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courtesy of PDA.PHOTO
The big showdown between Cam Newton and RGIII happens this weekend in Landover, Md. Newton and Griffin have often been compared to each other because they are both scrambling quarterbacks that won the Heisman, but after those facts they couldn’t be more different. Newton came into the NFL surrounded by questions about his personality and his mentality while RGIII came in in Subway commercials. Newton is the size of a tree and as easy to tackle while RGIII is a slippery, elusive runner. Cam Newton has a powerful arm, but has trouble with accuracy and has eight interceptions to five touchdowns this season while RGIII rarely turns the ball over and is deadly accurate.
Aside from the battle of the last two Heisman winners this is a game the Redskins have to win. The last time they played an opponent they should beat they got embarrassed by the Rams. They cannot afford the same type of letdown against the 1-6 Panthers. The Panthers have earned that record. They have lost close games to good teams, but they have lost them. Newton turns the ball over too much and their offense in general struggles to put points on the board.
The Panthers defense is middle of the pack which should be welcoming after playing the Giants and Steelers in back to back weeks. RGIII could have a productive game, especially if Newton turns the ball over multiple times and give the Redskins a short field to work with. Alfred Morris has continued to be a nice surprise for the Redskins and should be able to find running lanes against the Panthers defense. The Steelers were the only team to successfully stop Morris thus far this season and some of that has to do with the early hole the Redskins found themselves in creating a need to pass.
The Panthers pass offense has scored the fewest touchdowns in the NFL and the Redskins pass defense has allowed the most. Something has got to give this week. Steve Smith has always managed to have big games against the Redskins and this week shouldn’t be any different. The Panthers have struggled passing the ball, but the Redskins have struggled to stop the pass. This will be an interesting match-up, but with how weak the Redskins secondary is the Panthers should be able to find a rhythm.
The Redskins should be able to beat the Panthers. The Panthers are not a good football team while the Redskins are merely a mediocre football team. There is a saying in football that a team is what its record is, and the Panthers are 1-6 and the Redskins 3-5. Nether are good, but the Redskins have just enough going right for them that they should be able to beat the Panthers who have everything going wrong.
