“I don’t know when that call (to be the starter) is going to happen,” he said. “But each day I’m just going to go out and learn something about the whole offense.”

The brief window of opportunity when the lockout was temporarily lifted allowed Newton to pick up his playbook and he has been wearing out the pages trying to get a head start for whenever the Panthers’ facility doors open for the players. The Heisman Trophy winner has been spending his days down in Florida, but being a beach bum is the furthest thing from his mind.

In place of rookie mini camp, Newton teamed up with former Panther quarterback and fellow Heisman winner Chris Weinke at the IMG Academy for four days. The two hit the books and film room hard for over three hours each day and took the field for nearly the same amount of time.

According to a report on ESPN.com, the throwing sessions are all filmed and analyzed by both Newton and Weinke. This may prove to be invaluable for the not-yet-signed rookie signal caller when things return to normal in the topsy turvy world that is labor unrest in the NFL.

Weinke, 38, was  a highly successful collegiate quarterback at Florida State University after giving professional baseball a try. After entering FSU at the age of 25, Weinke led the team to two national championships and took home three major awards in his senior year of 2000 (Heisman Trophy, Johnny Unitas Award and the Davey O’Brien Award). He also had his number 16 jersey retired by the Seminoles.

The Panthers drafted him in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft  and started for a team that finished 1-15. While that may have been a difficult pill to swallow, it certainly taught Weinke a few lessons and something that he can pass on to Newton, who may deal with a similar situation in 2011. For the next five seasons, Weinke was mostly a back-up to Jake Delhomme and spent the 2007 campaign with the San Francisco 49ers before retiring.

While his career stats are not overly impressive (3,904 yards passing, 15 touchdowns, 26 interceptions and a QB rating of 62.2), Weinke has a reputation of being a smart quarterback who had exceptional mechanics. Considering that he played on the same NFL team – and one going through a rebuilding phase – makes Weinke the perfect tutor for Newton.

Photo by Bill Menzel

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“We want football!”

The chant resonated throughout the theater following a chorus of boos to “greet” Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Me, too,” he sheepishly responded to the fan’s plea. There were a few trades throughout the first round on Thursday evening, but war room personnel had to be satisfied moving only present and future draft picks with the labor issues.

The Atlanta Falcons made the boldest move of the night by trading up to Cleveland’s fifth spot for their first (27th overall), second (59th) and fourth round (124th) picks, plus a one and four in 2012. Alabama wideout Julio Jones will have a lot of pressure on him to come in and prove that he was worth all of that. He certainly feels confident enough to do that and where to give credit.

“Coach (Nick) Saban is a great coach to get you ready for the pros,” Jones said of his Crimson Tide collegiate mentor.

Quarterbacks came off the board fast as Cam Newton was picked first overall by the Carolina Panthers, followed by Jake Locker (eighth to Tennessee), Blaine Gabbert (10th to Jacksonville) and Christian Ponder (12th to Minnesota). Newton has a lot to prove, as pundits have been saying that the Auburn product does not have the intelligence to excel at the professional level. The Panthers cleaned house and will start fresh with Newton as the new face of the franchise.

Gabbert will sit behind David Garrard for a year or two but will get the nod prior to that if the incumbent starter falters or becomes injured, as he is prone to do. Ponder very well may earn the Vikings’ starting job, with Brett Favre (supposedly) retired.

Only one running back was drafted in the first round and the New Orleans Saints traded up to grab Mark Ingram. The NFL is a pass-first league and runners have felt the change.

Defense wins and the top of the draft was peppered with players like linebacker Von Miller (second to Denver), defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (third to Buffalo), defensive back Patrick Peterson (fifth to Arizona) and defensive end Aldon Smith (seventh to San Francisco) to round out the top ten alone.

Perhaps the best pure player in the entire  draft is Peterson, who is chomping at the bit to begin his professional career. “I can’t wait to get to Arizona, show those guys what I have to offer and get them back to the Super Bowl,” he said. DB’s have had great success in the NFL when drafted high and expect Peterson to top the list when it’s all said and done.

First things first, though. Getting a new Collective Bargaining Agreement signed is priority but it is fun to be able to follow America’s Game again, albeit only for a few days.

2011 NFL DRAFT ORDER

1. Carolina (2-14)
2. Denver (4-12)
3. Buffalo (4-12)
4. Cincinnati (4-12)
5. Arizona (5-11)
6. Cleveland (5-11)
7. San Francisco (6-10)
8. Tennessee (6-10)
9. Dallas (6-10)
10. Washington (6-10)
11. Houston (6-10)
12. Minnesota (6-10)
13. Detroit (6-10)
14. St. Louis (7-9)
15. Miami (7-9)
16. Jacksonville (8-8)
17. New England (14-2) – from Oakland
18. San Diego (9-7)
19. New York Giants (10-6)
20. Tampa Bay (10-6)
21. Kansas City (10-6)
22. Indianapolis (10-6)
23. Philadelphia (10-6)
24. New Orleans (11-5)
25. Seattle (7-9)
26. Baltimore (12-4)
27. Atlanta (13-3)
28. New England (14-2)
29. Chicago (11-5)
30. New York Jets (11-5)
31. Green Bay (10-6)*
32. Pittsburgh (12-4)*

Speaking of the Saints (13-2), they have now lost two in a row in the dome after the hapless Tampa Bay Bucs (3-12) came back from a 17-0 hole to win 20-17 in overtime. Also in the NFC, the New York Giants – after coming out of the gate 5-0 – all but put their postseason hopes to rest with a putrid 41-9 pasting at the hands of the carolina Panthers. This occurred in their final game at Giants Stadium, with the grand opening of the still yet-unnamed new Meadowlands stadium opening up in 2010. The Panthers (7-8) have been out of the playoff picture for quite some time while the Giants dropped to 8-7 and left their rabid fanbase wondering what happened.

In Indianapolis, possible MVP candidate Peyton Manning was pulled from the game in the third quarter with the Colts nursing a five-point advantage. Back-up Curtis Painter was not effective and allowed the Jets to get right back into the game.

Not only did Gang Green do the unthinkable after dropping a heartbreaker last week to the Atlanta Falcons, but actually control their own destiny if they can defeat the Cincinnati Bengals (10-5) at home next Sunday night. The Jets (8-7) needed a lot of help heading onto the day and by the time they kicked off at 4:15, much had broke their way.

Miami (7-8) dropped a 27-20 decision at home to the Houston Texans (8-7) while the Steelers (8-7) took care of the Baltimore Ravens (8-7), 23-20, in the Steel City. All of this activity coupled with Jacksonville losing and falling to 7-8, the Jets slid up into one of the wild card spots in the AFC. Denver (8-7) lost by a late field goal in Philadelphia after a big comeback, but still can get in at 8-7 with tiebreakers.

Photo by William J. Hauser

Although they still have a long way to go, the Jets (5-6) can at least think about the playoffs if not talk about them. But that word didn’t even come up after the game. “This was a great team win,” head coach Rex Ryan said. “It feels good to say that. It’s been a while.”

The team’s much-maligned secondary stepped up on this day with four interceptions and sent 76,381 fans home happy. It all began on the Panthers’ opening drive, one in which they converted three third down plays. Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme then tried to hit Steve Smith on a slant that would have gone for a big gain, but there was apparent miscommunication and the wideout had yet to turn in. The ball caromed off his heel up in the air and right into the hands of Darrelle Revis, who returned it 67 yards for the Jets first defensive touchdown of the season.

“The great ones are lucky,” joked Ryan.

After trading field goals, the Jets capitalized on Delhomme’s third pick of the day when Kerry Rhodes – who was removed from the starting line-up this week in favor of Eric Smith – pulled down the floater and brought it back to the Carolina 38-yard line.

“The message was sent to me by Coach and now I’m moving on,” said Rhodes, who also had another interception and received a game ball. The Jets extended their lead to 14-3 when Thomas Jones (25 carries for 75 yards, 1 touchdown) plunged into the end zone from three yards out.

The big talk all week leading up to this game was that Ryan was going to take a more active role in the offense to try to cut down on the mistakes of his rookie quarterback. A more conservative game plan seem to benefit Mark Sanchez, who completed 13 out of 17 for 154 yards and one interception, but the USC product was not totally satisfied with his performance.

“I was playing smart on offense and we still gave up a couple of turnovers,” he said. “They (the coaches) were telling me in the meetings, ‘If you take a sack, that’s OK. Just don’t lose the ball.’”

Ryan added, “I thought he did a great job. He really managed the game well and had some nice runs. When in doubt, he checked the ball down.”

At one point in the third quarter, Sanchez was shaken up with an apparent knee injury and missed the majority of one series, but returned the next one. “He said he was good to go,” Ryan said. “I was just anxious to get him back in there.” Sanchez had the knee checked out by the team’s medical staff after the game and said that there was nothing abnormal found.

The Jets sealed the win with a 47-yard field goal by Feeley with 3:39 left to make the score 17-6. The big play on the drive was a 16-yard completion to converted running back Danny Woodhead on third down to move the chains.

“Coach put me in a great situation, Mark put the ball on me and the line did a great job so I just had to make the catch,” the wide receiver humbly said.

The Jets do not have much time to enjoy this win due to the Thursday night affair against the Bills in Toronto. “This is a short week for us, so we can enjoy it for about five hours,” said Ryan.

Better to enjoy the victory than wallow in another loss.

Photo by William J. Hauser