The Panthers’ promising 2018 setsburgh (which sparked a campaign-killing string of losses) and the more subtle evidence coming from the chronic inability of quarterback Cam Newton to throw the ball down the field, given a shoulder problem that eventually resulted in offseason surgery.The Panthers privately and publicly exude optimism that the removal of scar tissue has unlocked the shoulder and solved the problem. At the same time, the Panthers and Newton have come up with a funky new throwing motion, which has Cam pulling the ball over the top of his shoulder, almost pressing it up against his head.Others have successfully tweaked their mechanics in the past, but it’s not easy. Thousands of reps are needed to retrain muscle memory, and there’s still a chance that, once Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald starts chasing Newton around during Week One of the 2019 regular season Luke Kuechly Jersey 2019 , Newton will instinctively revert to his old ways.His old ways weren’t bad ways. He threw the ball well enough to become the league’s MVP in 2015. But now that he’s 30, change becomes necessary to extending his career, given the various shoulder issues he’s had.Of course, Newton said on the eve of his latest birthday that he’s too old to change his playing style. As he now changes one of the most important aspects of a quarterback’s playing style. If it works, and if he remains healthy, the Panthers could turn the clock back four years, tear up a division that is at best in transition, and potentially twist the road to Miami through Charlotte. If it doesn’t work Blue Ryan Kalil Jersey , the Panthers may start thinking about life after Cam — and they may consider setting the clock forward to their post-Newton existence.However it goes, it feels like 2019 will either secure Newton’s future in Charlotte or hasten its conclusion, especially since he’s currently averaging $20.7 million per year — far less than the top of the market — with two years left on his contract. Panthers coach Ron Rivera morphed back into his Riverboat Ron persona on Sunday, even though the whole go-for-two thing has become so commonplace that he could now be called Riverbot Ron. (And, yeah, I thought of that only after I accidentally said “Riverbot” instead of “Riverboat” during , which as on-air verbal accidents go could have been a lot worse.)But the classic, late-game Ryan Kalil Jersey 2019 , go-for-the-win-by-going-for-two move needs to consider a variety of factors unrelated to the proverbial numbers (a far less nerdy version of “analytics”). The biggest factor is and always will be the amount of chances the other team would have to win the game, if the late two-pointer puts the other team behind by a point.If the touchdown that pulled the margin to within one happens on the final play of regulation, it’s not an issue. If it happens with significant time on the clock, it’s definitely an issue.On Sunday, Rivera’s gamble, if it had paid off, would have given the Lions a chance to win the game (and to avoid losing it) with 1:07 to play and three time outs. If Rivera had simply opted to tie the game (assuming that kicker Graham Gano wouldn’t have missed his third kick of the day), the Lions would have found themselves in a tie game 2019 Trai Turner Jersey , and with a far different mindset.In a tie game, the Lions punt on fourth down. In a game that the Lions are trailing by a point, they go for it on fourth down.In a tie game, the Lions call plays more conservatively, hoping to avoid a turnover that would give the Panthers a short field and a game-winning field goal. In a game that the Lions are trailing by a point, they open the playbook and go for it.The fact that the Lions had three time outs would have allowed quarterback Matthew Stafford to spray the ball all over the field, not worrying about the clock running on a play that ends with a tackle in bounds. And with 67 ticks on the clock, the Lions could have gotten in position for a long Matt Prater field goal.It still could have happened in a tie game Blue Trai Turner Jersey , but the Lions necessarily would have had a different approach if the score were 20-20 than if it were 21-20.Ultimately, it didn’t matter, because the two-point try failed. But the decision in those situations always needs to take into account the consequences of failing (virtually certain loss), succeeding (likely win, but more work would be needed), and opting for one (likely overtime).