CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It is victory Monday for the Carolina Panthers, and, Cam Newton is back with a vengeance. He laid down a comeback performance so perfect, you had to see it to believe it. In his first two plays against the Arizona Cardinals, on the road, Newton nailed two red zone touchdowns. One, he ran in. The other, he threw. He took off his helmet and yelled into a TV camera on the sidelines, “I’m back!” Refs penalized him for excessive celebration, and Panthers head coach Matt Rhule told him not to do that again.
After the game, Newton said, “This time last week I was eating a bowl of cereal. I told Coach Rhule it would never happen again and it won’t, that was on me. But, I was eating cereal last week, you know what I mean?”
Rhule says, “I want everything that Cam brings. I don’t want Cam lite. I want full Cam. As long as Cam is focused on football, which he is, so it’s easy.” And of Newton’s return, Rhule says, “I took my daughter to the daddy-daughter dance Friday night and I had two little girls come up, ages 5 and 7, and ask if I was the coach of the Panthers, and if Cam was really back. I assume that if that’s being brought up at the daddy-daughter dance, it’s being brought up everywhere.”
Rhule says Cam will take most of the reps this week. He says if Cam is ready, he will start this coming Sunday at home against the Washington Football Team and former Carolina coach Ron Rivera. Rivera helped make Newton the top pick of the 2011 draft out of Auburn.
Our question of the night: can Cam keep it up?
This episode’s panel features:
WCCB TV’s Morgan Fogarty
WCCB Sports Anchor Zach Aldridge
WCCB News Edge contributor QCB