A cool photo -- and my take on Cam-Jimmy

This very cool picture was submitted to me by loyal reader Darren Bolick -- he shot it Saturday night with his iPhone after the Panthers-Giants preseason game. That's one of the six Panther statues surrounding Bank of America stadium in the foreground, of course, and the Duke Energy Center (which can produce all sorts of spectacular light shows) doing its Panther-blue thing in the back. The moon adds a surreal quality, don't you think?(Photo by Darren Bolick)


While you glance at that striking photo one more time, here's my take on the Cam Newton-Jimmy Clausen debate:

My colleague Tom Sorensen advocates in today's newspaper the naming of Cam Newton as the Panthers' starter, beginning Friday night in the preseason game at Miami and continuing into the indefinite future.

While I don't entirely disagree with Tom -- he and I both advocated Newton being picked No.1 in April and both believe he's the future of the franchise -- I wonder if Cam is really ready. (Newton will indeed start against Miami Friday, coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday, but beyond that there's no telling as of yet).

So, back to Tom's theory of all Cam, all the time from now on: One preseason game as the backup and that's it? Really? That's not exactly a lot of dues. And that 8-for-19, no-TD passing performance was OK, but hardly the type that vaults you into the clear No.1 role.

There are alternatives. Jimmy Clausen is not nearly as athletic as Newton, but does throw the ball more accurately when he has time (when he doesn't, he still looks jittery). Derek Anderson actually knows the offense the best of the three and probably could do a decent job as a game manager-type of QB.

So while I do think Newton should start and play the majority of the season, I'm fine with Ron Rivera taking his time on this decision for a little while longer. I advocated the "alternate the QBs as starters for the first two weeks of preseason and see what you've got after that" idea in this blog a couple of weeks ago and still espouse it.

It's only a matter of time until Cam is The Man, but is the time really up already?

One side note: If you haven't read the report on the University of Miami football allegations filed by Yahoo! Sports Charles Robinson, you really need to. Here's the link. This is the sort of investigative journalism that is very hard to do, but also very worthwhile.

Goodson's fumbles: Inside the numbers

This year during the Panthers season I am going to occasionally post a statistics-heavy blog, taking a deeper look at something regarding the Carolina team.

Today we'll get started with one about Mike Goodson's fumbles -- a sore subject for the Panthers' multi-talented back.

Goodson had two fumbles Saturday night in the Panthers' 20-10 preseason win over the New York Giants, losing one of them (the other bounced out of bounds).

Not great, but is it a trend?

Unfortunately for Goodson, it has been recently. In the last two regular-season games of 2010, Goodson fumbled a total of three times, losing two of them. That means in his past three games, he has fumbled five times, losing three.

Now the preseason game won't count in the stats, of course. But nevertheless, this is disturbing. Coach Ron Rivera said Saturday night after the game that Goodson was too good to give up on but that the problem would (once again) be addressed.

Panthers owner Jerry Richardson told my colleague Tom Sorensen before the season about Goodson: "Mike Goodson knows very clearly that he is in good favor with me when he does not fumble the ball."

Goodson had only one fumble in his 2009 rookie season, but that's partly because he wasn't used nearly as often. Now he has seven fumbles altogether in two seasons (not counting exhibition games). He had six fumbles altogether in 2010 while running the ball, receiving and returning kickoffs. That wasn't the worst in the NFL -- Cleveland's Peyton Hillis had eight fumbles, leading all running backs in the category -- but it did put Goodson among the NFL's top 10 fumblers (among non-quarterbacks).

By comparison, DeAngelo Williams, the Panthers' most sure-handed back only has six fumbles in five seasons and once went an entire season without fumbling. (Jonathan Stewart's ball security is between those two -- better than Goodson, although Stewart did fumble four times in 2010, but not as good as DeAngelo).

Goodson apologized for the fumbles via Twitter late Saturday night, saying he was sorry about them and would work on it. A good-hearted soul, I'm sure he indeed will work hard on this. And he better.

Once you get the reputation as a fumbler in the NFL -- and Goodson now has it -- defenders try even harder to strip you.

Goodson too often lets the ball stray from he security of his chest, holding it out like a loaf of bread to be batted away. As the Panthers' best kickoff returner and best third-down back, he's got to get better at this, because he has potential to burn in so many other ways.

On Panthers, Austin, Kasay and the half-penny

A couple of notes as we start another week with the Panthers looking promising after their exhibition win Saturday night:

-- My column for Monday's newspaper, which can be seen here, talks about the energy on the field and in the stadium Saturday night. It was such a rare thing, that sort of energy, in 2010. Nice to see.

-- Along with a reporter from a Raleigh TV station, I conducted an impromptu question-and-answer session with New York Giants defensive tackle Marvin Austin following the game. Austin, who used to play for UNC, is a central figure in the school's NCAA investigation. You can find that here.

-- John Kasay's thank-you letter to fans, which I shared in a column last week after Kasay entrusted it to me to do so, had an incredible response. It's up to more than 1,100 "Likes" on Facebook, which is far more than any other story I've written. I know that's not a bit because of me. I believe it's partly because more people are on Facebook now but mainly because Kasay's gesture was so touching and so rare among today's professional athletes. If you missed that column, here's the link.

-- Finally, I promised a winner in the "half-penny contest" from last week. I had found a penny neatly cut in half on the Panthers' practice fields in Wofford and asked readers to theorize on what that meant.

I got a lot of funny responses, and they're worth a second to look at if you have time. (I think the real answer, that the penny was cut by a sharp lawnmower blade, was probably accurately portrayed by several readers as well).

In a close call, though, I'm going to actually give two copies of the book away. The first goes to the very first respondent (he's "anonymous," so he'll have to contact me at sfowler@charlotteobserver.com) the prize of a signed copy of my book about the Panthers' Super Bowl run.

That reader quipped of the half-penny: "I think that's left over from the Fox lame duck year. Whenever he tried to put his 2 cents in, Richardson said no and gave him his change back."

The second goes to the "Renfrows," who wrote: "I knew Rivera was looking for a nickelback, but this just makes no cents."

5 thoughts on Panthers' 20-10 preseason win over Giants

It was only the preseason, of course, but the Carolina Panthers were both impressive and interesting Saturday night in the Panthers’ 20-10 win over the New York Giants in Charlotte. While the duel between the two quarterbacks was basically a draw – Cam Newton led the Panthers to two field goals, while starter Jimmy Clausen threw a touchdown pass to his own team and one to the Giants – Carolina’s defense and special teams were very solid and the offense was just good enough to win.

So, after an eight-month absence, it's time for a new edition of "5 thoughts"...

1. Of the Panthers’ three quarterbacks who played Saturday night, it was Derek Anderson who actually had the best ratio of points per offensive series for Carolina. Anderson got Carolina into the end zone on his first series – albeit against a collection of reserves – and gave the Panthers a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

2. What about that Panther defense? Missing five starters due to various nagging injuries, it stonewalled Eli Manning whenever the Giants starter was in the game. The Giants’ only touchdown in the game came on an interception return on Clausen’s second pass.

3. Among the improvements in Ron Rivera’s first Panther team compared to John Fox’s last one: the kick coverage and return teams seem to be worth watching again. Other than Newton, Panther fans want no one to succeed more than Armanti Edwards, and he got off to a great start Saturday by breaking multiple tackles on both his first and second punt returns. (Edwards also had a 36-yard catch on a pass from Newton). The Panthers won the field-position battle for most of the game and also blocked a field goal, all of which was key.

4. Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski won some hearts and minds in the Carolinas with his very first play call as a Panther. In a steady downpour, he had Clausen line up in the shotgun and had the quarterback looking downfield. Clausen fired a great pass and Brandon LaFell caught it for 31 yards.

5. A few young Panther players who caught my eye in a positive way: cornerback R.J. Stanford, wide receiver Kealoha Pilares, Edwards, linebacker/special teamer Jordan Senn, cornerback Kendric Burney and special-teamer Michael Greco.

On Clausen, Gettis and Panthers

Panthers coach Ron Rivera has made the right move starting Jimmy Clausen Saturday against the New York Giants. Clausen is the veteran, this week overall in practice I think he's looked better throwing the ball and certainly he's a bit more familiar with the speed of the NFL game than Cam Newton.

With that said, as I wrote in this blog earlier this week, I'd start Clausen this week but then let Newton have a start next week at the Miami Dolphins. See what he can do. Let them both play under as equal circumstances as possible over a two-week period and then see what you've got.

In the meantime, they both have one less receiver to throw to, as the torn ACL in David Gettis's knee means he will be lost for the season. That's a blow, for sure, but only the second-most significant injury in camp so far. The first? The torn triceps sustained by DT Ron Edwards, counted on to bolster the middle of the Panther defense.

Gettis certainly is a blow, too, but I don't think he would have started anyway. Before he was hurt, Rivera wasn't high on either what Gettis or fellow second-year receiver Brandon LaFell had done in this camp. In any case, this makes it all the more smart-looking that the Panthers and Steve Smith mended fences.

Contest: a half-penny for your Panther thoughts

I found this mysterious half-penny on the Panthers' practice fields in Spartanburg this week. What do you think it means?


OK, so this is weird. I have spent most of this week in Spartanburg, watching the Carolina Panthers' training camp. On Wednesday, I was walking off the fields and found this half-penny, half-buried in the grass. Seriously. It was there.

Where did it come from? What does it mean? Who takes the time to cut a penny in half, and how did they do it?

I apologize for the blurry, UFO-like quality of the image, which I set on a white tablecloth so it would show up better.

Anyway, before we get back to our regular programming (I'm writing about the Panthers cornerback situation for Friday if you wanted to know) I want your opinion on what a half-penny on the Panthers' practice field means.

Is it an omen? Lucky? Unlucky? Do you have a funny line about it? For instance, when I showed it to Steve Reed of the Gaston Gazette, he cracked: "That's all the money Jerry Richardson has left now after that spending spree."

Best theory -- preferably funny -- wins a signed copy of my 2004 book on the Panthers' Super Bowl run (a little dated, but hey, it's free).

Post your entries in the comments section below (and KEEP THEM CLEAN, PLEASE -- I KEEP HAVING TO DISABLE COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG BECAUSE A VERY SMALL MINORITY OF FOLKS CAN'T KEEP THEIR LANGUAGE OUT OF THE R AND X-RATED MODE).

Also, if you particularly like your comment and think it might win, send me an e-mail copy at sfowler@charlotteobserver.com along with your full name AND YOUR COMMENT (just as a backup).

Deadline is 6 p.m. FRIDAY, AUG.12th Eastern time. The winner only will be contacted over the weekend, and I'll also post the winner on this blog. Thanks and good luck!

Shula talks about the 3 QBs

I am writing my column for Thursday's newspaper and online on Mike Shula, the Panthers' new quarterback coach.

Shula is charged with the daily supervision of Cam Newton and Jimmy Clausen. It's not his decision who starts, but he's the one most responsible for getting them ready.

I'll have a lot about that in my column, but here are a few quotes from Shula on Newton, Clausen and Derek Anderson (we didn't talk about Tony Pike, since Shula has barely seen him due to a shoulder injury). He is complimentary of all three, but I think by reading this you can get at least a little sense of how each one stands in Shula's mind entering the first preseason game Saturday night:

JIMMY CLAUSEN: “Jimmy has really worked very hard and has a good feel for what we’re asking him to do. Got a good sense of timing. A strong arm. Kind of getting used to the fact that every throw is a little bit different. You can’t throw everything on a line, like a short throw, just as hard as you can. So he’s still learning on all that, and on the ins and outs of the protections.

“Every player will say after their first year they will take the biggest jump from year one to year two. We all know the Panthers didn’t have a good year in 2010 and as quarterback he was a leader of that team. But his mindset is he’s going to get better because of that, and that’s the approach you’ve got to take.”

CAM NEWTON: “The biggest change for him, I would think, is what they did at Auburn last year is they really had no-huddle offense and a silent count. Now he’s got to verbalize everything.

“Like Jimmy, he has a really good grasp of our concepts. Both of them have good vision. Cam, because he’s so big, one of his assets is that he sees things really quickly. Like most rookies, he, is getting used to speed of the defense, and the disguised coverages, and trying to react quicker to what he sees.”

DEREK ANDERSON: “He probably knows the offense better than I know it just because he’s been with Chud [coach Rob Chudzinski] at Cleveland. Got a very fast mind.

“Really understands all the throws. Good tempo. A true pro, understands what you need to do to prepare to be a quarterback, which is different in my opinion than any other position. Very helpful in meetings. Hasn’t gotten many reps yet, but we need to get him some more.”