When the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars do battle this NFL Sunday, it’ll be a clash between #1 overall draft pick in Cam Newton and the #10 overall pick. That’s right Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio named Blaine Gabbert the team’s starting quarterback for week 3.
Del Rio had to do something as Luke McCown threw four interceptions and finished with a 1.8 passer rating in a blowout loss to the Jets. Yes McCown was just that ATROCIOUS.
Gabbert came in and threw 5-6 for 52 yards. His preseason numbers read like this: 35-70 for 365 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
On the other side, Carolina quarterback Cam Newton has turned heads in his first two NFL games. He’s thrown for 854 yards, an NFL rookie record, with three touchdowns. His interception rate does leave a little to be desired though, and he has shown a tendency to fixate on the deep ball throws.
Both of these big cat named teams came into the league as part of 1995 expansion. Each reached the conference title game in their second season of existence, showing a great blueprint for building a winner. Yet neither team has been that close to the Super Bowl again, and both are rebuilding again with rookie signal callers.
Look for Gabbert to hand the ball off to running back Maurice Jones-Drew most of the game, but it also seems his time has come. Expect him to remain the Jax starter going forward.
There’s no doubt that physical tools are required to becoming an elite quarterback in the NFL, and both of these QBs have enough measurables to start out with. Newton has looked pretty good so far, and if Gabbert is to catch up in this very early 2011 NFL rookie QB race, he needs to stay calm under intense pressure.
Both teams will throw everything they have at both of these freshmen signal callers, and whoever is more James Bondlike, staying chill in the face of imminent danger will lead his team to victory Sunday.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Fox Sports , Fox Sports , and Fox Sports
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