Panthers vs. Buccaneers 2013 game preview: Cam Newton and Carolina head to Tampa Bay

Carolina has won three of its last four games and is now 3-3 on the season and two games back in the division. Cam Newton is playing extremely well as of late and his performance combined with Carolina’s solid defense have the Panthers looking like a possible playoff contender.

Tampa Bay swept Carolina last season, but the Panthers lead the head-to-head matchup 13-9 since 2001.

Not much has gone right for the Bucs this season. Tampa Bay lost a pair of close games to open the season and that was just the start of it. Freeman eventually got demoted, then released amid questions about how head coach Greg Schiano handled the situation. The team has been dealing with MRSA issues and now Martin has a shoulder injury. There isn’t much of a timeline for when Martin will return with some reports saying he could miss the rest of the season.

Tampa Bay has been better on the defensive side of the ball, ranking seventh in yards allowed and tied for 13th in points allowed per game. The unit has had more issues recently, however, allowing 31 points in each of its last two games.

Coming off back-to-back wins, the Panthers are 3-3 and have a chance to move above .500 for the first time since Ron Rivera took over as the head coach. Carolina had some offensive issues early in the season, but has looked better recently. The Panthers are averaging 34.3 points in victories and 12.0 points in losses this season.

The Panthers defense is in the discussion of the best units in the NFL. Carolina is second in points allowed and have allowed the third-fewest yards per game. Carolina is solid across the board, ranking fifth against the pass and fourth against the run.

Glennon has shown some flashes, but Sander Philipse of Bucs Nation wrote there are still too many issues:

The most obvious flaw is one we’ve all seen: the deep ball. Glennon has hit on just one deep ball so far, and even that one was an underthrown 40-yard pass to Vincent Jackson. Sideline deep passes continually land out of bounds rather than giving his receivers a chance to catch the ball. I don’t need to go to the game film to show anyone that: it should be obvious to anyone who’s watched Glennon play over the past games.

It’s one thing to hit the receiver, but it’s another entirely to hit the receiver in the right spot. It’s one thing to hit the receiver in the right spot, but another entirely to do it at the right time. Throwing receivers open with placement and anticipation is what separates the good from the mediocre quarterbacks, and over the past three games Glennon has cost the Bucs several big plays and scores with poor ball placement and anticipation.

Newton has always been a dangerous threat, but now he’s starting to be that threat more because of his arm and less because of his legs, as James Dator of Cat Scratch Reader wrote:

In the past we’ve seen Newton finish with a decent pass grade supplemented with a good running grade, but on Sunday he finished with +4.0 on the pass, +0.2 on the run and gained an extra +0.1 from goading the Rams into a costly offsides penalty.

We saw the evolution of Newton as a quarterback. A player that realized he didn’t need to do it all himself, finally trusting the players around him and getting the crowd involved. There is nothing more you could ask of the third-year quarterback.

Be sure to check out SB Nation’s team blogs, Bucs Nation and Cat Scratch Reader, for more analysis and highlights from the game.

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Tampa Bay has struggled offensively this season and will now be forced to play without Martin. Combine that with the fact the Bucs will be up against a very good Panthers defense and it’s hard to imagine Tampa Bay putting many points on the board.

Thursday night games tend to be ugly and usually favor the home team, but not this week. Carolina has won two straight and will make it three in a row.

Panthers, 28-6.

The Panthers opened as a three-point favorite according to OddsShark.com. Some oddsmakers have Carolina favored by as many as seven points.

The Panthers will host Atlanta, its second straight NFC South game.

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