As I look back I can trace the Panthers 2009 woes to an 0-4 preseason that witnessed sloppy and less than inspired play. The Panthers season opener at home against the Eagles ended up being the worst loss of the season as the Panthers were routed 38-10.

I should emphasize at this point my intent with this series of posts is not solely to revisit the games themselves but to discuss the comments and analysis of each game.  My hope is we uncover some nuggets of wisdom to apply to 2010! Okay maybe that is being overly optimistic. This may instead turn into more of a ‘I told you so' or even a "What were you thinking? series. Let's start with my first paragraph after the Eagles demolished the Panthers:

I really just want to go to bed and hope tomorrow comes and I have forgotten this debacle of a start. I would never have imagined that the Panthers would play worse then the infamous playoff meltdown last January but they did. They scored fewer points and committed more turnovers, a whopping 7 turnovers. Throw in giving up a punt return for a TD and you have fan base in disbelief.

Sure there is nowhere to go but up from such a stinker of an opener but that hardly any consolation. The most prophetic quote I had in this post was the last sentence of this paragraph:

I also have big concerns about the game planning from the offense. When I see pressure like what the Eagles are bringing I'm looking for the short passes to the flat or over the middle in the space vacated by the rushers. Either the Panthers didn't plan for it or Delhomme couldn't execute it. Either way we are screwed if this is what we are in store for week after week.

We are still arguing about the virtues of OC Jeff Davidson's play calling but then again, Matt Moore play at the end of the season makes we wonder if the issue wasn't execution. I find it fitting that the first comment of the season was by DWG who was never shy about voicing his bad bromance for Delhomme:

DWG: Its time for a change & I dont want to hear it was just one game. Its been six now; that horrible Arz game, 4 winless preseason games, & now this dibacle. Fox has got to go & when he does his adopted son will follow but I doubt Richardson has the guts to do that. Delhomme has more than one flaw(tunnel vision, horrible decision making, two left feet, bad throwing mechanics) all teams have to do is put 8 in the box & double Smith. Game over. No innovation from Fox, no motivation, just its a bad day to have a bad day I guess. lol.

Falcons Drop Panthers 28-20 (0-2)

In spite of the many negatives in this game the Panthers had a chance to srive for a game typing TD but Delhomme threw and INT on a 4th down play. Beyond that though there wasn't much to like about this one.

The Panther pass rush was non-existent the entire game. Did they ever touch Matt Ryan? I don't think they even got a hit on him. When are the Panthers going to realize they have to bring pressure to get pressure?

The offenses red zone performance won't get it done long term either. In three trips the Panthers scored one TD and one FG. The Falcons in turn scored 3 TD's in four tries highlighting where the game was lost. RB DeAngelo Williams had his first fumble in two seasons and it was a momentum killer. After the Panther created one of their precious turnovers via a Turner fumble Williams gave it right back.

I also feel the need to point out Peppers got stoned in this game by pedestrian Falcons LT Sam Baker. So who was the first to degree the obvious lack of weapons in the passing game?

James the Aussie: Jake couldn't have done anything more on that play. There was no seperation, he had to make a throw good or bad.

Problem is the #3 reciever spot. Teams will focus on the fact that all you need to do on a 3 or 4 wide set is double Smitty and cover Moose.

Jake threw for over 300 yards, we rushed for over 100... and couldn't win. See the problem? Matt Ryan should never EVER be able to go 20-24. That is a joke.

I hope Chris Harris being added back into the lineup can give the secondary a spark. Right now, they're a bunch of guys with no leader.

James was pretty prophetic on the impaqct Harris would have upon his return. Though the defense turned it on late in the season we often forget early on they struggled to get off the field.

Panthers Fade in Loss to Cowboys 21-7 (0-3)

This game was the toughest of the opening losses in my view.

The Panthers did everything they needed to in the first half of this game to lead the Cowboys 7-0. They blitzed on defense more than they had all season They ran play action and hit the open player releasing on offense. But then the 3rd quarter started and they reverted back to there same pathetic ways. The run defense became porous and the offense couldn't get a first down. Any hope we held at halftime quickly dissipated into the familiar "here we go again'.

Again in spite of the poor 3rd quarter the Panthers still had a chance to drive for a typing score put instead threw a pick 6 to end all hope. What gets lost though in the 0-3 record is how well they played in the first half but could only put 7 points up as the red zone offense struggled yet again. Here's more critique that held true for a few more weeks:

• As much as I love QB Jake Delhomme the mistakes are getting maddening, whether they are his fault or not. Maybe Smitty did blow the route on the pick 6 but its Jakes job to make sure everyone is on the same page. On the first INT it looked like Moose wasn't even expecting the pass.
• Jake's arm doesn't seem strong enough to throw the deep ball anymore. Every deep throw is coming up short
• DE Julius Peppers is not worth the investment. The Panthers should dangle him before the trade deadline to see what they can get for him

Hmmm...should we have traded him? The answer seems a little obvious now but it's that whole 20/20 vision saying...On another note we had our share of Homers who felt there was still hope for this season:

Rawjew01: I still think...We make the playoffs. I know few will agree but ... I have a feeling.

I wish you had been correct Raw but....The best one-liner of the week goes to Tater:

Tater596: Everything about the 2nd half was god awful. Absolutely piss poor. We have a $17,000,000 paper-weight at Defensive End, we have a QB whose arm strength has clearly deteriorated post surgery, we have NO ONE who can tackle that doesn't have the last name Beason...

Panthers Rebound to Beat Redskins 20-17

At the time of this win we were just relieved but in truth there was little to be satisfied about:

The Panthers didn't exactly light it up in this game but they did just enough to pull out a gutty victory over the Redskins... DE Julius Peppers responded with 4 tackles and 2 sacks, including a 2^nd quarter safety where he blew past the RT to nail RB Clinton Portis a yard deep in the end zone...SS Chris Harris returned in a big way, logging 7 tackles and holding ‘Skins TE Chris Cooley to ZERO catches. Wow, I never imagined how much of a difference this guy could make.

Yes Julius Peppers and the defense played much better in this game no doubt. But this game also produced a rallying cry that persisted for much of the season:

Cyberjag: Want to know why we won? 32 running plays versus 25 passes. It's as simple as that.

I think we are still arguing about that! Here's a Homer comment that didn't seem too much of a stretch at the time but unfortunately we couldn't beat a team that had already lost to the lowly Browns.

Chillicothe: We could be 3-3 before you know it. With 0-5 Tampa and the (loss-to-the-Browns) Bills coming up. Then we get to payback AZ for last postseason, and could be 4-3 going to the Big Easy.

We can also thank a porous Redskin offensive line for our first win of the season. Surprisingly the most credit for this win must go to surpise! Special teams.

 Special teams made two huge plays, first with a nice kick off return (K. Moore) to ignite the Panthers first scoring drive and the second creating a key turnover on a punt return (D. Wesley) that resulted in the go-ahead score.

As relieved as we were for this win it could have easily been an 0-4 start. It would a couple more weeks before we truly had something to cheer about.

That's a CSr review of the Panthers first quarter of the season, one that we can only hope to soon forget!