As the Bears prepare to return their sanctuary away from Soldier Field, where the home team is 0-2, they’ll be squaring off again the Panthers and quarterback Cam Newton.
There’s a good chance they prefer that to squaring off against the Panthers and quarterback Derek Anderson.
With Newton still limited by offseason ankle surgery and a preseason rib injury, Anderson could give the Panthers a better chance to win -- especially since the Bears already have beaten in their own buildings this year young, mobile quarterbacks like Colin Kaepernick and Geno Smith. With the full breadth of Newton’s game restricted, the Bears could have a harder time defending a pocket passer like Anderson.
And no, that’s not funny. There’s nothing funny about that.
This assumes that the Panthers won’t be ready to “unleash” Newton by Sunday. They definitely weren’t ready to do that in Baltimore last Sunday, where the home team preferred defending an impaired Newton to a healthy Anderson.
Of course, Anderson isn’t exactly Johnny Unitas. Yes, the former Browns starter has had his moments, but there’s a reason he’s currently not a starter on one of the other teams. However, until Newton can do all the things he did last year and previously, it could be that Anderson really does give Carolina a better option.
