There wasn't much good news for the Panthers in their final game of the season, as they ran into the red-hot New Orleans Saints and got eviscerated, 45-17.
The game was 17-17 at one point until Panther safety Sherrod Martin made the most obvious bad play of the game, letting Marques Colston get behind him with 15 seconds left in the first half and New Orleans on the Carolina 42. Colston scored, the Panthers went into halftime down 24-17 instead of tied and it got worse from there.
"That took the wind out of our sails," Panther coach Ron Rivera said.
The Panthers' offense then couldn't score a single point in the second half and the defense just kept getting worse. Drew Brees ended up with five TD passes before being taken out in the fourth quarter. The Saints never punted while he was in the game, scoring six TDs in Brees' eight possessions.
Carolina ended the season 6-10 and with some obvious gaping holes on defense. Brees can make anyone look bad, but too often this year the Panthers gave up too many points and big plays. They have a playoff-caliber offense already; the defense and the special teams need to catch up.
Still, Panther fans have to feel a lot different right now than one year ago, when the team was 2-14, the coaching and quarterback situations were uncertain and the Panthers were generally regarded as the worst team in the league. This is a team with a future -- if it can get its defense improved.
We're moving!
9 years ago
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12 comments:
The Panthers SUCK! When are they going to fire dumb and dumber (Marty Hurney and Don Gregory)?
Sherrod Martin was picked on all game and all season. He should be benched or cut...........We need a lot of help on defense. CB, DT, FS, LB, and depth.
I still think the most critical upgrade this team needs is a #2 WR. You do not want to stunt Cam's growth due to lack of WRs.
I agree... WR#2 is a need. Smith isn't getting younger either. But I think LaFell can begin to fill that role. He's shown flashes. I wouldn't mind seeing a WR pickup but I don't see it as the biggest need.
The secondary is the biggest need. They need AT LEAST one player but really two impact players. The front seven will be better when they get healthy. But they need a drastic improvement in their secondary... not only Martin's replacement but a bona fide #2 CB.
We did alot better than anyone predicted first of the year. Myself included. I am happy with the team and the season. But Hurney is still a bean counter...
renstremrenstremDitto about the suck part, when will the head office wakeup and fire Rivera (who has made a living as a defensive coordinator) and hire Bill Cower? He wouldn't put up with that s***. Every aspect of the team has been subpar the whole season except for some bright spots on the offense. Where is the Panthers defensive tradition of being a hard nosed defensive team that's ranks in the top 5; and can anyone honestly say they saw someone on the defense take charge and motivate them? (Don't even use the excuse that there were alot of players injured). If it wasn't for Cam Newton, they'd be competing for the top pick again as the worst team. AFN has only broadcast them twice this year overseas and both times they've quit after the first half-and got the crap beaten out of them). Next year I doubt we'll see them at all.
Why not put a lot of the blame on the defensive coordinator where it belongs. When you are stupid enough to not change your four man front in order to put some pressure on the quarterback, then you deserve to lose and lose big. What happened to the Panther blitz? It was none existent. It isn't very bright or professional to keep doing the same thing over and over again and failing and refusing to change your pass rush.
This game did show clearly the work the Panthers have to do in the off season. The defense needs an overhaul in the Secondary. They are very porous there. The D-Line needs some way of consistently getting pressure on the QB. While they had major issues, to some degree it needs to be kept in perspective of losing many starters to IR.
The Offense, while it is certainly looking good still is inconsistent both in production AND coaching. It might be they just need more time to work together, but I think some work needs to be done. WR is probably going to get some work, but folks need to remember Gettis was on IR all year, and he and LeFell are promising. Smith had a great year, but he is showing some dents... He drops many more balls these days than he used to, so we will need to see what the brains decide to do....
They had a good year based on expectations, BUT they really are raw in spots, and need a lot of work.
Guys, don't get so down on your team. Thay was beaten by the BEST tem in the NFL. When the Superbowl is over, the you can say "we lost to those Saints" signed,
Who Dat Nation
Since RR is playing a TE at QB why dont he try out Shockey or Olsen? They couldnt do any worse against a real team with a real QB playing their starters and trying to win.
TEs Shockey and Olsen are 6'7" 260 lbs so they are a lot bigger than lanky uncoordinated sloppy 6'4" 220lb Newton.
Apparently its all about size with the tall slim big banana stuff and all.
Drew Brees is a whopping 6'195 lbs so size must really matter in the NFL at QB.
What a joke these idiots are.
Newton needs to go talk to Michael Jordan and his Mikecats about helping out at forward since its all over now and the Mikecats SUCK too.
Can't wait to see which area team(s) Matt, Anonymous 7:35 and Anonymous 7:45 choose to pile onto now that the Panthers' season is concluded. Guessing it'll be (in no particular order) the Bobcats, Duke, NC State, and several unfortunate NASCAR teams. Gotta love the 'Net....
The Panthers could very easily have gone 9-7 or 10-6 this season, and with a few tweaks here and there (esp. on defense), they'll no doubt be on nearly everyone's "rising fast with a bullet" list for next season. Thanks for an exciting season RR, Cam, Double Trouble, the TEs, Smitty, J. Anderson and everyone else. Looking forward to 2012.
Anonymous posters are d-bags. Yep, me too.
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