Raiders defense bracing for Panthers QB Cam Newton

The Raiders’ defense shut out Kansas City on Sunday, but they know Chiefs QB Brady Quinn is no Cam Newton. (US Presswire)

Raiders MLB Omar Gaither will face Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton for the first time in an NFL game Sunday, but he doesn't need a scouting report.

Gaither played last season for Carolina during Newton's rookie season and watched him throw for 4,051 yards and 21 touchdowns and run for 706 yards and 14 scores.

"You say, 'Wow.' He's a 'wow' player," Gaither said. "Some stuff you can't practice for it. It's like if you're playing against Kobe, you know what he can do, but somehow he still hangs 40 on you. You've got to contain him, keep him bottled up. Maybe if he gets a 5-, 6-, 7- or 8-yard scamper here or there, that's fine. Just don't let him go for 50."

The Raiders are coming off their best defensive game of the season. They shut out Kansas City and held the Chiefs to 119 total net yards of offense. Kansas City QB Brady Quinn passed for just 136 yards.

But no one has to tell the Raiders that comparing Quinn to Newton is like comparing a minivan to a Ferrari. The 6-foot-5, 248-pound Newton has thrown for 3,451 yards and 18 touchdowns and run for 647 yards and seven scores.

"The first time I saw him when I was there, I was like, 'Oh God, look at this guy,'" said Raiders RB Mike Goodson, Newton's teammate at Carolina last year. "He's a great athlete."

Said Gaither: "He's big and fast. If he were playing a different position it would probably be 'D' end. And a guy who can run. He has every tool you need in a quarterback, and he can beat you with his feet. So you basically need to keep him in front and contain him on the edges. You see the highlights every week of him getting a 60-yard scamper. Those are the kind of things that kill your defense. You just have to contain him."

After a rocky start this season, Newton has raised his level of play the past five games, leading Carolina to wins over Philadelphia, Atlanta and San Diego. He has thrown 152 straight passes without an interception, a franchise-record and the longest active streak in the NFL. During that five-game span, Newton has thrown for 1,308 yards and 10 touchdown passes with no picks and rushed for 293 yards and three scores. In Carolina's 30-20 win over Atlanta two weeks ago, Newton rushed for 116 yards, including 72 on a read-option play.

"You have to have your antennas up every play, every down," Gaither said. "So it's not like, 'OK, third down, they have  a running quarterback, let's spy him.' No. Because he might take off on first down with the read-option. You kind of have to have your antennas up every play. That's just the challenge that that team presents for us. (Wide receiver) Steve Smith is still rolling. Those running backs are good. But you've got to stop Cam."

Last year when he played for Indianapolis, Raiders OLB Philip Wheeler lost to Newton and the Panthers, 27-19. Newton was 20 of 27 for 208 yards and no touchdowns and ran nine times for 53 yards and a 14-yard score.

"They won the game, but we did pretty well on defense," Wheeler said. "Last year, he did pretty much some of the similar things he's doing now. We kind of mixed up some of the coverages when he was passing the ball, and we just swarmed him when he ran the ball and just played sound defense against the lead option and some of the things they do."

The Raiders have faced plenty of quality quarterbacks this season -- Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan -- but they've yet to face a QB who poses a dangerous running threat.

Rookie LB Miles Burris hasn't faced a duel-threat quarterback since last year at San Diego State.

"I've dealt with scrambling quarterbacks before but nothing like Cam Newton," Burris said. "He's kind of a breed of his own. A lot of new quarterbacks nowadays, like RGIII and those guys running around, they can threaten your defense in a lot of different ways. So we got to go out there and just prepare the best we can. That's all we can do every week. Just fly around to the ball and good things happen if you work hard."

This week, No. 3 quarterback Terrelle Pryor is helping the Raiders' defense prepare for Newton as the scout team QB. Pryor (6-4, 233) is almost as big as Newton. According to Raiders CB Michael Huff, Pryor is faster than Newton.

"He looks like (Newton) running it, and it looks good, but obviously there's no emulating him in a game," Huff said.