NFL Draft / Who Will Be An Impact Rookie?

The best NFL prospects aren’t always finished products. But those who are ready to play can enhance their value. Here, with some help from NFL talent evaluators, is a look at one player from each position who could be ready to play at the next level, or close to it.

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Carolina Shellacked By New Orleans 45-17

NEW ORLEANS - The first half of Sunday's regular season finale between the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints took on the look of a game where the team possessing the ball last would win. In the second half, however, only the Saints kept up the pace.After the Panthers tied the game late in the first half, the Saints responded with 28 unanswered points to pull away for a 45-17 victory at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.The Panthers (6-10) entered the finale with victories in four of their previous five games but couldn't keep it going against a New Orleans team (13-3) heading to the playoffs.

On a day when the Saints passed the 2000 St. Louis Rams as the most prolific offense in NFL history before halftime, they piled up 617 yards of total offense and 33 first downs. The Panthers had 235 yards in the first half but just 66 in the second half to total 301. Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton finished 15-of-25 for 158 yards and rushed for 32 yards. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 500 yards in a season. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees finished 389 passing yards and five touchdowns before sitting out most of the fourth quarter.

The game was up for grabs at halftime, with New Orleans leading 24-17, but the Saints seized control in the third quarter. While New Orleans forced Carolina into the first three punts of the game on its first three second-half possessions, the Saints continued kicking extra points to blow it open at 45-17.

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Carolina @ New Orleans

Drew Brees and Cam Newton both wrote their names into the NFL record books in Week 16, adding acclaim to what have been fantastic campaigns from each.While Newton looks to conclude his tremendous rookie season on a high note, it remains to be seen if Brees will take the field at home Sunday against the Carolina Panthers with the playoff-bound New Orleans Saints possibly choosing to err on the side of caution.Brees threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns - breaking Dan Marino's mark of 5,084 passing yards set in 1984 - and the Saints clinched their second NFC South title in three years with Monday night's 45-16 rout of Atlanta.

"This record isn't about one person. There might be just one name that goes in ledger under the record, but it's really about the team," Brees told his teammates. "I want everyone to feel a huge part of this, that this record would not have been possible without them." New Orleans (12-3), which has the third seed in the NFC locked up, can only improve its postseason position with both a victory over the Panthers (6-9) and an unlikely San Francisco loss to St. Louis. Given the circumstances, coach Sean Payton could choose to rest Brees for most - if not all - of Sunday's game.

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Carolina @ New Orleans

                                                               

Newton's Rookie Season Goes From GREAT To HISTORIC / Carolina 48 - Tampa Bay 16

Tampa Bay @ Carolina

Carolina 28 Houston 13

Panthers Don't Play 60 And Fold To Falcons 31-23

CHARLOTTE - On the day that the Carolina Panthers recognized the NFL Play 60 initiative, the Panthers came up significantly short in that regard.The Panthers steamed to a 23-7 halftime lead, but the Atlanta Falcons rallied to a 31-23 victory at Bank of America Stadium.The Falcons (8-5) took the lead with 17 unanswered points in the second half, but Carolina's offense appeared to re-awaken just in time to possibly pull out the victory. The Panthers (4-9) drove into the red zone with just over five minutes to go, but Olindo Mare missed a 35-yard field goal wide left.On the second play of the ensuing drive, Falcons rookie wide receiver Julio Jones got free for a 75-yard touchdown reception with 4:17 left for a 31-23 lead.

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Panthers Pillage Buccaneers 38-19

TAMPA, Fla. - The Carolina Panthers couldn't fully shake free from Tampa Bay in the first half Sunday thanks to the Buccaneers' field goal kicker, but the Panthers put their foot down in the second half and rolled to a 38-19 victory at Raymond James Stadium. The outcome secured wins in consecutive games for Carolina for the first time since the final three games of the 2007 season. The victory also moved the Panthers (4-8) ahead of Tampa Bay (4-8) into third place in the NFC South.

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Carolina 27 Indianapolis 19

Detroit 49 - Carolina 35

Titans Slaughter Carolina 30-3

Titans @ Panthers GAMEDAY Preview

The Carolina Panthers have just a pair of wins through eight games, but with rookie quarterback Cam Newton keeping them competitive, they're confident there will be better second-half results.The Tennessee Titans have the same hopes as they sit at .500 at the season's midpoint. Coming off a bye, the Panthers close out a three-game stretch at home Sunday when they face a Titans team opening a road-heavy portion of its schedule. With Olindo Mare missing a 31-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in a 24-21 loss to Minnesota on Oct. 30, the Panthers limped into the bye week at 2-6 - far off the 10-win pace first-year coach Ron Rivera said his team was capable of in training camp."To be 2-6 is not acceptable by any means, and it's disappointing," Rivera said. "But what we can do, and what we have the ability to do, is more important to our guys right now."

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Davis Has Torn His ACL 3 Times, Willing To Restructure His Contract To Return

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thomas Davis loves football so much he isn’t about to let three knee injuries force him out of the game. The often-injured Carolina Panthers linebacker refuses to put his shoulder pads on the shelf and plans to keep playing despite tearing the ACL in his right knee three times in the last two years.

Davis’ latest knee injury came in Week 2 against Green Bay and he’s been on injured reserve since. But the seven-year NFL veteran hasn’t given up the dream of playing again. Davis, 28, said he has some good years left and will do anything to play again — even if that means volunteering to restructure his contract and take a pay cut.

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THERE IS NO DOUBTING CAM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- On a recent afternoon, after heavy rains nearly thwarted a Carolina Panthers practice, rookie quarterback Cam Newton glumly trudged into a half-empty news conference room beneath Bank of America Stadium. It surely wasn't the dismal weather that had him so down. Instead, his sour face probably involved facing more questions during a season in which he already has lost more games than in his entire college career. As Newton leaned against a tiny lectern, he looked about as cheery as a 10-year-old who'd just learned his new bike had been stolen.


The hardest thing for Newton to grasp -- even in the midst of a season where Carolina is now 2-5 following Sunday's 33-20 win over Washington -- is that there should be plenty of optimism stirring in this franchise. In just seven weeks, he has gone from being the most scrutinized No. 1 overall pick in NFL draft history to being hailed as a burgeoning superstar.

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Carolina 33 Washington 20

Washington @ Carolina GAMEDAY Preview

Despite being a half-game out of first place in the NFC East, the Washington Redskins are making a quarterback change. The Carolina Panthers have been generally pleased with their rookie quarterback, but they're facing a sizable deficit in the NFC South. John Beck will make his first start in four years for the Redskins on Sunday when they visit Cam Newton and the Panthers, who are coming off yet another disheartening loss.

Rex Grossman beat out Beck for the starting job during the preseason, but he fell out of favor with coach Mike Shanahan after throwing four interceptions in a 20-13 loss to Philadelphia last Sunday. The defeat dropped Washington (3-2) just behind New York for the top spot in the division. Beck replaced Grossman at the start of the fourth quarter and led the Redskins to their only touchdown. In two series, he went 8 of 15 for 117 yards and scored on a two-yard run. The 30-year-old former second-round pick is now set to make his first start since he was a rookie with Miami in 2007. He went 0-4 as a starter for a one-win Dolphins team.

"Definitely excited. There's been a lot of hard work that's gone into this," Beck said. "You never know when your opportunity's going to come, and you've always got to stay ready. I've tried to do that."

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Newton Prepares For Trip Home To Atlanta

The Carolina Panthers have embraced all of what Cam Newton can do. The rookie quarterback has not only put up record numbers passing, but also has been the Panthers' primary weapon in the red zone. He has rushed for five of the team's six touchdowns leaving him one shy of Chris Weinke's single-season franchise record. Newton will get to showcase his NFL versatility in front of family and friends when he returns home to face the Atlanta Falcons Sunday at the Georgia Dome — not far from where he grew up in College Park, Ga., and later arrived on the national stage at Auburn.

When asked if he's been bombarded with ticket requests for his return home, Newton simply smiled and said, "StubHub."

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New Orleans @ Carolina

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints have had little trouble piling up yards, points and victories. The Carolina Panthers have been almost as efficient at moving the ball down the field behind rookie Cam Newton, but costly mistakes have subsequently resulted in fewer scores and wins. In a matchup between two potent offenses from the NFC South, Brees looks to lead the Saints to a fourth straight victory Sunday against Newton and the Panthers, who are coming off another disappointing defeat. New Orleans (3-1) is second in the league in offense, averaging 471.5 yards, while Carolina is third with an average of 451.8. The Saints, who swept the season series from the Panthers last year for the first time since 2001, are also near the top of the NFL in scoring, ranking fifth with an average of 31.8 points. The Panthers (1-3), however, are well off that pace at 17th with an average of 22.3 points.

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Carolina's offensive shortcomings were on full display in last Sunday's 34-29 loss to Chicago.

Grin & Bear It, Mistakes On Special Teams Cost Carolina In 34-29 Loss To Bears

Mistakes on special teams play proved costly today as the Carolina Panthers lost to the Chicago Bears 34-29 in Soldier Field. Devin Hester had two long returns -- including a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown -- as the Bears handed the Panthers' their second road loss of the young season. The Bears decided what had been a tight game with a three-yard touchdown run by Marion Barber with 1:23 remaining. We were trying to limit (Hester's) opportunities and we didn't do a good enough job," head coach Ron Rivera said. "We have to get better at that. That falls on me personally. We had a plan and felt good about the plan but unfortunately we didn't execute the way we needed to.

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