The win-less Carolina Panthers are sticking with Jake Delhomme as their starting quarterback even though he has seven interceptions in the first three games.  Delhomme played terrible in the opener and had costly late-game interceptions in his last two games against the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys.  Delhomme didn’t play terrible against the Cowboys though, and Steve Smith was more to blame for the late game interception by Delhomme, as Smith broke off his slant route.

In three games so far this year, Delhomme has only two touchdowns compared to seven interceptions on 54/91 (59.3%) pass attempts.  He has been sacked seven times and has fumbled it twice and has a quarterback rating of 54.3.  I don’t think the Panthers  have much of an option when it comes to their quarterbacks though, as Delhomme’s back-ups are A.J. Feeley and Matt Moore.   Feeley was picked up after week one after Delhomme’s original backup Josh McCown got injured and is out with a knee injury.  Moore has not played since 2007.  Neither quarterback has ever really been a number one starter and both aren’t really a good option to turn to, even with Delhomme’s struggles.

Delhomme really needs to step it up though, or he will be out soon.  Jeff Garcia was just released by the Eagles, so could you be seeing him in a Panthers uniform soon?  He would be a better option than Delhomme with the way this year has gone so far, so it wouldn’t hurt to try.

The Carolina Panthers (0-3) fell to the Dallas Cowboys (2-1) Monday night and are still looking for their first win of the 2009 season.  The Panthers’ offense struggled once again and was the reason they lost this one in Dallas Monday night.  They did get on the board first when Jake Delhomme hooked up with Dante Rosario for a 25-yard touchdown.  The Panthers failed to get any more points the rest of the game but the Panthers defense did a pretty good job, as they kept the Cowboys scoreless until the 3rd quarter when the Cowboys hit a field goal.

Jake Delhomme continued to struggle tonight as he had two interceptions and a fumble and was sacked three times.  One of those interceptions wasn’t really his fault, as receiver Steve Smith stopped his slant route and the Cowboys’ Terence Newman picked it and returned it easily for six.  This came late in the 4th quarter and it sealed the win for the Cowboys.

The Panthers defense did a good job containing the Cowboys passing game, as Romo had no touchdowns and 255 yards passing.  The running game is what killed the Panthers though, as Felix Jones and Tashard Choice combined for 176 yards and did a great job filling in for the injured Marion Barber.  Jones left the game though with an injured knee, so the Cowboys third string running back Choice got 4.6 yards per carry and a touchdown.  The Panthers are still win-less and have a bye next week to try and figure out how to get a win.

The Carolina Panthers (0-2) are in Dallas this week going up against the Dallas Cowboys (1-1) and are still looking for their first win of the year.  It has been a disappointing start for the Panthers after they won NFC South division last year.  Jake Delhomme has taken a lot of the blame for the Panthers slow start, as he has five interceptions already this year.  The Cowboys are coming off a tough loss last second loss to the New York Giants, and quarterback Tony Romo and the Cowboys do not want to lose two straight in their brand new $1.15 billion stadium.

Jake Delhomme has got to stop throwing interceptions and needs to take what the Cowboys defense gives them.  The Panther should try and control the ball and keep their time of possession up as high as they can.  The longer the ball is out of Romo’s hands the better.  A strong running attack behind DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart will be key for the Panthers, or else they don’t have a chance.

The Cowboys turned the ball over four times against the Giants, and they still almost one the game.  That just goes to show how explosive the Cowboys offense can be.  It also shows how erratic they can be, and the Panthers need to get some turnovers if they want to win.  I think the Cowboys have too much talent for the Panthers to handle though and I think they will win easily.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Panthers 20, Cowboys 41

The Panthers are having serious issues stopping the run as opponents are averaging 168.0 yards rushing per game this season.  But, you can’t really blame linebacker Thomas Davis for that.  He is leading the Panthers’ D with 28 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss this season.  With the defensive line in flux right now the Panthers need Davis to keep playing at a high level.

The Panthers have serious issues on defense and they need to protect Jake Delhomme.  The best way to accomplish both of those goals is by controlling the clock with the running game.  It’s not like they don’t have the horses to do exactly that.  DeAngelo Williams will get the ball more often than Stewart.  He has carried the ball 30 times for 116 yards (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs this season and he has also caught 7 passes for 74 yards (10.6 avg).  He can do better just like he did last season.  Jonathan Stewart is a little gimpy right now so the Panthers can keep him on a hit count.  Stewart has carried the ball 20 times for 100 yards (5.0 ypc) and he has caught 5 passes for 46 yards (9.2 avg) so far this season.  The Cowboys allow 135.5 yards rushing per game this season so look for Williams and Stewart to get a lot of work on Monday Night.

The Panthers have signed 26-year old DT Antwon Burton to a 1-year deal.  He is a big guy at 6’2″, 325 pounds but he hasn’t done much in his NFL career to date.  Burton was with the Chiefs and Rams last season but he didn’t get into any games.  In his three years in the NFL he has played in 7 games (0 starts) and he has 4 tackles and has defensed 1 pass.  The Panthers really need to beef up the D-Line so Burton was worth taking a chance on.

The Carolina Panthers have lost DT Louis Leonard for the season due to a broken left ankle.  Leonard had six tackles and 1 sack for the Panthers this season in two games.  The Panthers were already having issues stopping the run and Leonard’s injury is a huge blow to the defense.

The Panthers looked like a new team yesterday but they still fell short in the end.  Jake Delhomme had a good game completing 25 of 41 passes for 308 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  DeAngelo Williams had a really good game also carrying the ball 16 times for 79 yards (4.9 ypc) with a TD.  He also caught 3 passes for 32 yards (10.7 avg) yesterday.  Jonathan Stewart pitched in with 65 yards rushing on 9 carries (7.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 14 yards (4.7 avg).  Steve Smith had a good game too with 8 catches for 131 yards (16.5 avg).  The Panthers finished up with 440 total yards in this game (144 rushing, 296 passing).

LB Thomas Davis (12 tackles) and CB Charles Godfrey (8 tackles) led another sub par effort by the Panthers’ D.  The Falcons finished up with 371 total yards in this game (151 rushing, 220 passing).  The Panthers are now 0-2 on the season.

The Falcons punished the Panthers 45-28 on there last visit to Atlanta.  Falcons’ Coach Mike Smith is 8-1 in Atlanta.  So, the Panthers will have to play a almost flawless game to win in Atlanta.  The Falcons gave up 4.4 yards per carry last week against the Dolphins so look for the Panthers to keep the ball on the ground with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.  The Falcons had 4 sacks last week and the Panthers allowed 5 of them last week against the Eagles so Jake Delhomme could be under some pressure.  The key to Delhomme is to relax as it’s better to throw the ball away than force it into double or triple coverage.  After all, the Eagles intercepted 3 passes intended for Steve Smith last week.  Still, if the running game is effective then the Panthers can go deep to Steve Smith against the Falcons.

This a bad matchup for the Panthers’ defense.  They allowed 185 yards rushing (5.8 ypc) against the Eagles and the Falcons have better RBs than them.  Michael Turner only had 65 yards rushing last week which makes him even more dangerous than usual this week.  He rushed for 117 yards and 4 TDs last year against the Panthers in Atlanta.  But, Matt Ryan will balance the Falcons’ offense with passes to Roddy White, Michael Jenkins and Tony Gonzalez.  If the Falcons are successful in protecting Matt Ryan from DE Julius Peppers he will have a field day throwing the football.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 31, PANTHERS 16

The Panthers were beaten to a pulp by the Eagles last Sunday.  They beat them so bad it was hard to me to find a bright spot.  Rookie 4th round pick (RB) Mike Goodson of Texas A&M and 7th round pick (CB) Captain Munnerlyn of South Carolina both looked pretty good on special teams.  Goodson returned 5 kickoffs for 120 yards (24.0 avg) in the game against the Eagles and Munnerlyn returned 2 punts for 33 yards (16.5 avg).  Goodson also carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 avg) and Munnerlyn made 1 tackle.  The Panthers hope that Goodson and Munnerlyn keep up the good work on special teams as they need all the help they can get.