DeAngelo Williams will miss Sunday’s game with an injured ankle.  Nick Goings and Eric Shelton will likely get carries while Williams recovers.

Linebacker Dan Morgan will miss the rest of the season with post-concussion problems.  Chris Draft will continue to start at Morgan’s old spot.  Draft has really stepped up his play and is in fact, the Panthers leading tackler with 36.

The Panthers have some strong points on special teams and some weak points. The Panthers have been outstanding covering punts allowing only 5.9 yards per return.  The Panthers need to tighten up their kick-off coverage because they are allowing 24.2 yards per kick return.

Kicker John Kasay has done pretty well so far this season connecting on 10 of 11 FGs and all 8 XPTs.  Punter Jason Baker is averaging 46.4 yards per punt, 39.8 net yards per punt and has pinned the opponents inside their 20 yard line 31.3% of the time.

Chris Gamble hasn’t done too well returning punts as he is only averaging 5.5 yards per punt return.  RB DeAngelo Williams is averaging 21.6 yards per return, but he was injured against the Browns last week.  Rookie Richard Marshall returned a kick Sunday for 26 yards, and he might get a shot to keep the job because he is a playmaker.

The Panthers won there third game in a row in beating the Browns on Sunday.  Jake Delhomme played a solid game, completing 20 of 29 passes for 170 yards and a TD.  DeShaun Foster had another good game carrying the ball 24 times for 106 yards (4.4 ypc).  WR Keyshawn Johnson had a solid game catching 5 passes for 67 yards and a TD.  Steve Smith dropped alot of passes that he normally catches but still caught 6 passes for 62 yards.

Converted LB Thomas Davis had a great game with 11 tackles.  Rookie CB Richard Marshall continued to make huge plays for the Panthers defense.  Marshall had 4 tackles and intecepted a pass that he returned 30 yards for a TD.  The Panthers held the Browns to 91 yards rushing on 23 caries (4.0 ypc).  The Browns completed 26 of 43 passes for 157 net yards passing.

TE Mike Seidman is out for the season with a torn ACL.  This shouldn’t hurt the Panthers offense too bad, because the Panthers treat their TEs like extra tackles in the running game.

The Browns have played well the last two weeks, but so have the Panthers since Steve Smith has returned.

The Browns will probably come out with the same gameplan they had against the Raiders.  They will try to pound Reuben Droughns (159 yards rushing) at the soft Carolina run defense (129.8 yards rushing per game) to attempt to shorten the game and keep the Browns defense off the field.  Look for Frye to throw short passes to Kellen Winslow (22 rec, 228 yards) and Joe Jurevicius and then take a few deep shots to Braylon Edwards (17 rec, 324 yards).

Look for the Panthers to run their two-headed running back, DeShaun Foster (267 rushing yards) and D’Angelo Williams (135 rushing yards) at the Browns soft run defense that is allowing 149.0 yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry.  The Browns also have serious problems at cornerback as their top 3 corners are likely to be out Sunday.  Steve Smith (17 rec, 199 yards) and Keyshawn Johnson (22 rec, 306 yards) should both have huge games.

The Browns appear to be overmatched in this game, but the Panthers haven’t blown anyone out this season.  I think the Browns will cover the point spread, but the Panthers will win the game.

Jake Delhomme is as good as the players around him.  He doesn’t make the big mistake, but he doesn’t make a lot of big plays either.  Delhomme has played better since Steve Smith has returned, but his play this year backs up the point I’m trying to make.  Delhomme has completed 79 of 137 passes (57.7%) for 808 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT.  Delhomme’s QB rating is 79.0.  Delhomme can get the Panthers where they want to go, as long as everyone stays healthy.

This was a must-win game and the Panthers did the job.  Jake Delhomme was efficient but wasn’t asked to win the game and played well.  Delhomme completed 19 of 29 passes for 169 yards with 2 TDs.  RB DeShaun Foster had a monster game, carrying the ball 16 times for 105 yards (6.6 ypc) and a TD.  DeAngelo Williams carried the ball 8 times for 62 yards and a TD.  WR Steve Smith caught 10 passes for 87 yards and a TD.  Keyshawn Johnson had a solid game catching 6 passes for 63 yards.

Rookie CB Richard Marshall led the way for the defense as he had 10 tackles, a fumble recovery and he defensed a pass.  The Panthers took the Saints out of their running game as the Panthers held them to 63 yards on 23 carries (2.7 ypc).  The Saints did complete 28 of 38 passes for 344 net yards passing.