Photo credit to Flickr user Matt Trostle
The person that should be the most offended by this? Matt Moore
Matt Moore has patiently waited for his chance and backed up the Panther’s quarterbacks for a good bit now. The one time that Moore had the chance to play, he actually did a pretty good job. Far better than Jake has done this year. Then again, Ryan Leaf was never as bad as Jake has been this year.
If the Panthers think that Moore is worse than Delhomme, then Moore should stand up and ask for a trade to go elsewhere. The kid has a great arm, but most importantly he is a competitor. The players respond to him, and he is always spoke highly of. Why in the world would the Panthers not take this chance to see what the kid is made of? It boggles the mind.
My only guess is that Hurney and Fox are trying to end their Panther’s career for certain. It seems a shame because Fox has been a pretty darn good coach for the majority of his time here. The same goes for Delhomme. What is truly interesting to see is if Delhomme steps aside to save the Panthers all that dough they shoveled his way for a five year extension in the off season. Right…. That will happen.
It looks like all is not well in Panther land. Get ready for a tough week against the Cardinals. This was the team that Jake struggled against initially last year in the playoffs. I do see Carolina upsetting them, but it will have nothing to do with Jake. I think the Cards will overlook the Panthers and that Smith will have a big game in spite of who is throwing him the football. The odds are simply in his favor. Also, the great DeAngelo Williams should have a decent week as well. The Panthers defense has been on fire the last three weeks, and showed up big time in the loss against Buffalo. The only reason Buffalo scored was due to Delhomme setting them up time and again.
It seems almost premature to consider either Buffalo or Carolina as an NFL contender, yet this Sunday’s matchup has the feel of a season changing game. Both Buffalo and Carolina are fighting to get on the plus side of .500. Buffalo began the season 1-4 before finally winning a big game against the New York Jets last week. Carolina started the season 0-3 but has now won two straight games while suddenly finding their running game. This match up will go a long ways towards determining which direction these teams will go in 2009.
The Buffalo Bills certainly have their work cut out for them as they will be playing without their starting quarterback, Trent Edwards. Edwards was knocked out of the New York Jets game early and suffered a severe concussion. Replacing him will be Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is known for being a ball control quarterback without much ball control.
While the Buffalo Bills certainly have a decent running attack with Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, they really need to find a way to get the ball to their superstar receivers. Both Terrell Owens and Lee Evans have been thrust into the decoy role and have become virtual non-factors in most of Buffalo’s games. The Panthers secondary can certainly be exploited if Fitzpatrick can get the ball out quickly. That may be easier said than done with the Panthers defense suddenly waking up the last few weeks. Julius Peppers has been an absolute terror the last two weeks with four sacks, and the entire defense has been producing turnovers.
Likewise, the Buffalo Bills defense has shown a nose for the ball as well. The Bills secondary picked off six passes against the New York Jets. Given that the Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme tends to throw the ball to the other team, this could be an area where the Bills can have an impact.
While Jake may have a problem passing the football, the Panthers are not likely to throw it very often. With DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart running the football, head coach John Fox would be a moron to throw the ball except when absolutely necessary. If the Panthers stick to the game plan for controlling the clock with a powerful running game, the Bills likely will have no chance. Look for Williams and Stewart to completely dominate the football game from start to finish. The Panthers will control the clock and win going away.
Atlanta Falcon Running Back Michael Turner - Image Credited to Wikipedia User Jesse Staples
Carolina Panthers – the Carolina Panthers were on most everyone’s list of teams in the NFC that were expected to do quite well this season. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart had such impressive statistics in 2008 that it became quite difficult to ignore them any longer. Going into 2009, Williams and Stewart knew that they would be facing not only teams stacking the run, but the second toughest schedule in the entire NFL. Thus far, the Panthers running game has been derailed primarily because quarterback Jake Delhomme has been unable to throw the ball to his own team. In spite of the horrible quarterback play so far, the Panthers find themselves with a two-game winning streak and are a win at Buffalo away from being at .500.
what is even more telling about the Panthers is that Williams and Stewart are beginning to show signs of exploding. In week six game against Tampa Bay, Williams rushed for two touchdowns on 150+ yards rushing while Stewart had one touchdown and also broke the century mark. This marked the first time either running back had topped 100 yards in a game this season. Granted, the Bucs are far from top level competition. Still it is clear that these two running backs have yet to show the best they have to offer in 2009. This makes Carolina a team to look out for in the weeks to come.
Green Bay Packers - The Packers have actually been rather good so far this season. In particular, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been lights out in his second year under center for the pack. The Packers have suffered a good bit of injuries as well as some unfortunate luck to start the season slow. Most everyone that follows NFL football would concede that the Packers are a candidate to explode at any time.
San Francisco 49ers - San Francisco has been a team that has surprised everyone, and so imagining them improving might be a stretch. The reason for San Francisco getting better is simply about one player — Michael Crabtree. The first-round draft pick up the San Francisco 49ers is set to make his NFL debut during week seven after finally signing with the team. If the 49ers were able to perform as well as they have without him, it stands to reason that they should be even better with him. Crabtree is a special player and should be a great playmaker for the 49ers.
Dallas Cowboys - Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys have been pretty much a train wreck in 2009. It seems that every single week the Cowboys find a new way to put questions in the minds of the NFL experts. In particular, Tony Romo has not played up to expectations to say the least. In some ways this may actually benefit the Cowboys. With the emergence of wide receiver Miles Austin, the Cowboys now have a certified playmaker to take the heat off of Roy Williams and Romo. It remains to be seen whether the Cowboys can put it all together, but their talent level is simply too high to continue on the same track.
Atlanta Falcons - The Atlanta Falcons are currently in second place in the NFC South trailing only the undefeated New Orleans Saints. While they are winning football games, they are not doing so in the way in which they were expected to. The running game with Michael Turner has not been up to par this season. This is primarily a problem because Atlanta is definitely a running football team. On the bright side, quarterback Matt Ryan and free-agent signing Tony Gonzalez have developed a very special passing connection. As the season wears on, it is only a matter of time before Turner and that Atlanta offensive line start to gel. When they do the Falcons may not play second fiddle to anyone.
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Photo Credited to Wikipedia User Aquamelli
In week six action, the New Orleans Saints made a clear statement to the entire NFL that they just might be the best. It would be difficult for any team to claim otherwise, with the possible exception of the Vikings. The Saints took the New York Giants and simply abused them, beating them soundly and shredding that vaunted New York defense. Drew Brees is the clear MVP so far this season in my eyes.
Atlanta kept pace with the Saints by squeaking by the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football. The Falcons looked great at times, but they did show some signs of weakness. Matt Ryan sure looked like the superstar everyone has said that he is, calmly leading a late drive to down the Bears after Cutler had led them back.
The Carolina Panthers took down the Tampa Bay Bucs with ease, in spite of the close score. Were it not for the horrible play of quarterback Jake Delhomme, the Panthers likely would have won by twenty. What is really exciting for the Panthers is the return of Double Trouble. Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams had huge days with both players scoring and both breaking that 100 yd barrier. Williams went over 150 with two touchdowns.
The Bucs are still fighting to win a game in 2009, but still put up a good fight against the Panthers. They are still probably a year away from any kind of real success.
The Saints face Miami in week seven, while Atlanta faces Dallas. The Panthers face the Bills, and hope to even up their record at 3-3. The poor Bucs must travel to London, England to face the red hot New England Patriots in week seven action.
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Maybe Delhomme Should Have Warmed Up More (Pic credited to Flickr User Matt Trostle)
Trying to put your finger on what went wrong with the Carolina Panthers on opening day Sunday is not very hard to do. Your finger will slowly raise up in front of you and point squarely in the direction of Jake Delhomme. The Cajun was simply horrific and brought back memories the Panthers had wanted to forget. Last season the Panthers watched a 12-4 regular season come tumbling down with each interception that Delhomme threw against the Cardinals. In a matter of moments, the Panthers season was over. Sunday’s opening day massacre against Philadelphia had much the same flavor, and once again the flavor was spicy…Cajun spicy.
During the entire offseason I defended Jake. Even as I watched the Panthers sign him to a five year contract worth more money than some cities see in a year, I stood up and reminded folks of all the games the fiery Delhomme had led us to wins in. I reminded everybody of the Super Bowl game where he magically looked like the mirror image of every great quarterback in history. I reminded them that he had won 54 games since taking over for the Panthers, which places him among the game’s elite. Then Sunday happened… Again.
The Panther haters said that Jake would stink. They said that he would cost the Panthers the game. They said he was an average quarterback at best. They lied. He was no where near average.
In perhaps the worst quarterback performance since…well since anybody, Jake Delhomme made the Panthers look like the worst team in history. Do not get me wrong. The Panthers offensive line did not do him any favors. He had Eagles flying in his face all day long, thanks to a defense that was blitzing every single play. The coaching staff did not do much to help out either. They threw their first screen pass at least four sacks into the game, long after the game was decided. How can you slow down the rush? Throw screen passes to the best player in the game – DeAngelo Williams. Make not mistake, however, the game was completely and squarely on the shoulders of Jake.
I am finally ready to say that the Panthers made a horrible mistake signing Delhomme to a multi-year lucrative contract. The move was pretty much a killer on the whole, and that is not based only on Sunday. Delhomme has not been the same for years. Yes, he led the Panthers to 12 wins in 08. How many of those wins was won in spite of Delhomme’s performance however? The Panthers are a team that is loaded with talent. They can overcome a great deal of problems. Even the talented Panthers could not overcome Delhomme this week. When you personally give the other team no less than 24 points, the game is pretty much over. Especially a top notch team like Philadelphia.
So where do the Panthers go from here? Who lines up under center? You have to know it will be Delhomme. Knowing Jake, he will come back in the next game and play fantastically. That or the great Steve Smith will carry him on his shoulders once again, and make Jake appear like he is better than he is. Whatever the case, the Panthers have way too much money invested in Delhomme to sit him. Moving forward, they are going to find themselves in an increasingly nasty situation. Jake must play, and he knows it. Even Jake does not seem too anxious to do that right now. He looks like a deer caught squarely in the headlights.
