CATCH HIM IF YOU CAM!
Preparing for mobile quarterbacks has become routine for the Giants.
They opened the season against Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles, who shifted field position, and momentum, with a 41-yard run. Dallas’ Dak Prescott put up 6.4 yards per carry (45 yards) in a win over the Giants. Houston’s Deshaun Watson then averaged 7.2 yards per run (36 yards).
Even last week, the Saints spent several plays bypassing the services of future Hall of Famer Drew Brees so that undrafted rookie Tay- son Hill could unleash his dualthreat capabilities, finishing with 28 yards on four carries.
Still, it all does little to prepare the Giants for the Panthers’ Cam Newton.
“In today’s age, we have a lot of mobile quarterbacks, but I don’t think there’s any mobile quarterbacks with Cam’s size and speed, who do what he does,” linebacker Olivier Vernon said. “He’s great at what he does.”
Newton’s athleticism and strength were always unparalleled, but it wasn’t always obvious that the Heisman winner could turn into an NFL MVP. In Newton’s first meeting with the Giants in 2012, the second-year quarterback threw three interceptions and rushed for just 6 yards on six carries in a blowout loss. But the next season, Newton threw three touchdowns and rushed for another — along with 45 yards — in a win over the Giants. He later followed with one of the greatest efforts of his career, dissecting the Giants’ defense for 340 yards and five touchdowns through the air, while adding 100 yards rushing on eight carries in a 2015 win.
In watching Newton, the greatest frustration comes from knowing that the perfect defensive scheme could ultimately be powerless against the 6-foot-5, 245-pound quarterback.
“He is a very physical, big guy who at times in the zone-option scheme, will take the matchup,” Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher said Thursday.
“You will be in the right spot, you’ll have the guy that’s supposed to be on the quarterback on the quarterback,