Cam Newton: Predicting Newton's Stats for Each Game of the Panthers' 2011 Season
The Carolina Panthers placed a major investment when they selected Auburn quarterback Cam Newton with the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft.
Newton was not the best prospect available and was definitely not the most NFL-ready quarterback in the 2011 class. However, the major component that separates Newton from the rest is his major upside and potential.
The rookie quarterback will immediately join a quarterback competition down in Carolina against second-year quarterback Jimmy Clausen.
Assuming if Newton wins the battle for the starting job and starts every game for the Panthers, here is what his stats will look like.
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Week 1: @ Arizona Cardinals
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Cam Newton will make his NFL debut against the Arizona Cardinals—who ranked 10th in the NFL last year for team passing defense.
Newton will likely have a limited playbook and may be on a bit of a leash as offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski will have Newton in a controlled situation.
Predicted Stats: 10-of-20, 150 passing yards, one passing touchdown, two interceptions, 50 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Week 2: Green Bay Packers
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The 2010 Heisman Trophy winner will likely be running for his life against the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Newton may have a had a decent debut, but his second game against the Green Bay Packers will be a extremely difficult game.
Predicted Stats: 16-of-36, 200 passing yards, one passing touchdown, three interceptions, 65 rushing yards.
Week 3: Jacksonville Jaguars
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Cam Newton's Week 3 appearance will be his first impressive game of his very young NFL career.
Newton will match up against the Jacksonville Jaguars and should get a nice feel of finding opening receivers against one of the league's worst pass defenses.
The Carolina Panther faithful will definitely get a glimpse of what the future may hold as Newton will flash signs of brilliance.
Predicted Stats: 19-of-30, 225 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and 100 rushing yards.
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Week 4: @ Chicago Bears
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After such a stellar performance in the previous week, Cam Newton will be for a rude awakening against the Chicago Bears' very tough and physical defense.
Newton will show that he's not quite adjusted to the speed of the game as he'll find himself trying to tuck the ball and run with 300 lb. defensive linemen chasing him much faster than they did at the college level.
Predicted Stats: 11-of-26, 150 passing yards, two interceptions and 35 rushing yard.
Week 5: New Orleans Saints
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Cam Newton will get his first taste of the divisonal rival, the New Orleans Saints, in Carolina's Week 4 matchup.
Newton will have just a typical rookie quarterback type of game; he won't do too much to impress you and won't do too much to hurt the Panthers—he'll simply be average.
Predicted Stats: 15-of-30, 200 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one interception and 75 rushing yards.
Week 6: @ Atlanta Falcons
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After Newton's first bout against the divisional rival, the New Orleans Saints, Newton will pay a visit to the Atlanta Falcons.
In a battle of two former first round selections in the NFL draft, Matt Ryan may outplay Newton, but Newton will come up huge for the Panthers in this big divisional game.
Predicted Stats: 21-of-40, 275 passing yards, three passing touchdown, one interception, 80 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Week 7: Washington Redskins
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After Cam Newton shocked the NFL world with a such an impressive game against the Falcons, Newton will continue on a roll against one of the league's worst teams—the Washington Redskins.
Newton will match up very well against the Redskins, as he'll have a performance very similar to the one that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick had in 2010.
Predicted Stats: 28-of-39, 300 passing yards, three passing touchdown, 75 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Week 8: Minnesota Vikings
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Cam Newton's hot streak will come to a very crashing halt against the tough defense of the Minnesota Vikings.
Newton will find himself on his back quite frequently as he'll line up against one of the league's most ferocious defensive fronts.
Predicted Stats: 10-of-25, 125 passing yards, two interceptions and 25 rushing yards.
Week 9: Bye
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Cam Newton will take a much needed week off from football after taking some serious punishment against the Minnesota Vikings.
Stats to Date: 130-of-246 (52 percent), 1,625 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 505 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Week 10: Tennessee Titans
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As Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers will be coming off a bye, the Panthers' coaching staff will return to keeping a tight leash on the rookie quarterback.
With Newton returning to a much more simplistic offense, he'll be nothing more than a game-manager against the Tennessee Titans.
Predicted Stats: 11-of-19, 125 passing yards, one interception and 50 rushing yards.
Week 11: @ Detroit Lions
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Carolina's coaching staff will continue with the simplistic offensive game plan against the Detroit Lions.
Newton will play as the field manager yet again as the team will rely less on Newton's arm and more on the running game against the Lions.
Predicted Stats: 13-of-20, 100 passing yards and 30 rushing yard.
Week 12: @ Indianapolis Colts
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This matchup will be a definite blowout as the Indianapolis Colts will simply walk all over the Carolina Panthers.
With the Panthers playing from behind from nearly the start of the game, Newton will have to throw the ball much more than he did in the previous two weeks.
Predicted Stats: 19-of-37, 175 passing yards, one passing touchdown, two interceptions and 50 rushing yards.
Week 13: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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After such a terrible performance against the Indianapolis Colts, Cam Newton and the Panthers will pay a visit to their divisional rival—the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Newton will be playing against one of the NFL's youngest defenses, so this could be a favorable matchup for the Panthers gun-slinger.
Predicted Stats: 15-of-28, 175 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 50 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Week 14: Atlanta Falcons
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Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers will run into a fastly accelerating train moving toward the playoffs and have one of the worst games of the season.
The Atlanta Falcons will be in a midst of a playoff push and will just absolutely manhandle and destroy Newton and the Panthers.
Predicted Stats: 11-of-30, 115 passing yards, two interception and 15 rushing yards.
Week 15: @ Houston Texans
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Cam Newton will lead the Carolina Panthers down to Houston as they'll square off against the Texans int heir Week 15 matchup.
The Houston Texans were one of the league's worst passing defenses in 2010, but with a new 3-4 defensive system, they'll be a much improved squad. As the Texans have improved, Newton will find it very difficult to get into a rhythm and will struggle for most of the game.
Predicted Stats: 12-of-25, 130 passing yards, one interception and 60 rushing yards.
Week 16: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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After such a mediocre performance against the Houston Texans, Newton will have a much-improved game against the young, up-and-coming Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense.
Predicted Stats: 13-of-27, 125 passing yards, 70 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown.
Week 17: @ New Orleans Saints
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In the Carolina Panthers' season finale against the New Orleans Saints, they'll simply hand over the keys to the offense to Cam Newton.
Newton will have definitely give the entire NFL a glimpse of the future as he'll have many bright spots as he enters his first NFL offseason.
Predicted Stats: 26-of-40, 285 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 150 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Final Stats of Cam Newton's Rookie Season
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Considering that Cam Newton is coming out of a spread-style offense while playing at Auburn, his rookie season will definitely be an impressive one—despite the mediocre numbers.
Newton will gain a lot of experience and a strong understanding of Carolina's offense as he enters the 2012 off-season.
His second year in the league may not be a great one, but it will surely be much better than his first as he'll develop into quite the dynamic quarterback.
2011 Season Stats: 250-of-472 (53 percent), 2,855 passing yards, 14 touchdown passes, 17 interceptions, 980 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.
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