Win puts Carolina atop NFC South
CHARLOTTE - For only the third time in franchise history, the Carolina Panthers are 6-2 at the halfway point of their season.
They rallied from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter — matching the second-best comeback in team history — to beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
Coupled with Tampa Bay’s loss to Dallas, the win gave the Panthers sole possession of first place in the NFC South, one game ahead of the Buccaneers.
Carolina has a bye next week, which should allow enough time for injured offensive line starters Jeff Otah and Ryan Kalil (ankle sprains) to heal and be ready to return to the lineup for a Nov. 9 game at Oakland.
Only two teams in the league have a better record than Carolina — 6-0 Tennessee, which plays Indianapolis tonight, and the 6-1 New York Giants.
Being “6-2 compared to 5-3 at the break, it’s huge,” said quarterback Jake Delhomme, who threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Steve Smith.
“Hopefully we can look back on this game down the line and say this was a pivotal win for us. We’ve given ourselves a chance.”
The Panthers reached the NFC championship game the other two times they were 6-2, in 2003 and ‘05, and made it to the Super Bowl in ‘03.
Carolina’s chances appeared dim in the third quarter when Arizona led 17-3.
The Panthers’ offense was floundering, and Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was dissecting the defense with pinpoint passing reminiscent of his MVP days with the St. Louis Rams nearly a decade ago.
Warner threw for 381 yards, the fifth-highest passing yardage total Carolina has allowed in a game.
“I tell you, man, that guy Kurt Warner, he’s special,” Panthers linebacker Jon Beason said.
Warner’s ability to release the ball quickly short-circuited Carolina’s heavy blitzing and pass-rushing pressure from defensive end Julius Peppers and others.
“It was very frustrating because sometimes it [felt] like no matter how fast you beat somebody, you [were] never going to get there,” Peppers said.
The Panthers defense was caught off guard when Arizona’s top two tight ends were deactivated because of injuries, causing the Cardinals to use more offensive sets than expected with four or even five wide receivers in a spread formation.
“We had to learn on the move because we didn’t get a lot of practice in [working against] four- and five-wideout sets,” safety Chris Harris said. “It was on-the-job training, I guess.”
While the defense adjusted, the Carolina offense struggled so much that players said there was a spirited locker room discussion at halftime.
“There were a lot of bleeps in there,” Smith said.
The game began to turn when Carolina got the ball for the first time in the second half with 10 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Delhomme said he noticed the home crowd was quiet and that even the Panthers bench lacked energy.
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Panthers can’t buy a victory at Bank of America Stadium
CHARLOTTE - Take a look at the calendar. Two dates in the next week pretty much tell you all you need to know about the Carolina Panthers and their season.
On Tuesday, their gallant and gimpy quarterback, Vinny Testaverde, will celebrate his 44th birthday. Then, the following Monday will mark the one-year anniversary of the last time the Panthers won a home game.
There’s nothing the Panthers can do to stop the clock on Testaverde and an Achilles’ tendon that’s been sore for several weeks. And there’s no longer anything the Panthers can do to stop the Bank of America Stadium bumbles before 365 days have passed.
That became a certainty Sunday as the Panthers lost a very winnable game.
Alge Crumpler caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Joey Harrington with 30 seconds left as the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Panthers 20-13.
“When you have friends and family coming to the game, they want to see us win,” defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said. “The people that support us, that pay to come see us play and they go and buy the jerseys and go and do everything, it’s hard because that’s kind of like the thanks that we give them.”
With a game at Green Bay on Sunday, the Panthers won’t get another shot at a home win until Nov. 25 when they host New Orleans. They’ve lost all four home games this season and their final two last season after a Nov. 19, 2006 victory against St. Louis.
Even if you factor in road games, the Panthers haven’t had a win since Oct. 14 (at Arizona) and they’ve lost three in a row. At 4-5, they’re tied with the Saints for second in the NFC South and trail Tampa Bay (5-4) by a game.
But with a sputtering offense that didn’t even know if Testaverde would be able to play until just before game time, there’s not a lot of positive momentum, and the speculation about coach John Fox and general manager Marty Hurney being on the hot seat is likely to grow.
The Falcons (3-6) have problems of their own, but they found a way to score two offensive touchdowns. For the first time in 45 games, the Falcons opened a game with a touchdown on their first drive. Carolina’s defense then settled down and kept the Panthers in the game until the end.
The Panthers, who were without Jake Delhomme (out for the season with an elbow injury) and backup David Carr (sidelined by two concussions in a short time), managed 235 yards of total offense. Testaverde completed 13 of 28 passes for 153 yards.
Carolina’s only touchdown came when Ken Lucas returned a fumble 27 yards in the second quarter. The only time the offense came close to scoring a touchdown was early in the second quarter when Steve Smith caught a pass near the goal line, but fumbled into the end zone for a touchback.
“I support my offense,” Jenkins said. “Next question.”
But the offense couldn’t support itself. The Panthers averaged 4.0 yards per offensive play and 3.2 yards on their running plays.
“The defense put us in some good position,” Testaverde said. “Offensively, we just couldn’t put the points on the board to help this team win a game.”
Testaverde was sacked twice and rookie Matt Moore came on to throw an interception on the game’s last play. The inconsistency in the running game has been going on for two seasons, but the more troubling trend might be Carolina’s inability to get the ball into Smith’s hands.
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Carr, Testaverde play the waiting game over Oct. 28 start
CHARLOTTE - If the Carolina Panthers have a difficult decision to make at quarterback, you wouldn’t know it from listening to Vinny Testaverde and David Carr on Wednesday.
They’re the two at the center of speculation and fan sentiment that’s sure to drag out for at least another week. With his team on its bye week, coach John Fox has declined to say if Carr or Testaverde will be the starter Oct. 28 when the Panthers host Indianapolis (5-0).
If Carr and Testaverde know anything, they’re not saying, but both have been around long enough to know they’re the talk of the town.
“That’s what this is all for, the circus,” Carr said. “When you guys (in the media) make that decision, let me know. I’ll be on the edge of my seat, I’m sure.”
Fans might have to stay on the edge of their seats, too, because it’s possible Fox doesn’t know which quarterback he’ll choose.
A week after signing, Testaverde said he’s still learning the playbook. Carr’s still trying to get his back healthy after the Oct. 7 game.
The Panthers don’t have to announce an injury report during the bye week, but Carr, who sat out Sunday’s victory in Arizona, sounded optimistic.
“I would say that there is a 100 percent chance that I’ll be ready for Indy,” he said.
That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll get the start. Testaverde’s performance in Sunday’s 25-10 victory has fueled speculation the Panthers might put their offense into the hands of a 43-year-old who was unemployed a week ago
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Vinny Testaverde is my new hero, too. Don’t get me wrong about that. Yo, Vinny, you da man, and all that.But what does it say about the competitive state of the NFL when a 43-year-old athletic geezer can walk in off the street on Wednesday, grab a Carolina Panthers playbook that afternoon, practice a couple of days and then direct a 25-10 road win on Sunday? Something’s gone completely haywire at what’s supposed to be the highest level of football.
Oh, sure, I realize that the win was over the Arizona Cardinals, a bad team when they were in St. Louis, bad when they were in Chicago and probably will be just as bad when they someday wind up in another locale.
It’s also a fact that the Cardinals were playing with lost quarterback luggage, too. When Kurt Warner didn’t last a full quarter, Tim Rattay had to relieve, and the Panthers’ defense more or less got the rest of the afternoon off. Even so, the Cardinals still had most of the same players who had helped the team win three of five earlier games.
Ask yourself this: Could Testaverde, working under the same circumstances, have led Kentucky to a win over LSU on Saturday? I don’t think so. I don’t think he could have done it even if he could have taken the Panthers’ offensive line along with him.
I’m not saying that college football is better than the NFL, but college offenses are more diverse and often much more difficult to execute.
In a way, it’s a tribute to the Panthers’ offensive system that Testaverde could adjust so quickly. But it says just as much about the relative uniformity of all offensive systems in the NFL.
For years, the NFL has been a closed strategical universe. Almost every team in the league attempts to execute the same plays with similar personnel. Offensively, it’s all about power running and pocket passing. Most teams have one speed receiver, one possession receiver and one running back that specializes in catching swing passes.
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Undrafted rookie QB in line for possible Sunday snaps behind Carr, Testaverde
Until last Sunday, Matt Moore was the Carolina Panthers’ Other Quarterback, the young guy that often was dressing nearby while the media crowded around Jake Delhomme and David Carr.
But there have been changes along quarterback row.
Delhomme is lost for the season, and Carr is recovering from a back injury, although he is expected to play Sunday at Arizona. The team also picked up 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde this week, who is two decades older than Moore.
Still, Moore is suddenly in the mix, taking snaps with the first team this week along with Testaverde, because there is no one else to do so. If called upon Sunday, Moore says he will serve.
“I think I could do the job,” said Moore, whose brief work against New Orleans included a 43-yard completion. “I think I’d be able to manage the offense and put us in positions we want to be in.”
Although Carr and Testaverde likely would play ahead of Moore, the surprise is that he was even asked the question.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” Moore said. “But I’ve learned, and so many people have told me things change in this league pretty quickly. I’m kind of just going along for the ride right now and trying to get myself where I need to be if I need to play this week.”
For Moore, it’s been a long yet rather quick trip. A California boy, he signed with UCLA, but dropped out of the Bruins’ plans when he injured as a sophomore.
Moore started 24 games for the Oregon State Beavers, finishing fourth on the school passing-yardage list and earning all-Pac-10 honorable mention as a senior.
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Carolina begins season with decisive victory over St. Louis / Using a stifling run defense and an all-around productive and balanced offense, Carolina dominates St. Louis on the road
ST. LOUIS - For almost the entire exhibition season, the Carolina Panthers looked like a football team in trouble.
“I know there were people out there thinking we wouldn’t win a game just because we lost three games in the preseason,” defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said.
Using the kind of offensive balance and defensive firepower that didn’t exist a year ago, the Panthers defeated the St. Louis Rams 27-13 at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday.
“I don’t know if people understand how huge it is to start the season fast with a win,” defensive end Mike Rucker said.
The team that didn’t look like much in exhibition games looked like a completely different one in the regular-season opener.
Reality might be somewhere in the middle.
“We didn’t just win the Super Bowl,” Jenkins said. “We just won the first game.”
The victory silences, at least for a week, the whispers that quarterback Jake Delhomme might be on his way out of the starting lineup, that coach John Fox might be on the hot seat and that linebacker Dan Morgan’s career might be over.
Delhomme, Fox and Morgan are just fine.
“We had a good team game,” Fox said.
Carolina’s defense, complete with two safeties who have worked with the first team for only a couple of weeks, went into one of the league’s most hostile environments and shut down what was supposed to be one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses.
With Morgan returning at middle linebacker after sitting out nearly a year with concussion problems, the Panthers held Steven Jackson, who didn’t play much at all during the exhibitions, to 58 yards rushing (on 18 carries) and quarterback Marc Bulger to 167 passing yards.
Early in the fourth quarter, the St. Louis fans were booing their team. By the end of the game, they were silent.
Bulger was sacked once but constantly hurried, and Jackson lost two fumbles, the most significant coming with the Panthers trailing 13-7 early in the third quarter.
Safety Chris Harris, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bears in early August, came up to make a hit as Jackson turned the corner.
“I hit him pretty solid,” Harris said. “I didn’t even know he fumbled it. The next thing I knew I saw everybody scrambling around me for the ball.”
Full Story: News & Observer
So which Carolina Panthers receiver eventually will start opposite Steve Smith?Before training camp opened, the position seemed likely to be filled by second-round draft pick Dwayne Jarrett. But camp has seen Drew Carter and Keary Colbert get virtually all of the first-team snaps. Carter has drawn the assignment in both exhibitions.
“I think Drew and Keary have been very competitive in what they’ve been doing,” receivers coach Richard Williamson said Wednesday. “We keep Drew outside. We’ve had Drew inside some but not as much. Keary is a little bit more used to being inside than Drew.
“When we have all three, we usually put Keary inside. And so far, it’s worked OK. We’ve just got to get better at what we’re doing.”
What about Jarrett, who at 6 feet 4 was supposed to be the big target to complement Smith?
“Dwayne is coming along,” Williamson said. “I think he’s not quite as far along as those two guys at this point; he missed three or four days when he had that pulled hamstring. And for a young guy to miss, there’s a lot of catching up you have to do. He’s working at it; he had a pretty good game the other night.”
INJURY UPDATE: Linebacker Na’il Diggs (hamstring) appeared to be recovered last week and played Friday against the Philadelphia Eagles, but he is out of practice again this week.
“He came back, but he tweaked it a little bit, so we’re just being very cautious,” coach John Fox said.
Also missing practice with thigh injuries were linebacker Brandon Jamison and receiver Justin McCullum.
IN CAMP MODE: Fox was asked if his team was doing much game planning for the New England Patriots, who will play Carolina in an exhibition on Friday night at Bank of America Stadium
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