Don't Back Down

It's time for another update on the 2007 Carolina Panthers, and I'm just not sure where to start. It's been rather ugly, hasn't it? Sure, it could have been much worse, and with the Panthers at 4-4 it's not all over yet. But back in the summer it seemed like things could have been so much better.

Jeff Davidson was hired to take the place of Dan Henning and it looked like Jake Delhomme was going to make some decent inroads with the new zone blocking scheme, installed to make DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams look better - or at least to make the offensive line not look as bad as they were. How has it worked out? Let's take a look.

In the standings, arch-rival Tampa Bay remains in the division lead, mostly by virtue of not yet having a bye (they finally get it this week, meaning there will very likely be a two-way tie for first after Sunday, and it might be a three-way tie), but they don't look strong.

Atlanta comes to Charlotte to play the Panthers in a rubber match - they seek to get back some pride from the loss that they should have won a few weeks ago when DeAngelo Hall gave away the game on three straight penalties. With just two wins under their belt - one last week in Arizona - the Panthers shouldn't take this lying down. They can lose to about anyone.

Meanwhile, the real class of the division is suddenly New Orleans. After losing their first four, the Saints have won their last four and look like they are now the best in the division. It's quite possible that they could run away with it, since no one else seems to want to win the thing.

Let's look at the games.

Way back in early October, the Panthers played those Saints. Amazingly, the Panthers won the game 16-13, but there is no reason to explain how they won. In what has become something of a tradition for the Panthers, they were giving up first down after first down and the defense couldn't get off the field on third down - many of them on penalties. In a flash of good news, Matt Moore came in cold and threw a sweet 40+ yard pass to Keary Colbert. Who would have seen that coming? Let's give this kid a chance to play!

Next up, the Panthers went to see Arizona, in the game that saw Vinny Testaverde return to the league. The man is about to turn 44 and he throws a touchdown pass to extend his own streak, in conducting a good game plan. He wasn't outstanding, but he was good enough not to lose, the Panthers won 25-10 and they went into the bye week with some momentum and a 4-2 record.

Unfortunately they had to play again, and that game was against Indianapolis. Everyone thought the Colts would be looking ahead to New England, and coming off a short week (they played on Monday), coupled with this factor, might give the Panthers a chance. What amazed everyone was to see the Panthers come out and drive down the field on their opening possession on a monstrous 11-minute drive. It was incredible. Unfortunately that was about all they had. Vinny went out and the wheels came off. They lost 31-7.

Then came Tennessee. You can say that the Titans are better than the Colts, and you may be right, but from all signs, the Panthers did better against the Colts than they did against the Titans. I don't know what it was, but they looked bad. Really bad. The offense stunk up the joint. The good news was that the defense finally had a bit of life, recording three sacks - that's almost as many as they had all year up to that point. It's too bad that the offense couldn't do anything with them. David Carr left with a concussion, Matt Moore came in, threw some nice looking passes and an interception and the Panthers lost, 20-7. It was a lot worse than the final score.

What does this mean? It means that Dan Henning wasn't the problem. The draw play on 3rd and 10 is still in the offense. Vinny showed that he could run a sweet drive, but for some reason no one bothered to remember it when Carr went back in. Sure, Chris Weinke is gone, but Carr is a total bust, and at this point, the Panther's season likely is as well. They really ought to put in Matt Moore and give the kid some reps, because it looks like he might need them come Sunday against the Falcons.

Vinny is supposed to be getting the start now that his Achilles has healed, Carr is unknown, but good grief - let's at least give the team a chance to win. I'm glad to see that the defense has started to play, and I'm glad that they have given up on Dan Morgan. He's a nice guy, but man can he get hurt. Reminds me of Jason Peter. Let's cut the dead weight already. The same thing needs to happen with DeShaun Foster. Swap him with DeAngelo Williams and make something happen there.

Then again, maybe the whole idea is to see how badly John Fox can do this year, and make some room for Bill Cowher to step in when 2008 rolls around. That would be cool, but I don't know if he can even save this mess.