The Panthers suffered their first loss of the 2008 season at the hands of the Vikings this past Sunday. My initial reaction was that there was little positive to review and after digging in to the game stats it appears my initial reaction was right on the money. Consequently my weekly report card for the Panthers is going to reflect the poor performance the Panthers demonstrated. Let's get started:

Rushing Offense:           Grade C

The Panthers did little running the ball against a stout Viking front seven. RB's DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart rushed for 42 yards combined on 17 carries for a 2.4 average, definitely not impressive. Yet I find myself not faulting it too much because the Panthers preferred to throw the ball early and never committed to the run at any point. I think the offensive play calling is as much to blame for the lack of rushing success as the players themselves. When you continue week after week running the same running plays the defense does actually pick up on which gaps to rush.

Passing Offense:           Grade F

Against the Vikings the Panthers passing game had the perfect storm of poor pass protection and inaccurate passes. When QB Jake Delhomme did have time to throw he was mostly off on any plays that might have made big gains. When the WR's were open the pass blocking broke down one count too soon. It's hard to pin this one strictly on Jake or the front line; getting less than two hundred yards passing is bad no matter what defense you are playing. When you combine that with two fumbles, 5 sacks and a TD for the other team you get the failing grade.

There's no disagreement Winfield's sack changed the game

Rushing Defense:          Grade B

The Panther defense kept star RB Adrian Peterson and his back-up Chestor Taylor held to 120 yards total and 0 TD's. It's not a complete shut down but it's a good performance against the strength of their offense. I couldn't go higher on the grade because in the 4^th quarter when the Panther defense needed a run stop they couldn't get it; allowing the FG essentially eliminating any chance of another ‘cardiac' finish. The Panther LB's continue to be the strength of this defense.

The Panthers did manage to keep RB Adrian Petersen in check

Passing Defense:           Grade D+

Let's start with the bright spot: the play of CB Chris Gamble. Gamble logged his first INT of the season which set up the Panthers lone TD and had two passes defensed. Talk about of player raising his play in a contract year. On the flip side the Panthers pass rush was a step slow in the 4^th quarter. The Panthers did record 3 sacks earlier in the game, an improvement from the first two weeks, including the first for DE Julius Peppers. It was not enough in the end to slow down back-up QB Gus Frerotte and short passing game. A new concern developed in this game as well when the Vikings successfully put rookie FS Charles Godfrey on an island against WR Bernard Berrian. Godfrey got burned a couple times and is sure to face similar situations in the weeks to come. Once again I find this the weakest aspect of the Panthers performance.

Special Teams: Grade B

The Panthers special teams actually had their best day in quite a while. If not for an untimely penalty by TE Jeff King the Panthers would have had their best kick off return in quite some time. K Rhys Lloyd continues to boom kick-offs for touchbacks and PR Mark Jones had a nice average on the day. Bets of all they did not turn the ball over.

Coaching/Game Planning:          Grade D

If there is one consistency through all three games it's the abysmal 3^rd down completion percentage. The Panthers were again under 30% going 3 for 11. Sure some of it is execution but please stop throwing these 4 yard pass plays on 3^rd & 8. I also have to question why 9 of the Panthers first 10 plays were passes instead of runs. Contrary to the previous two games the Panthers were unable to make any adjustments at the half that worked. When the Panthers tried to run the second half the Panthers could do nothing forcing the 3^rd and longs and frenzied pass rush. As pointed out in an earlier post, the Panthers play called failed to make the Viking spay for their aggressiveness.        

It's Wednesday so its time to move on to the next game, a critical NFC south match-up with the Falcons. The Panthers must defend their home turf and anything less could derail their quest towards an NFC South division title.