In recent years it has been hard to fathom what Carolina Panthers football would be like without Cam Newton at quarterback. The Panthers would draft a rookie quarterback now and then but they would not last long. And long-time backup Derek Anderson surely was not the answer.

The question as to who would actually take over someday began being asked more and more of late as Newton continues to deal with shoulder and nagging leg injuries.

Kyle Allen

Well, Newton is missing games again. But this time, Carolina may have an answer in Kyle Allen.

After two embarrassing home losses to open the 2019 season, the Panthers (1-2) got their first win, a 38-20 success at Arizona, behind four touchdown passes from Allen.

Thirty-eight points after not scoring a touchdown against Tampa Bay the previous week. In fact, Newton, who is dealing with a foot injury this time, has not accounted for a passing or running touchdown for four straight games dating back to last season. The most telling stat with Newton at the helm of late is that Carolina has only won one game out of its last ten outings and it was Allen who started the lone win over the span, last season’s finale over New Orleans.

In other words, Newton has not walked off the field as the winning quarterback in quite some time. Okay, lets put it this way. Allen is 2-0 in his past two starts, and Newton is 0-8 in his past eight.

Granted, the sample size is still small. But at least there is hope again. And a win. It was refreshing to see Allen accurately complete 19 of 26 passes for 261 yards.

It has already been announced that Newton will not be rushed back which means the franchise would like to see more of Allen.

Poor Return On Investment

The Philadelphia Phillies were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday. Ironically, they were eliminated from a playoff berth last year on September 23, just one day earlier than this season.

What the beforementioned paragraph means is that – for $330 million, the Phillies bought themselves nothing more than one more day, one more game of playoff contention. Yes, free agent signee Bryce Harper ended up being worth one more day of playoff aspirations.

Bryce Harper

It was also ironic that Philadelphia was eliminated by the Washington Nationals, the team that Harper left to join the Phillies. The same Nats team that will be in the playoffs next week after missing out on them last year (with Harper).

Harper was not the only free agent signing prior to the 2019 season. After adding Andrew McCutchen ($51 million), J.T. Realmuto ($6 million), and David Robertson ($23 million), this was supposed to be the year for the Phillies. Instead, they are hovering around .500 at 79-77 as I write this.

Harper had an okay year for him but he is clearly not good enough to offset poor pitching. He has 34 home runs but is only hitting around .250.

If more money is to be spent, it needs to be on pitching. The Phillies rank 11th in the NL in ERA.