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Panthers Report Card by Charlotte Observer

Dpantherman

By Dpantherman,
in Carolina Panthers

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Dpantherman Apprentice

Dpantherman

Posted
Posted

QUARTERBACK

Grade: B Jake Delhomme turned in a gritty performance, personified by his 9-yard run for a first down with less than two minutes remaining that allowed Carolina to run out the clock. He mostly threw the ball well and didn't allow his lone interception, which led to a Redskins' touchdown, to discourage him.

RUNNING BACKS

Grade: C- Jonathan Stewart ran extremely hard and effectively in the fourth quarter after not finding much running room early. DeAngelo Williams had a costly fumble on the first play and ran hard thereafter, but couldn't break free for a long run. Fullback Brad Hoover nearly scored but fumbled the ball into the end zone for a turnover.

RECEIVERS

Grade: C+ The yards continue to be hard to come by for the receivers, but Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad still made some key plays. However, through three games, neither has a reception of 30 or more yards. Tight ends Jeff King and Dante Rosario each made nifty catches, King for a TD.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Grade: D+ Left tackle Jordan Gross struggled but was quick to apologize to his team. There weren't many holes for the running backs until late. Not scoring on straight runs from the 2 doesn't speak well for this group's blocking. Also, the Redskins sacked Delhomme three times.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Grade: A Much, much, much better this week from a group that's been struggling, though it's worth noting that the Redskins had some injuries on their offensive line. Julius Peppers had his best game of the season after a week in which he was heavily criticized. New nose tackle Hollis Thomas clearly made a difference. Rookie Everette Brown had his best game so far, and Damione Lewis and Tyler Brayton also were extremely active.

LINEBACKERS

Grade: A- Thomas Davis seemed to be all over the field. He had a sack, a tackle for a safety and batted down a fourth-down pass. He's excelling more than anyone else in the Panthers' new defensive scheme. Jon Beason had a sack and a team-high 10 tackles, clearly benefitting from Hollis Thomas' arrival.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Grade: B+ The Panthers gave up only one pass of longer than 13 yards. Chris Harris' return to the secondary made a huge difference. Rookie Captain Munnerlyn again played aggressively, but clearly was all over Santana Moss when he drew a flag for pass interference.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Grade: A After a difficult first month of the season, the special teams came up huge. Kenny Moore's 55-yard kickoff return got the Panthers comeback rolling. Quinton Teal's return to the special teams units after having to fill in for Harris at safety was a big boost. His block of a Redskins player into returner Antwaan Randle El led to the fumble that set up the winning touchdown. Jason Baker had probably his best game of the season and John Kasay stayed 100% on field goal attempts.

COACHING

Grade: B It said a lot about the Panthers that they rallied after trailing 17-2. One of the best statistics was Carolina's 32 rushing attempts. Even though the Panthers averaged only 2.7 yards per carry, it was good that they were determined to run the ball. Coach John Fox boldly went for a TD instead of a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 1. It was clear he wanted to set a tone, but was it really wise to run straight ahead four consecutive plays?

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