Waiting Game for Gross and Otah

Last week’s win over Atlanta seemed like an easy performance from the dominating Carolina team, but the Panthers’ offensive line didn’t escape the field last week without bruises, sprains, cuts and concussions. After the smoke from the fire cleared, Carolina’s key right tackle and left tackle were down and out, leaving the team’s fate for next week’s Kansas City game quite a bit muddled.

Left tackle Jordan Gross suffered a concussion during play when he was kneed in the head in the first quarter of Sunday’s game, knocked unconscious and out for the rest of the game. Right tackle Jeff Otah, on the other hand, suffered a sprained right ankle in the third quarter, also making way to the sidelines while leaving two huge openings in the Panthers’ offensive line. The men’s wounds seem minor compared to other season-ending injuries we’ve seen this year, but Panthers coach John Fox has yet to release a statement as to whether or not either Gross or Otah will return to play in this Sunday’s matchup against the Chiefs.

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Panthers Fly Past Falcons

As if Steve Smith hadn’t apologized enough for his highly-publicized bout with teammate Ken Lucas over the past few weeks, yesterday’s act of kindness between the two helped solidify both Carolina’s win over Atlanta and the end of speculation of uneasiness between players. Smith made a crucial 56-yard touchdown late in the second quarter of yesterday’s game, increasing the Panthers’ lead over the Falcons 14-6. After spiking the ball into the stands at the end zone when making his touchdown, Smith asked for the football back, handing it to Lucas at the sidelines.

Smith’s outstanding contribution in yesterday’s matchup was met by Muhsin Muhammad’s incredible performance throughout the game, as well. Muhammad combined with Smith for a total of 243 yards receiving in the game. Muhammad was on fire yesterday and had eight catches for 147 yards, catching a much-needed 36-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to put the final nail in Atlanta’s coffin. Despite a few hang-ups (i.e. Julius Peppers’ roughing-the-passer penalty, a 12-men-on-the-field infraction and Delhomme’s minor hit to the quadriceps muscle, to name a few,) the combination of Delhomme to Muhammad/Smith and the all-powerful Panthers defense put a handle on Atlanta, shutting the Falcons out 24-9.

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Panthers-Falcons Preview

Last week was the first time Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith played together in a full year, and while hopes were high for the two to connect again, well, they just didn’t. After a loss to Minnesota last week, the Panthers have licked their wounds and found their rhythm, gearing up for Sunday’s game against the Falcons. In last year’s regular season matchup between the two teams, Carolina safely beat Atlanta 27-20, even though Delhomme injured his right elbow during the game that eventually put him out for the final 13 games of the season.

This Sunday, the Panthers have Michael Turner and rookie quarterback Matt Ryan to worry about. Forget the whopping 12 penalties Carolina got flagged with last week; if the Panthers want to beat this 2-1 Atlanta team they’ve got to do everything right, including frustrating Ryan and stopping Turner. An ex-Charger, Turner has been on fire since being released from the shadows of LaDainian Tomlinson, even setting a Falcons record with 220 yards rushing in the season opener. The all-star duo of Delhomme and Smith have another chance to match the magic the Falcons can produce, so let’s hope it all comes together this week (finally!)

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Delhomme’s First Anniversary

Tuesday marked the anniversary Jake Delhomme wants to forget; the one where this time last year his fraying ulnar collater ligament (in his elbow) snapped in two during the regular season game against the Falcons. It took almost an entire year to recover, but the Panthers are overwhelmingly rejoicing that their quarterback was able to bounce back from such a monstrosity.

Following Delhomme’s elbow injury last season, he underwent a risky Tommy John surgery that only NFL quarterbacks Rob Johnson and Craig Erickson had ever endured. A year ago Tuesday, the franchise, fans and even Delhomme himself were uncertain if the Carolina quarterback would ever be able to return to full strength. A whole season of rehabilitation allowed him to recuperate, though, and these last three games the Panthers have played this season have proven that Jake Delhomme is back and as golden as ever. This emotional time and one-year mark is an event Delhomme may wish to forget, but the Carolina star is truly blessed to still be playing like the first-class quarterback he was before his catastrophic elbow injury sat him on the sidelines for one incredibly long season.

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Season Cut Short for Connor

Rookie linebacker Dan Connor came out of Penn State with high hopes set for him, but last Sunday put a stopper on the Panthers’ special teams player that will most certainly last the rest of the year. During Sunday’s 20-10 loss to Minnesota, Connor suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ligament in his left knee after his cleat snagged on the Metrodome turf, leaving him in the same position as Tom Brady – inactive for the remainder of the season.

In his short NFL debut, Connor had played on special teams for Carolina’s first three games, marking four tackles down in the books. This disappointing injury is the first major one in Connor’s career, as he was golden for Penn State, starting in 36 out of 45 games he played in for the Nittany Lions. Connor’s injury comes as a blow for the Panthers, as the Carolina third round pick holds the Penn State record for most career tackles with 419, also an All-American and all-Big Ten player in 2006 and the 2007 recipient of the Bednarik Award (given to the nation’s best defensive player.) The Panthers have not yet released who will replace Connor in upcoming games.

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Working out the Kinks

Panthers head coach John Fox epitomized his team’s troubles on Sunday at a press conference when he walked into Carolina’s media room, only to walk out moments later. It was as if Fox’s false start was just one more tacked onto the team’s whopping total of 13 false starts or illegal procedure penalties on the season, and it may help to explain why the Panthers got thumped by the Vikings on Sunday. Subtract all the minor infractions and you’re looking at a darn good ball team, but Carolina needs to work out these kinks before their next matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

Next Sunday, the 2-1 Falcons will meet the 2-1 Panthers, and this breakout Carolina team needs to be ready to take on the NFL sack leader and defensive end John Abraham. Abraham has contributed greatly to the Falcons, currently showing off 73.5 career sacks. When all is considered, Atlanta may become a surprisingly decent team after last season’s flounders — they lost starting quarterback Michael Vick to a federal prison sentence and coach Bobby Petrino to another job in Arkansas – and the Panthers need to be on top of their ‘A’ game to avoid what happened to them this week against the Vikings.

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Smith Back, But Panthers Still Down

Yesterday’s matchup against the Vikings resulted in a heartbreaking 10-20 loss for Carolina, yet the united Panthers have something to be faithful for. The Carolina offense we’re used to seeing just wasn’t there yesterday in the game, but any drastic change gets worse before it gets better. So is the case for the Panthers, who have just gotten the ball rolling again with their Steve Smith-revived team. Getting the pieces back in place may take a game or two, but the Panthers are traveling down the right road.

“I draw my strength from the guy next to me. Can I count on you?” So reads the inscription scrawled across black, gray and blue t-shirts worn by every Panther, distributed the week before the season opener as a gift from none other than Smith, though team members didn’t know their grateful sender at the time. It’s little things like this that the Panthers must trust in before tackling other milestones. Now that their sense of team unity is established and all starters are in place, look for the Panthers to make up yesterday’s loss in games to come, most notably next Sunday when Carolina hosts Atlanta at home.

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Panthers-Vikings Preview

If it’s Adrian Peterson the Panthers are worried about coming up against on Sunday, this could be one lucky Carolina team. Peterson, the NFC’s leading rusher and Vikings trump card, may be watching this weekend’s Panthers-Vikings matchup from the sidelines, a hamstring injury hindering the star player’s performance. Peterson hasn’t been practicing since his injury late last week in the game against the Colts, but he may return for this weekend’s game. If he doesn’t, however, Sunday’s game may be little less than worth watching as the Panthers (with Steve Smith this time) continue to dominate the league.

Last week, Carolina outperformed a tough Chicago team who had the week before beat a sturdy Indianapolis team. Indianapolis then turned around to hand it to the Vikings last week, beating them in an exciting 18-15 game. If the results can say anything, they’re indicating an edge for Carolina, and that was all without Panthers star Steve Smith in the mix. Add a potent Smith back in Carolina’s lineup and these Peterson-less (perhaps) Vikings could be in serious trouble at Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome this weekend.

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Vikings Prepare for Panthers

It’s gotta feel good to be recognized as one of the NFL’s most surprisingly good teams of the year. The Panthers have already struck down two of the best teams in the league (San Diego and Chicago), and they’re only bound to get better with Steve Smith coming back into Carolina’s lineup. Coming off a discouraging defeat last week against Indianapolis, however, the Vikings are on the other side of the spectrum. Minnesota has prepared for Sunday’s upcoming matchup against the Panthers by changing their offensive tactic. After losing two straight games in a row, Minnesota coach Brad Childress announced this week that Gus Frerotte will take Tarvaris Jackson’s spot as starting quarterback for this week’s game against the Panthers, trying to make their team more immune to Carolina’s newly-found toughness and sense of camaraderie.

As for the Panthers, everyone is expecting Smith to be back and ready for action, but the team’s only setback is the uncertainty of left guard Travelle Wharton, who has been out due to a knee sprain and has yet to announce his return for this week’s Vikings/Panthers matchup. Stay tuned for Sunday’s game to see how things with Frerotte and Wharton turn out.

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Smith’s History with the Vikings

Three-time Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith is coming off his two-game suspension with the Panthers, focusing all sights on Minnesota, the team he’s known for abusing. Smith’s past with the Vikings is an impressive one – if you’re a Panthers fan – and this 0-2 Minnesota team needs to step up their game if they want to be ready for Smith and the impressive Carolina team this upcoming weekend.

Smith’s past with the Vikings includes a couple of Minnesota slaughterings, most memorably:

• 2001, when Smith (a rookie back then) embarrassed an experienced Minnesota team, taking the opening kickoff of the season-opening game 93 yards for a touchdown. He was the first player to do so since 1980.
•2005, when Smith outran, outperformed and outgamed cornerback Fred Smoot, finishing the season matchup against the Vikings with 11 catches for 201 yards.

Steve Smith always plays well against the Vikings, and the fire is already lit for Sunday’s Carolina/Minnesota matchup. With Smith coming off a two-game hiatus, the receiver has to be just itching to get back on the playing field, so look for his explosive tactics to dominate this weekend’s game.

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