Fox loves him too much to bench him against Zona — he will give Delhomme the chance to redeem himself for what happened last year.

And who knows, maybe if Delhomme leads us to a 31-13 win against the Cards that he will suddenly climb out of this funk he’s been in and return to “2003 Jake”. (Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.)

But seriously, I don’t look for Moore to start unless we are 2-6 when Atlanta comes to town (and that might even be a stretch). Do I like it? No — but at the same time I am being a realist and seeing that Fox would rather go down in flames with “his guy” than give Moore a shot. If he were willing to give Moore a chance to show what he’s got, he would have done so by now.

James – great write-up as usual. Also, a special nod to the South Park reference there ;) “All is fair in love and war…and coffee.”

Anyways, I suspect Jake will start. It would great to see him redeem himself against the Cards – especially against the Cards. I literally had to read the part of where our pass defense is first in the league, considering we don’t have that many INTs – but I suppose against the anemic pass offenses that we’ve seen, it stands to reason the stats would be skewed in our favor.

I do look to our defense to step in big again though. Hopefully a lesson was garnered from last years playoff game – shadow Fitzgerald. With Meeks’ system though – it will be interesting to see how we shut down the WRs’ routes.

Fitz better not have a monster game again. Three times doing the same thing would be unreal. Although with a new system it would probably be different anyway.

…but I’ll do it as respectfully as possible, because I really like your in-depth take on things and the optimism you so often bring.

First, let’s talk about Carolina’s rushing attack vs. Arizona’s run defense. I give the edge to Arizona. They’re not going to fear Delhomme. He’s self-destructed far too many times this year…as well as the playoff meltdown against them. We return all the same starters from last year. So they’ve seen us and know what to prepare for to defend us. They’ve improved their run defense last year…and, as you noted, they’re #1 in the league and it’s confirmed against some pretty good running teams and RBs. So, despite the optimism of what Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart could accomplish if everything went Carolina’s way and Jeff Davidson call a higher percentage of running plays, I just don’t see it happening for the Panthers on the ground. Arizona will stack the box. They’ll challenge Delhomme (whom I also expect to start…albeit with a short leash)…and, until he actually hurts them through the air and gets Carolina a lead, I don’t see Arizona departing from that kind of defensive game plan against us. After they stop Williams and Stewart and force us into punting the ball away…and assuming their high-powered offense manages to get a lead on our defense…they’ll put us in the same spot everyone else has so far this season…i.e., with Jake Delhomme forced to throw the ball to preserve clock and try to bring his team from behind. And, right now, we can all see that’s a recipe for disaster. Arizona knows it. Hence, they’re playing a one-dimensional team. And our offense will self-destruct as we try and run it into a buzzsaw defense. Edge: Arizona

Next, I agree with you about the Panthers’ passing offense vs. Arizona’s pass defense. Though they’re 29th against the pass, we’re dead last in turnovers…and particularly bad in pick-six INTs. So their weakness vs. our weakness still gives them the edge. Turnovers are far more costly. The Panthers have exactly 0 TDs to their WRs. Only the TEs have contributed to the scoreboard in that regard. So again, we’ve got far too many problems in that area than Arizona has on defense. Plus, as long as they stop our run-on-1st-down, run-on-2nd-down playcalls, they’ll have us in pass-on-3rd-and-long, which again plays to their advantage, because they can blitz fairly effectively. And we have a QB that doesn’t do well when pressured in the pocket, particularly on 3rd and long. Edge: Arizona

Next up, let’s talk about Arizona’s rushing offense vs. Carolina’s run defense. I agree we’re much stouter now than we were at the beginning of the season. I chalk that up to “the Hollis Effect,” too. A big DT does wonders for run defense. But, running the ball isn’t Arizona’s focus. So, although we have a strength in this area, our LBs and safeties are going to have to be far more concerned about covering the middle of the field than coming up in run support. By the time Arizona starts running the ball at us, it’ll only be because they already have the lead courtesy of their passing offense…or points put on the board by their special teams or defense. Edge: Carolina (but it won’t matter)

Lastly, let’s examine the Arizona passing offense vs. Carolina’s secondary. Quite frankly, we’re in trouble here. With the exception of Ken Lucas, we’ve got the same exact secondary who couldn’t stop Arizona in the playoffs last year. Although they’ll be motivated to provide a different performance, Arizona will be playing at home. They’re already firing on all cylinders. They come into this game with their confidence sky-high, not only because of our recent failings, but also because of their recent successes (e.g., vs. the Giants). Secondly, our defensive ranking against the pass is completely misleading. Opponents haven’t had to pass on us, because they’re either gashing our run defense (early in the season) or they’re working with a short field courtesy of our offense turning it over (see the Buffalo game), or they’re playing with a lead because of big plays (due to special teams or INT returns). So, we’re in big trouble here, because Arizona will use the pass to setup the run. It also gives them the ability to put up points quickly. And that seems to panic our coaching staff and make them get away from a reasonable game plan to beat opponents. Edge: Arizona

Now, I know I said “lastly” on the last paragraph, but I think you also need to rate a couple of other important elements in our games from this point forward in the season. What about Arizona’s special teams vs. Carolina’s special teams? I’ve got no confidence in the Panthers on that side of the ball. Edge: Arizona

In addition, what about Arizona’s coaching staff vs. Carolina’s coaching staff? I’ve lost a lot of confidence in the gameplanning of John Fox’s staff, the playcalling from Jeff Davidson, and any ability on Carolina’s part to make the proper adjustments at half-time to beat what opponents are trying to do to us on the field. Edge: Arizona

You stack all that up, and we’re way behind on having much of a chance to show well…much less win…this game. For a lot of those reasons, I think it’s the wrong time to start Matt Moore or A.J. Feeley. I think it’s also important to see if Jake musters any kind of grit and determination again not only to exorcise the demons of the Buffalo game, but also the playoff loss to Arizona. If he’s totally lackluster again…even in the middle of the game…I say we yank him. But for the time being, you start him and see how much he…and the team…responds.

But that’s just my two-cents,
—Neil

Either we lose 41-10 (a la the Eagles game) or Jake doesnt suck as much as usual and Arizona makes a mistake or two and we win 27-24 on a late Kasay FG.