Cam Newton will get another start, but Panthers coach Ron Rivera was not yet ready to name the No. 1 pick his Week 1 starter. Despite struggling last week at Miami, Newton will start and play about three quarters Thursday at Cincinnati. Rivera plans to treat this week as a mock game week, and wants to see how Newton handles it. “We've only gone through 31/2, 4 weeks of training camp,†Rivera said today. “So to rush into a decision would be kind of absurd.†Coaches also want to see Newton improve his mechanics. The 6-5 right-hander completed 7 of 14 passes for 66 yards in the first half at Miami, but completed only one throw to a wideout and consistently misfired on longer passes, but Rivera said he thought Newton made good decisions against the Dolphins. “The next part is delivering the ball on time, hitting the receiver in stride,†he said. Source: Charlotte Observer
I'm always skeptical about throwing rookies out there so soon. But given there was a lockout and there were no OTA's or mini camp I think they should definitely wait before throwing Cam out there. Then again there's no real veteran QB for him to learn from.
Week 3 is the week most coaches have said they will game plan and practice for. So him getting this start is more significant then it seems...IMO.
