | 2 | 0 |
| at Ariz. | W 38-20 | 19 | 26 | 73% | 261 | 4 | 0 |
| at Hou. | W 16-10 | 24 | 34 | 71% | 232 | 0 | 0 |
| Jac. | W 34-27 | 17 | 30 | 57% | 181 | 1 | 0 |
| at T.B. | W 37-26 | 20 | 32 | 63% | 227 | 2 | 0 |
—Ian Allan