Panther Paw Prints - Dolphins Loss Edition

This edition of Paw Prints has the sour taste of a loss all over it. Let's take our medicine Panther fans.

Key Moments - CharlotteObserver.com
Facing third-and-goal from the Miami 7, the Panthers fail to convert a third consecutive pass play, leading to a field goal. Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter beats left tackle Travelle Wharton to sack Jake Delhomme, who's previous two passes from the 7 were incomplete.

This is the series causing all the heat on OC Jeff Davison. 1st and goal and we attempt to throw the ball three times? He will be hearing abouth this one for a while. My second biggest concern from this loss was the continued poort play from our kick coverage, which gets an unearned 'C' grade from the Observor.

Panthers Report Card - CharlotteObserver.com
SPECIAL TEAMS Grade: C Comment: Miami's superb kickoff returner Ted Ginn Jr. had a big day against a Carolina kickoff unit that has struggled much of the season. Ginn had returns of 37 and 48 yards. Panthers punt returner Captain Munnerlyn let a punt go without a fair catch that wound up costing the Panthers quite a few yards. Punter Jason Baker appeared to shank a low punt near the end of the first half. It went only 34 yards and resulted in a 22-yard return. Baker bounced back and later had a punt downed at the 7. Carolina rookie Tyrell Sutton looked sharp as a kickoff returner. He had returns of 31 andd 29 yards.

Munnerlyn has let too many balls hit the ground this year resulting lost yardage; another issue I blame on coaching.

The players lost to injury is being felt too.

Dolphins outplay both Panthers' lines - CharlotteObserver.com
On Porter's second sack, Wharton appeared to be interfered with by fullback Tony Fiammetta. Wharton angrily stalked off the field after the play. "Early on, we were a bit of a new offensive line in there," said Panthers coach John Fox. "Once, we got picked off by our running back, our left tackle (Wharton) did. "But we settled down and our protection got a little better as the game wore on. Unfortunately, we came up a little short."

From the land of the obvious here's another one:

Delhomme, Smith not the same duo - CharlotteObserver.com
Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith were once one of the NFL's telepathic quarterback-wide receiver duos, seemingly able to read each others' minds on the fly. That ability comes and goes nowadays, like a cell phone call with inconsistent reception.

Inconsistent reception? More like the call was never completed period... Scott found five things from this loss he didn't like...only five? 

Scott Says ...: 5 things I didn't like in loss to Miami
. Defensive pressure and tackling. The Panthers’ defense gave up three touchdowns to Ricky Williams, who is a good back, yes. But he’s also 32 years old and wasn’t good enough to start in Miami until Ronnie Brown got hurt. Yet Williams was nearly unstoppable and broke off a 46-yard run that was the play of the game with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter. Plus, Carolina never sacked Chad Henne.

Fox speaks:

Playoff hopes dashed for Carolina Panthers? - CharlotteObserver.com
"I think there's a lot of fight in that room," he said, speaking of his players in the locker room. "There's still a lot of football left to be played and we're in no way or stretch out of it." But there's no doubt this one hurt the Panthers deeply. "Those guys fought hard," said Fox. "I'm disappointed for them."

Mathmatically we are still in it sure, but just like going 0-4 int he preseason, 4-6 doesn't give us much confidence they can pull it off.

Tom Talks: Marriage proposal at BofA Stadium? - CharlotteObserver.com
Third-and-1 from the Carolina 41 and the Panthers go deep to Steve Smith? What are they thinking? They're thinking that Smith will get single coverage from rookie cornerback Sean Smith. Both Smiths played at Utah. Jake Delhomme throws a nice pass and Steve Smith reaches for the ball and gets his fingers on it and - the ball falls incomplete. Sometimes a good call fails. It fails here.

2nd and 1 sure, give it a shot. 3rd and 1 on your own 40 run the ball and get the 1st down. Dumb....So even the players most optimistic outlook is 8-8?

Third-downs fin-ish off Panthers in 24-17 loss
"This is the fourth time we could have been .500 and we didn't execute enough to get there," said Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams. "I think we play well under pressure, but we can't continue to do this. Eight and eight doesn't sound like it will get us into the playoffs." "Playoff talk is something that is not even brought up," added quarterback Jake Delhomme.

Where is he getting 4 more wins I wonder?

We got another week to shake off this funk and get up to NY to shoot down the Jets!