Monday, December 18, 2006

Well, That's Pretty Much That...

This is what it's come to for the Panthers? A one time Super Bowl contender was reduced to looking more like the 1-15 team of George Seifert than anything that resembles a John Fox team. In their final home game of the season and with any legitimate hope of the playoffs hanging in balance, the Panthers were whipped by the Pittsburgh Steelers 37-3. The Steelers went right at Carolina's weaknesses, handing the ball of to running back Willie Parker 23 times for 132 yards and a touchdown while blitzing the Panthers' Chris Wenkie and earning five sacks on the day. The Steelers built an insurmountable 17-0 lead in the second quarter and there was nothing that Carolina's offense could do to respond. The offensive line was technically on the field, but just as easily could have been sitting in the stands for all the protection that Chris Wenkie got or holes that were opened for Carolina's running game(Note: 11 rushing attempts for 43 yards does not qualify as a "running game", but for simplicity the blog will call it a running game anyway) So where did it all go wrong this season? Was it really as early as week one when the Panthers lost starting left tackle Travelle Wharton and middle linebacker Dan Morgan? Was it in week two when the normally conservative Panthers tried(and failed) a lateral from Chris Gamble to Richard Marshall on a punt return in Minnesota? How about Jake Delhomme's INT in the endzone with 3:57 left in the Panther's game against the Bengals? What would have happened to the season if Mike Minter hadn't missed the Redskin's Chris Cooley instead of giving up a 66-yard touchdown reception to a fullback? Trust me there are more ghosts of games past that will haunt the Panthers this Christmas, but I think that this team's problem goes back to the offseason. Carolina was a team that didn't have proper depth on the offensive line and guessed wrong with their assessment of their linebackers. Those mistakes have killed the Panthers in two of the fundamental tasks towards winning a football game; establishing the run and stopping the other team from doing the same. The last few drafts for Carolina haven't produced an impact player...Chris Gamble, Kerry Colbert, Thomas Davis, Eric Shelton... Yes, DeAngleo Williams(#1 pick from 2006) looks like he might be a decent running back, but he needs a line to run behind. The Panthers brain trust of Marty Hurney and John Fox did a great job of rebuilding the Panthers from the disaster of the 1-15 season of 2001, but they're also responsible for the decline of last season's NFC championship game participant into the 37-3 losers of this past Sunday.

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