WEEK 2
Sunday, Sep. 19
Carolina at Kansas City, 1:00 pm
Chicago at Green Bay, 1:00 pm
Denver at Jacksonville, 1:00 pm
Houston at Detroit, 1:00 pm
Indianapolis at Tennessee, 1:00 pm
Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 1:00 pm (*upset special #1*)
San Francisco at New Orleans, 1:00 pm (*upset special #2*)
St. Louis at Atlanta, 1:00 pm
Washington at N.Y. Giants, 1:00 pm
Seattle at Tampa Bay, 4:05 pm
Buffalo at Oakland, 4:15 pm
Cleveland at Dallas, 4:15 pm (*upset special #3*)
New England at Arizona, 4:15 pm
N.Y. Jets at San Diego, 4:15 pm
Miami at Cincinnati, 8:30 pm
Monday, Sep. 20
Minnesota at Philadelphia, 9:00 pm
Carolina's game against Kansas City will be crucial. If we can bounce back from last night's loss and the loss of Steve Smith, I say we're still in contention for the division (matter of fact, Quickie writer Dan Shanoff said even with last night's loss and the loss of Smith, the Panthers are still the best team in the division). I'm not sure that the Packers blitz packages were TOTALLY effective against Carolina (don't get me wrong; I don't deny that they pounded us). Even though it looked like a bad game television wise, Delhomme still threw for 284 yds and 2 TDs (and that INT was DEFINATELY not his fault. It was a perfectly thrown pass and Smith just bobbled it one too many times). The main point that led to Carolina's downfall last night was the inexplicable choice to abandon the run. Stephen Davis carried the ball only nine times for 26 yds. That is flat out HORRIBLE. Offensive line changes WILL be made for the game against Kansas City (the entire right side of Matt Willig and Doug Brzezinski will be replaced by Todd Fordham and Tutan Reyes) and Carolina needs to find the right mix of players on the Offensive line to open up holes for the rushing game. What's worse is, with the loss of Smith, teams will be able to cheat their safeties up and stack eight or nine men in the box. The Panthers HAVE to make them pay for it. Colbert will get the start at Smith's spot (for now). There has been rumors that Carolina will persue Keenan McCardell, but I can't see it happening with Carolina's conservative spending and McCardell's outrageous contract demands (Some people are also making rumors of Michael Irvin unretiring to play for Carolina; where the fuck people come up with this shit, I don't know. There's no way in hell that's happening). For now, it'll be Colbert and Muhammad. Colbert played spectacularly well this preseason, catching eight balls for 277 yds. However, it was only preseason, and we won't know how well Colbert will respond under pressure.
The Carolina D was also a cause for concern last week. Granted, they got two sacks and forced a fumble, but it wasn't nearly enough. It looked like the vaunted Panthers front four were manhandled by the Green Bay offensive line. This can't happen against a (arguably) better offensive line belonging to Kansas City. KC, in my mind, has limited options on offense: Preist Holmes and Tony Gonzalez. If the D can keep those two in check, we have a good chance to win the game. The key, however, is RUNNING the football. We have to get a 100 yd game out of Stephen Davis or we WILL lose.
As for Smith, I wish him a speedy recovery, but Carolina needs to see where they are near the end of the season. If we're going to miss the playoffs, he should just sit out the entire year and fully recover that leg. However, if we make the playoffs, then I think we should bring him in and see if he can play.
Man, this is gonna be one rough ride.
