Saints 30, Panthers 20

It's a 60 minute game, and the Carolina Panthers played terrific football for about 50 of those minutes. The New Orleans Saints clicked in much better fashion in the other 10 minutes, and that was the difference. Don't get me wrong, the Panthers did not dominate the Saints--it was a fairly even game, in spite of the quick 14-0 lead Carolina had.

Defensively, the Panthers were solid in holding the Saints under 100 yards rushing, but that passing game got clicking at just the right time, and a couple of long gainers did the Panthers in. You could feel the momentum shift, even if you were watching the game on your couch.

Want a bigger stat that brings a ray of light to this one? How about 5 Panthers fumbles. Chew on the one for a while. Carolina put it on the turf 5 times, and lost it 3 times. One of those recoveries going for a touchdown late to make it a 2 score game. Jake Delhomme fumbled on a sack in the 4th quarter, DeAngelo Williams fumbled at the 1 (which was returned for a TD), and Jonathan Stewart fumbled once, but Carolina got it back with a Chris Gamble interception on the ensuing drive.

I point out the turnovers as a glaring number, and they are. At the end of the day, though--Carolina outscored the Saints 10-7 off turnovers.

The Jake Hate continues (seriously?). He fumbled once, and the Saints didn't score on it. News flash: Delhomme isn't a QB that can win games on his own. He is not in the mold of Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. All those that are waiting for the new QB to show up are also likely to be the ones wishing Jake was at the helm when the next guy struggles. It's the nature of the beast.

The Panthers now have a brutal road ahead if they want to make the playoffs. 3-5 at the halfway point means Carolina likely has to go 7-1 to get in. Can it be done? Certainly, but this team will have to do it by being smarter with the ball, and basically taking their game to a much higher level. The 50 minutes they played against New Orleans is that level.

But ya gotta play 60.

Mike Solarte

A look ahead

We'll be chatting to the Panthers around 2pm to get their thoughts on facing the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

What we know now:

The Panthers confidence hasn't been this high all season, and they will likely feel quite confident going into Sunday.

They will also sound very realistic , knowing they go to meet a Saints team that is undefeated, and playing some great ball.

The injury question is a biggie--S Charles Godfrey, TE Dante Rosario, and WR Muhsin Muhammad didn't play last week, FB Tony Fiametta suffered a concussion , FB Brad Hoover injured an ankle....the list goes on. Carolina could find themselves shorthanded against the Saints--not a tasty proposition.

More on this matchup later today.

Mike Solarte

One win does not a season make, BUT...

The Carolina Panthers thoroughly dominated the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, beating the birds 34-21. Last week, I said in this very blog, that Jake Delhomme could either melt or thrive under the heat of the spotlight. He did neither, and that's ok. His performance of 7-14, 90 yards and a TD looks pedestrian, but factor in the big goose egg in the INT column, and you see that Jake was just fine. Delhomme was not the reason the Panthers won the game, and he will be the first guy to point that out.

Double Trouble, the offensive line, and a foaming-at-the-mouth defense returned the upset beating. Arizona was a 10-point favorite coming into Sunday's game.

DeAngelo Williams ran for 158 yards, Carolina blasted for 270 as a team, all against the NFL's top-ranked rush defense. You heard that right, the Cardinals held the top rank in the NFL in stopping the run. In the classic case of figures lie, and liars figure, the Cardinals were the top-ranked rush defense, thanks in large part, to their offense putting opposing teams in a big deficits, and forcing them to pass.

Figures lie, liars figure.

Julius Peppers, often ripped in this blog for being transparent, was anything but on Sunday. 4 tackles, a forced fumble (which Carolina recovered), and an interception for TD. All those contributions in a game the Panthers simply had to have.

The defense had 6 takeaways against Arizona, 5 interceptions and a Kurt Warner fumble. A QB? With 6 turnovers? Man, they oughta run that clown outta town (please note the sarcasm, Cardinals fans--simply replicating the sentiments in Carolina following Jake's 6 turnover show against AZ in the playoffs). Certainly, the stage wasn't as big--week 8 of the regular season is nothing compared to the playoffs. For the Panthers, though, this game was big. Chris Harris said via his Twitter page, "revenge is a meal best served cold." The players can say what they want leading up to kickoff, but deep down, there was a NEED to win on Sunday. They filled that need.

Is the Panthers season saved? Far from it. Plenty of hurdles remain for this team that went 12-4 last season. 3-4 right now, with a road trip into New Orleans next Sunday. The Saints face Atlanta tonight, and will be on a short week for Carolina. Carolina is banged up, though, something we'll watch moving forward this week.

In NASCAR, Jamie McMurray was the winner of "Survivor: Talladega." McMurray was able to stay out front, while the junkyard was collecting behind him, and win the Amp Energy 500. Crazy race to watch--boring for 150 laps, then hold-your-breath racing for 38 laps. Drivers ripped NASCAR for the "draft-bumping" warning they got pre-race, but perhaps the loudest shot at NASCAR came from Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 US Army Chevrolet. Newman ended up on his roof, after getting airborne in a wreck. Once he got helped out of the pile of sheet metal that used to be a race car, Newman told ABC/ESPN (and I am paraphrasing here), "NASCAR puts us in this car, and then they tell us how to drive it." Basically, Newman says the COT sucks, and then telling them how to use it makes the race a disaster.

My friend and colleague Jim Utter of the Charlotte Observer made a good point, saying there is no easy answer to the problems of racing at restrictor plate tracks. Drivers want safer racing, but there are fans that want to see the tightly bunched cars, where a sneeze can cause a 14 car mess. I agree that there is no easy solution. One needs to be figured out.

More on the Panthers later this week--make it a good one.

Mike Solarte

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MikeSolarte

Heading to the weekend

Quick points before we head to the weekend, which my lovely wife was kind enough to point out to me, is my last as a man that can say "thirty-something," when asked his age. Ugh.

Panthers-Cardinals

This game, like it or not, has been circled on the Panthers calendar since the schedule was released. Every player on this team that was here in January has wanted a shot at the birds, although they would be hard pressed to say anything suitable for a thumbtack on a bulletin board," given their current state of affairs (read 2-4).

None more so than every fans favorite punching bag, Jake Delhomme.

Jake had that torturous 6 turnover showing in the playoff tilt with the eventual NFC Champion Cardinals. The talk started then. It simmered to a low boil in the off-season, but when the interceptions started in the season opener, they grew to a deafening noise. I have said all along, that up until the Buffalo game, you would be hard pressed to pin any of their losses on Jake specifically. Jake took the heat for the loss to Buffalo, and rightfully so, in my opinion. If he makes 2 good throws (one to Gary Barnidge and the other to Steve Smith), the Panthers pick up first downs, and likely score. Didn't go that way, and now Delhomme finds himself in, what is likely the biggest game of his career.

Crazy to hear that for a week 8 game, right? It's true. Jake's future with the Panthers, and perhaps in the NFL could rest on this one performance. Hard to imagine the same guy that came off the bench in 2002 at the half against Jacksonville, and started every game he could since, is now backed so far into a corner that his resume is now called into question.

Kerry Collins took Carolina to the playoffs once, and that run ended in Green Bay, when Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens looked like a pre-cursor to "Double Trouble," and LB Kevin Greene was spotted on a milk carton, listed as "missing."

Playoff appearances between Collins and Jake?

Zero. Nada. Donut. Goose egg.

QB's between Collins and Jake? 5. Steve Beuerlein, Chris Weinke, Matt Lytle, Rodney Peete and Randy Fasani. Only Beuerlein managed to get Carolina close to the playoffs and that was in 1999. Apparently, missing the playoffs didn't sit well with his offensive line the following year. Beuerlein was treated like a tackling dummy in 2000, being sacked 62 times.

Bottom line is, Jake is the best option at quarterback for this team. All due respect to Matt Moore and A.J. Feeley, this is Jake's team. Sink or swim. Delhomme is the same guy that took the Panthers to the playoffs 3 times, 2 NFC Championship games, and a Super Bowl. He's had a horrible start in 2009. The team is 2-4. It looks bleak.

These are the moments where #17 thrives, and survives. When the chips are down, Delhomme has been there for this team.

On Sunday, we could be watching one of the greatest redemption stories in Panthers history, or we could be witnessing the beginning-of-the-end of the Delhomme era in Charlotte.

Personally, I prefer triumph over tragedy.

Panthers 20
Cardinals 17

Mike Solarte

What's a fan to do?

In the wake of the Panthers latest loss, it begs the question what is the Charlotte sports fan to do? The Panthers season looks to be a lost cause and changes aren't likely to come until January. Meaning Panthers fans have nothing to look forward to until the NFL Draft in April.

I guess Charlotteans could turn to the NBA and the Bobcats; but, and I hate to dash any one's hopes before the season officially tips off, does anyone really think this team is going to make the playoffs? And even if they do, is the 8th seed with a losing record really something to crow about?

My guess is most fans in the area will now focus on college football and then basketball, but last I checked, Charlotte didn't have an ACC or SEC team.

You see it's my contention the fans in this area aren't die-hard hometown fans. Many of us, including myself, came from somewhere else and still hold strong loyalties to our previous hometown team.

So I'm sure many of you will still go to the Panthers games, but you'll leave at halftime or after the 3rd quarter. Heck, that happened last year WHEN the team was winning. Plus, I'm sure folks will venture out to Time Warner Cable Arena (cheap plug) to check out the Bobcats; but are a majority of you living and dying with each win or loss? Each personnel move? Each coaches' decision? I don't believe so.

If I'm off the mark, tell me. But my sense is fans around here don't always root, root, root for the home team.

--Jason Brown

Thoughts at 2-4

Touching on some things positive and negative from the 20-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

• Hats off to the defense. Another solid outing, in spite of being put in bad spots due to turnovers. LB Thomas Davis did not play, but those that did covered his absence. Had he played, the Bills may have had 9 first half yards, instead of the 39 they ended up with. Julius Peppers was active again, recording another sack. Some coverage issues on a couple plays by the secondary, but overall, the defense did its job well.
• Steve Smith proved he is, in fact, an asset to the Panthers. He did not score a touchdown, but he did connect on a deep pass, and ended up just south of 100 yards receiving. He also played hard (like he does every Sunday), and inspired after the passing of his junior college coach last week. Smith began to cry during his post-game comments when talking about Robert Taylor. Taylor was Smith's (and Chad OchoCinco's) coach at Santa Monica College, and he passed away last Thursday. A tough day for #89, and he did his coach proud with his play, no doubt.

That about covers the positives.

It was a game the Panthers were supposed to win--and don't feed me the line "every game is tough," blah blah blah. The Panthers are a more talented team than Buffalo. This was a game the Panthers had to have, and they didn't take it.

When the always dependable John Kasay misses 2 field goals, you know it's not your day.

I have been a strong supporter of Jake Delhomme this season, and I can honestly say, Sunday's loss is on him more than anyone. He throws 3 picks, 2 which set up Buffalo touchdowns. These weren't tipped passes off of receivers hands on well thrown balls. Both of these picks were overthrows. Credit Steve Smith for getting a hand on the one ball, but 2 good throws (the first one to Gary Barnidge sailed well over his head), lead to receptions rather than picks.

The Panthers marched the ball up and down the field, yet could only muster one touchdown. Why? Failure to execute in the red-zone. The Panthers had their moments. I applaud the notion of going for it on the 4th and 1 play. I like a bold play call, but you have to send in a play that can work. When Buffalo is loading up 7, 8 or even 9 guys on the line, they are EXPECTING you to run the ball. If you intend to run, fine. Take DeAngelo Williams out to the edge, where there are fewer bodies to contend with. I admit, I am at field level and cannot fully see the way the plays develop, but I noticed the Bills were looking run, and loaded up for it. If a guy that is shooting video tape of the game sees this, how do the coaches not?

The season is all but over, as based on their schedule, getting to 9 wins (that means winning 7 of their last 10) will be a monumental accomplishment. What do they do from here? No clue. Do I want to see changes? Not in personnel. I want to see the personnel they currently have perform better.

One other thing. If you attend a Panthers game and you are wearing the team's colors, maybe cheer for that team, rather than get completely drunk and shout obscenities from the seats. Makes you look like a dope, and it also sends a bad message to the fans of the visiting team. It lets them enjoy themselves much more knowing you are that angry by your team's performance. Oh, and to the drunk guy wearing the sunglasses (when it was dark??) in the #69 jersey that booed Jake all afternoon long, yet high-fived his buddy when Jake hit the downfield pass to Smith, I'm talking to you.

Mike Solarte

Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/MikeSolarte

Wesley suspended

Reported it on air last night, but not here. Panthers CB Dante Wesley got a one game suspension from the NFL on Monday for his hit on Clifton Smith. Smith was fielding a punt (at least in position to), when Wesley unloaded on him. Wesley left his feet to make the hit, Smith suffered a concussion.

The suspension means Wesley will lose a little more than $36,000 (his game check).

The Panthers also acquired DT Tank Tyler from the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday for a reported 5th round draft pick. The deal beats the NFL trade deadline by a day--the deadline is today.

Mike Solarte

Follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/MikeSolarte