Carolina Panthers Hump Day Prognostication (Tampa Bay Buccaneers edition)

Happy hump day Panther faithful! I like Wednesdays, I always have. For a football fan the day is particularly forgiving. I don't know the intimate details of how grieving works, but I do know that my disappointment from Sunday, which normally manifests itself as anger around Monday has become accepted by Wednesday. This is the time I start to get excited about Sunday's game. I know many fans these days will say something akin to ‘How can you be excited about this team?' well, it's simple. At times like this I dig deep, reflect on the team and remember the past summer when all there was available was baseball. It drastically helps put things in perspective and be thankful I have football, any football, to watch on Sunday.

The Carolina Panthers (4-7) are at home to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-10) and though the Bucs are having a poor season, if you're a fan of them you have a lot to be hopeful for; Josh Freeman looks like the real deal. These division matchups are always tough; there are no easy wins in the NFC South, so let's break it down.

More after the jump...

Let me preface today's article by saying that I understand Jake Delhomme is listed as ‘day to day' with his broken finger, and that no official announcement has been made appointing Matt Moore the starter for Sunday's game. However, I'm operating under the assumption Moore will be the starter on Sunday.

I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous about this game- really nervous. When that happens on a Wednesday I know I'll be a wreck by Sunday. It's not about the prospect of a win or a loss, but it's about the future of the franchise. I know I'm probably being a little hyperbolic, but I am fascinated to see how Matt Moore does. I am aware it will take more than one start to evaluate if he can be ‘the man'; I've even said people shouldn't put too much stock in this start. That being said, if Moore is able to look like an NFL starter then the notion that we have a 25 year old starting QB waiting in the wings it very exciting. Nothing would make me happier than to have Moore be the answer and us not needing to draft a QB. We're a team so close to greatness that I would love being able to use our 2^nd and 3^rd round picks on a WR or DL to fill our few gaps (maybe we can draft a good OC! I kid, Jeff Davidson).

Tampa Bay run offense vs. Carolina run defense.

Offense of any kind has been hard to come by for the Buccaneers, let alone rushing offense. Cadillac Williams is having a resurgence, but they still lack a RB that can average over 4 ypc. The run hasn't been a priority to Tampa Bay as their 2.5:1 pass/run ratio shows, though some of this can be attributed to being forced to throw when down on the scoreboard.

The Panthers' run defense has been up and down in 2009, but mostly down. That being said, I just don't see Williams or Ward having a breakout game against us.

Edge: Carolina

 -

Tampa Bay passing offense vs. Carolina passing defense

As I mentioned before, Josh Freeman looks like the real deal. He currently has 793 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT in 4 starts. His 75.4 QB rating is better than Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez thus far. He's been a very pleasant early surprise when most people thought he would be a few years away from being NFL ready.

Freeman is a big QB at 6'6", but he's also got a bad case of fumble-it is, fumbling the ball 7 times in his 4 starts. It will be incumbent upon Julius Peppers to get after him early, and often. Freeman tends to hold onto the ball a little too long and make normal rookie errors, we need to hold a magnifying glass to those mistakes and take him out of his element.

Carolina's pass defense remains one of the best in the league, and I don't think that will change on Sunday.

Edge: Carolina

-

Carolina run offense vs. Tampa Bay run defense

Despite the down week in the Meadowlands I think we all know how good our running game is. We've had the Bucs number the last few outings on the ground, and I don't think that changes any time soon.

Edge: Carolina

-

KEY MATCHUP- Carolina passing offense vs. Tampa Bay passing defense

Here it is, Matt Moore's time to shine. People have been saying all week that ‘this will be the perfect game for Moore to start'. On a superficial level I can understand why it would appear that way, we're at home, against a 1-10 team, and one who we know very well. However, Tampa Bay have the 11^th ranked pass defense in the NFL and have several ball hawks on defense ready to get INTs.

The pressure on Moore will be sky high. At home he'll have an entire stadium wondering if he can be ‘the man' and I'm hoping he's able to temper that pressure and just play solid, mistake free football... even if he only throws the ball 5 times. Check that, I hope he only throws 5 times... I don't think they can stop our run.

Edge: Tampa Bay

-

Special Teams

Oh special teams... you've been better the last few weeks, but definitely not good enough to give you the edge this week; especially when the Bucs are allowing only 19.7 yards per return.

Edge: Tampa Bay

-

Coaching

The coaching schemes last week vs. the Jets should have worked, and the right calls were made for the most part but the players couldn't execute. Raheem Morris is a rookie coach still trying to find his groove in the league and with his team.

Edge: Carolina

 -

Summation

I will be nervous all week with the anticipation of seeing the Matt Moore run offense. While I think he might have a rough day out on Sunday I think our running game will dominate enough to take some of the pressure off him. Tampa Bay are in a rebuilding year, no doubt, and while they played Atlanta very hard last week ultimately I think we get the better of them on Sunday.

Carolina Panthers 17 - Tampa bay Buccaneers 10