Coming into the 2011 season there were many Panther fans wishing to see more of the Panthers power back with sprinter's speed. In many ways they got their wish. Coming off a bit of a down year yard per carry-wise (4.3 vs. 5.1 in 2009) and scoring-wise (2 vs.10 TDs) Stewart packed a lot of production into fewer rushes in 2011.

Stewart's career rushing totals:

These numbers put Stewart at #25 in rushing in the NFL with 761 total yards on a career low 142 carries. Another positive: 1 fumble; Zero lost.

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As part of our review of the 2011 season I've summarized

Game Ball #1 (Cardinals) - QB Cam Newton

For all the Cam Newton detractors out there Panther fans have one thing to say: Suck it! Yes the Panthers did lose to the Cardinals on a late punt return by Patrick Peterson but outside of that the Panthers were oh-so-close to starting the season with a win.

Newton sets the rookie record for passing yards in their NFL debut. That's right, you are reading this correctly:

24 for 37 for 422 yards, 2 TDs, INT one TD rushing.

Game Ball #2 (Packers) - QB Cam Newton

The rookie lit it up again, this time against the defending champion Packers:

1. QB Cam Newton - As I'm sure you have heard rookie QB Cam Newton threw for 400+ yards and 2 TDs in his second start and is averaging 428 yds per game. All you need to know is Newton has now been proclaimed a weekly start in fantasy football; )

It took all of two games for Vegas to determine this kid could play.

Game Ball #3 (Jaguars) - DE Greg Hardy

The first non-Super Hero to win the game ball; I thought I was kind of clever in this one:

DE Greg Hardy - The Kracken had 6 combined tackles (5 solo) 2 tackles for loss, a sack and a safety and a QH. He was at home in the water and mud!

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There was plenty to be happy about for Panther fans in this one. But it all starts with rookie QB Cam newton and his record setting day. Newton was deadly in the red zone as he kept it simply, scoring three touchdowns on the ground and throwing for a fourth. Truly a day for the rookie to celebrate little as the Panthers string two in a row.

I would be remiss to not mention the defense and the fact they held the Bucs to FGs on 4 drives and and more importantly held LeGarette Blount to 19 yards on 11 carries. DE Charles Johnson had a big day with a sack, 3 tackles for a loss, a pass defensed and a QB hurry. The defensive line played pretty good as a whole keeping pressure on back-up QB Josh Johnson.

This is now a post-game open thread!

We are half way through the 2011 season so it's only appropriate we review our 1st half performance as compared to last year as well as to our expectations. This is a three part series I will complete over the bye week looking at each phase of the game. You might expect I would start with the offense since it's obviously the most improved or the defense because of its obvious weaknesses. Instead I'm starting with Special Teams because I have a bug up my arse about it at the moment.

Before I get to that though, I want to say that were it counts the are 2-6, a measly one game improvement from the miserable 2010 season.  Yet I'm the first guy to admit it feels way better. We have hope once again in Carolina. This in spite of the fact that our biggest reason for hope has also been a leading reason we are 2-6. If you look at the losses four of them were by margins less than the points given the opponent on QB turnovers, INTs & fumbles. I'm not saying this to diss on Newton at all, he's a rookie and bound to make mistakes and I have no beef with him at all. 

I do have a beef with special teams though and I admit I'm still a little raw about the most recent loss. Special teams began and ended that loss with putrid plays. On the opening kickoff they give up a long return to the Panthers 27 yard line. Then of course it ends on the hooked kick by Mare. It happens, I know...but when it's his first last second game winning tying attempt in electric blue you kind of hope your shiny new kicker makes it.

So are the Panthers special teams units as bad as I suspect? I'll look three different football stats websites to paint the picture and let you decide.

Football Outsiders Special Teams Stats- FO uses five different metrics to compute an overall ranking to measure special teams: (metric, NFL rank)

1 - field goals/extra points - 27th

2 - kickoff return coverage - 25th

3 - kick returns - 30th

4 - punt coverage - 29th

5 - punt returns - 31st

Overall - 31st in the NFL

Ouch that is ugly...

We will also look at NFL.com stats, the overall analysis and a fan poll...after the jump...

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NFLPanthers07 was kind enough upon request to put together a short clip of the top plays from the Panthers defense in the 33-20 win over the Redskins. Given all the talk and focus on the Panthers offense (and rightfully so) I think it's appropriate to give the defense props this time  for having a good game as well (we need more!). So in the video below we've got the top 8 defensive plays with descriptions for each:

Play 1 - LDE Antwan Applewhite blew past RT J (Jamal?) Brown and gets a good hit on John Beck, knocking the ball loose that is then recovered by the Panthers Terrell McClain. Just a fantastic edge rush to beat his man one on one.

Play 2 - Lined on the right side of LOS, LB James Anderson fights off a block by TE Fred Davis and tackles RB Ryan Torain for a 5 yard loss. Just the start of a great day for Anderson.

Play 3 - Greg Hardy stays home on a play action bootleg and charges Beck like a monster shot from the sea! Beck, upon gazing into the Kraken's glowing eyes can do nothing but feebly throw the ball down before getting pummeled, resulting in a grounding call.

Watch the video below and then  read the remaining 5 descriptions... after the jump...

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It is about time the Panthers put it all together. Well, we won't call this a pretty one by any stretch as there were plenty of warts. But conversely the Panthers big play offense did just that, make big plays. The difference this week was the defense. Though they gave up some yards they also got three turnovers in a game for the first time this season.

Star of the Game: QB Cam Newton

As you would expect Newton was key to the offense. He completed a scintilating 18 of 23 passes for 254 yards and a TD. He also added 61 yards on the ground and his 7th rushing TD of the season to really pad his fantasy stat line. His first quarter 25 yard scramble to 3rd and long in the 1st quarter might have been the best play of the game.

Best End Zone Plunge: RB Jonathan Stewart scored from 1 yard out to extend the Panthers lead to 10 points in a critical 3rd quarter score.

Making Them Count: WR Brandon LaFell only caught two balls but they were both big. One for 37 yards to extend a drive and then a 2 yd TD to seal the drive. LaFell also made some key blocks to spring RBs.

Panther Ugly Stat of the Day: The Panthers committed 13 penalties for 105 yards but somehow still rolled the 'Skins. I'm sure we'll have more to discuss on this later.

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