Cam Newton, Panthers leave no doubt

Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis was scheduled to undergo surgery Monday morning in hopes of stabilizing a broken right forearm enough to allow the 11-year veteran to play in Super Bowl 50.

Many fans seemed confident that the Panthers will be able to take down the Broncos come Super Bowl Sunday.

Ginn, who set up the touchdown with a 33-yard punt return, took a pitch from Newton and ran around the left end, then cut back across the field and eluded tacklers to reach the end zone.

But Davis isn’t the only concern the Panthers had to deal with after yesterday’s game. The win over the Cardinals may have been the most complete game played by the Panthers defense this season.

Palmer overcame a very slow start going only 4 of 10 for 37 yards to end the half 9 of 17 for 86 yards yet the turnovers were just a sign of bad things to come. After a Cardinal’s punt, the Panthers capitalized once again by capping off the drive with a 22 yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton to Ten Ginn Jr. When I first came here, these guys welcomed me like I was here the entire season.

He finished 23 for 40 for 235 yards with one touchdown, throwing a late pick-6 to Luke Kuechly followed by another interception as the game turned into a rout.

The Panthers secondary had questions heading into Sunday’s NFC championship game against the Cardinals. “We’re Thieves Avenue”, Coleman said.

But it was Newton’s speech that stood out more, because it was only the second time in his career he’d done that and the first time since his rookie season in 2011. The Broncos advanced with a 20-18 victory over the highly favored New England Patriots earlier Sunday. “When you’re on the track, they always say move, and when they say that, you know somebody is coming”. He had 52 yards in receptions, and he tracked down All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson to prevent a touchdown on an interception return.

On a team of preening peacocks, where the quarterback has more ham in him than a Publix deli counter and where players pose for group photos while the game is still ongoing, Davis was the weighty counterbalance.

In his post game comments, Newton made it clear neither he nor the team are done.

“I think that’s really neat”, he said, “but mostly I’m excited for everybody in this organization”. We’ll likely hear lots of speculation from all sorts of sources until he officially makes his announcement.