Airplane mode is a reporter’s friend. Try and record an interview or press conference on your iPhone without airplane mode on and you can quickly see things go south, via a spouse incessantly texting you while at work or a parent calling to say they saw you on television.
Another thing that could happen? You could be sitting in a Cam Newton press conference with your phone up front to record all the action and the Panthersquarterback could pick it up and answer it for you.
That’s precisely what happened to one unlucky reporter at a recent Newton press conference, who picked up the phone, said hello to Veronica and then said he’d have to talk to her later.
This could go south for the reporter — “WHO THE HELL IS VERONICA??” — but more than likely it ends up being pretty funny when Veronica finds out that she spoke with the reigning NFL MVP and didn’t realize it.
It’s also a friendly reminder that Cam’s press conferences are a rollercoaster of emotions.
The Carolina Panthers will likely be without their star quarterback for “Monday Night Football.” According to a report from the Charlotte Observer, Cam Newton is expected to miss Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to the lingering effects of the concussion he sustained last Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
Newton was listed on the Panthers’ injury report on Thursday with a DNP (Did Not Participate) designation, and he is still in the league’s concussion protocol. He will have to be cleared by an independent neurologist before he is allowed to participate in practice and/or a game.
Backup Derek Anderson will make the start if Newton is unable to play. He went 17 of 23 for 172 yards, two touchdowns and two picks in relief of Newton last week. Anderson made two starts in Newton’s injury-related absence back in 2014, winning both games while completing 65 of 97 passes for 701 yards and five touchdowns.
In his last action as a regular starter, he went 2-7 for Arizona in 2010. Prior to that he compiled a 16-18 record as a semi-regular starter during four seasons with theBrowns.
DENVER — The football game that kicked off the 2016 NFL season was exceptional. But it was the head-to-head shots Cam Newton took, and what it says about the difficult balancing act between safety and competition, that turned the night into a failure.
And for a game we all love — and a money-making machine the league must find a way to protect from the very thing that makes it so compelling in the first place: that searing violence that, this time, unleashed itself on the league’s reigning MVP.
Time and again, Newton took helmet-to-helmet shots. There were certainly four, including a huge shot at the end of the game that left him down, dazed and confused. Was that illegal hit — one offset by an accompanying intentional grounding call with just 37 seconds left in a one-point game — part of the reason Denver won a 21-20 thriller?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. From then on Newton seemed off in what could have been a winning drive, but it could just as well have been the same swarming Broncos defense that last season made them champions. And Carolina still had a chance to win. Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal that would have been the winner, and that was it, the Broncos swamping their home turf, celebrating at Carolina’s expense yet again.
Melded in all that excitement was another incredible performance by Newton, a night of ugly stats but quiet promise from Broncos novice and starting quarterback Trevor Siemian, and another reminder that John Elway might be as good in the front office as he was the huddle.
But it all got overshadowed by the same ugliness that, more and more often, foists itself on everyone invested in the game of football — the league, the fans, the players, the officials, you, me.
There is a new concussion protocol in place, but if I told you I understood it after watching Newton stay in that game I would be lying or delusional. As I expect almost anyone would be, the league and its officiating crew included.
Time and again, Newton took shots to his helmet that were not called. When that flag finally did fly as the game ground down to its final, crucial moments, the offsetting policy mocked the earlier moments. It was as if to say: Even when we protect you, Cam, we don’t care enough to make it matter.
And with Newton staying in as Mile High rocked and all of us held our breath and beheld the NFL at its tantalizing on-field best, it was hard not to wonder what, exactly, the point of a concussion policy is if the game’s most important player finds no protection in either the officiating or the protocol that should have pulled him.
Newton was circumspect after the game. He arrived to his postgame news conference late, and he was polite, cautious and absolutely unwilling to give the media even a modicum of ammunition to revisit Super Bowl 50 and that postgame debacle.
Asked if the referees failed to protect him, he said, “We all have jobs to do, including the refs, and we have to do our jobs better and win football games.”
Asked again if he was given fair and adequate treatment, Newton demurred: “It’s not my job to question the officials. I really like this officiating crew. So it wasn’t something I know they did intentionally. But it’s not fun getting hit in the head. We didn’t lose the game on that I know that for a fact.”
It was a strange conference, and impossible to sort out if that was true because Newton was furious with the loss, exceedingly careful with the press, cognizant that he should comport himself differently after his last postgame presser because he had learned from it, dazed by the violence inflicted on him on the field — or a combination of all or several of these things.
“I feel sh—y. That’s how I feel,” he said. “I just don’t like to lose. I know you guys are anticipating so much. I’m trying my best to keep it together but I knew this was going to happen — especially from the media standpoint, ‘How’s Cam going to react?’ The truth of the matter is the Denver Broncos are the defending champs for a reason.”
Yes, but there’s another truth, too, and it’s this: The league failed Cam Newton on Thursday night.
And so, too, did if fail a lot of us. The concussion epidemic is real and troubling. It is also true that violence and men crashing into other men is an intrinsic part of the game. So in the big fail that was Cam Newton’s night, and the abuse he took, there is both blame and the tricky truth that there are no easy answers here.
After praising the official who missed a call, Carolina tight end Greg Olsen spoke for a lot of people at Sports Authority Field at Mile High who afterward grappled with this recurring football problem. This time one inflicted on one of its brightest, most electric stars.
“We’ve got to treat Cam like a quarterback,” Olsen said. “I know he’s the biggest guy on the field, but he’s still a quarterback. We got one of them, but we didn’t gain any yards off of it. It is what it is.”
That’s exactly what Cam said when, yet again, he was pressed on whether he was let down by the protocols and officials meant to protect him and other players from helmet-to-helmet violence: “It is what it is,” Newton said. “It’s not going to make any difference now.”
It is what it is right now, true, but down the road those hits could have serious consequences — for Cam Newton, for the game, and for all of us who have to figure out how to love the NFL without losing it in the long term to nights like this one.
Andrew Luck just became the NFL’s highest-paid player after signing a five-year, $122.97 million contract extension with the Colts. You probably heard about that. Like all new deals of this magnitude, the market has been altered and how it impacts other quarterbacks on the hunt for a deal is worth examining.
But first, let’s get the proper context on Luck’s new terms. Luck’s contract with the Colts — which includes the final year of his rookie deal — is now six years as it runs through the 2021 season for a total of $139.125 million. Characterizing Luck’s deal as averaging $23,187,500 over those six years would be misleading. That’s because the contracts of other quarterbacks who also signed extensions at the top of the market aren’t being valued the same way. In most media reports, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers,Russell Wilson and Cam Newton are among the quarterbacks whose deals are expressed in “new money,” which is how professionals within the industry (agents and team negotiators) typically value deals.
New money is the amount of compensation in a contract excluding what a player was scheduled to make before receiving a new deal. For example, Wilson had one year remaining on his rookie contract with a $1.542 million salary when he received his new deal last July. Although he signed a five-year contract for $89.142 million, it is considered as a four-year, $87.6 million extension with a new-money average of $21.9 million per year among industry professionals. Wilson’s remaining 2015 contract year for $1.542 million was subtracted from the $89.142 million five-year total to arrive at this number. Luck’s extension or new money average is $24.594 million per year.
That’s a key number agents will focus on.
Luck’s deal also raises the bar in most key contract metrics. In addition to Luck’s $24.594 million average yearly salary being an 11.1 percent increase over the previous standard of $22,133,333 per year set by the Flacco deal, Luck’s contract establishes new benchmarks in overall contract guarantees, money fully guaranteed within 12 months of signing, three-year cash flow and first-three-new-years compensation with $87 million, $60 million, $75 million and $79.97 million respectively.
Andrew Luck’s deal sets new benchmarks for future QB contracts. USATSI
Luck didn’t advance the ball in the important metric of money fully guaranteed at signing. His $47 million tops Rodgers’ quarterback best of $44.5 million but falls well short of Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh‘s $59.955 million fully guaranteed at signing. Luck’s $3 million fifth day of the 2017 league year roster bonus is included in the $47 million because it is guaranteed of skill and injury at signing and becomes fully guaranteed Friday.
Get all that? It’s a lot. But here’s what it means for the agents community.
It is generally accepted that the top contracts are negotiated to be surpassed. Although Luck’s deal may not be eclipsed in the next couple of years, other quarterbacks in line for new contracts will benefit from its ripple effect. The agents of these quarterbacks will use Luck’s contract to push the salaries of their clients to a higher level than would have been possible before his deal was in the market place. Most teams are hesitant to set the market at a position, but are more willing to sign players at slightly below existing salary standards.
Here’s a look at the quarterbacks who could reap the benefit from Luck’s new contract in the next couple of years.
Conventional wisdom suggested that the Saints would sign Brees to an extension before free agency started on March 9 to lower his league-high $30 million 2016 cap number since he is entering the final year of his five-year, $100 million contract. That deal signed in 2012 made him the NFL’s first $20 million man and re-set the league’s pay scale. A new deal would have given the Saints more flexibility to improve the team and its porous defense.
An agreement would have already been reached if Brees was willing to give the Saints some sort of hometown discount. Luck’s deal gives Tom Condon, Brees’ agent, more ammunition for a healthy increase over his existing deal. It will probably take making Brees the NFL’s second-highest paid player, pushing him closer to Luck’s $24.594 million average yearly salary than Flacco’s $22,133,333 per year on a front-loaded deal with player friendly guarantees in order for him to sign an extension.
The Saints taking a wait-and-see approach at this late stage of the offseason, where the 37-year-old stays at his $30 million cap number may make more sense. But using a franchise tag on him in 2017 would be cost prohibitive as Brees’ franchise tag number will be $43.09 million, which is based on 144 percent of his 2016 cap number.
Kirk Cousins is playing the 2016 season on a $19.953 million non-exclusive franchise tag unless a long-term deal is reached prior to the July 15 deadline for franchise players to sign multi-year contracts, which seems unlikely.
The 2012 fourth-round pick has more to gain than lose by playing under the franchise tag. Given there are more NFL teams than competent starting quarterbacks, Cousins could still be line for a contract similar to Sam Bradford‘s even with a slight regression or mediocre 2016 season.
Kirk Cousins could cash in big if he turns in a big 2016 season. USATSI
Bradford remained with the Philadelphia Eagles on a two-year deal averaging $17.5 million per year, which has $22 million fully guaranteed. The Redskins could be forced to franchise Cousins again next year for $23,943,600 if he demonstrates he is an ascending player in 2016. This would put Cousins in position to command a long-term deal averaging a minimum of $24 million per year where he’s in the same ballpark as Luck in other key contract metrics.
As crazy as it may sound, there is a plausible scenario where Stafford, who is under contract through the 2017 season, becomes the NFL’s highest-paid player next offseason. Stafford hasn’t consistently performed at the same level he did during his 2011 breakout season in which he threw for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdown passes.
There were rumblings that Stafford’s days in Detroit could be numbered with theLions beginning last season 0-5, which put head coach Jim Caldwell’s job in jeopardy. Stafford had the best eight-game stretch of his career over the second half of the season after Jim Bob Cooter was promoted from quarterbacks coach to replace Joe Lombardi as offensive coordinator. The 28-year-old threw for 2,179 yards with 19 touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 70 percent of his passes on a 110.1 passer rating.
Matthew Stafford as the NFL’s highest-paid player? Yeah, it could happen. USATSI
Stafford lost his security blanket, six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Calvin Johnson, to a premature retirement. If Stafford thrives without Johnson, his agent, Condon, will drive an extremely hard bargain in any negotiations for an extension.
The Packers gave Rodgers a five-year, $110 million extension that made him the NFL’s highest-paid player in 2013 when he had two years remaining on his contract. Adhering to this same timetable would put Rodgers in line for a new deal after the 2017 season when he is 34 years old.
The two-time league MVP is still widely regarded as the NFL’s best quarterback despite a subpar 2015 season by his standards. Rodgers had his lowest completion percentage (60.7) and quarterback rating (92.7) since becoming a starter in 2008 while his favorite target, Jordy Nelson, was sidelined for the year with a torn ACL in his right knee. As long as 2015 is an anomaly for Rodgers, the Packers shouldn’t have an issue putting him back at the top of the NFL’s salary hierarchy on his next contract, presumably in 2018.
2014 Quarterback Draft Class
The 2014 draft class becomes eligible to sign extensions at the conclusion of the 2016 regular season on New Year’s Day. Oakland Raiders‘ second-round pick Derek Carr could get the first new deal because 2017 is his contract year. First-round picksBlake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater won’t be in contract years until 2018 since they are subject to fifth year options.
Carr and Bortles showed more improvement from their rookie years than Bridgewater during their sophomore campaigns. Bridgewater is in more of a need of a breakout season than Carr and Bortles because of the Minnesota Vikings‘ run-oriented offense despite having more team success.
Carr developed instant rapport with his new wideouts, 2015 fourth overall pick Amari Cooper and free agent pick up Michael Crabtree last season. The connection is only going to get better with another year together. The Raiders getting to playoffs for the first time in 14 years with Carr continuing to progress will allow him to become one of the league’s highest-paid players. It will be interesting to see what type of effect, if any, 2014 fifth overall pick Khalil Mack‘s future contract, which should make him the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback, will have on Carr’s deal.
Derek Carr will likely be the first QB from the 2014 class to cash in. USATSI
Bortles set Jaguars single-season franchise records for touchdown passes (35), passing yards (4,428), pass attempts (606) and completions (355) in 2015. He was tied for second in the NFL in touchdown passes. Cutting down on a league-leading 18 interceptions is a part of the next step in Bortles’ development.
The Jaguars are willing to pay productive players near the top of their respective markets. When Julius Thomas signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2015, he became the NFL’s second highest-paid tight end with a five-year, $46 million contract containing $24 million in guarantees. Allen Hurns‘ recent four-year, $40.05 million extension (worth up to $44.05 million through salary escalators) makes him the NFL’s highest-paid No. 2 wide receiver. This bodes well for Bortles potentially setting the market with his next contract.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said 87 words in his Super Bowl 50 postgame press conference. In the hours since he walked off after closing his availability by saying, “I’m done man,” there’s been a whole lot of consternation about how, exactly, that presser went down. (You may have seen some #takes on the subject in the late night and early morning hours. If you’re reading this post, you almost definitely have seen them.)
Below, we’ve got the full transcript, via ESPN.com.
What’s your message to Panthers fans?
“We’ll be back.”
Ron [Rivera] said Denver two years ago had a tough time and they bounced back. Do you take that to heart?
“No.”
Can you put a finger on why Carolina didn’t play the way it normally plays?
“Got outplayed.”
Is there a reason why?
“Got outplayed, bro.”
Was it pretty much what you had seen on film from Denver? Anything different they put in for this game?
“Nothing different.”
Do we sometimes forget that defenses can still take apart the offenses in this game?
“No.”
What did Ron Rivera say after the game?
“He told us a lot of things.”
Anything in particular that was memorable?
“Nope.”
Obviously you’re disappointed. On the biggest stage it’s difficult, I know.
[nods head]
Did you see anything that you didn’t expect tonight?
“They just played better than us. I don’t know what you want me to say. They made more plays than us, and that’s what it comes down to. We had our opportunities. It wasn’t nothing special that they did. We dropped balls, we turned the ball over, gave up sacks, threw errant passes. That’s it. They scored more points than us.”
Can you put into words the disappointment you feel right now?
“We lost.”
Did Denver change anything defensively to take away your running lanes?
“No.”
I know you’re disappointed not just for yourself, but for your teammates. It’s got to be real tough.
[shakes head] “I’m done man.”
Cam’s postgame media session: not great. (USATSI)
That doesn’t look quite as bad as it has been made out to be without the visual of Newton slinking back in his seat, low-whispering his answers, and then walking off the stage. He answered most of the questions, even if he did so with only a few words on most occasions.
The one question he was asked multiple times (if Denver did anything differently/changed anything) seemed like it got to him a bit, but he expanded on his answer the second time around anyway. He then skated around the “can you write my story for me” question (“Can you put into words the disappointment you feel right now?”) and declined to answer the two “questions” that weren’t actual questions.
Without the visuals — or even without his name attached to the Q&A session — it all seems pretty banal. The visuals matter, of course, but there does seem to be a whole lot of moralizing over what reads like a pretty standard losing player press availability.
Count former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher among those who could do without Cam Newton‘s touchdown celebrations. For some reason, a segment of the football-watching population is fixated on how the Panthers quarterback chooses to commemorate big plays; we’ve heard from appalled letter-writing mothers, disgruntled opponents and former players — a list that now includes Urlacher.
“I played defense so I don’t like when guys celebrate with dances and stuff,” Urlacher said, according to For the Win. “You know who I like the way he celebrates is Peyton. He kind of gives the guy a handshake and goes back to the sidelines. I think that’s a great celebration right there. You don’t see him dancing. You don’t see him doing all of that stuff. Even when he gets a first down he doesn’t do anything.”
The Panthers’ form-letter response to Urlacher — or anyone else: “We don’t care about the outside world and any of the scrutiny or the talking the trash of our dancing or how much fun we’re having,” fullback Mike Tolbertsaid on Wednesday. “If you don’t want us to have fun, stop us.”
And defensive end Jared Allen has also said pretty much the same thing.
“People expect franchise quarterbacks to act a certain way. But he leads in his own unique way,” Allen said in November. “But it’s so authentic that you’ve got to love it, you’ve got to let it go. Speaking of guys like Brett, people forget Brett was a fiery dude. Brett used to get into it all the time. I think it’s great. You don’t want to let a guy celebrate in your end zone, don’t let him score.”
Brian Urlacher isn’t a fan of Cam Newton’s celebrations. (USATSI)
Despite his objections to Newton’s celebratory choices, Urlacher is torn on who he wants to win the Super Bowl.
“I’m a huge Ron Rivera fan, I played for Ron for three years in Chicago. Obviously Charles (Tillman) is there and Jared Allen, I’ve known Jared for a few years,” he said. “I’d like to see Peyton go and win the Super Bowl and then retire because I’m such a huge Peyton Manning fan but at the same time you don’t get many chances to get back to the Super Bowl and so Carolina, you know you’d like to see them win as well.”
Super Bowl 50 is less than two weeks away. And we’ve got an epic matchup, with the Panthers and Broncos squaring off in Santa Clara for all the marbles (and some of the Tostitos).
Over the next two weeks you’ll be blasted with various storylines from the games but let’s go ahead and get you ready for the heavy influx by prepping you with some of the biggest storylines out there.
Here are 8 to keep an eye on.
1. Past vs. Future: There’s a strange transition in the NFL for quarterbacking right now.Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees — the holy trio of a full generation of passers — are phasing out of the league, mostly at a high level. You can argue about who’s the best (Brady gets my vote) but Manning’s been the face of football for nearly 20 years now. Part of NFL royalty, he’s a tried-and-true pocket passer with success at every level throwing from the pocket and shattering records. He’s the role model for an entire generation of quarterbacks.
In the other corner, Cam Newton, the future of quarterbacking. Newton entered the league after dominating in a Gus Malzhan offense at Auburn, playing one year and winning the National Championship and Heisman Trophy. Cam’s emerged as the ultimate NFL weapon moving forward, capable of beating defenses with his arm, brain and legs.
Both guys are former No. 1 picks, just many years apart. It’s the first time two different top picks are facing off in the Super Bowl, with Peyton (1998) and Cam (2011) representing very different NFL Drafts.
It’s best exemplified by their difference in age, with Peyton being 13 years, 1 month and 18 days older than Cam, the largest gap in Super Bowl history between two starting quarterbacks.
Oh yeah, and Manning is the oldest quarterback ever to start in the Super Bowl at the age of 39.
2. The Sheriff: The idea of Peyton having a shot to “Elway” the 2015 NFL season by saddling up for 60 minutes, playing some good football, hitting a shot or two down the field and being able to ride off into the sunset with a second Lombardi Trophy is very much in play.
Imagine telling someone this might happen in mid-November, when Manning broke the record for passing yards on the same day he threw four interceptions (and five completions) and was removed from the game for Brock Osweiler. Football is funny.
He’s the face of the NFL and he’s going to be the face of this Super Bowl for the next two weeks. Beating Tom Brady/Bill Belichick and then winning his second Super Bowl before walking away from the game (and let’s be honest, if he wins he needs to walk away) on the biggest stage possible with the NFL celebrating its silver anniversary?
A decidedly delightful storyline.
3. Cam I Am: The world is too busy screaming about whether or not Cam’s celebrations are respectful in order to actually appreciate the strides he’s made as a quarterback on the field.
But by the middle of February he could be in a class of his own in terms of accomplishments between college and the NFL:
Newton is very likely to take down the MVP award on Saturday night during NFL Honors. The Super Bowl title itself is a little more difficult to pull off. He would join Joe Montana and Joe Namath as the only three quarterbacks to win a National Championship in college and a Super Bowl title in the NFL.
4. 2011 Draft: Back in 2011, when people were deciding whether the Panthers should take Cam, Blaine Gabbert or Jake Locker (no, really!), one option was simply going with defense and taking Von Miller. The Broncos took Miller No. 2 overall and it’s been a strong pick despite a little bit of up-and-down because of suspension and injury.
Miller’s one of the most dynamic defensive players in the NFL and his run over the past month or so (6.5 sacks since December) is going to make him a pile of money on the market.
You would always take the quarterback, but the Panthers and Broncos both did pretty well with the pick.
It’s rare this happens, with Miller and Newton becoming the first No. 1 and No. 2 pick from the same draft to matchup in a Super Bowl.
5. Experienced Coaches: Ron Rivera and Gary Kubiak are both quiet men. But they’re also highly experienced coaches and former players.
Rivera won a Super Bowl with the Bears in 1985 (the only 18-1 Super Bowl champion, a Panthers win pending), coached in a Super Bowl as an assistant (2006 with the Bears … in Peyton Manning’s only Super Bowl win!) and now is a head coach in a Super Bowl for the first time.
Kubiak has a similar experience. He made the trip to three different Super Bowls as a player (although he never won), picked up a pair of Super Bowl titles as an assistant coach with Mike Shanahan and his current boss John Elway and now is coaching in the Super Bowl as a head coach for the first time.
They’re the first pair of coaches with the trio of Super Bowl appearances to square off in a Super Bowl, giving this thing plenty of juice between a pair of reserved leaders.
It’s also the first time we’ve seen two former players square off against each other in 30 years, with that matchup featuring … one of this year’s coaches!
6. Chalk Rules the Day: The NFL touts parity constantly. Anyone can win on any given Sunday, etc. But the reality of the modern NFL is home field advantage is paying off big.
The last three years have featured the No. 1 seeds playing in the Super Bowl.
Denver and Manning were blown out by the Seahawks two years ago in the Super Bowlafter both advanced as No. 1 seeds. Then last year the Seahawks and Patriots both advanced through the bracket as top seeds to square off against one another.
Now it’s the Panthers and Broncos. Two very unlikely No. 1 seeds — even if the Broncos were favored to start the season, no one was betting on them to run the table come November and December. The Panthers were 60-1 to win the Super Bowl before the season. Everyone gave up on them after Kelvin Benjamin went down and they nearly ran the table.
Not talking about teams doesn’t mean they’re not the top seed.
The game plan Wade Phillips brings against Carolina will be fascinating after he paddled Josh McDaniels on Sunday, sending Von Miller, Derek Wolfe and DeMarcus Ware in wave after wave at Brady.
Denver will win or lose based on their defense, but Carolina’s an entirely different game plan. Son of Bum will have to account for Cam and his mobility/rushing attack, plus the Panthers aren’t going to spread it out and try and the quick passing game.
They’re going to max protect Newton for most of the game anyway, almost certainly so with the Broncos looking to put pressure on the Panthers backfield. Protection up front for Carolina and holes in the running game could give the Panthers the early attack they’ve established the last few weeks. Denver does not want to play from behind here.
8. Disrespect: Everyone successful in the NFL believes the world’s against them. No one’s on cruise control appreciating all the accolades. Feels like this game’s going to feature a heavy “no one believes in us” media battle for two weeks.
The Panthers are kings of it, feeding weekly off the doubters. Tre Boston was borderline apoplectic about the idea of Carson Palmer being injured after the game, as if it presented another excuse for why Carolina won another game.
The Panthers used nearly giving up a 31-point lead to their advantage heading into Arizona, because no one believed in them.
Meanwhile, the Broncos are underdogs in this game. Fairly severely honestly, with Vegas dropping a 5.5-point spread out of the gates before moving it to 4.5 points. There’s a decent chance Peyton gets treated as the second-best quarterback of the week, giving him plenty of fodder considering his lifetime resume.
When the NFL schedule came out in the spring, not many people pegged the Week 11Redskins–Panthers matchup as an important one. But Carolina is 9-0 and has the best record in the NFC, and Washington is 4-5 and a half-game out of first place in the NFC East.
When the two teams take the field in Charlotte on Sunday, it won’t be Cam Newton vs.Robert Griffin III, two former high-round draft picks battling it out. But that doesn’t mean RG3, who was benched before the season, won’t play a critical role in preparing his teammates for the game: he’s serving as Newton in practice as the Redskins’ scout team quarterback.
And it’s helping, right?
“Yeah, a little bit,” said coach Jay Gruden. “He’s doing some of that, which is good, but, you know, to envision to emulate a guy that’s 6-foot-6, 265 pounds is a little bit different. But with some of the zone-read packages, they’ve seen a little bit with Kirk [Cousins] and Robert. Then, obviously, Robert is excellent at that, so we will use him effectively in that area.”
The Redskins started 2-4, at which point we all just assumed it was business as usual in Washington. But then Cousins led a historic comeback against the Buccaneers in Week 7 that seemed to jump-start things. After the bye, the Skins lost to the undefeated Patriots (no shame there) but destroyed the Saints last Sunday. And now it’s onto Carolina, where a win sets up a Week 12 showdown with the Giants — for first place in the division, no less.
For now, Gruden’s only worried about the Panthers.
“Playing on the road, it’s obviously tough. Getting out to a fast start, we got out to slow starts in two of those three games. Atlanta, we were kind of even for most of the game. But against New England, against the Giants, we were off to a terrible start, which allowed the crowd to get into it, make us one-dimensional on offense. Very important for us to get off to a faster start on the road, especially against Carolina. You kind of quiet the crowd a little bit. You get a little bit of momentum, get your confidence up, so it’s going to be important for us to get out to a fast start. But, you know, there’s a lot of things that we can do and we’re going to have to do better, especially against Carolina. Excellent football team all across the board — offense, defense and special teams — and it’ll be a great challenge.”
