Peppers Takes Defensive Honors

Julius Peppers is the man. He proved it last weekend with Carolina’s win over the Raiders, contributing seven tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles to the defensive assault on Oakland, and the outstanding defensive end is now being praised for his performance by being named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week in the Panthers’ 17-6 win over Oakland Sunday.

Peppers is officially back after a disappointing 2007 season, and the 6’7”, 283-pound defensive end is piling up his repertoire with tackles and sacks. Peppers is currently among the Panthers’ all-time leaders, ranking first in the team’s history with 56 sacks, 19 forced fumbles and seven blocked kicks. The DE is a seven-year Panther and NFL veteran, acquired by Carolina in the 2002 draft out of North Carolina.

Julius Peppers is the second Panther to earn defensive honors from the NFL in the last 10 days, as middle linebacker and fellow defensive captain Jon Beason was recently chosen as the NFC Defensive Player of the Month. This dangerous Peppers-Beason combination is the perfect mix for the Panthers’ defense, and the team more than proved it in last week’s game against Oakland.

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Week 11 Power Rankings

ESPN’s Week 11 Power Rankings are up, and it’s nothing but good news for the Carolina Panthers once again. Despite Jake Delhomme’s less-than-stellar performance in Sunday’s game against the Raiders, the Panthers still came out with a victory in the game, demonstrating this strong Carolina team as a whole. Moving on up to a 7-2 record, the Panthers flip-flop with the Pittsburgh Steelers in this week’s power rankings, resulting in a number three slot for the week. Carolina swapped positions with Pittsburgh this week after Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger struggled in last week’s Colts-Steelers game (the Steelers lost 24-20.)

This monumental number three ranking is extremely motivating for the Panthers, who now sit behind only the 9-0 Tennessee Titans and 8-1 New York Giants in the league. The Panthers need to win their next game (against the still-winless Detroit Lions) to keep this momentum going into the next part of their season, where they face tough Atlanta, Green Bay, Tampa Bay and Denver teams on Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 8 and Dec. 14, respectively. The Panthers are currently coming off a 17-6 win over the Raiders, and Julius Peppers has been nominated for the Defensive Player of the Week after contributing seven tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass defense to Carolina’s win.

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Panthers Top Raiders Despite Carolina Mishaps

The Carolina Panthers beat the Raiders on Oakland’s home turf yesterday despite four Jake Delhomme interceptions and a career low completion rate in 74 starts for the Carolina quarterback. Delhomme had only seven completions and 72 yards on the entire game, yet the Panthers’ offense was spared thanks to Muhsin Muhammad and DeAngelo Williams. One of Delhomme’s few connections in the game was a three-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad in the first quarter, initially leading to a 7-0 lead for the Panthers. In the second quarter, running back DeAngelo Williams made a 69-yard run for a touchdown, chalking up 140 yards on the day.

While this Carolina offense was busy picking up for Delhomme’s slack, Julius Peppers led the way for the Panthers’ D, holding the Raiders offense down to minimal yardage while leading the way with 3 sacks. The Raiders escaped the game with 10 penalties and five sacks, faring entirely worse off than the Panthers yesterday. Carolina left the Bay Area with another victory, holding their top spot among the NFC South with a 7-2 record while the Tampa Bay Bucs and Atlanta Falcons both fell behind with matching 6-3 records. The Panthers make their way back to the East Coast to take on the winless Detroit Lions next week in a Week 11 match-up.

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Panthers-Raiders Preview

The 6-2 Carolina Panthers face the 2-6 Oakland Raiders in Sunday’s Week 10 matchup in Oakland, and the Panthers should breeze right through this game. Taking one game at a time, however, the Panthers have targeted things they need to work on in order to secure a victory in this week’s game.

When it comes to the Panthers’ second half defense, the team has allowed very high numbers of yards this season. While Carolina’s D seems to fall apart in the second half of their games, Jake Delhomme and the Carolina offense has overcompensated for their defense’s weaknesses so far this season, but how far can it go? Delhomme overcame defensive shortcomings especially in the Panthers’ game against Arizona, when Carolina’s defense gave up a season-high 425 yards to the Cardinals but still won the game, and Delhomme may have to step it up once more if this trend follows the team to Oakland.

The Raiders, on the other hand, have been suffering even more than usual since Al Davis fired coach Lane Kiffin for offensive line coach Tom Cable. In four games since Kiffin was fired, the Raiders have been outscored 100-29. Stay tuned to see what happens in Week 10 of the NFL!

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Back to Normal for Panthers

The Carolina Panthers haven’t seen their full offensive line perform together on the field in a long time. In fact, the Panthers O line has only been complete with their starting offensive lineup for two quarters in the entire first eight games they played. This Sunday, however, things might change for Carolina as they take their inury-recovering team to Oakland to play the Raiders in Week 10 of the NFL. Center Ryan Kalil and right tackle Jeff Otah have both been out for the last few games nursing ankle injuries, but yesterday both players participated fully in the Panthers’ practice for the first time.

Other players in and out with injuries throughout this season so far include left guard Travelle Wharton, who went out in the season opener with a knee injury and left tackle Jordan Gross, who was knocked unconscious by a knee to the head. Backups Geoff Hangartner and Jeremy Bridges have seen ample play time this season filling holes where other players have limped off the field, but the Panthers are undoubtedly anticipating a blowout performance once all of their starting players are back on the field, and this upcoming Sunday could be the Panthers’ chance to shine as a complete entity.

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Richardson Hospitalized for Heart Problems

Jerry Richardson, the owner of the Carolina Panthers, is not expected to be traveling with his team this weekend as the Panthers head to the East coast to take on the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. Instead, Richardson will spend his weekend recovering after having a pacemaker/defibrillator inserted into his chest following problems with an irregular heartbeat. No stranger to heart problems, Richardson was admitted to Carolinas Medical Center last week and has been hospitalized ever since.

Richardson had another scare with heart problems back in 2002, when he underwent quadruple heart-bypass surgery at the same medical center in Charlotte. The surgery was successful, and this time around his new device is a pacemaker defibrillator, which combines an internal defibrillator with pacemaker functions. The instrument is smaller than a pack of cigarettes, and will aim at treating both mechanical and electrical problems with the heart. Vice President Dick Cheney had a similar device implanted in his chest in 2001, so it seems Richardson is in good company.

72-year-old Jerry Richardson is a former NFL player, and is accredited for bringing the Panthers to the Carolinas. He is expected to be released from the hospital in the next few days.

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Good Bye for Panthers

Returning from a bye week where they watched two division rivals chalk one more up on the winning side, the Carolina Panthers are now focusing their time and energy on games down the road, first handling league bottom feeders Oakland and Detroit before testing their real strength against Atlanta, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, Denver, New York (Giants) and New Orleans in the near future. The Panthers are rested and ready to roar, and these next two games could serve as the momentum this Carolina herd needs to prove they are truly contenders for the league’s best team this year.

Going into these next couple games, the Panthers could see their offensive lineup strengthened once again, as center Ryan Kalil (who has missed the past three games) and right tackle Jeff Otah (who has missed the past four games) could be expected back in action after sitting on the sidelines due to ankle injuries. Receiver D.J. Hackett has also been battling a knee injury for most of the season, and he could make a comeback in these next few weeks, also. Aside from an offense making a comeback, the eighth-ranked Carolina defense is also expected to dominate in these next few matchups, as Carolina faces a 29th-ranked offensive Oakland team followed by the 27th-ranked offensive Detroit team.

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The Bests of the Panthers So Far

The Carolina Panthers had their first chance to reflect upon this season so far with a bye this week, and along with this team introspection comes the highs and lows of the season so far. The 6-2 Panthers are currently sitting pretty atop the NFC South with a two game winning streak thanks to the incredible talents of players like Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad, and now at the halfway point in the season the Panthers have been graded, awards given to the team’s standout players in the form of bragging rights.

According to the Gaston Gazette, the Panthers’ offensive MVP for the season so far is quarterback Jake Delhomme, who has come back solid from reconstructive elbow surgery last year and hasn’t hesitated one bit in his game since. It’s no surprise that the special teams MVP so far is John Kasay, who is 8-for-8 on field goals beyond 40 yards on the season. Jon Beason, a recent NFC Defensive Player of the Month (for October) is the Panthers’ defensive MVP on the season, while the Gazette also ranks Muhsin Muhammad the team’s best free agent move, with Jonathan Stewart the best rookie draft pick and Steve Smith coming in at the best comeback on the season.
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