Few quarterbacks bring a greater combination of size, speed and throwing ability than the Carolina Panthers Cam Newton. At 6’5 and 240 pounds, Newton has the ability to shake off pass rushers and would be tacklers with his sheer size and uncanny strength. Add Newton’s speed, where he’s been clocked in the 4.5 range in the 40-yard dash, and you have quarterback the size of a linebacker, who runs like a safety.
Let’s not forget Newton’s arm either. He’s certainly got a cannon, and when you combine it with his deft touch, he can be the prototype quarterback in a league where dual threat signal callers have taken the league by storm.
Considering the issues the Steelers have had on defense the first two weeks of the season, facing the two-time Pro-Bowl signal caller is not exactly best case scenario for a group looking to improve dramatically upon their early season performance.
Keeping Newton at bay will be a key factor in whether or not the Steelers can get a much needed road win Sunday night in Charlotte. Considering how poorly the Steelers have been defending the run through two games, there is cause for serious concern.
That concern is compounded by the fact that the Steelers have been gouged for an eye popping 174 yards per game through the first two tilts of the season, and that’s with the Steelers defense facing Brian Hoyer and Joe Flacco, not exactly Newton-esque when it comes to using their legs.
For the Steelers, the challenge will obviously be much more difficult, considering Newton has rushed for 706, 741 and 585 yards on the ground in his first three seasons. He also has 28 rushing touchdowns over that span, an unbelievable total for a quarterback who also threw for over 4,000 yards in 2011.
The Steelers best chance of winning from a defensive point of view, is to contain Newton and make him beat them with his arm. Fortunately for the Steelers, Newton is coming off of a rib injury that caused him to miss the opening game of the season, and it’s possible that Newton will look to protect those ribs if they are not fully healed.
Regardless, the Steelers will need to focus on Newton’s ability to break games open with his legs, and that might mean using an athletic linebacker like Ryan Shazier to “shadow” him, or even consider adding an additional safety such as Shamarko Thomas to bring more speed on the field for the Steelers.
The Panthers passing attack is still very much as work in progress, and though rookie Kelvin Benjamin looks to be a future star, and former Steeler Jerricho Cotchery is a solid veteran, the Steelers should be able to place much of their focus on stopping the rushing attack of the Panthers.
Specifically, that means making sure Sunday night does not become the Cam Newton show.
If the Steelers can keep Newton from having a big game running the ball on broken plays and rollouts, and the Steelers should have a great chance of righting the ship defensively, and this could mean a crucial road victory with it.
