The Panthers had their world rocked when quarterback Cam Newton was involved in a frightening accident on Tuesday. He somehow avoided any major injuries, but the two transverse fractures in his lower back will force him to make way for Derek Anderson again. Carolina’s backup was solid in a season-opening win back in Week 1, and the Bucs haven’t improved much on defense since then.

Anderson played the role of a fearless gunslinger during his career-best season with the Browns in 2007, but that mindset got him trouble in the years that followed. Yet in the few times he’s replaced Newton during their careers in Carolina, Anderson has been a smarter player while still taking some shots downfield. While he’s nowhere close to as dynamic as Newton is, Anderson does give the Panthers a good enough shot to win.

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In this example from the season opener, the Panthers hope to get some chunk yards off play-action. Anderson fakes a handoff to running back DeAngelo Williams, who then chips an incoming rusher. Tight end Greg Olsen is lined up in the backfield and joins Williams as a pass protector.

The extra protection provides Anderson a good pocket to throw the football. Receivers Kelvin Benjamin and Jason Avant run nine-routes on the outside while Jerricho Cotchery breaks inside on a slant from the slot. There are not many ideal options to choose from, but Anderson is careful in his process:

Anderson actually hits all three of his reads on this play. He first checks Benjamin down the sideline, but he hasn’t gained early separation in the route. After briefly checking the slot receiver, Anderson glances to the right side to find another blanketed player. He does come to the decision to throw the ball deep to Kelvin Benjamin down the left sideline; still a natural gunslinger:

Anderson’s process to arrive at that choice was a wise one. He shows his improved decision-making and awareness by scanning the entire field before throwing. There just weren’t many options. When the ball left his hands, the receivers were all covered:

It’s great to see Anderson scan the field and go through the process of the play, but a backup quarterback can’t be too bashful. With a downgrade in talent, he needs to be somewhat aggressive to keep the offense moving. It also helps when the replacement relies on the best players surrounding him. On this play, the best player was Benjamin:

Anderson trusted the tall wideout to come down with the pass, even though he was well covered. Benjamin rewarded that faith with a tremendous touchdown catch on a well-thrown pass.

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In another example from Week 1, Anderson spends the majority of the pre-throw phase scanning the left side of the field. He doesn’t see anything he likes, so he quickly whips his head around and throws a dart to Olsen. Again, Anderson trusts one of his best players to come through:

Anderson has always possessed a strong arm, but with the Panthers, he’s been more careful with the football. He’s also displayed much better ball placement. No longer does he just throw darts up. Instead, he puts it in places where only his teammates can make a play, as he did in the two examples above.

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Of course, the offense does change when Newton’s on the sideline. Without his dynamic play-making ability, the Panthers will likely have to lean even more on their running backs.

Fortunately for them, Jonathan Stewart is playing as well as he ever has in NFL career. Unfortunately for them, it may be harder to pull off plays like Stewart’s career-long 69-yard touchdown run last week against the Saints:

What opened up this play was the added threat of Newton’s legs.

Before the snap, Cotchery (highlighted in the slot) motions across the backfield. The Saints are in man coverage, so Cotchery takes the secondary defender across the field with him. It may seem counterintuitive to motion a defender to the offense’s right — where the run is planned — but everything makes sense after the snap:

The threat of Newton keeping the ball on the option holds the backside defender (highlighted) captive. He stays squared up with the quarterback and doesn’t pursue Stewart.

The defender Cotchery brought over to the right side of the field is also taken out of the play. With Cotchery so far out in space, the defender has to at least respect the possibility of a pitch.

The offense has an extreme advantage with two defenders moved out of the way:

After Newton hands off to Stewart, he has a massive hole on the right side and only has a linebacker to beat. Credit also needs to go to the offensive line, which did a nice job in this game playing sound football. Stewart cuts outside — with the excellent agility he still possesses — and he leaves the Saints’ defender behind:

Stewart only has one linebacker to beat, with a massive gap formed to his right side. The offensive line did a nice job in this game playing sound football. He cuts outside, with the excellent agility he still possesses, and leaves that Saints’ defender behind:

Without a mobile quarterback, this play could not have been executed as it was. The Panthers obviously lose a lot of their flexibility when Newton is out of the lineup.

What the Panthers have to hope for this week — and for as long as Anderson has to fill in — is that he can move the offense without making mistakes. He played well enough in Week 1 to make the team believe he can do so again.

As long as he can minimize errors while still connecting on a few shots downfield, Anderson has a decent shot to pull off a season sweep of the Bucs.

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