Friday, September 19, 2014

My pick: Panthers to go 3-0 by edging Steelers Sunday

If you are a Carolina Panther fan who attends games and can't stand to see the opposing team's colors in Bank of America Stadium, you are about to be in for a rough night.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the NFL's most prominent teams and boast one of the deepest fan bases. So you can bet there will be a lot of black and gold in the crowd Sunday, as the prices that displaced Pittsburgh fans will pay on stubhub.com and the like are often too tempting for Panther fans to pass up.

Pittsburgh and Carolina play almost every year in an exhibition, but this is only the sixth time in Carolina's 20 years that the two teams have played a game that counted. Carolina is 1-4 in the series. But those who were there for that win in 1996 won't soon forget Chad Cota's end-zone interception of Kordell Stewart that sealed the game on the way to Carolina's first playoff appearance.

-- Don't be surprised if quarterback Cam Newton looks in safety Mike Mitchell's direction several times Sunday, including at least one deep ball. Newton is very familiar with Mitchell's strengths and weaknesses from their 2013 season together.

-- I think the Panthers, for once, are going to be able to run the ball against Pittsburgh. It feels to me like a night where Jonathan Stewart will play well.

-- This is the first time that "Sunday Night Football" has made an appearance in Charlotte since Dec.20, 2009. That game featured the Minnesota Vikings and Brett Favre -- a very good team headed to the playoffs. The Panthers were going nowhere. But Matt Moore outplayed Favre, the Panthers scored 20 fourth-quarter points and Carolina won, 26-7 (while Favre had a vehement argument on the sideline with Vikings coach Brad Childress). It was one of the last really good moments of the John Fox era.

-- The Steelers are trying to right the ship. Pittsburgh has been outscored 50-9 in its last six quarters. Carolina is trying to make everyone understand there's a lot more to this team than Greg Hardy. Ultimately, I think the Panthers will be the team that succeeds. I am 2-0 picking the Panthers' games so far this season. My prediction for Week 3: Carolina 20, Pittsburgh 13.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Carolina SHOULD be able to run the ball but Williams, Whittaker and Tolbert don't seem to be 100% - our RB corp is going to be an issue.....

Anonymous said...

6-24

Anonymous said...

JStew is 100%. Done.

Defense will shut-out PGH. Panthers win 30-0. Any/all Steelers fans will leave with tails between their legs ala Tampa fans last week in Atlanta. Some of the most obnoxious fans in the NFL: Welcome to Charlotte......NOW GO HOME!!...just like Patriots fans did last year on Monday night. Cry us a river!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Why can't J Stew do it his self? Been out for a looooonnng time. Now it is his time to SHINE!

Anonymous said...

If you are going to be a big man about Hardy than be a big man about Ray MCDONALD and the fact you haven't shows you are A FRAUD!
Guy hits his pregnant Fiancée and you have nothing to say You Coward!!! Bandwagoner!!!!!
You and your Moron "coworker" Sorensen who took a big step by piling on!!!
BOTH FRAUDS!

joe said...

Im not going to harp on this loss much it happens sometimes but seems to happen to the panthers alot on prime time games,Would like to mention we looked flat on all phases of his game I personally believe we would of had a chance had Derek A. played the entire game, That being said to say this Cam is not well he cannot run effectively and should sit the next 2 or 3 games and heal or we will never see his full capability this season, bALTIMORE WAS WATCHING AND IF WE DONT RIGHT THIS WE CAN EXPECT THE SAME NEXT WEEK,AGAIN CAMS PASSES ARE OFF TARGET AND HE CANT SCRAMBLE EFFECTIVELY, COACHES ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE FILM AND DIAGNOSING THIS PROBLEM IT DOESNT TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTICE TO FIGURE THIS OUT,WE WILL BE WATCHING TO SEE IF YOU MAKE Changes next game.