Panthers vs. Saints: Handing Out the Grades

by Jaxon on Oct 7, 2007 10:49 PM EDT in Panther News

The Offense:
The offense put up 16 points against a Saints defense intent on stopping the run. DeShaun Foster rarely had any running room and Steve Smith was held in check throughout the first half. David Carr showed some major grit by getting knocked from the game only to come back and lead the Panthers to a win. The offensive line played well after giving up an early sack. Though the running game was held in check the offense blocked well on passing downs.

Keary Colbert had a nice game with four catches, two of which were key 3rd down conversions to keep scoring drives alive. Steve Smith didn’t put up the stats were used to but he had the lone Panther TD and made a key catch and stretched for a first down on the game-winning drive. Outside of an interception on a bad throw by Carr, the offense protected the ball and the QB well. They executed the plays well enough to mount drives late in the game as the defense provided extra opportunity. In the end there was little flash; only workmen like performance by the Panthers. Offense Grade: B+

The Defense:
The defense came to play and took advantage of every mistake Drew Brees made. They kept Reggie Bush in check though Bush and the Saints out gained the Panthers in total yards by a wide margin. Outside of one TD pass to Devery Henderson the Panthers prevented the big play. John Beason got the start at MLB and Na’il Diggs moved back into the WLB spot. The two played a big part in keeping Bush and the TE Eric Johnson in check. Chris Harris also had a big day with an interception and some big hits. Richard Marshall put on a show early with an INT and a tackle for loss. Though the Panthers didn’t register a sack they were Brees face all afternoon and made sure he heard footsteps. It looks like this defense is finally finding an identity. Defense grade: A-

Special Teams:
In the end it was special team play that finally weighed in on a positive note. Julius Peppers supplied his biggest play of the season to date with a blocked field goal and John Kasay hit a 52 yard FG as time expired for the win. Though the return game again produced little the coverage was on the money. There were no long returns by the Saints. Special Team Grade: A-

Poll

The Panthers Game MVP in the win over the Saints was:

Richard Marshall

2 votes

Julius Peppers

9 votes

DeShaun Foster

0 votes

Steve Smith

3 votes

Keary Colbert

2 votes

David Carr

8 votes

Kris Jenkins

0 votes

Jon Beason

16 votes

Chris Harris

1 votes

41 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

the game

The bottom line is we got a win. AJ said he didn't see how we could make the playoffs. We won, but the game actually led me to agreeing more with him. It's going to take more effort than that to beat Arizona next week. We'll see if we can put together a small win streak next week, and then maybe build some confidence.

David Carr has always been tough and a very accurate passer. I really don't know why he struggles at times, but hopefully he continues to improve. It helps that Colbert has already tripled last year's yardage total.

We got some interceptions, and now if the sacks start rolling in, we'll be onto something good.

However, 13 yds a kick return for Williams and Smith returning punts is ridiculous. Is Ryne Robinson hurt?

by usana_gaines on Oct 8, 2007 7:15 AM EDT reply actions

It was a nice win

but its obvious the Panthers need to play better to reach the playoffs. Drew Brees played pretty poor for the most part and the Saints dropped the ball more than the Panthers. Punt and LO returns are still a problem for sure. One encouraging thing is I saw Delhomme throwing on the side and he didn't show any discomfort. Maybe he'll be back soon. I'm ok with Carr against 'Zona but I want Jake back for Indy.

by Jaxon on Oct 8, 2007 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

The spector of low expectations

Since I am unable to actually see the games, I hardly feel qualified to comment on them. I try to follow the live game using the NFL Game Center, reading Jaxon's comments, and the Observor game forum. Then I rely on Jaxon's post-game reporting and the usually inadequate reporting on the Observor to wrap it up.

Jaxon, with that cavaet, it seems your grades are over-inflated, by at least one grade level. Even using the bottom 8 in the NFL as a reference point. The stunner is the defense rated A-, though they had their moments. I am normally an optimistic person and don't dwell on negatives, but the most defining sequence for the defense was their utter inability, when the game was on the line, to stop the over 10-minute march of the Saints from their own 5-yard line to the Carolina 2-yard line. This amazing 93-yard drive of about 25 plays included 5 third-down conversions and 2(!!) fourth-down conversions. And even more important, this impotency was displayed when they were already down by 7 points. Another touchdown, and perhaps even a field goal, would have sunk whatever slim chances the Panthers had to win the game.

I honestly feel the Saints contributed more to the Panthers' win than did the Panthers themselves. I saw/heard nothing that gave me any hope for much more than a 6-10 season, if that.

by A J on Oct 8, 2007 2:58 PM EDT reply actions

Based it on points

13 is pretty good. Now, when I consider the fact of how poorly the Saints played then you're right, the grade is too high. The Panthers also gave up too many yards to them. But in the end, I was swayed by the emotion they showed in the 2nd half. David Carr's return provided a spark and then the Peppers block was huge. There's a lot of negative you could pull from this game there was a lot positive too. I gave them an A+ for emotion. I'm not feeling too good about my 11-5 prediction right now but I'm not at 6-10 either. If we keep playing like we did Sunday we'll be in most of our games, Indy & Dallas withstanding.

by Jaxon on Oct 8, 2007 7:29 PM EDT up reply actions