ANAHEIM -- On the evening the Yankees became baseball's first team to finalize a playoff entry, they were presented with a refresher course of just how emotional and gratifying the next month could be.
The Yankees' return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus was secured off-site, but their thrilling 6-5 victory over the Angels on Tuesday made it all the more satisfying, as they took it upon themselves to rewrite an Angel Stadium script that has become tired.
Using the long ball to open up a five-run lead with three home runs, the Yankees earned their first win in Anaheim this season by switching things up with some ninth-inning speed. Brett Gardner singled, stole second on a pitch-out, moved up on a bunt and came home with the eventual winning run on an Alex Rodriguez sacrifice fly.
"These are big games for us," Gardner said. "Tonight definitely felt like a playoff game. This is pretty high intensity, a pretty good environment -- a big win for us, and I think that tonight is going to be a lot like how the playoffs are, no matter if we're playing the Angels or whoever."
ATLANTA — Matt Ryan has a new favorite receiver. No surprise who it is.
Ryan threw three touchdown passes, hooking up with Tony Gonzalez for the second week in a row, and the Atlanta Falcons held off the Carolina Panthers 28-20 on Sunday.
Through his first two games with the Falcons, Gonzalez has 12 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Just what Atlanta had in mind when it dealt for a tight end who figures to end up in Canton — and starting 2-0 is just what Gonzalez had in mind when he asked to be traded by lowly Kansas City.
The Falcons already have matched the Chiefs' win total for all of last season.
"Not a bad start at all," Gonzalez said. "It's just great to be part of a team like this."
This week the Panthers go to Atlanta to play in their first division game against the Falcons.
Their season opener against the Eagles is a game which they will need to put the pain of the loss behind them, while focusing on the glaring mistakes that made their first loss so meaningful.
This team still has the right attitude and has the right answers during television interviews, but somewhere between what is said and how the game is being played, the message gets lost.
This week, focus needs to be on providing better protection for the quarterback. I was not at all enthusiastic with the poor protection provided Jake Delhomme, and while it is next to impossible for five offensive lineman to block seven defenders, the Eagles didn't bring seven defensive players to blitz on every down.
Jake Delhomme had his share of faults, as well. Staring down receivers Muhsin Muhammad and Steve Smith while they were obviously covered quite well and not hitting targets that were obviously open was the biggest mistake. Not protecting the football was the other. The most costly mistake of course were the four intercepted passes he threw.
Overall, the offense played poorly. The playcalling was a bit erratic. The defense, though improved, still has a couple areas to clean up. Special teams also needs to work on the defensive aspect of their game as well.
The last time the Panthers played in Atlanta, they suffered a heartbreaking loss.
This time around, there are still so many unanswered questions, that it's likely impossible to predict against the division-rival "Dirty Birds."
For starters, the Panthers defensive line will have to do everything it can to stop Falcons running back Michael Turner. As it is, the defensive line's efforts to stop Eagles running back Brian Westbrook were futile.
The other big weapon the Falcons have is the one who lines up behind center, Matty "Ice" Ryan. Ryan has a big arm and at least three reliable receivers in Roddy White, Jerious Norwood, and tight end Tony Gonzalez. They're good at catching short chip-shots and White is deadly when deep in the open field.
The Panthers return duo of Mike Goodson and Captain Munnerlyn played well against the Eagles return defense. The key contributing factor on both their parts, was neither player committed a fumble on the return.
So Sunday's keys to victory at Atlanta are to limit: costly penalties, turnovers, and interceptions. The defensive responsibilities will be to contain the run, put pressure on the quarterback, create turnovers, and make tackles--a tall order to fill at this point, to say the least.
As usual, I'm hoping for a better performance this week than the one that I--and many other Panthers fans--was so rudely slapped in the face this Sunday past.
On a quick side note, if the Panthers can pull off a win this Sunday and if the Saints were to lose in Philadelphia, it will put the Cats in a tie with Atlanta for first place in the division.
In being a little more humble and quite cautious this week, I give the Birds of the ATL a win in this matchup, lifting them to 2-0 and dropping the Panthers to 0-2.
One of the most blessed beauties in all of sports is the Cinderella, the underdog, the stallion. Every year in every sport played, a stallion comes to the forefront and through heart and soul alone, they excel as leaders of what they do and triumph against the odds.
In this segment I will assess the outcome of the Carolina Panthers opening game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and give you my initial thoughts on the game itself.
ONCE AGAIN, A GREAT START RUINED:
The Carolina Panthers offense took the opening drive and marched 70 yards down the field on a 13 play drive and put a touchdown on the board to go up 7-0, just like the Arizona Cardinal game last Jan. The drive was well planned out and well executed.
Our defense got us the ball back quickly after a Philadelphia punt, and that’s when it all went downhill. On second and six, Jake Delhomme tried to hit Steve Smith on a slant pass over the middle, and the ball sailed on him, Smith got a piece of the ball trying to make a play, and the ball was intercepted by Philadelphia’s Sheldon Brown. Eagles score on a 49 yard field goal by David Akers. After the interception, Carolina’s defense gave up 1 yard in 3 plays. Carolina 7-3.
After I saw Delhomme’s pass picked off I had a feeling we were in trouble. It was as inaccurate a pass as you could have. But the defense was playing great, so I had optimism.
Then Delhomme fumbled the ball and Philly scores a touchdown on defense. Now it is beginning to snowball.
Three and out for Carolina, punt return for Philadelphia for a touchdown. At this point Carolina trails 17-7, and the defense has given up a total of 33 yards.
Next Panther possession: Delhomme throws into a double zone blanket around Steve Smith, intercepted by Sheldon Brown.
Defense gives up a 9 yard touchdown drive, Philadelphia 24 Carolina 7. Defense has given up 42 total yards up to this point.
MY THOUGHTS AT THE HALF:
First, I want a new quarterback at this point. Jake looked down, confused, and his accuracy was embarrassing. I tried to imagine what the Panthers could do to come back and win this game but Carolina is down 31-10. A three touchdown lead is not insurmountable, but it was clear the team needed a spark and I was hoping that another quarterback may provide that spark.
Delhomme is still the quarterback, so I write the ship off at this point. I believe the team did too, because they played even worst. There was no spark plug, and no chance.
On Delhomme’s next two pass attempts, they were both intercepted. Game over.
MY THOUGHTS AFTER THE GAME:
I remember thinking of how everybody blew the pre-season off and said “It doesn’t matter” in an obvious attempt to keep the confidence alive for opening day. This team was junk in the pre-season, and it carried over into week one.
I thought about the Washington game in the 2008 pre-season, and how important it was to have an outing like that just before the regular season. Carolina won that game 47-3, and used that game to propel them to a 12-4 season in 2008.
I also thought about the Arizona game of last January, and how similar it was to this particular game. A great start on both sides of the ball was ruined by turnover after turnover.
I thought about the next game in Atlanta, and where we may find the heart to compete in that game. The Carolina Panthers have the talent to win that game, but in football, talent is only half the battle in my opinion.
I thought about the 2003 season opener against Jacksonville, and how we brought in a no name quarterback, a stallion, to become a savior of a franchise with passion, will, and a desire to propel this organization with very little history.
We dream, everyday, of many ways we can improve our lives around us. The joy that comes in dreaming is immeasurable. In our dreams, we can do anything we want, be anyone we want to be, and there are no physical or mental limitations.
Then we wake up to find reality is a little different. The past is gone, and some of that past is impossible to get back. It is in this moment that we all realize that there are physical and mental limitations all around us, and within us.
It may be time for the Carolina Panthers to wake up and see that the dream is gone and that it will have no happy ending if they allow the limitations to dominate any chance they have. Sometimes even the will cannot overcome the limitations, and what we had before will not ever come back.
It is in this moment that the Carolina Panthers must realize that the horse they are riding can’t carry us anymore. The limitations are just too much to overcome and the horse is wounded beyond repair. As bad as we hate this outcome, everyone involved must get off the wounded horse……and find another stallion to ride.
Donovan McNabb limped to the locker room with a rib injury. Jake Delhomme was booed off the field.
The veteran quarterbacks had rough games for different reasons Sunday, putting both franchises in flux after the Philadelphia Eagles routed the Carolina Panthers 38-10.
A dominant performance by the Eagles thanks to Delhomme's five turnovers was tempered by concerns about McNabb, after he walked gingerly to the locker room following his 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
With the suspended Michael Vick watching from a luxury suite, Kevin Kolb finished the game at quarterback as the Eagles ran out the clock on a miserable day for the Panthers.
It's here. The moment we've all been waiting for! The regular season, Week One home opener that brings the Philadelphia Eagles to Charlotte in what has been hyped up--by me--as the preview to the 2010 NFC Championship! Wishful thinking? Only time will tell.
Both teams have suffered some setbacks with injuries, both teams suffering some heavy injury setbacks in preseason.
The Panthers were missing a number of starters, including defensive tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu, who was relegated to the ranks of Injured Reserve on the opening week of training camp.
The Eagles, having their own injury-laden woes, suffered a major setback, losing defensive signal-caller Stewart Bradley, also to the Injured Reserve list.
While I do have respect for them, Eagles fans and the media crack me up at times.
The repetitious and boorish media sensationalism of Eagles fans being horrible people, and the continuous dredging up of incidents that occured some 25 years ago, should remain lost in ancient history.
The rumor that Eagles fans are brutal to all fans but their own, is also a common misconception. While attending the Eagles training camp, a Dallas Cowboys fan came in wearing a white Tony Romo jersey. Even the Eagles fans I was with offered no entertainment...Not even a "Booo!" My view on Eagles fans has changed tremendously. Their reputation far preceeds them, their bark being far worse than their bite.
The latest news is the Eagles may have just settled on a tight end, after releasing Tony Curtis and signing former Patriots tight end Alex Smith to a one-year contract.
The strength of the Eagles defense up the middle will be challenged. Omar Gaither is the predicted starter at middle linebacker for the Eagles on Sunday. For the Eagles to succeed by not allowing the Panthers to exploit the middle, Gaither has to succeed.
Gaither, while a good leader, a solid tackler, and very athletic in coverage, he needs to be in the right place at the right time. Gaither is almost 20 pounds lighter than Bradley as well, which should bring some concern to the Eagles, considering the Panthers have road-graders making up their offensive line. The plus side for the Eagles is Gaither has played very well in their defensive scheme.
For the Eagles defense to do well, Gaither and everyone around him, will have to work hard to contain Panthers running backs DeAngelo Williams, and any combination of Jonathan Stewart or Mike Goodson. As long as the Panthers running game is able to find a chinque in the armor of the Eagles defense, the more they pick at it the better chance they'll have at eating up yardage.
While it's nothing fancy, Carolina's tactic of beating a defense has been very effective. Running the football to wear out the defense, then using a play-action fake throwing the ball over the top to star receiver Steve Smith--a.k.a. Superman--who is the most difficult player in the league to defend in man-to-man coverage.
Another player for the Jake Delhomme-to-Steve Smith or the tight ends connection to test, is rookie free safety Macho Harris--no affiliation to The Coalition's Macho Man--who takes the place of the departed Brian Dawkins in the Eagles defensive secondary.
Some areas the Panthers offense will need to be careful on, is in the passing game. The Eagles defensive secondary has the threat of No. 1 cornerback Asante Samuel, and No. 2 cornerback Sheldon Brown.
Samuel will most likely be used against Steve Smith, and since the Panthers love to line Smith up all over the field, we will probably see a lot of Samuel being moved around to cover our top receiving threat.
This game is filled with many offensive weapons on both sides. While the Eagles receivers seem scrappy, as long as they can hold onto the ball in a receiving situation, they'll eat up the yardage. This is where the Panthers defensive secondary comes in--the secondary that seems to have remained lost since late last season and in the playoff meltdown against the Cardinals.
Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall need to step up in a huge way, lest they get burned by Eagles receivers Jeremy Maclin, Kevin Curtis, and DeSean Jackson all afternoon. We should also see the use of rookie defensive back Captain Munnerlyn in nickel packages.
Let's also not forget that Eagles multi-purpose running back Brian Westbrook will also make his debut Sunday. Westbrook is the biggest offensive threat the Eagles have in Week One. Depending on the capacity and situations he's used, we'll need to see the defensive line step up, and we'll want to see the linebackers and defensive ends step in to make plays.
Like the Eagles, the Panthers also have a multi-purpose running back in DeAngelo Williams. While Williams is seldom used as a receiver compared to Westbrook, he is still a threat in that situation.
The Panthers biggest advantage in Sunday's game is from the offense; the bigger potential from the blockers on the offensive line, including the fake-out blocker-turn-receiver option play that the Panthers use receiver Muhsin Muhammad at sometimes.
This week the Panthers and Eagles split about even when declaring which team has an advantage.
Either team's biggest problem is their own mistakes, errant penalties, and an uninvited visit from the injury bug.
One specific issue that can hurt the Panthers' chances of winning are conservative play-calling by the Panthers on defense at any time.
The downfall for the Eagles could be if Andy Reid gets into the pass-happy playcalling mode. Then the excuse--aside from Reid's status quo response of not putting the team in a position to win--will be that the offense and McNabb were never able to establish a rhythm in the third preseason game against the Jaguars.
As painful as the Eagles defeat in Arizona was, the Panthers might have been even more stunned by their loss. Playing at home, Carolina was steamrolled by the Cardinals 33-13 and quarterback Jake Delhomme had an astounding six turnovers. In trying to get over the hump, the Eagles and Panthers took different off-season approaches. The Eagles shook up their offensive line, brought in Michael Vick, and drafted two explosive offensive players early. The Panthers, meanwhile, focused more on keeping their nucleus together, even extending quarterback Jake Delhomme, despite his playoff performance. While the Eagles may have more talent on paper, they haven't had much experience playing together as a group, so it figures to be an exciting and hotly contested season opener.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Players quickly showered and dressed in the Pittsburgh locker room Thursday night before hustling to the bus following their 21-10 victory over Carolina in the exhibition finale.
Some of the stars may have been able to skip the shower part.
Starters on both sides played only three snaps apiece. Ben Roethlisberger threw one pass—a 7-yard completion on third-and-9. The first-team defense, playing without star linebacker James Harrison, forced a three-and-out to complete the preseason without allowing a touchdown.
It's no surprise then that the Steelers (3-1) appeared in a hurry to leave Carolina. Just one week until the real stuff starts against Tennessee.
"I really have a great deal of respect for how these guys competed and worked," said coachMike Tomlin, who rested several players, including Harrison. "Now we begin the process of moving forward and attacking the season."
The best news for Carolina (0-4) after an injury-plagued, poor-tackling, disjointed preseason is that linebacker Jon Beason is confident he'll return from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee to play in the opener.
"I really don't have any doubt in my mind," Beason said.
The Panthers need their top tackler from last season. The first-team couldn't stop Pittsburgh's reserves.
The preseason has been a tedious one for the Panthers up to this point. Overall, the defense has looked pathetic, special teams has improved, and the offense has also improved.
On Thursday night, we will see very limited action from the starters, if any at all. For the final preseason game last year, coach John Fox elected to sit the starters and let the backups have their time to earn roster spots.
This week I'm not going to talk much about the starters. we'll see them in a little over a week, when wins and losses do count. As of right now, linebacker Jon Beason, running backs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams will all be ready for the regular season home-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Some things worth mentioning in the meantime; the Panthers passing game is averaging 167 yards a game, and the running game is averaging 100 yards per game. Not bad numbers for exhibition games, but enough to have some semblance of an idea of what this team has the potential to do in regular season.
Do remember that the bulk of rushing yardage has not come from DeAngelo Williams and certainly nothing has come from the lame duck--pun intended--Jonathan Stewart. The bulk of this yardage has come from rookie fourth-rounder Mike Goodson, who has the bulk of 25 carries and 118 yards rushing. Decori Birmingham, who has had limited playing time until last weekend, has 22 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns; second behind Goodson.
Thursday night we're truly looking at pure battles for roster spots. The first-team guys have pretty much done whatever they can to state their worth or lack thereof in some cases, and now the replacements get their time in the spotlight for a full 60 minutes.
One problem has been for the defense to contain the run. We may or may not see newly acquired Louis Leonard in the game tonight, but if we do, we'll have a good idea of what he's capable of doing. The Steelers' running game would be a very good test for Leonard.
I'm not sold on Leonard being the answer to what's needed, but he just might surprise us and fit in nicely. Three things I like about him are his height, 6-foot-4; his weight, 325 (five pounds lighter than Kemoeatu); and last I like his experience. He's been in the league for a few years, and he does have a little game experience under his belt.
As long as he can effectively contribute to stopping the run, then I don't care whether or not he's able to make a sack on the quarterback. In his career as a panthers, Ma'ake Kemoeatu has yet to register one sack. In this area stopping the run is much more important than registering a sack.
We most likely won't see Chris Gamble (to the relief of many) or Richard Marshall in the game tonight, so we'll get to see a lot of Capatian Munnerlyn, D.J. Clark, and Dante Wesley. I'm not too sure on the status of Sherrod Martin, so he could be a game time decision.
Also in the defensive backfield, we should see another new face. The Panthers also signed Kevin Kaesviharn as a safety, which in light of the injury to Charles Godfrey and Nate Salley being placed on the Injured Reserve, will hopefully pay off for the Panthers.
Kaesviharn is another veteran with some decent gametime experience, whom the Panthers had trouble offensively against in the past. Hopefully he still has that edge in his game.
Matt Moore, Josh McCown, and Hunter Cantwell should see a decent amount of playing time against the Steelers as well.
Moore has looked hot and cold this preseason, as has Josh McCown. A question I asked Matt Moore last night, during his guest appearance on the Rhys Lloyd show, was what were his thoughts on Hunter Cantwell?
I don't have the direct quote but to paraphrase, Hunter has a cannon for an arm, and the Panthers got a steal getting him as an undrafted free agent, as he was the starting quarterback at Louisville.
It's still not clear whether the Panthers will carry four receivers, three tight ends, or four running backs yet. I tend to believe that there will be four receivers, and either three tight ends or four running backs. That could also be wishful thinking on my end.
At other positions, tight ends Dante Rosario and Andrew Davie; receivers Dwayne Jarrett, Marcus Monk, Larry Beavers, and Kevin McMahan get one more night to make a statement why they deserve to remain in a Panthers uniform. After the Steelers game the cuts go from 75 to the final 53 man roster...That's 22 cuts to be made, a short amount of time with which to do it, and hopes that the best players for the job are retained.
I asked my brother to sneak a peek at the simulated outcome of tonight's game on Madden '10, and so far Madden has been scarily accurate...Scarily, is that a word? I think it is...I digress, Madden simulates the Panthers to go 1-3 during preseason. Their one win comes tonight against the Steelers by three points.
I'm going against my trend of picking against the Panthers and this time I'll side with the simulated results of a video game...Panthers win this one by three points.
US Army & Air Force Vet / Athlete / Musican...opened for Nazareth back in 84.
Happily Married to my loving wife Sherri, we have 3 children...Natascha, Vanessa & our son Leslie.
I enjoy competitive Masters Athletics.
