Stewart first major loss for 2013 Carolina Panthers

Jonathan Stewart (28) is out for at least the first five games of the 2013 season.

In what has been a thankfully quiet training camp and exhibition season so far for Carolina, the Panthers have suffered their first major loss.

Jonathan Stewart can be a beast when he's healthy -- remember that 206-yard game against the Giants in 2009? -- but he hasn't been healthy for awhile now. Stewart was placed on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list Tuesday, meaning he will miss at least the first five games of the season.

His absence certainly isn't unexpected, but it is the most dangerous thing that has happened to the Panthers in the past couple of months. It's more significant than firing Geoff Hangartner or juggling No.3 wide receivers or figuring out that neither Joe Adams nor Edmund Kugbila will play for Carolina in 2013.

Stewart may not play the whole year, either -- there's no certainty that five games (and one bye) worth of missed games will get him healed. If he doesn't play, then DeAngelo Williams sure better not get hurt. I'm fine with Mike Tolbert as a change-of-pace back but not the primary one, and right now he's hurt too (although he may be ready by the Seattle game Sept.8). And Kenjon Barner, Armond Smith or Tauren Poole? That would be scary. I don't think any of them are ready for a significant role in the offense. Even scarier would be Cam Newton leading this team in rushing again, like he did last year, because that opens him up to too many hits.

Those who watch Panthers practice regularly have seen Stewart -- the Panthers' second all-time leading rusher behind Williams in both yards and rush TDs -- grimacing in pain even after slight exertion occasionally, so obviously he's not right. He had surgery on both ankles in the offseason. He also missed the final seven games of last year with injury problems. Like Jon Beason, he signed a huge contract extension not that long ago and has mostly been hurt since.

Running backs, of course, do not last forever -- especially those with Stewart's pounding inside style. He has always split carries and until last year always seemed to be ready for games, but that has changed. Stewart can play the piano beautifully by ear, but it's hard to find a melody in what's happening to him right now. Double Trouble is now in some trouble, as it's now down to Single Not-So-Much-Trouble and a whole lot of hoping.

5 weird stats from Panther win over Ravens

The Panthers’ 34-27 preseason win over Baltimore was remarkable when you look at the stats. Carolina was outgained 357-173 and had the ball 11 ½ minutes less than Baltimore.

But those weren’t the weirdest numbers to come out of this bizarre game. Here are the five I thought were among the most unusual:

1. The Panthers scored 28 points on returns of various types (three defensive TDs and a 74-yard punt return by Ted Ginn Jr. on the first kick return he has ever tried in a Panther uniform). As Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh cracked about his own squad: “The pass game was good -- except we threw it to the other guys.” You can go a decade without seeing 4 return TDs in a single pro football game.

2. The Panthers didn’t run a single play inside Baltimore’s 20 all night. You can’t exactly say they had a red zone problem, because they were never even in the red zone. And yet they scored 34 points. As center Ryan Kalil and tight end Greg Olsen both said, the first-team offense’s performance was so disappointing it felt more like a loss than a win.

3. Baltimore had 27 first downs. Carolina only had 14.

4. At halftime, Carolina had five first downs, Baltimore had 13, and the Panthers led 24-7.

5. The Panthers were terrible on penalties, getting called for 12 for 133 yards (Baltimore was 9 for 90). And Armond Smith got kicked out of the game for kicking a Baltimore player after a run. And Carolina still won – more because Luke Kuechly had one of the most astonishing halves of football I’ve ever seen from a defensive player than anything else.

What are the odds of Cam Newton winning NFL MVP? 33-1

Anyone who says the Panthers get absolutely no national respect will find this interesting. In the category of "Who will be the NFL's MVP in 2013?", Panther quarterback Cam Newton is listed at 33-1 -- tied for 13th-likeliest with his childhood idol Michael Vick and a couple of others -- in these odds provided by Bovada.

2013 NFL MVP - Odds to Win

Peyton Manning (DEN) QB 5/1

Aaron Rodgers (GB) QB 13/2

Colin Kaepernick (SF) QB 10/1

Drew Brees (NO) QB 10/1

Adrian Peterson (MIN) RB 12/1

Tom Brady (NE) QB 12/1

Matt Ryan (ATL) QB 15/1

Robert Griffin III (WAS) QB 18/1

Russell Wilson (SEA) QB 18/1

Andrew Luck (IND) QB 25/1

Calvin Johnson (DET) WR 25/1

Eli Manning (NYG) QB 25/1

Arian Foster (HOU) RB 33/1

Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) QB 33/1

Cam Newton (CAR) QB 33/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) QB 33/1

Michael Vick (PHI) QB 33/1

Tony Romo (DAL) QB 33/1

Matt Schaub (HOU) QB 40/1

J.J. Watt (HOU) DE 40/1

Chris Johnson (TEN) RB 50/1

Joe Flacco (BAL) QB 50/1

Marshawn Lynch (SEA) RB 50/1

Philip Rivers (SD) QB 50/1

Jay Cutler (CHI) QB 66/1

Ray Rice (BAL) RB 66/1

Alfred Morris (WAS) RB 66/1

Jamaal Charles (KC) RB 66/1

Matt Forte (CHI) RB 66/1

Steven Jackson (ATL) RB 66/1

Doug Martin (TB) RB 66/1

Andy Dalton (CIN) QB 75/1

Alex Smith (KC) QB 75/1

Josh Freeman (TB) QB 75/1

Sam Bradford (STL) QB 75/1

A.J. Green (CIN) WR 100/1

Andre Johnson (HOU) WR 100/1

Brandon Marshall (CHI) WR 100/1

Reggie Bush (DET) RB 150/1

Also, Panther defensive tackle Star Star Lotulelei is listed as 14-1 to follow Luke Kuechly as the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2013.

Beason looks happy, moves well on Monday

Jon Beason had pieces of grass stuck to his shoulders after practice Monday. Sweat dripped from his face. He was breathing hard – and he was grinning.

Beason looked good in his second straight practice Monday, and my bet is the three-time Pro Bowl linebacker will play at least a little bit Thursday night at Baltimore against the Ravens in the Panthers’ third preseason game.

“You know what?” Beason said. “I’m just happy to be back out there. I don’t care about what shape, what I’d do right, what I do wrong -- I just miss the grind. Being with my teammates, man. Messing around. Hanging in the huddle. You know what I mean? It’s long overdue.”

Beason has played in only five of the Panthers’ past 32 regular-season games, so any optimistic pronouncements about his condition must be treated with caution. He is coming off microfracture knee surgery, always a tricky process.

But he looked good Monday. I was impressed he ran as well as he did on a very damp field, cutting quickly and running extra sprints after practice. He intercepted Jimmy Clausen once in a team drill. He wasn’t unbelievable – remember, he is adjusting to playing weakside linebacker with Luke Kuechly now permanently installed in the middle. But Beason was good enough that coach Ron Rivera was thinking about all sorts of possibilities about how to get Beason on the field more after practice.

Beason said he wanted to “re-establish” himself this season and that he would "love to play" Thursday.

“You want to play fast,” he said. “You want to get back to the person you used to be. You’ve got to get over that fear. A lot of guys are afraid of it. But if it feels good, I’m going, and I’m going to go hard.”

Monday was a nice step toward that.

Back in black -- Panthers to wear all black at Philadelphia

The Carolina Panthers will go with their "all-black" look for only the second time in team history this Thursday night in their preseason game at Philadelphia.

Although this has yet to be announced and Panther officials would not confirm it, word around the locker room is that the Panthers will wear black jerseys, black pants and blue socks -- the combination that won NFL.com's "Greatest Uniform in NFL History” contest in a major upset last month.

Home teams get to choose the jersey color for NFL games, and the Eagles chose white. The Panthers normally wear white in the early season to keep cooler, but will go all black -- a look that has long been asked for by many of their fans -- for the 7:30 p.m. game to be televised on WCCB-Channel 18.

The team isn't scheduled to wear all-black at home until late in the season, when they will wear black jerseys for their final four home games starting in mid-November against New England, Tampa Bay, the New York Jets and New Orleans. They could wear black pants as well for any or all of those games and likely will for at least a couple. Unlike jersey color, the pants color can be decided at the last minute. Here's a list of the Panthers' jersey colors home and away throughout the season -- they also will wear black for their Week 2 regular-season game at Buffalo and at Miami later in the season.

The black-on-black look you will see Thursday on TV does contain one bolt of color – the electric blue socks. Wide receiver Steve Smith is responsible for that -- team officials allowed him to choose the sock color for the all-black look last year.

The Panthers debuted the look last November. It has only been worn once, in a 36-14 home loss to Denver, which makes the “Greatest Uniform in NFL History” title seem rather ironic. The Panthers defeated the San Francisco 49ers' current uniform in the finals, getting about 90 percent of the vote in a contest where fans could vote an unlimited number of times.

5 thoughts on Panthers and 24-17 preseason win over Bears

1. If there was any doubt left, Armanti Edwards is going to make this team – again – as a backup receiver. Coach Ron Rivera has said repeatedly the real test will be whether Edwards can make catches in traffic, and he had a couple of good ones Friday.

2. Both rookie defensive tackles looked good for Carolina, with No.1 draft choice Star Lotulelei sturdily holding the point of attack.

3. On the downside, the Panthers’ offense netted out zero points in Cam Newton’s three first-quarter possessions. It’s a fake game, yes, but that’s cause for a bit of real worry.

On Newton’s final pass of the night – returned 51 yards for a touchdown by Chicago – the quarterback locked in on tight end Greg Olsen on a third-and-2 and forced a throw he never should have made. "Got to get the cobwebs out," Newton said.

Newton is prone to looking first at Steve Smith (who wasn’t in the game at the time) and Olsen, which is natural. But he’s got to get his other receivers more involved more often. To be fair, his three-yard TD pass went to Brandon LaFell, who really needs to have a big year.

4. Tight end Brandon Williams is such a raw talent. He needs to stick around, at least on the practice squad. On a Hail Mary, he would be a serious threat.

5. The first-team Panthers’ defense looked better overall in limited work than did the Panther offense. Josh Norman had his first interception to set up the first Carolina TD then, while Luke Kuechly once made tackles on three straight plays and Charles Johnson had a nice sack from the left side. Norman later scored on a 60-yard pick-six that was the biggest play in the Panthers’ 24-17 win.

Manning brothers rap one of best NFL commercials of all time

Do not miss the Mannings and their rap. Seriously. You must see it.

If you haven't seen this yet, you must watch it: Peyton and Eli Manning have outdone themselves with a hysterical, so-bad-it's-good rap -- yes a rap -- to promote DirecTV and "football on your phone."


This is undoubtedly one of the five best NFL-related commercials I've ever seen, and other than the Mean Joe Greene/Coke commercial I'm not remembering the other three off the top of my head. There are several great lines, but the one where Eli Manning rips on Alexander Graham Bell ("Who cares? Dude's dead!") and Archie Manning's surprise appearance are among the highlights.

Note to all big-time pro athletes: Making fun of yourself is almost always the way to go for a likable commercial. (That's one reason why Newton's commercial with the little kid warming up his arm for Play 60 is the best one he has done. Here the Mannings do it beautifully -- with the help of some very talented writers, a great director and some killer wigs. This is a commercial that will be talked about for years.