This is going to be one of the most exciting football games this Sunday because it will be a shootout.  The Panthers will likely try to run the football with DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster to control the clock and keep the football away from the Rams’ offense.  That will be easier said than done.  The middle of the Rams defense will be pretty decent with DTs La’Roi Glover and rookie Adam Carriker teamed up with MLB Will Witherspoon who is one of the most underrated players in the NFL.  With that in mind look for the Panthers to run sweeps and veers to try to get outside the tackle box.  The key for the Panthers passing game will be the matchup between RT Jordan Gross vs. DE Leonard Little of the Rams.  Little is an elite pass rusher and Jake Delhomme tends to makes mistakes when he hears footsteps behind him.  Still, if Gross can handle Little, Delhomme should have plenty of time to attack a weak Rams secondary.  WR Steve Smith should have a field day against the Rams as 2nd year man Tye Hill will get the job of running with him.  The other WRs (Drew Carter, Dwayne Jarrett and Keary Colbert) are all young and talented so that could cause matchup problems for the Rams defense. 

Everyone knows about the Rams offense.  It’s amazing that the Panthers shut them out 15-0 last season.  Still, the Rams have even more weapons on offense this season.  They will lean more to the pass but won’t forget the running game.  RB Steven Jackson is one of the best offensive football players in the entire NFL.  DTs Kris Jenkins and Maake Kemoeatu must keep MLB Dan Morgan clean to chase Jackson around the football field.  That might be easier said than done against the Rams nasty boys in the middle of the offensive line.  C Andy McCollum, LG Mark Stetterstrom and RG Richie Incognito of the Rams are the kind of guys you want on your side in a fight so look for them to give Jackson some running lanes against the Panthers’ defense.  Young OLBs Jon Beason and Thomas Davis must keep Jackson contained on outside runs and out of the backfield in the passing game and that’s quite a lot of responsibility.  The matchups to really watch in this game will be LE Julius Peppers vs. RT Alex Barron and RE Mike Rucker vs. LT Orlando Pace.  If the Panthers win these matchups they will be able to give the secondary the help they will need to contain the WRs of the Rams.  If the Rams win those matchups they will score as many points as they want on Sunday.  WRs Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Drew Bennett will put a ton of pressure on CBs Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble.  Also, look for QB Marc Bulger to throw the ball a few times to TE Randy McMichael who is a huge matchup problem for the Panthers’ safeties as the Panthers will start Chris Harris and Deke Cooper.

The special teams also might be a big factor in this football game.  The Panthers must contain KR/PR Dante Hall of the Rams because if the Rams have short fields to work with the Panthers will be in deep, deep trouble.  Also, K Jeff Wilkins is one of the best kickers in the NFL teamed up with a stellar offense.

PREDICTION:  The Rams will get revenge on the Panthers for last year’s shutout.  Look for the Rams to win and this football game to go way over the total of 42.5 points.

The Panthers have released WR Chris Horn, OT Kenyatta Walker, WR Taye Biddle and RB Eric Shelton.  WR Chris Horn caught 9 passes for 81 yards (9.0 avg) in the pre-season so he was cut despite leading the Panthers in receptions.  Cutting Kenyatta Walker means that the Panthers offensive line must be in good shape.  WR/KR Taye Biddle could not have played any better in the pre-season.  He caught 7 passes fo 190 yards (27.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also returned 1 punt for 18 yards and 2 kickoffs for 38 yards.  Biddle will likely get a shot with another team this season based on his pre-season play.  RB Eric Shelton carried the ball 12 times for 46 yards (3.8 ypc) and he caught 2 passes for 12 yards (6.0 avg).  The Panthers patience had just worn thin with Shelton so that’s why they let him go.

The Panthers needed some depth for the defensive backfield and they found it in Dante Wesley and Marquand Manuel.  Wesley played well this pre-season with the Patriots as he had 10 tackles but he was caught in a numbers game there.  He has played in 71 games (2 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 80 tackles, has 1 sack and he has defensed 12 passes.  Marquand Manuel could battle Chris Harris for his starting job.  Manuel has played in 75 games (36 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 228 tackles, defensed 7 passes, and he has one interception which he returned 29 yards for a TD.

The Panthers have placed TE Michael Gaines on the Injured Reserve List with a shoulder injury ending his season.  This is a shame for Gaines as he might have gotten his big chance to show what he could do.  Jeff King has won the starting job at tight end by catching 5 passes for 48 yards (9.6 avg) in the pre-season.  Rookie Dante Rosario will also get a lot of action at TE this season for the Panthers.  He caught 3 passes for 45 yards (15.0 avg) in the pre-season.

The Panthers have claimed Matt Moore off of waivers and he will be the Panthers #3 QB this season.  He was undrafted out of college but he was outstanding for the Cowboys in the pre-season.  Moore completed 21 of 29 passes (72.4%) for 182 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (100.1 QB Rating).  This was a great low risk/high reward move by the Panthers’ front office.

The Panthers wasted a good defensive effort with some awful offense.  David Carr was the first QB in and he completed 8 of 12 passes for 85 yards with 1 interception.  Dalton Bell finished up the game at QB and he completed 9 of 17 passes for 117 yards with 1 interception.  Nick Goings (8 car, 32 yards), Alex Haynes (8 car, 29 yards) and DeAngelo Williams (4 car, 17 yards) did the bulk of the running for the Panthers.  Rookie WR Dwayne Jarrett only caught 1 pass but it was a 46-yarder.  WR Chris Horn had a solid game as he caught 5 passes for 43 yards (8.6 avg).  The Panthers finished up with 87 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 29 passes for 202 yards.

The Panthers defense was outstanding holding the Steelers to 118 yards rushing on 39 carries (3.0 ypc) and the Steelers only completed 7 of 16 passes for 23 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270830029