Steelers vs. Panthers Preseason Game 4 Open Thread
by Jaxon on Sep 3, 2009 7:00 PM EDT
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PrintPittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers, Sep 3, 2009 8:00 PM EDT
Hello again my fellow Panther fans. We are about to get underway for the final preseason warm up and it can't come sooner for the Panther fateful. Tonight we should see a limited PT from the starters, at least on offense. The defense probably still has a chip on their shoulder from the 3 previous games that has yet to provide solid confidence for the defensive group.
The Steelers #1 ranked 3-4 defense should again provide a good test for the offense in the first quarter. I expect to see another good dose of rookie RB Mike 'The Goods' Goodson and back-up QB's Josh McCown, Matt Moore and Hunter Cantwell. I'm also anxious to see if WR Kenny Moore continue his good work and if his counterpart Dwayne Jarrett can finally shine.
Once the back-ups get in though it should be reckless abandon by those 'bubble' players hoping to remain on the roster. Here's a few to keep an eye on: CB/PR Captain Munnerlyn, KR Larry Beavers, LB Jeremy Leman, DE's Casper Brinkley and Hilee Taylor, T Garry Williams, DT's Nick Hayden and Marlon Favorite and new DT Louis Leonard.
This is now an Open Thread!
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Woot! Jaxon here
The Gamecocks vs the Wolfpack just kicked off. Not that I care much except most people around here fans of the Cock! Always this time of year they are so excited thinking they are going to have a good season but the cold reality of a mediocre season will soon set in!
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Of course I'll be changing the channel in an hour
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Final preseason game
Then the real test begins.
Plus I can actually be on the whole time, finally don’t have work during the panthers game. WOOT!!!! GOPANTHERS!!!!
Last chance for the Panthers to avoid being a Pre-Season version of the Detroit Lions
GO PANTHERS!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
And while I'm at it.
Boo Gamecocks! Boo!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Panthers have the ball first. Will they show starting ability?
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Jake Delivered a good ball up the middle on 2nd down. Would have been a 20 yard game, except Moose dropped it.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Panthers fail to convert on 3rd down >.>
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Special teams are a huge concern.....still.
Kickoff returned for a touchdown. Right up the middle. NO ONE IS TACKLING!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Let's recap. 3rd and out, and the offense of the Steelers didn't even have to touch the field before they scored.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Are we ever
going to have solid special teams play? Ever?
Moore had a decent return. I like this guy.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Steelers lead 7-0. The Panthers are failing right now >.>
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
It would have been a good idea. But Jake has to audible out of that play. The blitz was very obvious.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I've been saying the coverage is suspect
Fox just ran over Vincent
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Wow. Someone just got run over.
Jake needs to get rid of that ball. He’s giving up too many easy sacks. Throw the ball away Jake!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Moose is pissing me off
He even bobbled the pass he caught, now a FS
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
I've been trying to be positive all pre-season
but seriously, I’m starting to wonder if this season isn’t going to be a complete disaster. What happened over the off season?
Decent play on 2nd and 24. That wasn't a typo >.>
3rd and 15. We fail. Haha.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Screen or Draw
take ur pick – it’s 3rd down
I guess he's not trying anything fancy
but still… what’s wrong with the o-line tonight? D-Will seems like the only person who’s showed up. (Except Moore with the pretty good return)
Poor Jake
He’s had a lot of black jerseys in his face.
What a horrible 3rd down.
Pressure was brought easily. I’d say that he came through untouched, but Kylil and Vincent did manage to slap him in the wrist.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
If we head into the regular season like this....
We lose to the Eagles 14-42. We’re literally playing like the Detroit Lions lately >.>
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
OUCH!
Nick Hayden just drilled someone.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Looks like the D
is doing better, at least. Nice hit from Hayden
This annoys me.
Ever notice that every time a player makes a good play on defense that they take them out of the game?
It may be just a reward on defense for the pre-seasons, but can someone shed some light on this for me?
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
With Moore shagging punts it makes me wonder if Munnerlyn might be heading
to the PS
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Stop these stupid screen passes.
Steve Smith is not over there right now. No one else is able to make the first guy miss >.>. Now give the ball to Mike Goodson.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Let's see if Dwayne
does anything else tonight. Maybe he’s going to get it together after all?
YAY!
Good on ya Dwyane…let’s see some more of that
Nope. Just a fumble on the play. Wow
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Guys....
This is having all the looks of a disaster. We’re not going to be ready for the regular season at this rate.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Ummm...Goodson cannot hold Harrison
for more than a couple seconds. Got to get the ball out quicker than that
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
And McCown has to see that coming.
If he rolls to the right he’s wide open to pass
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
what happened to all that talk about the new qb coach supposedly teaching them to hold on to the ball?
"one is the loneliest number that youll ever see"
At this rate
Its gonna be a long season
by Cyberjag on Sep 3, 2009 8:33 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I'm feeling impending doom
they are playing so poorly in all phases of the game…okay thats a slight exageration
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Maybe they wake up after Phili trashes them in the first game of the season.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Please use your arms
Don’t hit a RB and expect for him to go down. Wrap him up! Is that so hard?
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Thomad Davis on the field
Chris Harris doesn’t wrap up
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
How did this team get to this point
with so little turnover? I just don’t get it.
If Moore can catch the kicks
he can do great things.
Look at John Fox.
He’s just sitting there with a dumb look on his face. If I was him, I would be chewing the hell out of my defense right now. One player makes a good play, and the rest of the team just shuts down. What is the matter with you?
And then on the return, everyone calls for him to let the ball go, and he lets it hit him >.>
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Miss Trgovac yet?
I’ve never seen a Panther defense this bad
by Cyberjag on Sep 3, 2009 8:42 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
man can they ever atleast get to the 30 yard line on punt return
"one is the loneliest number that youll ever see"
Look on the bright side
After this ….we will be sooo under the radar
Goodson is doing great though.
Never mind the rest of the team, Mike Goodson is doing pretty well.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Wow....
Stop with the freaking lolipops. Never again.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Nice job on Moore
Good job on holding onto it.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
This is the Goodson and Moore show, tonight.
At least there’s some positive stuff.
Looks like we might have a drive here.
This may be the hookup of the future. Moore to Moore for Moore yards.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Now he shows up.
“Oh crap! Someone is after my slot job!”
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Well, it's a long season at least.
Tackling shouldn’t be that hard to sort out as time goes on. I thought the offense showed some life tonight, one dropped pass fewer and this could have been a totally different quarter.
should be an interesting write up
picking out the goods will be a little tougher for this game for the few that their is so far.
Man, NC State is failing me.
The Gamecocks are doing horrible on offense, but the NC State defense can’t do anything.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I'm going to write the biggest letter for the Carolina Panthers this week. I've had enough. This deserves rage.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Or should we call in a witch doctor to dispell the demons?
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Maybe it's time to place a call to the New Orleans Saints.
It’s time Jaxon. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Why wouldn't you go to
the wide open receiver in the flat?
4th and 1...
what’s in the box in the chocolates?
keeping 2 fullbacks on the team & not use either one of them in short yardage
"one is the loneliest number that youll ever see"
Thank you!
First tackle I’ve seen with some jersey grabbing.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I saw NC State has a freshman DB named CJ Wilson
related?
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
He showed some nice pursuit on that one
How about the Bucs firing their OC?
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Very strange.
I suppose that another offensive coordinator is going to come in and establish a whole new playbook in a week? That’s smart ^^;;
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Yannity just said Moore was a UDFA
I thought someone said he was a 5th round pick by the Lions.
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Just confirmed Moore was drafted by the Lions
Shut up Yannity you don’t know what you are saying!
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
THE GHOST OF WESLEY WALLS!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
What a catch
Dante Rosario! We’re having quite a TE battle
This is a great game plan.
Give the ball to Goodson and Moore over and over again.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Fiammetta must be Sicilian heritage
with that dark skin!
Moore again!
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Good game plan! Goodson to Moore and back again.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
My take so far
I game in about 10 minutes ago, but don’t have a video feed saying I live in TN. I read through the comments and found an radio broadcast.
The comments so far have been. Moore, moore, moore, Goodson, moore, goodson, Rosario, moore, goodson ….
Is that about it offensively? :)
We want Moore yards.
The ghost of Wesley Walls have returned too.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Offense is looking good
…as long as we can control the penalties. That is the key. It may give the defense some time to catch up during the season.
Go Moore!
He’s looking like a pro! He made the first guy miss like Steve Smith! Throw it to him again!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Go Goodson!
Put that ball in there >:O
Now throw Jamall Lee in there as the bruiser back!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I take back everything I said about Jarrett as #3
Moore looks incredible!
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Sep 3, 2009 9:13 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
This could be a comeback in the making!
The Moore Moore Moore Goodson Rosario Moore Moore playbook is working to perfection! This is it! Let’s do this shit!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Was it Moore who worked out with Smitty in the offseason?
Because his moves look just like Smith
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Sep 3, 2009 9:15 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
CMON!
You throw the ball over Jeff King! It’s a contraversy! Give the ball to Rosario you idiot!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Yes by the way :p
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Kenny Moore...
…also worked out with former Panthers’ WR and fellow Wake Forest alumn Ricky Proehl at his new sports and fitness center in the off-season, specifically to focus on running better routes and getting separation.
That's what happens when you deviate from the Moore/Rosario/Goodson playbook
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Did Goodson ever get the ball?
I’m ready to see what Matt Moore can do. McCown is sucking again
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
I thought he slapped the ball against his knee myself
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Did Goodson fumble
Or was the handoff bad?
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Sep 3, 2009 9:18 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Replay
He threw the ball into the pile like some kind of toddler.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Good defense. Much penatration
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I'd love to see an hailmary returned for a TD
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I know I'm being pessamistic,
But wouldn’t it be funny if that running on the prevent play went for a touchdown because the defensive backs were in zone coverage on the wrong side of the field?
That should be a commercial or something.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Steelers get the ball first 2nd half
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Pay attention to halftine. Very good interview with the new Panthers President
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Well, he might be able to show people to dress for success.
Trying to think of a nickname for this guy.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Nope. Nothing.
He hasn’t been given a decent chance to kick Hoover out of his job. He better not be cut >.>
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Hoover is staying...he's such a good blocker
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Irvin has shown up a little bit. Just not many plays.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Here we go. Start of the 3rd Quarter.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
WOAH!
Did you see how far off he was in coverage? He had to fly in there to make that tackle. Go Captain!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Guess we know why Captain is a CB.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
He made a good stop. Tackled the RB for a loss a while earlier
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I saw him in earlier
looked like he got good penetration on a run play that got stuffed in the backfield
There he is! Our hero!
It’s Matt Moore! And there’s the Moore to Moore connection!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
My bad. The Moore to Moore connection happened later >.>
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Nice pass to Barnidge
and heads up from Barnidge to take the hit, lose the ball, and get it back
Mike Goodson made an amazing run!
Moore with the block! Moore! Goodson! Rosario! WOOO!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Good play at Jarrett staring at the football over his head.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
But he comes back for the big first down on 3rd down!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
And to think I was poking his career with a stick earlier
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I am happy to see him contribute
…but I feel that Goodson and Moore are opening up the game for him at this point. Not saying that’s bad but…
If your offense opens up the floodgates.
It would seem you reward those that caused the floodgates before you reward those that ride the wave.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Moore
can stay and McCown can be traded. please….please…
Jamall Lee took off like an eagle
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Touchdown Panthers!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
When Jarrett does run his routes correct
He’s got great hands.
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Sep 3, 2009 9:59 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Never questioned his hands
Its everything else
Fumble!!
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Is it just me....
Or do the Steelers look like they’re riding on their heels a bit?
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Fumble! Recovered by the Panthers!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Wow....
Horrible decision by Matt Moore.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Doesn't matter.
He was covered. Safety in the back, corner up front.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Wish he had blown it entirely
a sack is better than a pick six, and that ball was never going to be completed
Stupid throw
He may have been rushed, but it was a bad decision anyway.
Moore looks like he’ll be out of the league next year.
At this point...
He’s in his third preseason. If a QB hasn’t gotten “it” by now, they aren’t going to.
Well at least we have learned
That if all of our starters and our opponents starters fall to injuries, then we will be competitive ;)
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Sep 3, 2009 10:09 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
This is true.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I wonder if the Panthers will go ahead and make their cuts early
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
five wiide???
What happened to running the ball on third and short? Glad we made it but I would prefer an identity.
Rock Lee
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
There's Leman again.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Leman
I love watching him play
He’s on the team, and will be a special teams captain staple for years.
Just give him the spot that belonged to a certain Bengal LB
Seriously, where did he go?
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Spimds ;ole upi
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
What the heck?
Sounds like you have already had one too many my friend :p
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
What about Birmingham?
Why hasn’t he played?
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Sep 3, 2009 10:43 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Sure did wait a long time to put Leonard in
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Sep 3, 2009 10:40 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Everyone else fumbled, so it isn't a big deal.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Everyone else had other things going for them
Moore can catch. Munnerlyn can defend. Goodson can make people miss. Robinson can wait tables. Beavers better learn how… ;)
Poor QB. He can't play well
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Good call!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
4th down again!
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
I think Lee getting so much time means
Hey were getting ready to cut you, but before you leave show the rest of the NFL why they should pick you up
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Sep 3, 2009 10:48 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Yannity again called Moore an UDFA in his interview
and Moore corrected him…love it
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
I'm trying to remain hopeful
But it seems everything is against us this year…
- 2nd toughest schedule in NFL
- Injuries abound
- No signs of life in preseason
- Shabby tackling
- No depth
- Bye week after only 3 games… need I go on???
What chance do we have this year?
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
And one more thing
The last 2 times the Panthers went 0-4 in the preseason, they went 7-9 in the regular season. What do you think about that?
Can someone please help me off this ledge?
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
darin gantt
just tweeted that jonathan stewart said he’ll be ready to go for philly
Good play from a few guys
Obviously Kenneth Moore and Mike Goodson — great efforts, and both should be solid contributors to the offense this season. They, along with J Leman, Kelvin Smith, Mortty Ivy, Marcus Monk, Kevin McMahan, and Jamall Lee really showed up — though all of those won’t make the cut, I’d imagine. And even Nick Hayden had some good moments.
But Patrick Brown (87) and Josh McCown were pitiful, and shouldn’t survive the night, much less the 5th.
A special shout out to the new guy, Louis Leonard (97), who one day after getting here, and with his toenails barely dry, showed starter abilities at DT. I doubt we’ll be missing Kemo much now on run downs.
But for the poor coverage on the PR, and the pick6 that Moore threw (I think his only bad throw, whereas he made several good ones), we’d have won this game, having dominated the stats.
I think we’ll be ready for Philly. Remember, we didn’t have Beason, Davis (1 play?), Godfrey, Stewart (didn’t miss him, though), and we never deviated from very vanilla sets, showing nothing on tape to our realtime opponents.
Only thing that’s distressing is the consistently poor tackling and the fumbling — hope we can find a PRer who can hold onto the ball.
So...
Nothing else distresses you… The lack of depth, the brutal schedule, etc??? Maybe I just have a lack if faith
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Sep 4, 2009 7:44 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I'll try to put a positive spin on it for you...
…Our offense did reasonably well in picking up first downs (20), converting on third down (7-for-16) vs. how badly we did against Baltimore, and we had 320 total yards with 4.4 yards per carry in the running game again. Mistakes are what stopped us, though. We had a couple of drive-killing penalties (especially among the first-teamers). We gave up 6 sacks. And, of course, we turned the ball over with a couple of fumbles and an interception that got returned for a touchdown. If we can clean up the mistakes (some of which resulted from backups and not our starters) and, if someone can light a fire under our offensive starters hopefully they come out motivated to play angry and take it out on the Eagles with 10 days to prepare for them now.
…Our defense actually did a lot better than last week. Tackling is still a concern. They let a 7th string RB basically bounce off 7 starters on defense and into the endzone for a TD. That’s the biggest problem. The rest of the night, we only gave up 211 total yards to the Super Bowl champions. Their starters never sniffed the endzone. Two of Pittsburgh’s three touchdowns came while our defense was off the field. And when our defense was on the field, they only gave up 7 points. We had 4 sacks and got pressure on the QB. We held their passing game to just 5.3 yards per passing play. And, although they piled up 137 rushing yards on 30 carries for a 4.6 average, 27 of those yards came on that draw play to end the half with :01 second on the clock and the Panthers in a prevent defense. A lot of their other yards came during garbage time while they were trying to run out the clock in the 4th quarter. So, defensively, we again need to clean up mistakes…like our poor tackling. But overall, I saw improvement in this game vs. what happened defensively against the Ravens.
…On the other hand, special teams still has serious, serious problems. In fairness, Pittsburgh has a miniature speedster in Logan who burned us. Jason Baker didn’t punt very well on the one that Logan took to the house. But the coverage unit was yet again shredded. Personally, I really have zero confidence in our special teams coach. And I’ve felt that way for a long time now. But he’s only half the problem. The other half is that we’ve got a bunch of new guys…many inexperienced at playing special teams…that we’re going to be relying on throughout the season. Now that guys like Richard Marshall are full-time on defense, it makes our coverage units weaker, in my opinion. And the coach hasn’t managed to make them any better. So, it’s mostly going to come down to Rhys Lloyd and Jason Baker. If those guys really nail their kickoffs and punts, we’ll be okay. However, if they kick something short or overshoot their coverage and/or fail to get enough loft on the ball such that it doesn’t force a fair-catch, we’ll be reliving this nightmare all season long.
But that’s just my three-cents,
—Neil
Alright everyone, let's relax...take a deep breath and move away from the edge.
There were some really positive elements to last night’s game, there really were. But, a wise person told me to always start with the criticism and then move to the positive… that way you can end on a good note.
The Offensive Line were horrible: There is no doubt they played horribly all night. Particularily on the first team. The main offender was Keydrick Vincent. He acted like he’d never seen a 3-4 before and let player run passed him unblocked. Very, very sloppy play.
Special Teams were awful: However, Logan is a legitimate stud for Pittsburgh and looks to have a Devin Hester like return season. It’s tough to evaluate just how poor they played.
It was fumble central in Charlotte: There is a bright side however, the offenders were Munnerlyn, Goodson, McCown and Beavers. Last time I checked none were starters, only two are a lock to make the team and I could argue that McCown’s wasn’t a fumble.
Panthers need to finish their tackles: Maybe it’s the Aussie in me, but lets get a friggin’ rugby coach in there and show these boys how to complete a tackle. They hit hard at the point of contact, then disappear. The Redman TD was a joke.
Okay, so now for some things that I found encouraging.
Thank you for stepping up WRs: Wow, what a drastic improvement by Jarrett. I think Moore definately cemented his role as #3 with that game last night… absolutely stunning. Is it just me or is Moore looking like a younger Steve Smith and Jarrett like a younger Moose? It’s astounding how similar they all are as players. Even McMahan and Monk stepped up, bravo WRs.
Goodson, outstanding: The O-Line didn’t really help open any gaps, but he found what was there. If DeAngelo and J-Stew return to form early, expect alot of teams to be blowing up our phone to work a trade for the kid.
Nick Hayden wants a job: And he proved it last night! He had fire, intensity and got great penetration… even though he got steamrolled by Redman he did more good things than bad.
The defense looked alot better: We allowed 211 yards and 134 rushing. This was without Beason and only a few snaps with Thomas Davis. Expect those to fall. The D only gave up 1 offensive TD and got a few 3 and outs.
Quiet stats that snuck up on me: This preseason Mike Goodson was 4th in the NFL in rushing, Everette Brown was tied 2nd in sacks, James Anderson was 7th in tackles and the only player to record a safety.
Okay, so it was brief and there are a million more things I could talk about, but I’m remaining optimistic. We played an insanely difficult preseason schedule and didn’t get a chance to play alot of our starters. Yes there were some underperforming players and moments, but overall my main curiousities going into the preseason were satiated:
- Can we find a legit #3 reciever? CHECK
- Can Everette Brown contribute as a rookie? CHECK
- Will Mike Goodson be able to contribute? CHECK
I’ll leave you with this little nugget of information. Since everyone is jumping on Ron Meeks and his defense here’s something you might not have noticed:
2008 Regular Season under Mike Trgovac: 331 yds allowed per game, 18th in the NFL
2009 Pre-Season under Ron Meeks: 308 yds allowed per game, 15th in the NFL
Nice analysis James
put it in a fan post and I’ll promote it to the front page
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Done, thanks Jaxon
I added a little more info and even a handy photo of Kenneth Moore dressed like the cat in the hat.
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