SEC Championship Game 2010: The Perils Of Defending Against Cam Newton

This one is obvious, but you really can't discuss Auburn without mentioning it. Newton is the centerpiece of the Tigers' offense, and no one has found a way to stop him. When we played Auburn earlier this year, the Gamecocks actually did a fairly admirable job for three quarters of slowing everyone except Newton down. The final stats show big numbers for Michael Dyer, but those stats belie the fact that we bottled him up until late in the game; in fact, I recall the announcers talking a good bit about how badly we were stuffing him in the second quarter. What happened to us defensively is that Newton got enough first downs on his feet through the first three quarters to wear our defense out, eventually opening things up for the rest of the Auburn offense. (Our offense's inability to sustain drives int the second half also contributed to this problem.) This time around, we need to figure out how to keep Newton from doing the same. I'm not sure what to expect from Ellis Johnson in this game, as he's discounted the possibility of using a spy on Newton, which would have seemed like the most obvious choice. I'm not sure that Johnson isn't right, though. His approach last time was misplaced; soft zone coverage and infrequent run blitzes won't work because you really can't give Newton any cushion or he'll hit you up for seven yards every time. But do we need a spy? We have enough speed and hard hitters to stop Newton without a spy as long as our guys play him aggressively. Isn't a QB like Newton exactly what the 4-2-5 is designed to stop?