Panthers on the Prowl: Carolina Panthers Franchise

[ko8e24gold]

Panthers News and Notes

Last Updated: August 11, 2010

By Pat Yasinskas

Antonio Bryant Career Stats: 106 Games, 372 Receptions, 5685 Yds, 15.3 Average, 30 Touchdowns

• Former Bengal wide reciever, Antonio Bryant, is scheduled to work out for the Carolina Panthers Saturday evening, after the Panthers return from Baltimore. The seven year man from the University of Pittsburgh, wants a long term deal with a team. This would be a smart and good move for the Bengals. Bryant could come in and compliment, a frustrated, Steve Smith. Bryant could also help Smith mentor the young recievers. However, if the Panthers plan on signing Bryant, they need to do it this weekend, so that he can learn the offense befor the start of the season.
• Jimmy Clausen will start the first half against the Baltimore Ravens Thursday night. Tony Pike will play the 3rd quarter and Matt Moore will play the 4th quarter.
• Mike Goodson and Tyrell Sutton will split carries in the 4th quarter at running back.

[spyder_DG]

I like the Bryant signing. In my Panthers franchise I moved Tyrell Sutton and a pick for James Jones....

[ko8e24gold]

Panthers Dominate Ravens, Clausen looks okay in Panthers debut

By Pat Yasinskas

Baltimore, MD ---The debut of Jimmy Clausen was about as good as many thought it would be. He threw one touchdown, but also threw two interceptions. The first interception was a throw intended for Brandon LaFell. Fabinan Washington was draped all over Lafell, but Clausen tried to thread the needle, and was picked off, allowing Washington to take it to the house. The second interception was not his fault, as he was drilled by Haloti Ngata, causing Clausen to throw a duck right into the hands of Ray Lewis. DeAngelo Williams went off, running for 155 yards on 14 attempts and one touchdown. He also added an additional 46 yard touchdown reception. The reception looked good, as he broke DaWan Landry's ankles at the twenty and that allowed him to trot into the endzone for a touchdown.

Both teams started off slow, as both of the teams opening drives stalled. Baltimore sent out the punter and kicked the ball to return man Captain Munnerlyn. Munnerylyn didn't field the punt cleanly, muffing it at his own 37, and Baltimore would recover it. Joe Flacco made Captain Munnerlyn pay for his mistake as he connected with Todd Heap for a 9 yard touchdown strike, making it a 7-0 game. The Panthers next drive ended at their own 46, forcing Jeff Baker to punt the ball. Baltimore's drive was promising, but ended in a 50 yard field goal missed by Billy Cundiff. The Panther's would get the ball back, and five plays later, Jimmy Clausen hooked up with DeAngelo Williams for the 46 yard touchdown pass making it a 7-7 game. Baltimore's next few drives would stall and Carolina would capitalize. John Kasay hit a 41 yard field goal, making it a 10-7 game. Baltimore punted the ball and pinned Carolina all the way back at their own one yard line, but DeAngelo Williams found a seam and took it to the house for a 99 yard touchdown run, making it a 17-7 game. The defense made yet another stop and the offense would put the ball in John Kasay's range, and he would hit the 38 yard field goal, giving the Panthers more of a cushion, 20-7. The Panthers got the ball back on there own 38 with 1:32 left in the first half. Jimmy Clausen tried to fit his pass into tight coverage, and Fabian Washington made the rookie pay, returning it for a touchdown right before the half to give his team momentum and make it a game again, 20-14. Tony Pike started the second half and on his opening drive, drove the Panthers down the field to allow John Kasay to hit from 45 yards out, to put the Panthers up, 23-14. Marc Bulger came alive in the fourth quarter, driving the Ravens 72 yards, and capped it off with a 8 yard touchdown strike to Donte' Stallworth, making it a 23-20 game, as Billy Cundiff miss the extra point. Matt Moore would answer back, driving the ball down to the one yard line, which would set up Mike Goodson for the 1 yard dive, over the linemen (30-20). Carolina kicked off after the score, and Nic Harris layed a huge hit on Chris Carr, and he would recover the fumble, score, and put this game,seemingly, out of reach for the Ravens (37-20). Marc Bulger didn't care about the score, driving the ball at will, but threw a duck into the endzone, and it ended up in the hands of linebacker, Nic Harris. Mike Goodson would run out the remainder of the clock, sealing the victory for the Panthers.

Matt Moore dislocated his shoulder in the fourth quarter, and he will have testing this week. He is more than likely going to be out for the remainder of the preseason, giving the edge to Jimmy Clausen to start the opener, against the New York Giants, at New Meadowlands Stadium.

This was a good win for the Panthers, but they should still be concerned about a lot of things. They must start converting on third down. Four out of twelve is not very good, but luckily, the defense was able to play exceptionally well. Another thing is the recievers need to step up. There was not a single reciever with a touchdown catch Thursday night. On a good note, the team got nine sacks, largely due to the Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks holding the ball way to long. A lot of the credit goes to this Panther's secondary. They held up the recievers, allowing the linemen enough time to penetrate, to get to the quarterback. Antonio Bryant may be added to help out this weak recieving core this weekend. Carolina takes on the New York Jets at home Saturday. The starting quarterback will not be named until later this week.

Coach Fox's thoughts: "I thought we played extremely well defensively. Our coverage down field was excellent, allowing our linemen to get to Flacco and Bulger. I would like to see our recievers get into the endzone, other than that I am very pleased with how we played. I have not decided who is going to start against New York, but Tony has just as good of a chance as Jimmy, because he needs some experience. I am very disappointed that Matt was injured, but he and I both think that he will be ready for the opener against New York."

Clausen scrambles out of the pocket and finds DeAngelo Williams for a TD

DeAngelo Williams runs wild vs. Ravens

Final Score
37 20

[ko8e24gold]

Quote: Originally Posted by spyder_DG

I like the Bryant signing. In my Panthers franchise I moved Tyrell Sutton and a pick for James Jones....

I'll take that into consideration. It's just Tyrell Sutton has been such a good return man for me. lol.

[ko8e24gold]

Panthers News and Notes
Last Updated: August 20, 2010

By Pat Yasinskas

The Carolina Panthers were very impressed with Antonio Bryant's workout Saturday. "He did excellent today", said Coach John Fox. "After the workout, I met with Antonio and his agent, and we have agreed on the terms of a 5 year contract. We are very excited to have him on this team and can't wait to get him on the field." When Antonio was asked how excited he was, he said, "I can't wait to get on the field and show these guys how excited I am. I'm going to play with intensity and help this team to win." The Panthers also signed defensive back, Macho Harris. Sources tell me that they have agreed to a 4 year deal. The Panthers are also in talks to aquire Devin Aromashodu, a wide reciever from the Chicago Bears. There are not many details about these talks, but I will keep you posted. Jimmy Clausen will get the start this weekend against the Giants.

Antonio Bryant signed a 5 yr contract with the Panthers

Macho Harris signed a 4 yr contract with the Panthers

Jimmy Clausen gets the start for the second week in a row

[ko8e24gold]

Panthers Silence Jets, Win Big

By Pat Yasinskas

Charlotte, NC --- The Panthers, once again, had a stellar defensive performance, only allowing 6 points, recording 3 sacks, and causing 3 turnovers. The offense was slow to develop, but on the third drive, the Panthers unveiled the wildcat answer, and Brandon LaFell took it in for the 20 yard touchdown run, giving the Panthers the lead, 7-0. In the second quarter, the Panthers got the ball into Jets territory both times they had the ball. The first drive looked good, but ended with some questionable play calling, as DeAngelo Williams ran the ball on a third and six, and fell just short of the first down marker. John Kasay would come on to kick and make the 31 yard field goal, putting the Panthers up by two possesions, 10-0. The next drive would result in the same, as yet another Panther drive stalled, and John Kasay would come on to hit another 41 yarder, making it a 13-0. The third quarter was all about both defenses. It was an offensive struggle, but the Panthers were able to drive the ball into Jets territory and John Kasay did what he does best, and hit a 46 yard field goal, putting the Panthers ahead by 3 possesions, 16-0. In the fourth quarter, veteran Mark Brunell would finally give this Jets offense some life, connecting with Brad Smith for the 6 yard touchdown pass. The Jets offense went for two, and elected to pass it. The Panthers defense would make them pay. Jon Beason came through the middle unblocked, and got Mark Brunell to throw before he wanted to. The 2 point conversion would fail, so the score remaind, 16-6. Jimmy Clausen, who replaced the injured Tony Pike, would respond back with a clock melting, 64 yard drive, that would lead to a 12 yard pass to Gary Barnidge for the touchdown (23-6). This seemed to take the life out of the Jets defense, as John Kasay would hit a 32 yard field goal with just over five minutes to play (26-6). With three and a half minutes left, Jonathan Stewart found a seam in the defense, and ran it for the 16 yard touchdown (33-6). With 2:23 left, the Panthers went three and out, but were in field goal range, due to New York going for it on fourth and not converting. John Kasay would kick yet another field goal from 40 yards out (36-6).

It was an awful performance by the Jets offense. They had three turnovers (2 INT's and 1 lost fumble), 98 rushing yards and 106 passing yards. Coach Ryan said after the game, "Carolina has some exotic blitz packages. They bring guys from anywhere, and Mark couldn't get a read on the blitzes. However, this is not an excuse. He needs to start getting rid of the ball quicker." Coach Fox said, "We are doing an excellent job on defense. We're making the quarterback throw before he would like and our corners are playing lights out, I just hope we can play like this when it counts."

Tony Pike will be able to play next week. He went through testing after the game, and it was a minor elbow sprain. Antonio Bryant did not play against the Jets. He and Steve Smith are expected to be starting against the Titans. Macho Harris was very impressive in his Panther debut. He had 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception, and 1 pass deflection.

Noticable Peformances

Jonathan Stewart: 17 Rushes, 89 Yards, 5.2 YPC, 1 TD

Brandon LaFell: 8 Receptions, 73 Yards, 2 Rushes, 18 Yards, 1 TD

Sherrod Martin: 6 Tackles, 1 INT,

Dan Connor: 6 Solo Tackles, 1 Assisted Tackle, 4 Tackles for loss, 1 Sack, 1 Fumble Recovery

Final Score
6 36

[spyder_DG]

Quote: Originally Posted by ko8e24gold

I'll take that into consideration. It's just Tyrell Sutton has been such a good return man for me. lol.

I use Mike Goodson, Armanti (believe it or not) and now Devin Thomas on returns. I went with Jones over Bryant because I wanted a young guy who I could use for the next 10 seasons. Jordy Nelson and Jacoby Jones are also really good trade options.

[ko8e24gold]

Panthers News and Notes
Last Updated: September 3, 2010

By Pat Yasinskas

Coach John Fox said he expects Antonio Bryant to play this weekend against the Titans. He also said that the starting quarterback position is Jimmy Clausen's job to lose. "Matt hasn't had any playing time with the starters, and Jimmy has, so it's Jimmy's job to lose. It is very unfortunate for Matt that he got hurt in week one of the preseason, but he understands."

Steve Smith showed signs of frustration during practice this week. "Coach, get me the (explicit) ball! I've only had two catches this year!" Steve Smith downplayed the incident, saying, "I was frustrated. It's no big deal, we've talked and moved past it." When the media asked Smith about wanting to be traded, he said, "I don't want to be traded. I started my career here, and I want to finish it here, but if the organization wants me out, there's nothing I can do about it." Coach John Fox said, "We aren't taking any offers for Steve at this time. I want him here. He is a big part of this team's offense." Obviously he's not if he's only caught two passes for thirty seven yards, and you just signed Antonio Bryant to a 5 year deal. Something tells me he is going to be traded.

Are Steve Smith's days as a Panther limited?

Negotiations between the Bears and Panthers have fallen through, as the Bears had too high of an asking price for Devin Aromashodu. They wanted at least a third round pick for him. Expect the Panthers to continue to look for a proven slot reciever to help boost this recieving core.

• Defensive coordinator, Ron Meeks, says he will keep bringing exotic blitzes until offenses prove that they can beat it.