Did you notice?

[Zod]

A couple of years ago that pass to Smitty when he had the open field and room to run would have been a sure fire TD.

Now, the DB's catch up to him pretty easily.

Smitty is still a very good WR, but it seems his age is starting to show.

[CLTPanther]

I see you are 34, you should know it goes downhill after 30.

[Zcustom]

It was nice just to see him make ONE guy miss, was the first time I'd seen that all year

[Davidson Deac II]

I thought they caught him because they had the angle on him. He is 30, and usually the slowdown doesn't start till age 32 or so.

[LelouchBritannia]

Actually, the only reason he didnt get into the end zone is that he cut into his block rather than around it. If he went to the edge it would have been a td.

[Panthro]

It's a shame we have been missing on drafting WR's.

[TbTeRRoR]

Actually, the only reason he didnt get into the end zone is that he cut into his block rather than around it. If he went to the edge it would have been a td.

THis - I was screaming outside not in! (fantasy owner)

[Murph]

It's a shame we have been missing on drafting WR's.

WR's and QB's. One would think that after 8 drafts, Fox and Hurney would have at least found one that would qualify as above average. No such luck.

[ncbobcat]

The route was a 5 yard button-hook where he came almost to a complete stop. Besides the D-Line, the rest of vikes defense was still ahead of Smitty...namely the DBs. Not only did he have to outrun them, then had to make them all miss tackles as he chose the sideline instead of turning it inside also. The sideline is the 12th man.

I don't think Smitty has slowed down all that much.

[Jase]

A couple of years ago that pass to Smitty when he had the open field and room to run would have been a sure fire TD.

Now, the DB's catch up to him pretty easily.

Smitty is still a very good WR, but it seems his age is starting to show.

Gee, if only somebody would have had the balls to mention this earlier in the season.

[Zaximus]

He slowed down a bit, but he still has that vision. He's also a great blocker. He's also a great route runner. He also plays a lot harder for Moore than Jake I think.....

Smith has years left, we just need to get him some help.

[DirtyMagic97]

It seems like you all think Smitty used to score every time he touched the ball. Though he was amazing, he did get tackled. I still haven't seen anyone run him down from behind, and on the play in question, all the DB's were back. He got a 5 yard pass and made people miss to make it as long as it was.

I will agree that he is probably slowing down a bit. As hard as he has played in his years here, I expect it. But I still don't think it's any easy task to bring down #89.

[thefuzz]

They had the right angle.

He may have lost a step, but that's not nearly as important as the route running, jumping ability, timing, and hands, which he still has plenty of.

[rayzor]

It's a shame we have been missing on drafting WR's.

WR's and QB's. One would think that after 8 drafts, Fox and Hurney would have at least found one that would qualify as above average. No such luck.

look at who they have picked in the first two rounds since fox/hurney has been here:

1st round: (1 DL, 1 LB, 2 DBs, 2 RBs, 2 OTs)

'02- peppers

'03- gross

'04- gamble

'05- davis (drafted as a safety)

'06- williams

'07- beason

'08- stewart, otah

'09- ....

2nd round: (1 OG, 1 OC, 1 DL, 2 WR, 2 DB, 2 RB)

'02- foster

'03- bruce nelson (OG)

'04- colbert

'05- shelton

'06- marshall

'07- kalil, jarrett

'08- .....

'09- brown, martin

in the first two rounds that's

4 RBs

4 OL

4 DBs

2 DL

2 WRs

1 LB

you could say that they drafted where they had needs but they have needs in several places every year. it's still a matter of priority. what needs did they consider greater? sure, they drafted 2 WR...from USC (lazy pick?). neither of them will be here next year from the looks of things.

on defense it looks pretty balanced, esp. if you consider davis as an LB (which they eventually did).

on offense, it's a different story. concentrated on the OL and RB. top priority has always been the running game.

"well, we're a run first team!" my thinking is that they have always viewed the passing game as nothing more than a means to open up the run game. that's pretty much just stating the obvious but it also shows you how little importance the passing game has. there has been no striving for balance. they always wanted to be run heavy. the problem is that makes you very lop sided and one dimensional. they have always done just enough to try and get by.

sure, picking up keyshawn and dj hackett were attempts to improve there as was bringing back moose. and picking up david carr and josh mccown were attempts to find a future QB but where did they find these guys? the top of the scrap heap. all had been cut from their teams. in the case of key and moose, it was a couple of old WRs past their prime. with hackett, he was always hurt. carr? beaten up and shell shocked. i'd almost classify him as PTSD. and mccown? journeyman QB who had been released from 4 teams before he got here (well, it was getting ready to be four). sure, we traded for him but we only did it because he was going to get cut and they wanted first whack at him.

looking at those selections does it look like they were trying to get someone great? i don't think you can. they were trying to get someone that was just good enough to get by. it wasn't a top priority for them.

fox's philosophy has always been "run the ball stop the run". the whole thing focused on the run game. a very "old school" approach. that was fun for a while and kind of endearing.

now you are in and NFL landscape that has become very lopsided towards teams who are either pass heavy or very well balanced. teams that were once run heavy have decided to place greater emphasis on the passing game. many teams that were pass heavy have tried to bring balance a put greater emphasis on the run game.

meanwhile, the panthers have stayed true to their course of being a run first team. hopefully they have realized that has held them back. i think signs are pointing to them realizing that. it just happened too late. now they are stuck with the consequences of not being a forward thinking club. they are stuck with a weak passing game. they have no real balance to smith. they are stuck with an old QB who is past his prime who fit their old antiquated philosophies.

now we just have to see what they do to try and rectify this. if they don't, the panthers are going to be looking at another mediocre year next year.

simplest solution...bring in weis. let weis pick the best available QB (if he's already on the team, fine) and let weis/rip develop him. trade to get boldin. most of the other elements are set for a solid, well rounded, championship team.

that defense we saw against the vikings is a championship defense. our run game is elite. bring in a good QB, a solid WR to smith help smith, and better/more balanced playcalling. i promise you that team is going to be playoff bound for several years.