Rushing Woes Loom for Panthers
Posted August 23rd, 2009 at 9:26 AM by Jeff A. TaylorYou take away a couple of freestyle skampers by DeAngelo Williams and Mike Goodson, for 25 and 11 yards respectively, the Panthers rushed 26 times for 62 yards against the Dolphins’ speedy 3-4 defense. A 2.3 yard per carry average is not John Fox football. It is not any kind of winning football at all.
Don’t want to push the panic button over games that do not count, but you don’t want to ignore what you eyes tell you, either. Guys are not getting blocked and are coming free with scary regularity. Maybe the absence of Steve Smith and Jonathan Stewart helps to explain this, maybe not. If it is true that the third preseason game is the real shakedown game, then running the ball effectively against Baltimore is vital. And I’ll just leave it at that.
Other ah-ha moments from Miami:
- Matt Moore looked much more confident in the pocket, except for one happy feet moment where he shoulda been picked. Again, to me the only question at the QB position is if Marty and Foxy feel good enough about Moore to go with only two QBs on the roster and try to stash Hunter Cantwell on the practice squad. Don’t know if there are there yet.
- Will Dwayne Jarrett ever catch a pass as a Panther?
- Jon Beason. Knee. Uh-oh. Pretty sure we won’t see him again until the Philly game regardless — and that assumes the MRI is good news.
- In Beason’s absence Dan Connor got a lot of work in, most good. A couple times he guessed wrong on running plays, though.
- We sure that Thomas Davis is better than James Anderson? Anderson is playing out of his mind for Ron Meeks.
- The DL held up OK. Tyler Brayton got some snaps at DT, and Charles Johnson may have as well. Meeks’ scheme is just not as dependent on a 350-lb. run-stopper in the middle as some others.
- Rookie DE Everette Brown got Carolina’s lone sack but was also eaten alive on a couple plays. Let’s see how he bounces back.
In sum, hold your breath on a couple different points.
August 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Yoooo…..hooooo….Julius Peppers. Are you there? Calling….Julius Peppers. Ya know, you could at least look like you’re trying for a cool $1.0MM a game. Heck at least fake it for crying out loud.
Peppers is a complete sham of a “player” and the Panthers where morons to pay him big boy money.
August 23rd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
>>A 2.3 yard per carry average is not John Fox football. It is not any kind of winning football at all.
The mistake here, obviously, is equating “John Fox football” with “winning football.”
August 23rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
>> the Panthers where morons to pay him big boy money.
My guess is those “morons” know the difference between “where” and “were.”
August 24th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Touche musicmax.
I took some time off on grammar and word selection. Just like Julius takes off plays and entire games during the season.
Maybe $1.0 MM per posting would provide motivation for better grammar. What do you you think, Jeff?