Carolina fans got to be happy Sunday for almost one whole quarter. The Panthers scored the second time they got the ball, the defense held the Broncos to no points on their first two possessions and it was 7-0, Carolina, late in the first period.
From there, though, it was all downhill. (Here's my column about the game, on the scary thought that Cam Newton has become an average NFL quarterback). The Broncos scored 29 straight points before the Panthers finally got on the board again late in the fourth quarter, thumping Carolina, 36-14, in Denver head coach John Fox's return to Charlotte. By the end, more than half the fans in a mostly empty stadium wore Denver orange.
Four reasons the Panthers (2-7) lost so badly:
1) Offensive third-down conversions. The Panthers were 0-for-19 on third downs. I mean, really? After that one TD drive early -- when they didn't even need a third down to score -- they couldn't sustain a thing.
2) Awful special teams. The Panthers had improved in this area for much of 2012, but reverted to their 2011 ways in this game. Denver's Trindon Holliday, the shortest player in the NFL at 5-foot-5, took a punt back 76 yards for a score in the second quarter. Justin Medlock also missed a 43-yard field goal that would have cut the Broncos' lead to 17-10. (Note: Holliday did throw the ball out of bounds before crossing the plane of the goal line, though, so that TD technically should have been overturned.)
3) Peyton Manning. In only his second game ever in Charlotte, Manning was pretty much just what you would expect. At one point, he was 13-for-14 and the only incompletion was a drop. He did lose a fumble, but in general his errors weren't bad ones and his throws, while occasionally fluttery, almost always were perfect. He threw for 301 yards, one TD and no interceptions.
4) Cam Newton and his offensive line. Can't put this all on Newton, because he got hit over and over as the Panthers' offensive line was simply overwhelmed -- especially by Broncos linebacker Von Miller. But Newton's throw while under heavy pressure that got picked off by Tony Carter and returned 40 yards for a TD was the game's back-breaker, and he overthrew Steve Smith several times. And Newton just kept holding and holding and holding the ball. Newton also took a fourth-quarter safety on the Broncos' seventh -- yes, their seventh -- sack.
At least the towel Newton covered his head in on the sidelines was cool -- camouflage color, in honor of Veterans Day. (Steve Smith later used one of those towels to cover his head while the Panthers were driving for their late fourth-quarter score while the rest of the Panther first-teamers were still on the field -- Ron Rivera said later he asked for Smith to be pulled because he wanted to let the young guys play some, but that it wasn't a "performance issue." Smith would not talk to reporters after the game.
On the plus side: It was a beautiful day. Panther owner Jerry Richardson released a statement more or less discounting reports that he might move the team to Los Angeles. Greg Olsen caught two TD passes. And the Panthers' defense actually played pretty well.
The Panthers' defense, in fact, only allowed 20 points -- the other 16 came from the Broncos' return scores on the punt and interception and the safety. But the Panthers' offense was so inept when it mattered that this bird never had a chance to fly.
We're moving!
9 years ago
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Breaking News:
Panthers will be able to keep their PSLs when the move to Los Angeles in 2013
Pussyrats will not have Rivera and his Bojangles franchise TE as they will be cut
3000 miles one way
6000 round trip
leave 3 days early to make Sunday game non-stop driving
Panthers SUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
almost as bad as the sports dept at the 'turber
This is ridiculous. Steve Smith not on the field....now thats big news. GIVING IT UP!!!
Newon finally got hit by an NFC team after 1.5 yrs.
Another Jordan Gross holding penalty killed another long gain.
O-Line quit after the Kick Return.
Still waiting for the "regular" refs to look good in a game. Picked up flags, mis-spotted balls and of course, missing the fact that Holliday released the ball at the 1-yard line on the kick return so it really should've been a touchback and Panther's ball.
I WISH CHARLOTTE WOULD GET AN NFL TEAM!!!!!!!! ANYONE KNOW WI WE CAN GET AN NFL TEAM IN CHARLOTTE??????
Lack of direction and leadership on the offensive side of the ball. Fire Shula for letting Camm ride a bike instead of being a teamer. Fire Chud for allowing Shula....and so on and so on. This offensive staff is offensive!
I dont know what the future holds for RIvera, but if there is a head coaching change, I hope the Panthers talk to Dungy. I think Dungy would be a perfect coach to help not only coach, but mentor Cam. Dungy is a class act and seemed to have the respect of his players on both the Bucs and the Colts.
Sit Cam. His accuracy is horrible even when the offensive line gives him time. He has poor decision making skills and can't seem to pull the trigger and then when he finally does he is crazy off target. You can tell the frustration Steve Smith and the rest of the receivers have with him. They get wide open...he misses them.
He also just get's pouty and gives up on the team. When he plays horribly he just quits. That last safety was just inexcusable. Sit him down and let Anderson play.
The biggest concern for the Panthers is finding a GM that actually knows how to draft good players and sign FA's that can make an impact.
Hurney created this mess and Panther fans are stuck with the results. The team needs major help on the O line because last year that was a huge plus.
Biggest concern for the Panthers is finding a GM that can make an impact through the draft past the 1st round.
Panthers not moving to LA...after watching this mess today I might help them pack!
Echo the post about letting Cam sit and letting Anderson play. I also think Dungy would obviously be a good choice, maybe John Gruden would also be great, and a great mentor for Cam.
Bright spots: Kuechley, Hardy and Johnson; Tolbert, Olsen, of course and Stewart. Why we lost:
1. Our defensive backs can't cover the opposing receivers close enough, while the other team covers our receivers like a glove.
2. We can't get very much pressure on the opposing team's QB while our QB is under pressure all day.
3. Our blockers can't open hole and can't pass protect. Meanwhile, for the most part, Manning had plenty of time.
4. Our special teams add nothing to the equation; the opposing teams always seem to take advantage of us.
Bottom line: we have a few really outstanding players but have glaring weaknesses on the off and def line, wide receiver and defensive backfield. We are perhaps 7-8 great players away from having a great team today. The problem is by the time you draft or trade for all these guys, other guys will have signed with others or lost their effectiveness. That's the challenge...to get enough of the Kuechley type players at one time. Denver and Carolina were on the same level last year...amazing what one year and a smart GM makes.
Ugh. Regression.
Our offensive line was horrible. Absolutely inexcusable. This led to a cause/effect domino chain that hampered our offense all day. When the O-line quits, the ability to run (or at least the little ability we have) is ruined. That means that the offense has to resort to passing but, Denver's secondary was all over that so Cam consistently held the ball until he was sacked.
But all this should have been prepared for! Cam missed what little opportunities he had, and what's even worse is that he's forgotten how to scramble. It used to be that when he couldn't make things happen in the air, he did it with his feet. Now instead of having a sense of direction and running his way to a first down, he scrambles around in circles in the backfield like a panicking chicken and lets himself get sacked.
It's horrible that in a game like this when the defense is working as hard as it possibly can to keep Peyton and his offense contained, our offense and special teams don't seem up for the cause.
Be careful with Cam ,,he is turning into another Kerry Collins
Everyone in LA has seen this act before....They we Da Raiders........never seen a team fall apart with so much talent.....coaches should be fired ASAP.......season over......we should get a good pick , probably 2-3 the way the seasons going.....
That was the quietest I've ever heard the crowd. People don't even care enough to boo. I've hung in there and hung in there and hung in there, but I'm getting fed up.
How about just bad coaching. Good coaches can get something out of even marginal players, this staff can't get out of it's own way. Cam Newton's psyche is being ruined despite his talent.
First of all anyone on here who thinks this team is going anywhere is an idiot. So just stop saying it.
Next, the failures of this team are repeated EVERY WEEK. Oline, Special Teams, 3rd down conversions, Red Zone Gaffes - guess what? When you make the SAME mistakes EVERY week that is a TOP DOWN COACHING FAILURE. Rivera and his staff are paid to break down tape and identify the problems, then fix them. They have failed, utterly, to do this since they arrived.
How many times does Nakamura have to miss tackles leading to big plays? I counted 4 yesterday. Put Martin back in, Nakamura has cost us enough games and big plays as it is. The failure to draft a high round Safety since T.Davis (who was converted to LB) is another example of the utter failure of the Hurney regime to identify and acquire necessary talent at key positions in the draft. S has got to be a priority position for FA and the draft next year!
Finally, if Cam isnt playing well, pull him. Anderson cant be any worse at this point. Clausen couldnt be any worse at this point for that matter.
I mean really CAR - if fans can see the problems and come up with solutions for them that are straightforward, why in the world cant your high pay coaching staff do the same? Time to take a wrecking ball to this organization and start from the ground up in the front office Jerry.
Coaches are bad.....Seen this show before in LA...they were called Da Raiders......
Good players can't win without decent coaching.....fire the coaching staff before they ruin the young talent on the team...
Scott Fowler is the reason why some guys who never played shouldn't become "experts" on the matter. Ambition often replaces fundamental knowledge and right now, bashing Cam is the popular thing to do in the media. He was sacked six times. Our O-line is injured and patched up and Coach Chud uses first downs like a blank check looking for the big play too often on first down.
I went back and watched the tape again. Von Miller is a beast, but I found it comical to watch Olsen, Hartsock and Tolbert trying to block him. There was no way this was going to happen...so you see "El Toro" blocks on Miller making him look like Superman. Silatolu missed blocks as well as other off linemen. But, it seems that some of the most gruesome sacks came pitting a tight end or running back against Miller. Kuechley is a very good linebacker. But, we saw a real gamechanger in Miller Sunday. He almost personally ruined a lot of our offensive effort.
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