"Cam Newton will get another start, but Panthers coach Ron Rivera was not yet ready to name the No. 1 pick his Week 1 starter.

Despite struggling last week at Miami, Newton will start and play about three quarters Thursday at Cincinnati. Rivera plans to treat this week as a mock game week, and wants to see how Newton handles it.

"We've only gone through 31/2, 4 weeks of training camp," Rivera said today. "So to rush into a decision would be kind of absurd."

Coaches also want to see Newton improve his mechanics. The 6-5 right-hander completed 7 of 14 passes for 66 yards in the first half at Miami, but completed only one throw to a wideout and consistently misfired on longer passes."