Sunday seems like a blur for me. With the kickoff at 4:00 pm EST, it seemed like I was waiting all day for the game to begin. I don't know how west coast team fans living on the east coast can stand waiting that long all the time. There wasn't much to like about the play calling of the Panthers. It's getting to be routine: I Formation power right on first down, Single Back check-down pass on second down, draw on third down, punt on fourth down and an occasional first down mixed in here and there. Lately though, first downs have been replaced with interceptions. After the week 6 game against Tampa Bay, Moose stated that he believed the Panthers were tipping their passing plays and defenses were keying in on it. Well, I have to say that if I know what's coming from the Panthers, then NFL players and coaches have to know. Teams that win these days do one of two things: dominate them physically or confuse the hell out of them, period. We might be able to out physical a few teams, but to win consistently, you must vary your play calling and not become predictable.
OK, on to the 5 things I did not like about Sunday's game:
1) Thomas Davis was not playing. Nothing against Davis or the Coaching staff here, I know he was hurt. But for us to be a dominating defense, we need Thomas Davis. He's having a break-out season.
2) Jake is still trying to force the ball to Steve Smith. I love Steve Smith and I know he's hands down the most gifted and dynamic player on our team, including DeAngelo Williams, but I'm tired of coddling him. If he doesn't understand that him getting double teamed helps the team, he needs to hang them up. This team has enough problems without having someone screaming "Just give me the damn ball." Jake needs to just throw to the open receiver. Oh, and make sure he's wearing a Panthers jersey.
3) John Kasay missing field goals. You remember that toy you had as a kid? You took it with you everywhere, had it until you were 18, you knew that no matter where you were, it would be there to offer you enjoyment day in and day out and it would never let you down. John Kasay has been that "toy" to Panther fans for the life of this franchise. He has been our rock. Sure he blew the Superbowl with his kick out of bounds, but without him, we would have been, at best, 9-7 that year and not even made the playoffs. Please don't hurt us, John.
4) Kenneth Moore returning punts. This is not a slight against Kenneth Moore. This is for you, Captain Munnerlyn. If you haven't been playing sports long enough to know that you need to stay hydrated to avoid cramps then you need a serious lesson in injury avoidance. Cramps are completely unacceptable. You have gallons of this new liquid that has electrolytes, vitamins and minerals. I think it's called Crocaide or Gatoraide or something like that. USE IT!! Or at least eat a banana or a mustard packet or two, and get out there and return some punts.
5) Not gaining one yard on fourth and one. We pushed the Buffalo defensive line around all day, but when it came time to gain one yard we fell short by two yards. Granted the Buffalo defense knew we were running the ball, but you could have at least tried to run behind your two best run blockers on the right side, Jeff Otah and Keydrick Vincent. Instead, Jeff Davidson, you decided to run behind undersized Ryan Khalil and pass blocking Travelle Wharton. The only credit I can give you on this is you went against the script, it was just the wrong time. Sometimes sticking to the script is the only way to gain that one yard.
5 Things I liked about Sunday:
1) The Panther Defense. Even without Thomas Davis in the lineup I thought our defense handled itself very well. Landon Johnson actually made some plays and James Anderson didn't get burned. The defense also got their second safety of the year after a wonderful Jason Baker Punt.
2) Jason Baker. This guy proves every week why we took a chance on him a few years back. He's got a very strong leg, but more than that, he knows how to kick. He knows that it's not always a good idea to just kick it as hard as you can and out-kick your coverage. He also is a tremendous aussie-kicker, getting the ball to stop as if it had a reverse gear.
3) DeAngelo Williams. Under-appreciated. That ought to be this guys middle name. Does anyone out there even know that this guy holds the NCAA record for most yards from scrimmage in a career? He was criminally snubbed last year for the Pro Bowl after a record setting season. Check out these comparitive stats:
D. Williams: 273 carries, 1515 yards, 5.5 ypc, 18 touchdowns, 22 receptions, 121 yards, 2 touchdowns
A. Peterson: 363 carries, 1760 yards, 4.8 ypc, 10 touchdowns, 21 receptions, 125 yards, 0 touchdowns
Looks pretty similar, huh? Here's the kicker: A. Peterson 9 Fumbles, 4 Lost. D. Williams 0 Fumbles, 0 Lost. Give me the guy with twice the total touchdowns, .7 yards per carry better average, less wear and tear with fewer carries, and ZERO FUMBLES as the best running back in the league last year. Tragedy. I guess there was a rule that stated if your name starts with A and ends with drian Peterson, your automatically the best RB in the league. End of rant.
4) Gary Barnidge. Barnidge stepped in very nicely and showed flashes of why the Panthers drafted him for his receiving ability. For a team that has never relied on it's tight ends very much, the Panthers are glad they have three fairly decent ones this year.
5) Fox going for 4th and short twice. Granted Kasay had missed two field goals and Fox was probably reluctant to trot him out there to face another try, but I like how John Fox wasn't actually John Fox for two plays. I half expected a punt on both plays just because he's that conservative.
Look for Matt Moore to start this week against Arizona. Fox and Co. can't stick with Jake and expect to win each week. Sometimes all a team needs is fresh energy to turn a season around. There was another time we turned to an undrafted quarterback to bring new energy and renewed hope to our franchise and, at least for that year, did not disappoint.
~B
Monday, October 26, 2009
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