Cat Crave NFC South Awards for Week 8: Newton re-claims top honor
It was a light week for NFC South teams as both the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both sat out Sunday with byes. The remaining two NFC South teams came out of the week without a victory. The Carolina Panthers failed to convert a last-minute field goal to send their game into overtime and fell to the Minnesota Vikings 24-21. The New Orleans Saints were shocked by the St. Louis Rams, who had yet to win a game, 31-21. To see who came away with this week’s top NFC South honors, continue to read.
NFC South Offensive Player of the Week: Cam Newton
Courtesy of gridironexperts.com
The Carolina Panther rookie signal caller did all he could to help the Panthers come out of Week 8 with a victory. Newton ended the game with a 63% completion rate as he completed 22 passes out of 35 attempts that went for a total of 290 yards. Newton threw three touchdowns as he completed scores to his tight ends, Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen, and completed the third to his favorite target, receiver Steve Smith. Newton also added 53 yards rushing to his overall offense performance on 6 carries. Although Newton was not perfect in the turnover department as he gave up two fumbles, he did everything necessary to ensure that his team was in the game throughout the duration of the contest. Newton continues to keep the NFL community buzzing with his recent performance and continues to add stats to bolster his NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign.
NFC South Defensive Player of the Week: Captain Munnerlyn
Courtesy of bleacherreport.com
The pint-sized Panther cornerback continues to show why he is considered by some as one of the best nickel corners in the NFL. Munnerlyn plays much bigger than his 5’8, 185 lb frame. Munnerlyn had six solo tackles in the game against Minnesota and finished the contest with eight overall. Munnerlyn also recorded a sack in the game to go along with an impressive defensive play when he stripped the ball out of the hands of Vikings receiver, Percy Harvin. Munnerlyn’s performance in 2011 has gone a long way into calming the fears that Panther fans had about the cornerback situation coming into the season.
NFC South Special Teams Player of the Week: Thomas Morstead
Courtesy of blogblitz.nfl.com
Saints punter, Thomas Morstead had an impressive game against the Rams and was one of the few bright spots for New Orleans. Morstead landed three of his five punts inside the 20 yard line. His five punts traveled for a total of 282 yards netting an average of 47 yards per punt. Morstead’s most impressive punt of the day was booted for a game long of 62 yards.