Cam Newton may or may not be injured, it depends on who is being asked. No one would blame the Carolina Panthers quarterback for being a little banged up. He was sacked nine times for 91 yards on Monday night in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Newton is coming off an offseason where he had surgery to repair an ankle issue. However, head coach Ron Rivera denied to the media that his star quarterback was at all limited with injuries. Newton on the other hand says he is feeling some pain.
Newton has been battling rib and ankle issues all season. FOX Sports reported that he was also having pain in his foot which was keeping him from being mobile outside of the pocket. Newton confirmed that yes, he is no 100 percent and has not been for a long time, but he does not want that to be an excuse for the team's losses.
"Hurt is hurt. If you're asking me, am I hurt right now? Yeah, I'm hurt. I haven't, you know, felt 100 percent in a long time," Newton said, via ESPN.com. "You ask me a question, is Cam Newton hurt? Yes, I'm hurt. And that's all honesty. But can I play? Yes, I can play and I will be playing. It's mind over matter."
Newton is not trying to point fingers for the team's recent slump. However, most will say that it is the quarterback's poor play causing the team's losses. Over the past four games, Newton has a 61.12 passer rating which is a far cry from what he put up last season when the Panthers went 12-4 on the year.
"The truth of the matter is we're losing and somebody tried to point fingers and say something about why we're not winning,'' said Newton. "If you want to put the blame on me not being 100 percent then so be it. But I know if we were on a four-game winning streak nobody would be caring about that. It's all about getting a win. When you win, everything else works out fine.''
The Panthers play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in a crucial NFC South matchup that will have playoff implications despite how terrible both teams are. Given the Falcons' weak run defense, Newton should be able to rely heavily on Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams who are both expected to be healthy and at full strength for the matchup.
