Panthers Dwell at Bottom of Power Rankings

ESPN.com has released their weekly Power Rankings, and it is more of the same for the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers have fallen yet another spot, from 23 to 24. It would appear that the skepticism with which the pundits and analysts viewed Carolina’s season earlier in the year was not misplaced. The Panthers started the season somewhat off the radar after a disappointing 2006 campaign, and they really never made their presence known this season. The season-ending injury to Jake Delhomme didn’t help, and David Carr did little to ease the loss of their starter.

At the end of the day, I really believe the blame for this terrible season must be placed on the men who handled the injury to Jake Delhomme. The wheels came off this season for the Panthers when they had to rely on some lackluster backups to lead their team. How no one realized this before the start of the season, I have no idea. However, I was warning about this during the preseason.  If the Panthers want to succeed long term, they need to reload with more reliable players up and down the depth chart.

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Panthers may start rookie QB

With their playoff hopes all but done for the season, the Caroling Panthers now face some tough choices. Vinny Testaverde did not look crisp last Sunday, all but verifying what the rest of the league already knows. The man is good to go for a game or two, but his body just cannot handle the NFL grind week in and week out anymore. With David Carr not being the greatest option, and with Jake Delhomme still out with that pesky season-ending elbow injury, the Panthers may actually end up starting rookie quarterback Matt Moore this Sunday.
VinnyT is not the future, and unfortunately for Panthers fans, it’s time to look to the future. So, the Panthers may now use these last three games to see what they’ve got in rookie Matt Moore. Hopefully he can find Steve Smith down the field.

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Panthers Fall to Jags

The Carolina Panthers were defeated soundly by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. This likely puts the final coffin in the playoff hopes of the Panthers, who will yet again be left to wonder what might have been. This season started out so promising, but in another season beset by injuries, the Panthers simply did not have the depth to overcome their adversity. The wheels have been flying off of this wagon ever since Jake Delhomme went down for the season with an elbow injury. The Panthers have simply not been the same team since.

This will likely cause a large stir during the Panthers’ offseason. After making some moves before this year, the Panthers were hoping to avoid exactly this situation. However, their moves never bore the fruit they hoped (especially the Carr signing), and there will likely now be firings over another season outside the playoffs in Carolina. This is unfortunate, as there are few teams in the NFL who could survive the loss of their QB 1, but this will not likely come into play. Heads may roll, and things may change in Carolina very soon.

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Vinny Testaverde May Play in 08

Someone inform the good people at EA Sports that they may need to dust off and update the Vinny Testaverde character from earlier generations of their John Madden football game.  According to this report out of the Charlotte Observer, Old Man Football is mulling a return in 2008.  If Vinny does indeed decide he’s like to come back and play another season, he would become the oldest QB to play in a game, were his services needed by whichever team would take him.  Testaverde would obviously be coming in as a reserve, and might even come back to Carolina, as his relationship with the Panthers this season has been solid.

While it remains to be seen whether or not VinnyT actually does return to the game, I believe that he should definitely come back for one more season.  Even if it’s just to get a quarter’s worth of work under his belt and become the oldest quarterback to throw a pass, I believe it would we be worth it.  Vinny Testaverde has proven his durability.  He has played and won in the NFL this year.  What he is doing is nothing short of remarkable.  Why shouldn’t he come back one more year and immortalize himself with the record?

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Are Panthers Coming Together at the Right Time?

In a slow news day for your Carolina Panthers, we’ll hit up the Panthers Notebook from the Charlotte Observer. The Observer takes note of Steve Smith’s reaction to his new role within the offense. Smith lined up in multiple formations for a few different trick plays last Sunday, at one point even taking a direct snap from the center. Smith seems very excited about his new role in the offense, and is even more jazzed that the Panthers finally got their first home win of the season. Smith also has some great quotes about the Panthers’ season, so you should definitely check that out.

The Panthers are one of those teams that seems to be coming together and gelling about two weeks too late. Blame it on whatever you want, but the fact remains that at 5-7 and with some tough games left on their schedule, the Panthers have a tough road ahead if they want to make the playoffs. They also have an extremely talented team. If only they’d gotten this win a couple of weeks ago, things might be different. The Panther aren’t out of it yet, but they’ve certainly dug themselves into quite the hole, and it will be interesting to see if they can now claw their way out.

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Panthers Rise in Power Rankings

ESPN.com has released their weekly Power Rankings, and this week the news is better for the Panthers. They have moved up three spots, from number 26 to 23. Hilariously, in the… not so strong NFC, they are still in the playoff hunt. They certainly have one of the toughest rows to hoe to get there, though. They face some real competition down the stretch. But at least they finally got their first home win of the season.

The Panthers are one of those teams that are just absolutely impossible to figure out. They’re like the Chargers of the NFC, but with even worse luck. Since losing Delhomme, the quarterback carousel spun the Panthers wildly out of control. Now that it appears Vinny Testaverde is capable of playing an entire game, it would appear that the Panthers can once again compete with some of the league’s better teams. The question now remains, is it too little, too late?

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Panthers win gives everyone hope

The Carolina Panthers finally walked into their home locker room as winners this season, ending a seven game home losing streak that dates back to last season. This win makes the Panther 5-7 and actually positions them to make a run at the playoffs. Hilariously, the NFC’s second Wild Card spot has eight different teams vying for a chance at the postseason, and not one of them is over .500 at this point in the season. The Panthers are still very much alive.

If Carolina can continue to play with the fire and intensity they displayed last Sunday, they have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs. Obviously they’ll need some help, as any 5-7 team trying to make the playoffs would, but they’re not ready to be counted out yet. Honestly, if the Panthers can just somehow keep Vinny Testaderde healthy, they aren’t a bad team at all. They’ve just had so many injury problems, it’s hard to get a real pulse on this team and find out how good they really are. But if they can get some stability at QB, we might finally get our answer to that question.

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Panthers win at home

Here we are, in early December, and I can proudly report that the Carolina Panthers have won their first home game of the 2007 NFL season. Vinny Testaverde led the Panthers to victory over the… less than great San Francisco 49ers. While the Panthers are certainly not out of the woods yet, this win helps them to at least keep alive the glimmer of hope that they may still make the playoffs.

For the first time in a long time, the Panthers started and ended the game with the same quarterback. Also of note, that quarterback actually played the entire game. VinnyT may not be a young man anymore, but he turned back the clock to give the Carolina Panthers a much-needed victory. The fans in Charlotte finally had something to cheer about at home this week. If the Panthers can keep winning, they still have a shot.

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