I’d like to introduce you to the Jake Delhomme-less Carolina Panthers. Despite the declining production and massive interception numbers, this will still be a difficult day for many Panthers fans. A feel good story that led the team to the Super Bowl, Delhomme has fallen on hard times recently, throwing a career high 18 interceptions in 2009. The team is on the hook for $12.5 million in guaranteed money but it is a hit they had to take.
Turning to the future. Whether Matt Moore is given the reigns or not, they need to bring in another QB. Take it for what it’s worth but Michael Vick does like the uniforms. The big question with Vick would be owner Jerry Richardson and his aversion to taking players with sketchy histories.
Time of the year where we find the same faces in new places. For my first report back I have to say a lot has happened since my last entry but before I logged on I found out about the releasing of a future hall of fame RB, LT. I know I’m having the same thoughts as you are, where will LT end up? Julius Peppers in the news for us, stay? leave? We don’t have any idea. Some other rumors pop up like the Panthers with the idea of trading away one of the stud RBs. We have no idea to rumors or facts until it happens.
For the Panthers we are in a few situations. First off, what to do with Jake Delhomme? He is expected to make 12.5 million this season, even if we release him. Matt Moore hasn’t been offered a long term deal yet and our question behind the QB position is still in the air. Another issue I believe we have is the lack of talent at WR. Of course now I am not talking about our 3rd round stud Steve Smith. Moose has always been great but is getting older and doesn’t fit into our future. Other guys like Martin, Moore and Jarrett are so so but not explosive. For me personally I would like to see us draft WR Jordan Shipley (Texas). The guy has Wes Welker like talent and he could help us out by taking focus off Smith. If we could open up the pass game a bit more that would only make our already NFL leading rushing game even better. I am very excited to see what we do this off season and hope it leads to us playing more like we did in 2008.
With Jonathan Stewart (Achilles’), Muhsin Muhammad (knee), Dante Rosario (knee) Tony Fiammetta (concussion) already questionable for the Falcons game, word that DeAngelo Williams didn’t practice today doesn’t bode well. This offense cannot afford to be without the league’s fifth leading rusher but with a sore left knee, it may happen.
Jake Delhomme and his Panthers will be marching into New Orleans after a statement win on the road in Arizona. The Carolina Panthers (3-4) will be up against the New Orleans Saints (7-0) who have done no wrong this year. Updates from Carolina Panthers’ practice was good news for QB Jake Delhomme as he participated fully after being questionable as to his injury from the Arizona Game. As far as the others, FBs B.Hoover & T.Fiammetaa, WR M.Muhammad, S C.Godfrey, LB L.Johnson, TE D.Rosario and RB J.Stewart did not practice at all on Tuesday.
The Carolina Panthers will have a streak that they have on the line as they have owned the Saints in there own dome since the start of the John Fox era. QB Jake Delhomme has had a lights out career as a starter in the Superdome.
6 W 0 L
100 comp
152 Att
1364 yards
7 TD
2 INT
As far as a win, I think Delhomme will have a better feeling about his game after taking down Arizona in the same fashion they did to him in the playoffs. I expect the run game to be a key for the Panthers and expect Drew Brees to have his hands full with DEs J. Peppers and E.Brown as the Saints have some holes in the O-line. The Panthers are the #1 ranked defense against the pass so Brees will have to step up more if he expects to pass on this Panthers defense.
Eight minutes left in the game, tied at 21 with the 0-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina Panthers looked to the duo which brought Charlotte the 2008 NFC Championship crown. Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined for 15 carries and 76 yards on the last drive for Carolina. Using up almost eight full minutes, the offensive line hammered the Bucs for the decisive score with 29 seconds left.
With the 28-21 win over their division rival, Carolina has a chance to even their record at 3-3 against the Buffalo Bills next week. Seems simple enough, right?
Wrong.
Although the Bills have the worst run defense in the league, Carolina will have to pass the ball occassionally, and when that happens the passing game must open up the field and get Steve Smith involved before he blows a gasket. He already has stated he is “not an asset” to the team. When your franchise playmaker is becoming frustrated, the offense must be designed to help get the ball in his hands. Screens, slants, hooks, etc… Any quick play just to get him the ball will boost not only Smith’s morale, but Jake Delhomme’s confidence.
But the keys to game to getting back to .500 are this:
1) Hand the ball off to “Double Trouble” over and over again. If the offensive line and fullback Brad Hoover come ready to play smash mouth ball, Carolina may very well be looking at it’s first 200 yard rusher next week, or at least another week of two 100 yard rushing performances.
2) Defense, defense, defense. The defense in the past two week, although against awful teams, has looked like a very tough team. Making athletic plays and only giving up one touchdown to the Buccaneers, the defense is clicking. The defensive line looked like men possessed, most notably Julius Peppers who not has four sacks in two games.
3) Special teams has to get back to basics. Tackling and blocking. It’s as simple as that, gunners must get there fast and hard (legally I might add) and return teams must block if Captain Munnerlyn or Kenneth Moore want to have a chance to bring a punt or kickoff back for a six.
The team, although still not near full working order, is headed in the right direction. In the words of Jonathan Stewart, “Double Trouble is back.”
Panthers acquire DT Tank Tyler from the Kansas City Chiefs for an undisclosed future draft choice. Tyler is a product of N.C. State. This is an interesting move considering the signing of DT Hollis Thomas the week before the Bye. My thoughts are that the Panthers want young talent on that front line and Tyler can bring them that as he had a stacked career at NC State. Now that we made this trade, it will be interesting to see who the Panthers release to make room for Tyler. Look back for more updates on the latest roster moves.
Down 17 – 2 in the third quarter after another turnover to the Washington Redskins, things looked bleak for the 0-3
Carolina Panthers. No sooner had the heads of Panthers fans begin to lower, Kenneth Moore broke loose and returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards and gave Carolina the breath of life that just might save their season. Four plays later, Jake Delhomme hit tight-end Jeff King in the endzone to edge the game to 17-9.
The Panthers defense looked menacing, creating extensive pressure on Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell and notching five sacks. Two of which coming from the recently non-existent Julius Peppers. Peppers also destroyed the Washington offensive line earlier in the game and led a fiery defensive front to tackle Clinton Portis in the endzone for Carolina’s first safety since 2006.
Head Coach John Fox stated the 0-3 start was more like a “gorilla” for the team to get off their back than it was a monkey, as the old saying goes. Well, the Panthers used all three phases of the game to chuck that gorilla off their back and give the team a much needed morale boost.
First, the defense kept the team in the game consistently. Led by middle linebacker Jon Beason’s 10 tackles, the defense created pressure and limited the Redskins to under 60 yards rushing and less than 200 yards of total offense. Playing with 10 of their original 11 starters on defense, they looked poised to continue their strong performance as the players continue to pick up Ron Meeks’ defense.
Second, the offense stayed on the field long enough to give the defense a break and they took chances and kept with the run. By keeping with the run, no matter how ineffective it was at times, the Panthers were able to control the clock and wear down the Redskins defense. It eventually culminated in a strong eight yard touchdown run by Jonathan Stewart for the go-ahead score.
Third, special teams ate their Wheaties and came to play. Creating great chances such as Moore’s kick return and a key fumble recovery late in the game, special teams kept the team’s heart beating late in the game and gave them the boost to get the first victory of the season.
But the play of the game came late in the fourth. With one chance to seal the victory, the Panthers were looking at third and eight with the ball. The Redskins were out of timeouts and were effectively stopping the Carolina run. Jake Delhomme then did the most unthinkable play he could have, he ran a bootleg and stiff-armed veteran cornerback Deangelo Hall and dragged him over the first down marker. Jumping up with his jersey slipped off his pads and his chinstrap pushed over his face, Delhomme showed the passion and fire he has for the team and showing the fans his heart is 100 percent in the game.
With the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills upcoming, the Panthers must take advantage of their schedule and even their record at 3-3. The momentum of this win may very well be the turning point of this season, as long as they keep running the ball and play smart, aggressive defense, the Panthers may very well be in the hunt for the playoffs.
Going into week three with an 0-2 record, more turnovers than touchdowns, a rushing game that is invisible and a coaching staff without a clue, the Carolina Panthers were looking at what middle linebacker called a “must-win game.” The team had to win this game against the Dallas Cowboys, they absolutely had to in order to keep any postseason chances realistically alive.
What did the Panthers do? They read into the hype about the Cowboys poor pass defense and only gave their star running back 11 carries, which he gathered together to pick up 65 yards. If you can do math, that’s a little less than 6.5 yards a carry. Throwing the ball 33 times instead of giving the Cowboys the ol’ one-two with Williams and Jonathon Stewart is exactly why Carolina is 0-3 going into a long bye week.
John Fox must not realize the talent he has on offense, because he clearly refuses to use it. For instance, in week two, the late game interception by Jake Delhoome on fourth and 10, should have never happened because there should have never been a fourth and 10. Williams already has scored his two lowly rushing touchdowns on goalline rushes, so why would you not give it to your best running back and let him make a play. Rather, they call four straight pass plays. Not a single run to gain yardage when you must realize this is your last real chance to tie the game. Why would you force pressure on your quarterback who always throws it to Steve Smith in dire situations? Because John Fox has lost his touch.
The man that turned 1 -15 team into Superbowl contenders in just two short years is now, unarguably, one of the most conservative and ignorant coaches in the NFL. For all intensive purposes, the Panthers head coach is also the offensive and defensive coordinators. Through two offensive and defensive coordinators, the team still runs the same plays and has yet to hold any originality or just play the game aggressive and intelligently. Sure, when Carolina had their two-minute drive to score and go up 7-0 before halftime was great called plays and even better execution. Yet, when starting the second half, it was as if the coaching staff lost their brain and didn’t realize they needed to eat up clock.
Instead, the mysterious man who calls Carolina’s offensive plays decides we should just run, pass and pass. Then punt and rely on our mediocre defense to get the ball back. For missing three key players on the defensive side in Chris Harris, Maake Kemoteau and Na’il Diggs, the team limited the Cowboys to 13 points. Yes, they gave up over 200 yards of rushing and over 300 yards of total offense, but they did what counts, they kept the team alive and put them in perfect position to take the lead and, possibly, the win.
Down 13-7 with just over five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, they start strong with a physical 12 yard run by Williams, then they decide to force passes to Steve Smith rather than using the other receivers or even the tight ends who had made great catches and even scored the lone touchdown during the game. The frustration of Smith was evident throughout the game, it all culminated in a broken route that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, ultimately slamming an exclamation on a pathetic second half performance.
If anyone can recall yesteryear when the Panthers were good and had the ability to move the ball down field and score, then they might be able to remember the first game last season against San Diego. A game in which there was no Steve Smith and the Panthers were down five with just over two minutes to play. The team marches down the field and uses all their receivers and tight ends to go 10 yards, catch the ball and get out of bounds. The ability to use other receivers escapes the Panthers grasp once Smith is in the game. One can only wonder, is it Delhomme, or is it the coaching staff drawing up plays which have Smith running routes and other plays just acting as decoys.
The coaching staff must develop a gameplan which creates every eligible receiver on the team as a threat. Each tight end, wide receiver and running back must demand to be covered or else they will make the other team pay for it. Until then the offense will continue to turn the ball over. And until the defense can learn how to stop the run, you might very well be seeing a new head coach for the Carolina Panthers in the near future.
440 yards of complete offense. Steve Smith with eight receptions for 131 yards, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart combine to go over 120 yards rushing and one touchdown and Jake Delhomme delivers his first 300 yard game in almost 2 years. Seems like a good day, don’t you think?
Yet, the Carolina Panthers are still 0-2. Someone might wonder, how can this be? This is possible through a weak defense and an even weaker special teams performance. The Panthers defense allowed the Atlanta Falcons to pass for 220 yards and run for over 130 while also giving up four touchdowns. None of which were a result of a poor turnover by the Carolina offense.
To many Panther fans surprise, Delhomme only had one serious “OH NO” type moment. While being chased by a defender, Delhomme chucked up a ball into the hands of defensive lineman who dropped it immediately. The play was ruled a sack for 12 yards, but besides that, the offense was spot on.
Running the ball over 20 times with their two-headed monster, Carolina looked like last years offense. Imposing their will on the team lined up across from them.
What also looked like the Carolina of last year was the weak secondary and questionable play calls. With a zone coverage that was ripped to shreds in the first half by Matt Ryan, one would think Ron Meeks and John Fox would change their scheme to surprise the second year quarterback. Alas, the Carolina fan base was not surprised to see the same plays and same defense the second half as they allowed Atlanta to go where they wished any where across the Georgia Dome Sunday afternoon.
The defense held the Falcons to fourth and short twice in the game, and twice the Falcons called a quarterback sneak for the first down. Zero sacks, and rarely any pressure. The Panthers defensive line looked more like a group of toddlers learning to walk than the dominant line Carolina was once known for. With no real depth behind the starting four, Carolina and Ron Meeks must look to bring pressure with their strong linebacker corps.
In fact, middle linebacker and pro bowl player Jon Beason has yet to record a sack in his short, but successful NFL career. This can make a person wonder, why on earth is Carolina not bringing pressure with their linebackers? Thomas Davis, a product from Georgia, has experience at safety and has great speed for his weakside position. He also has led the team in tackles both games, and yet Carolina has yet to really blitz a team consistently throughout a game.
The Panthers have the tools to win. They proved the offense can put up the yards and points necessary to do so. But can the defense give the team the security they need to bring Charlotte the Lombardi trophy it’s been drooling over for 15 years? Only Ron Meeks, John Fox and the Carolina defense can give you that answer.
