Cam Newton is going to be great. In five games, he has shown tremendous poise, solid decision-making, and dynamic ability.
The defense behind him, however, is the polar opposite.
Maligned, porous and and limited, the other side of the Carolina Panthers struggles mightily.
To keep its worst from seeing the field and best on it, Carolina needs to run the ball more.
DeAngelo Williams is a stud (after September) when healthy and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Newton can move the rock down the field with his legs and Jonathan Stewart is more than capable, too, netting 4.4 yards per rush.
Yet seemingly week after week the Panthers in close games find themselves trying to match the opponent tit-for-tat through the air.
The team passes on average 60 percent of the time; league average in 2009 was 56 percent.
Even though Carolina is scoring via the forward pass, the Panthers are not winning, sitting at 1-4. That's because throwing the ball downfield the way Newton does leads to quicker scores and little rest for a defense that cannot get it done.
By running and completely controlling clock, Carolina should be able to wear teams down, keep its defense off the field and ultimately put itself in a bit better position to win.
Run with that thought, Panthers.
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