Week three of the NFL preseason is here. Time has flown by, hasn't it? Here are my predictions for the games.

Tampa Bay 31, New England 21

The Bucs pound the ball on the ground and come up with some much-need splash plays to build momentum as the season nears its beginning. 

Houston 21, Saints 20

Look for Houston to air the ball out a bit and try and find who is going to contribute in the passing game behind their stud receivers. The Saints will look to get their second team plenty of time in this one, aiming to figure out how the depth chart will play out. 

Atlanta 23, Miami 17

The Falcons should have no issue in this one. Matt Ryan will play little. How is the secondary looking for the Falcons? Let's see who can step it up and earn time. 

Carolina 31, New York Jets 17

No, you won't see much of Cam Newton in this one. This could be a good one though, considering the quarterback duel for New York between Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. Tebowmania takes the stage, again, of course. 

Tonight is a big day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After last week's loss to Tennessee in the second preseason game, many of the questions that were erased after the first contest reappeared. There are three things to keep an eye on for Tampa tonight. Here they are...

1) Rookie running back to the rescue? LeGarrette Blount is a bit banged up, so expect first round pick Doug Martin of Boise State to get a chance to shine. The little man can do it all and will need to this season, aiming to create a two-headed monster in the backfield for Greg Schiano. Josh Freeman will likely look to air it out a bit, so expect more carries for this guy in the second quarter. 

2) Pressure -- One of the worst parts of the Bucs defense in years past has been the defensive line, or lack there of. The team has failed over and over again to get consistent pressure. Look for the team to blitz tonight and try and prove its worth. 

3) Return game -- Somebody needs to step up and become the returner for the Bucs. Who is it going to be? There are several candidates, but one to keep an eye on is Preston Parker. He has the ability to break free. Let's see who steps it up tonight and gets closer, perhaps, to winning the job. 

The Carolina Panthers will be hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night for the last preseason game of the year. Since the Panthers have long tried to pattern themselves after the Steelers this is appropriate. Not to mention that Steelers fans at Bank of America Stadium may outnumber those of the Panthers.

Traditionally the fourth preseason game is one of rest for the starters of most NFL teams. The starting units may play a series or two just so the fans can see them. But the game is usually one of rest for the starters to avoid injury. This also allows players who won’t make their team to showcase their ability to other teams who may pick them up.

So don’t expect to see much of Cam Newton against the Steelers in the last preseason game. It is possible that he will play into the second quarter just to get some reps, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Even the backups for the Steelers will be hard hitters and may want to make a name for themselves by nailing the Heisman winner.

I don’t think Jeff Otah will play even though he has been practicing. It just is not worth the risk of him getting injured in a preseason game. The Panthers are banged up enough and probably just want to get out of the game as healthy as they can. Jimmy Clausen who has an injured thigh will get some playing time and we may see Derek Anderson again at quarterback.

The Carolina Panthers will be hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night for the last preseason game of the year. Since the Panthers have long tried to pattern themselves after the Steelers this is appropriate. Not to mention that Steelers fans at Bank of America Stadium may outnumber those of the Panthers.

Traditionally the fourth preseason game is one of rest for the starters of most NFL teams. The starting units may play a series or two just so the fans can see them. But the game is usually one of rest for the starters to avoid injury. This also allows players who won’t make their team to showcase their ability to other teams who may pick them up.

So don’t expect to see much of Cam Newton against the Steelers in the last preseason game. It is possible that he will play into the second quarter just to get some reps, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Even the backups for the Steelers will be hard hitters and may want to make a name for themselves by nailing the Heisman winner.

I don’t think Jeff Otah will play even though he has been practicing. It just is not worth the risk of him getting injured in a preseason game. The Panthers are banged up enough and probably just want to get out of the game as healthy as they can. Jimmy Clausen who has an injured thigh will get some playing time and we may see Derek Anderson again at quarterback.

The Carolina Panthers lost their third preseason game to the Cincinnati Bengals by the score of 24 to 13 on Thursday night. Cam Newton once again looked like what he is, a rookie quarterback but still hasn’t thrown an interception in the preseason.

Cam Newton completed 6 of 19 passes for 75 yards in preseason action against the Bengals but did rush for 49 yards (to lead the team) and one touchdown. Newton is showing good football smarts but continues to throw off his back foot and display terrible accuracy. Jimmy Clausen completed 4 of 7 for 35 yards.

The running game was a little stagnant due to injuries on the line and trying to jell in this new offense. Jordan Gross in particular has drawn the ire of Panthers fans on WFNZ today. I do think the Panthers offensive line will improve each week if they can just stay healthy.

Steve Smith caught his first pass of the season against the Bengals and also had his first fracas when a Bengal ripped his helmet off! The wide receiving unit needs to join the offensive line in turning it up a notch soon but the tight ends are playing well.

Thomas Davis and James Anderson put on a linebacking display against the Bengals and were easily the bright spots for Carolina. Jon Beason will make this a formable unit when he returns from minor surgery on his Achilles.

Chris Gamble suffered a thumb injury against the Bengals but did put on an amusing dance display when he recovered a fumble. It is unclear how long Gamble will be out, if any time at all. The secondary as a whole needs to improve and I think the Panthers will be watching the waiver wire for help in that area.

Carolina still struggled at converting third downs on offense and in preventing long drives on defense. However I see them improving in both areas when they get all their injured players back.

Thanks for checking out my recap of the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers preseason game. Carolina lost to Miami 20 to 10 in the 2^nd preseason game for both teams.

Cam Newton looked like what he is, a rookie quarterback. Newton completed 7 of 14 passes for 66 yards in the game. Cam Newton is showing poor mechanics namely in throwing off his back foot which greatly affects his accuracy.

 Newton continues to impress me however with the fact that he has not turned the ball over in two preseason games. Steve Smith didn’t play against Miami despite reports that he would. The Panthers offense needs Smith to be healthy. WFNZ’s Brett Jensen reported that Cam has only completed one pas to a wide receiver in the 2011 preseason.

 Jimmy Clausen had similar numbers to Cam Newton in the Miami game. Jimmy completed 9 of 15 passes for 69 yards. Josh Vaughn and Tyrell Sutton led the Panthers in rushing with 21 and 19 yards respectively. Sutton did score the team’s only touchdown in the game and added four receptions.

 The tight ends continue to be a Panther focus with Shockey catching three passes and new fan favorite Olsen adding two more. Blocking tight end Ben Hartsock even caught a pass for five yards.

Thomas Williams had a nice night with six tackles against the Dolphins. Ugo Chinasa a rookie defensive end out of Oklahoma State had two tackles a sack and a forced fumble. As a whole the Panthers defense didn’t play overly well and needs everyone back and healthy to look their best.

I keep hearing that the Panthers are not done picking up players. Look for the team to keep an eye out for veteran defensive linemen, cornerbacks and maybe even a wideout. I am not sure they will add a receiver but it’s possible.

Some Panthers fans here in Catawba County are hoping that the team grabs Justin Harper if he is waived by the Baltimore Ravens. Harper is a former Virginia Tech wide receiver who is from Catawba North Carolina. Harper has spent most of his time in the NFL on the Ravens practice squad.

The Panthers are expected to announce Cam Newton as the starting quarterback for the regular season, early this week. I urge the fans not to come down too harshly on Newton. He has to learn and needs time to develop. At least he has a happy center in Ryan Kalil who is now the highest paid center in NFL history after signing his new deal.

The Carolina Panthers head into week two of the preseason a little banged up as they prepare to play the Miami Dolphins. According to Steve Reed of Carolinagrowl.com (via Twitter) Stewart, Gamble, Goodson and Gary Barnidge are questionable. Beason, Schwartz, Otah, Hardy and Fiammetta are out for the Panthers/Dolphins preseason game.

The big news heading into week two of the 2011 Panthers preseason is Cam Newton’s first start. Newton played fairly well last week and will start and play mostly with the starting unit. Jimmy Clausen is expected to see a lot of playing time with the 2^nd string with Anderson getting some spot duty.

The big things the Panthers want out of the preseason game with the Dolphins is for everyone to stay healthy and for Cam Newton to keep progressing. There is little doubt now that Newton will be the regular season starting quarterback from day one unless he has a major meltdown in the preseason.

Charles “Big Money” Johnson will be playing this week against the Dolphins and may have a good game. As Jason Roberts points out at his excellent “Bottlenose Blogging” site, the Dolphins have a less than stellar offensive line.

Panthers fans will see a familiar face in Matt Moore who is probably going to be the second string quarterback this season for the Dolphins.  I look for Moore to play well against the banged up Panthers defense.

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Steve Smith will be playing against the Dolphins after sitting out last week due to an injured hand. Contrary to some reports it was a pass from Jimmy Clausen (not Newton) that injured Smith. Between Smith and tight end Greg Olsen I think the Panthers offense will have some pop this week.

Due to the short offseason and new coaches and systems, I expect the Panthers starters to play more than they would in most preseason games. The Panthers are still installing their offense and defense. Fan reaction to both systems has been positive everywhere I have seen or heard it mentioned.

Two players I am interested in seeing against the Dolphins are wide receiver Armanti Edwards and running back Tyrell Sutton. Edwards has had a great training camp and may be ready to assume more of a wide receiver role. Sutton is a good running back who just needs opportunities and he will get some playing time inMiami.

The Panthers preseason game in Miami will be a success if there are no injuries and the team continues to jell. I don’t pay much attention to wins and losses in preseason; I just want to see solid play with few turnovers and penalties. Let the Cam Newton era of starting begin!