Highlights and lowlights from Carolina’s 49-35 loss to Detroit Sunday, which dropped the Panthers to 2-8:
Worst waste: The Panthers scored 35 points and still lost by 14? Are you kidding me? As coach Ron Rivera said afterward, he would take 35 points any day of the week. It was a season high in points for Carolina, and the second-most points the Panthers have ever scored in a loss.
Worst blown lead: The Panthers led 24-7 in the second quarter and 27-14 at halftime, but then got blasted in the second half as Detroit outscored Carolina, 35-8.
Worst personal career high: Rookie quarterback Cam Newton threw four interceptions, his personal high in his short career.
Best silver lining: Rookie Kealoha Pilares bolted a franchise-record 101 yards on a kickoff return for a touchdown, helped by some superb blocking from the beleaguered special teams.
Worst franchise career high: The Panthers’ defense gave up 495 yards, most in the team’s 17-year history.
Best former Panther: Chris Harris, who used to start at safety for Carolina, grabbed one of Newton’s four interceptions.
Worst road warriors: The Panthers have now lost a franchise-record 12 straight games on the road. Their last win came on Dec.27, 2009, when they thumped the New York Giants, 41-9.
Best diversionary tactics: Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford threw five touchdown passes, and not one of them was to Calvin Johnson. As the Panthers looked for Johnson time and again near the end zone, Stafford simply hit the open receiver, over and over. And there was always someone open.
Best Panther unit: For once, you have to hand it to the special teams. They actually outplayed the Lions’ special teams this time. Olindo Mare had two field goals and four touchbacks. Pilares had his 101-yard return. Armanti Edwards had a couple of decent punt returns and the Panthers allowed only one big return for Detroit (a 31-yarder when you added the return and the penalty yardage for a horse-collar tackle).
Best Newton stat: Even on a four-interception day, Newton did a few spectacular things as usual. This time he scored two rushing touchdowns, setting the NFL rookie record for a quarterback with nine on the season.
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9 years ago
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29 comments:
WE HIRED THE WRONG HEAD COACH! PERIOD isn't he supposed to be a defensive specialist..... The Panthers are the 2nd worst team in NFL hands down! And we need to fired this head coach along with Sean McDermott. Make Rob Chudzinski the head coach and then find a defensive coordinator.
What Larger said! Just because he is not Fox doesn't make him a good head coach.... too bad we didn't even try to get Harbaugh!
Make Meeks DC!!!! Our defense scheme were good even thought we mostly had Casper the Ghost playing in some positions.
Well, like grandpa said, you can't make chicken salad out of chicken excrement. Rivera doesn't have much left to work with on defense.
dear gatorade, please send more crying towels. about 70,000 if you can the panther fan can wear them like the saints fans use to wear paper bags
We simply don't have the players on defense. Rivera is going to be a great coach. Hurney needs to get out of town, and they need to fire the training staff and hire some competent people to take their place.
Nothing to do with Rivera....injuries have reduced us to playing special teams and practice squad players in full time roles...This defense will look much different after the coaching staff has a full offseason to sign the free agents they need for their scheme.
The defense was young and thin before all the injuries started piling up. I don't like the DC's schemes right now either, but that's an ambulance crew playing out there right now. The fact that the secondary, which was going to be our achilles heel in the preseason, is probably playing as well as any single d-unit right now, should speak plenty to that.
These are the defenders on IR right now:
Ron Edwards (DT)
John Beason (LB)
Thomas Davis (LB)
Cletis Gordon (CB)
Thomas Williams (LB)
Dan Connor didn't play today either.
On top of that, we have ONE DT who's not a rookie, and he's not even starting. Watching those big gashing runs in the second half, it was the DT's getting swept aside like leftover party favors. Give 'em another offseason in the weight room, those guys will be just fine.
You people talking about the defensive problems do realize that we have started eight different linebackers in 10 games, right? Also, Hurney hasn't gone after any top level DBs in free agency. I don't think Rivera is the problem. I think the lack of healthy talent on the defensive side of the ball is the problem. No defense has been hit as hard as ours by the injury bug. That being said, we need to draft heavily on the defensive side of the ball and sign a free agent or two in the offensive line.
All you wishy-washing panther fans need to shut up. This team has been plagued by injuries and Detroit has blown away many opponents in the 2nd half. I am happy to lose competitively because I understand we are building for the future requires some high draft picks. Go Panthers! Good effort today!
Thank you to all the people posting reasonable comments in reaction to the fans wanting to fire Rivera and most of his staff after 11 weeks. Good lord people, we've been competitive in most of our losses. Our defense wasn't that great to begin with but injuries have made them the worst unit in the NFL. Look how special teams stepped it up this week when Rivera cleaned house last week, that's coaching.
Rivera needs at least 3 years to prove he can win as a HC, otherwise we become the Redskins, 7 different head coaches in the last 11 seasons, look at where that's gotten them. You need consistency in this league to win.
Fire the DC... he's doing the same stuff that got him run out of Philly!
You guys calling for heads need to get fired from this board. You have no sense of perspective on what was expected this year.
The first season is the one that a new coach gets a pass on!
Quit acting like crazy hormonal women.
WTH is Jimmy Clausen doing in Detroit?
Andrew Luck wouldn't have thrown 4 picks
Rivera will be out after 2 seasons. He can not coach defense or special teams and does not run the ball enough. How do you give a back only 10 carries when every one of them goes for over 5 yards on average. Up by 17 you run the clock not have 3 and outs and turnovers to let a team score 49 points. Should have kept fox. he knows how to win and he is doing it with a mediocre team in denver with a defense that was crap last year and a college quarterback. 5-5 is better than 2-8 just saying.
In every game in which Stafford has really shone, he gets hot, like a shooting guard on a run of baskets. And Detroit has a not-to-be-ruffled attitude, an emphasis on consistency. Repeatedly the word from half time is that they talk about playing the game they know, the way they know, get back to basics.
Newton is like that too, very professional, a leader. The Panthers will do well down the line, just a few more good players.
It was fun to watch a wild game, whoever won, although I liked it better as a Lion Fan the way it worked out.
Don't give up hope.
Anyone who is calling for Chud's head needs to have theirs examined. Did just start rooting for the Panthers this year? We are leaps and bounds better than we have been in recent memory.
And whining about McDermott and Rivera? We had no offseason, no chances to trim the fat in the secondary and we have first year coaches. WTF. And my personal favorite: Meeks our DC.
Fans my rear.
Lions Den says,
Ha Ha. These misguided Furbags are a fucking laugh. Do you idiots really think the Lions took you seriously all week?
Didnt you know the NFL only knows your team as a bunch of loser Carolina Pussies and the media depicted Detroit laughing and joking around knowing they had a cremepuff? They know Newton is a farce and Smith is washed.
Had they known you were trying to win they would have never allowed the first half to happen and the score would have been 75-0.
Get real. They still allowed your pretend QB a few free gifts and didnt try to break his neck like they do other QBs. They know he sux but he is the union poster boy so they had to be gentle with him.
And get off Riveras ass. YOU wanted Fox gone. Inmates run the asylum.
Be glad you got a game. It could have been a much much bigger azz whoopin. You got lucky.
24-7 lead our quaterback had just scored and instead of acting like he had been there before he does some sort of stupid dance and jesture to the lion fans next thing you know the loins march down the field and score take "take his little dance into the locker room at half time and well you all seen the result...i kinda like him on the bench with a towel over his head
Look!... Ron Rivera is a good head coach. It's his first year as HC and he's doing a pretty good job he's just overcompensating for his lack of offensive knowledge by neglecting the defense. I do think that going with a DC would be a smart idea though. McDermott is too young and inexperienced.
it's really very nice to have Sunday afternoons free to do something worthwhile, yesterday even sleeping was preferable to watching this gang of losers--they are all painted with the same brush from the top to the bottom. It's not Cam's fault, it's not Rivera's fault, it's not the this or that unit's fault. It's the culture of losing that permeates the franchise.
How did Smitty's dropped pass on third down not make the worst list. That could have changed the game. We were still in it when that happened.
Defense again stunk. The play calling late is a joke. All we needed was a nice comofortable sustained drive, had plenty of time. Run the ball, screen it, do whatever but don't force Cam to drop and throw it 25yds down field. IT WASN'T NEEDED!! I really don't get the OC and the play calling late on what would have been a tie score drive. There was no pressure and Cam could have handled it but instead a stupid play and pass route deep. I don't get it.
All I have to say is this team better use the high draft pick they're earning to get a top defensive player. Or trade the pick to get more picks for defensive players. The unit is injured, but other teams have injuries too and are still getting the job done. 35 points scored on them in a half is embarrassing.
Isn't it a little silly of Newton doing his Superman Rip, when he hasn't closed the door for a win in the 4th quarter...just saying...oh yeah, that's right he wants to be a ICON.....selah!!!!!!!!!
Sports have always been subject to extreme superstition and coaches are the worst or at least the good ones. Many players dont bathe or wash uniforms if they win. Some winning coaches wear the same clothing all season.
Nothing however has been said about Newton being cursed for all the bad he has done in the past. Face reality. Newton is cursed and parlayed it to your team.
In 2010 the 2-14 team was what bayou dwellers call the "Cajun curse" after fans ran off Jake Dehlomne who was the best QB the they ever had and a leader.
Careful for what you wish.
I'm not sure who's more pathetic, Scott Fowler and his non-functioning testicle show or some of these self defeating cronies, who are unable to see the big picture from beneath Scott's dress...
Don Gregory should be fired for being such a suck-up!M!
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