Steve Smith Isn’t Happy with Panthers’ Lack of Passing Game

Jake Delhomme’s several interceptions so far this season just might be part of the reason why the Panthers have diverted to being strictly a running team. The duo of Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams help this cause, but for one Panther, the team’s running game is leaving him high and dry. That player, of course, would be receiver Steve Smith, and he’s not keeping quiet about his discouragement this season. After Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers when he caught just one pass for four yards, Smith announced that he was “no longer an asset” to the Carolina team. This was partly a jab at quarterback Jake Delhomme, but when asked this week whether he’d like to take his words back, Smith declined.

“Am I going to go back and apologize for what I said? No. I want to win, and I want to be involved in a win. And if a person feels like he’s uninvolved, it should be taken in the manner in which it has been said. That’s how I felt at the moment. I don’t think I was disrespectful. I don’t think I singled out any one particular person. That’s how it was received by the individuals who spoke to me.” Will the Panthers try to work on that passing game for this weekend’s big game? Stay tuned to find out!

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Panthers Do Some Shuffling

The Carolina Panthers are looking to buff up their lineup, and all at the expense of their 2010 fifth-round draft pick. The Panthers just picked up defensive tackle Tank Tyler from the Kansas City Chiefs just a day before the NFL’s trade deadline, sending the team’s 2010 fifth-round pick to the Chiefs in exchange for the 6-foot-2, 306-pound tackle. Tyler was a third-rounder in the ‘07 draft and started every game last season for the Chiefs, and now he’ll serve as much-needed backup for Hollis Thomas at nose tackle.

Tank Tyler is the next name on the long list of defensive tackles lining up in starting position for the Panthers this year, as starter Maake Kemoeatu and original backup Louis Leonard have both suffered injuries keeping them from the field. The Panthers signed Hollis Thomas after Week 3, and now Tyler will serve as Thomas’ backup. His arrival in Carolina is much-anticipated, as general manager Marty Hurney said, “Tank is a young defensive tackle who we think will fit in well with us. He has good size and athletic ability.” Keep it tuned to the Panthers to see how Tank Tyler will play in black and blue!

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NFC South Outlook

The Panthers have won two straight and are looking like a more capable team than they did in the first three weeks of the season.  They’ve still got a lot of work cut out for themselves if they’re going to challenge for the division title, though.  The New Orleans Saints sit atop the NFC South right now at 5-0.  New Orleans is coming off a big win at home against the New York Giants, a victory which has many pundits declaring the Saints as the cream of the crop in the NFC.  The Panthers also have the 4-1 Falcons to worry about, as they look like a playoff team as well.

The Panthers’ remaining schedule is not an easy one.  They’ve got Buffalo this week, but a lot of tough games await this team.  They’ll have to really step their game up in upcoming matchups with the Saints and Falcons if they’re going to challenge for the division crown.  The most important thing for the team is to keep the ground game rolling.  One can’t expect a similar performance to what the running attack was able to do against the Bucs, but DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are two big weapons that the team must use early and often.

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Panthers Beat Bucs

The Panthers took home their second consecutive victory yesterday, downing the Tampa Bay Bucs by a score of 28-21.  The Carolina running game finally resembled the one of last season, as DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined for 262 yards on the ground.  The Panthers’ ground game was their bread and butter last season and it’s clear that John Fox is looking to return to what made the offense so successful in 2008.  Williams and Stewart form one of the most dangerous backfield duos in the entire league and complement one another very well.

Jake Delhomme did not fare particularly well in this contest, but he didn’t have to do much with the running game working as efficiently as it was.  Still, Delhomme has to find a way to step his game up if this team is going to seriously contend.  The Carolina defense played well in this one, as one of Tampa’s three scores came via special teams and another other off a Delhomme interception.  The Panthers’ rushing attack and defense can carry them a long way this season, but some games are still going to fall on the shoulders of the quarterback.  If Delhomme can regain his form, this team could make the playoffs.

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Is Julius Peppers Worth $1 Million Per Game?

All-star Julius Peppers is making more than $1 million per game this season, but is the defensive end worth the big bucks? That question has been hotly debated since the start of the regular season, and it seems like, at least so far, he’s not. Peppers to this point has had one sack and 10 tackles this season, not posting any spectacular numbers (or ones that are worth $1 million, anyway). When compared to other defensive ends such as Minnesota’s Jared Allen, Julius Peppers seems like just a waste of money, but that could all change as Peppers gets back into his normal rhythm with the Panthers.

One teammate who’s pushing along Julius Peppers’ progress is Jon Beason, a respected Carolina linebacker. Beason recently said he was going to have a “talk” with Peppers, saying he was going to tell the defensive end, “I need you to be there with me. I need everything you’ve got.” Of their relationship, Beason said, “Pep is a guy of high character, a guy (who’s) disciplined. He respects it when it’s for real. I think we’ve got a good relationship. Whatever I say to him, just like whatever he says to me, we take to heart.” Will Julius Peppers be a whole new man in this weekend’s game against Tampa Bay? Stay tuned to find out!

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Keeping up with Maake Kemoeatu

Remember him? Maake Kemoeatu, the 350-pound veteran defensive tackle and standout Carolina Panther who tore his Achilles tendon on the very first day of training camp this past August, is still a strong presence in Charlotte - just not on the football field. Kemoeatu is still recovering from his injury and hasn’t yet started the rehabilitation process, but the defensive tackle continues to stay positive in the meantime, even while still sitting the sidelines. Claiming he’s trying to shed more than 30 pounds before next season, Maake Kemoeatu has his work cut out for him - especially as his leg is still confined to movement within a boot.

Kemoeatu’s injury this season was perhaps Carolina’s biggest setback facing the regular season, but the DT is not the only significant player out with an injury. Kemoeatu’s replacement Leonard Louis also was injured during his first game with the team, leaving him out of the action while the Panthers had to dig deep to get Hollis Thomas into the position. Of Carolina’s misfortunes this year at defensive tackle, Kemoeatu recently said, “I don’t know what happened, man. I went down and the next person went down and another person went down, and before you know it, we’re three or four guys down. But hopefully Thomas gets to hold up. He’s been in the league a long time; he’s a veteran player; he knows what he’s getting himself into. Hopefully he’ll be the backbone of that defense to help (Jon) Beason and T.D. (Thomas Davis) and those guys in the back end.”

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Panthers Find First Win of the Season against Redskins

It sure wasn’t pretty, but the Carolina Panthers found a way to come up with their first win of the regular season yesterday, pulling out a 20-17 win over the Washington Redskins after some intense Week 5 play. Yesterday’s Panthers-Redskins matchup isn’t likely to be a memorable one made for the history books, but it was enough for Carolina to get that boost of confidence the team has been waiting for all season. The Panthers put up a fight in the second half of yesterday’s game, making a comeback from Washington’s 17-2 lead in the third quarter and finding an 18-point boost that gave the Panthers the big win.

After yesterday’s victory over the Washington Redskins, fullback Brad Hoover discussed Carolina’s classic style of gritty play, saying, “Maybe this is us again. It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure. In fact, for a while there I was thinking this was one of the ugliest things I’d seen in a while.” But then again, Panthers fans are used to that kind of play. In the end, it’s the win that counts, and at least Carolina doesn’t go into Week 6 without a win.

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Panthers-Redskins Preview

The 0-3 Carolina Panthers will take on the 2-2 Washington Redskins this Sunday in what could be the Panthers’ first win of the regular season, and all it’s going to take to win this Week 5 matchup is everything. Jake Delhomme needs to be on top of his game, his offense needs to work with him and Carolina’s defense needs to hold the Skins’ rushing game to a minimum in order for the Panthers to chalk up their first win of the season, but it could all happen this Sunday when Carolina and Washington face off at Bank of America Stadium.

Last time the Panthers and Redskins met was in Week 12 of the 2006 regular season, when the Skins slid past the Panthers 17-13 after a 66-yard touchdown by Chris Cooley in the final minutes of the game. This time it’s an all new ball game, so look for Steve Smith to lead Carolina’s offense into the end zones. DeAngelo Williams is another Panther who needs to step it up this weekend, and if things all come together the Panthers will be on their way to correcting the 0-3 start they’re currently harboring.

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Pink Panthers Ready for Action

The Carolina Panthers, just like all teams around the league this month, will have a select few players suiting up in pink cleats, towels and patches this weekend as part of the NFL’s breast cancer awareness campaign, and among the pink Panthers to storm the field will be DeAngelo Williams and Muhsin Muhammad, who both have had family members diagnosed with breast cancer. The Panthers are searching for a way to turn around the team’s 0-3 start on the season, and perhaps inspiration from the “pink” campaign will be the little extra motivation the players need to succeed.

Williams especially will be playing his heart out this weekend as he proudly laces up his pink cleats, as the running back has lost three aunts to the disease. His mother is also currently in remission from breast cancer, and of the NFL’s efforts to promote breast cancer awareness Williams said, “She was flipping through the channels this weekend and she was calling me every time she saw somebody in pink. It meant a lot to her, so I know it meant a lot to a lot of the other cancer survivors and families out there.”

Muhsin Muhammad, whose mother and mother-in-law have battled breast cancer, will be another Panther clad in pink this weekend, and the players aren’t about to let their biggest fans down. Carolina has had a week off from regular season play to rework game plans and refocus their energies, and hopefully their efforts will pay off this Sunday, when the Panthers battle the Washington Redskins in Week 5 of the regular season.

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Panthers Take Things One Day at a Time

The Carolina Panthers will face the Washington Redskins in what’s sure to be a tough battle this weekend in Week 5 of the NFL’s regular season, and the Panthers have every reason to believe they’ll be able to tack up their first win of the season this Sunday when they take on the Skins. While it’s easy to look ahead to the future - the Panthers play the very average Redskins, Buccaneers and Bills in the next three weeks - some wary advice from various teammates is telling the Panthers to take things one day and one game at a time.

Chris Harris, a strong safety for Carolina who’s been out with injury for several weeks, gave his teammates some words of advice last week, saying, “I tell guys that I was in Chicago when we started out 1-3 and won eight straight and went 11-5 and had a first-round bye in the playoffs (in 2005). One and three is not the end of the world. It’s not where you want to be, but it’s definitely not the end of the world. I’ve experienced it and been through it, so I can testify that. It starts with one. You can’t look ahead, just focus on this one game and take it one game at a time.”

Similarly, quarterback Jake Delhomme had similar thoughts to getting past the Panthers’ current hump. “I’ll be honest with you: I know we play Washington; I think we play Tampa (Bay) after that and then I don’t have the slightest idea (after that). And that’s the truth. You’ve got to focus on one - and our one this week is to try and beat Washington.” Will they be able to pull off that first win this weekend? Stay tuned to find out!

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