Cam Newton spent more time on the ground Monday than standing upright. The Carolina Panthers took a beating to the tune of nine sacks as his team fell to the Philadelphia Eagles. Naturally, Newton is expected to be a little banged up after that disaster, but things may be worse than originally reported. As the Panthers prepare for a big NFC South matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, is Newton healthy enough to play?
Following the loss to the Eagles, Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo reported that Newton was suffering from a right foot injury that has the quarterback compensating for the soreness. That paired with his surgically repaired right ankle has the quarterback playing at half speed each week. However, when asked to confirm his quarterback's injury, head coach Ron Rivera denied the idea that Newton was suffering from pain.
"I'm not sure where all that came from," Rivera said, via NFL.com, "but he's not injured." "I think that he's playing at the best condition he's going to play in. This is Week 11, Week 12. We haven't had the bye yet. He's about as healthy as he's going to be, and that's pretty much true for anyone who plays this game."
The NFC South is flat-out terrible this year, but the Panthers are still in contention for the postseason which makes their upcoming game against the Atlanta Falcons very important. Regardless of whether he is injured or not, the Falcons are preparing to get the best of Newton and are preparing their defense accordingly. The Falcons broke their five-game losing streak against the Buccaneers and are hoping that momentum allows them to get past Newton and company.
"Cam's pretty elite ," defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said, via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. "I don't know how elite half of Cam is. I would say it's still elite. I don't know how hobbled he is or not. We have to take him at his full strength. He's a big, strong, competitive athlete. That's all we can go off of. I can't go off of where he might be, physically. If it helps us out, great. If you go into it thinking your opponent is going to be lesser than he is, a lot of times, you don't play very well."
Regardless of the health of Newton, the Panthers still have the offensive weapons to get past the Falcons. Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams have been a strong tandem on the ground and the Falcons' weak run defense could be heavily exposed as a result. Not to mention, both Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin are playing at top speed and will test the Falcons' secondary.
