Derek Anderson fills in once again for the injured Cam Newton in a must-win situation against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Carolina Panthers are off to a mediocre 1-3 start. While the list of problems developing within this group continues to grow, the team announced on Saturday that 2015 NFL MVP, Cam Newton, is out for their Week 5 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That brings in the backup, Derek Anderson, an individual who would be a starter on many other teams in the league. With him Carolina has a capable quarterback that has stepped into this role before.
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With a decade of experience, Anderson is a leader in a time when the Panthers need one. While he has his struggles in some key areas, he has shown that he can get a team through a game when their premier player is down. He came in to replace Newton against the Atlanta Falcons where he completed 17-of-23 passes for 172 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. That’s not the greatest stat line in a game in which the Panthers were already down.
2014 was the last time Panthers fans saw Anderson start a game for an injured Newton. It happened twice and both times were against the Buccaneers, where Anderson excelled. In those two games he threw five touchdowns and no interceptions along with completing 65-of-97 passes. This may be a prime opportunity for Anderson to start as the Bucs are going through their own struggles. After getting off to a nice start with a win over the Atlanta Falcons, they’ve dropped three-straight games. To make the situation even worse for the NFC South rival, Gerald McCoy, Doug Martin, and Charles Sims are all listed as “doubtful” for Monday’s game.
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The addition of Anderson forces Carolina to shift to a more pocket-passing centric playstyle. Anderson doesn’t have the ability to get out of the pocket and run like Newton, but he does move well enough to create opportunities. Jonathan Stewart has also been ruled out in Week 5 due to injury. Still, the Bucs should expect to get a heavy dose of the running group comprised of Cameron Artis-Payne, Fozzy Whittaker, and Mike Tolbert.
It will be interesting to watch how Anderson works with Devin Funchess and Kelvin Benjamin, who have both been limited by opposing defenses the last two weeks. Anderson may not go for all of the same big throws as Newton, but he knows how to get all of the receivers involved and also has a big weapon in Greg Olsen. That should come in handy as he tries to get the offense humming.
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The Carolina Panthers are in desperate need of a win if they are going to stay with the pack within the NFC South. Dropping another game to a conference opponent is a major setback, with or without Cam Newton. Derek Anderson has the experience and abilities to be a viable short-term solution against the struggling Bucs. But the Panthers need this win in big fashion to remind the division and the entire league that they are a threat to go on a big run.