Time is starting to run out for Jake Delhomme as the starting QB of the Carolina Panthers.  He has completed 106 of 177 passes (59.9%) for 1,172 yards with 4 TD passes and 13 INTs (56.5 QB Rating).  Delhomme has also carried the ball 8 times for 31 yards (3.9 ypc) this year.  Delhomme will have to play well against the Cardinals in the first half of the game tomorrow or I think that will yank him.  Matt Moore would likely replace him as the starting QB as he has more experience in the Panthers’ system than A.J. Feeley does.  Moore has completed 6 of 11 passes (54.5%) for 63 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (33.5 QB Rating) this season for the Panthers.

This is a pretty bad matchup for the Carolina Panthers.  The Panthers need to run the ball with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart but the Cardinals are only allowing 67.5 yards rushing and 3.0 yards per carry this season.  If the Panthers can’t run the ball effectively they can’t win this game on Sunday.  Jake Delhomme has been awful this season as he has 4 TD passes and 13 INTs so the Panthers don’t want to depend on him to win this game.  It would be helpful to the Panthers if they can get Steve Smith involved in the offense.

If the Cardinals are ever going to get the running game going this would be a good week to try it out.  Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower should find a lot of running room against a Panthers’ D that is allowing 133.2 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  The Cardinals must keep Julius Peppers away from Kurt Warner so that he has time to carve up the Panthers’ secondary with Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston and Anquan Boldin. 

PREDICTION:  CARDINALS 34, PANTHERS 13

This was a amazing game as the Panthers should have won this game based on numbers as they out gained the Bills 425-167!  Jake Delhomme was awful again yesterday as he completed 27 of 44 passes for 325 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs.  DeAngelo Williams had another good game for the Panthers with 16 carries for 89 yards (5.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 5 passes for 50 yards (10.0 avg) in this game.  Steve Smith had probably his best game of the season with 6 grabs for 99 yards (16.5 avg).  Little used TE Gary Barnidge also had a solid game with 3 catches for 77 yards (25.7 avg).  The Panthers finished up with 425 total yards on offense (116 rushing, 309 passing) as they held onto the ball for 34:40 in this game!  I’m still amazed that they lost.

The defense played their best game of the year for the Panthers.  Linebacker Jon Beason led the way for the Panthers with 7 tackles including 2 tackles for a loss.  DT Damione Lewis also had a good game with 6 tackles and 2 QB hits.  The Bills finished up with only 167 total yards on offense (53 rushing, 114 passing) in this game.  The Panthers have dropped to 2-4 on the season with this loss.

Both of these teams got to be feeling a little bit better about themselves lately.  The 2-4 Bills beat the Jets 16-13 last week while the 2-3 Panthers outlasted the Bucs 28-21 for their second win in a row.  This game will likely be the fastest NFL game of the day as both teams will try to run the football.  The Panthers are allowing 149.2 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry so look for the Bills to attack them early and often with Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch.  The secret weapon for the Bills in this game could very well be the feet of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.  With his weak arm he can’t throw a lick but he is a good running QB.  The Panthers only give up 156.8 yards passing per game this season but opposing QBs have a rating of 92.8 so there is success to be had in the passing game for the Bills if they can trust the offensive line (19 sacks) to give Fitzpatrick time to throw the ball.  The Bills would be smart to throw the ball early in this game to try to get a lead and protect the defense.

It’s no mystery to what the Panthers will do on offense in this football game.  The Bills are allowing 181.8 yards rushing per game and 5.3 yards per carry this season and that has to have DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart foaming at the mouth.  The Bills should put 8 or 9 guys in the box and dare Jake Delhomme to beat them with a pass.  Still, Steve Smith always has potential to bust out and have a monster game so the Bills will have to be careful with him.

PREDICTION:  PANTHERS 20, BILLS 17

Steve Smith has caught 21 passes for 259 yards (12.3 avg) with 0 TD grabs this season.  Smith is starting to feel left out of the offense but he shouldn’t.  The Panthers are only averaging 156.8 yards passing per game this season and Jake Delhomme is off to a putrid start to the year.  TEs Jeff King and Dante Rosario have caught all four of the TD passes from Jake Delhomme this season.  Smith has played 9 years for the Panthers now appearing in 111 games in which he has caught 530 passes for 7,607 yards (14.4 avg) with 43 TD grabs.  He has caught 78 or more passes 5 times in his career with the Panthers and he also has 5 years of 1,000+ receiving yards.  The Panthers need to get Smith more involved in the offense or teams are going to gang up on DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.

The Panthers have signed 28-year old safety Keith Lewis.  Lewis played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the 49ers last season and he made 19 tackles, defensed 1 pass and he forced a fumble.  He has now played in 76 games (13 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 154 tackles, has 1 sack, he has defensed 5 passes, has 3 interceptions and he has forced 4 fumbles.  This was a good signing for the Panthers as Lewis should be able to step right in and help on special teams.

UPDATE:  The Panthers have released Keith Lewis and they have re-instated Dante Wesley.  Lewis did not play in the game against the Bills which was the only game he was on the Panthers.

The Panthers have acquired 24-year old DT Tank Tyler from the Kansas City Chiefs for a 5th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  He will give the Panthers some needed size inside as he is 6’2″, 306 pounds.  Tyler played in all six of the Chiefs games this season and he made 22 tackles.  Tyler has now played 3 years in his NFL career and he has played in 37 games making 74 tackles.  Tyler was brought in specifically to help out with the run defense for the Panthers as he is not much of a pass rusher.  Making this kind of trade tells you that the Panthers are still very serious about winning this season.

UPDATE:  The Panthers have released 26-year old DT Antwon Burton to make room on the roster for Tank Tyler.  Burton played in 2 games for the Panthers making 1 tackle so they won’t miss him at all.

The NFL has suspended backup safety Dante Wesley for 1 game due to a cheap shot on a defenseless Clifton Smith of the Bucs who he drilled while making a fair catch before the ball even got there.  Wesley was ejected from the game immediately by the refs.  Wesley has 1 tackle this season for the Panthers who won’t miss him too much.

The Panthers got back to the basics of running the ball and playing defense and that’s why they won this game yesterday.  Jake Delhomme had another terrible game as he completed only 9 of 17 passes for 65 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (one of which was returned 26-yards for a TD by Tanard Jackson to tie this game at 21 in the fourth quarter).  DeAngelo Williams turned back the calendar to the 2008 season as he led the Panthers with 152 yards rushing on 30 carries (5.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 2 passes for 20 yards yesterday.  Jonathan Stewart also had his best game of the season rushing for 110 yards on 17 carries (6.5 ypc) with a TD run.  TE Jeff King only caught 2 passes for 8 yards but only of them was for a TD.  The Panthers finished up with 322 total yards on offense in this game (267 rushing, 55 passing).

Linebacker Thomas Davis led the way on defense for the Panthers with 8 tackles and 1 interception.  But it was Julius Peppers who dominated this game with 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 QB hit.  The Buccaneers finished up with 245 total yards on offense in this game (124 rushing, 121 passing).  The Panthers are now 2-3 on the season with this win.

The Carolina Panthers are trying to build off of last week when they won their first game while the Buccaneers are still trying to get on that side of the ledger.  This should be the week that the Panthers really get things going on offense.  The Bucs are allowing 152.6 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry so DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart should both have good games on Sunday.  If the Bucs are crazy enough to load up the box look for Jake Delhomme to attack them down the field with Steve Smith and Mushin Muhammad.  Panthers’ QBs have been sacked 12 times this season and the Bucs have 9 sacks this season so they will be likely blitzing more often than usual to try to pressure Delhomme into some mistakes.  After all, he has thrown 8 interceptions already this season.

The Buccaneers should come out running the ball against the Panthers.  That would give Josh Johnson a better chance for success and it would give them a chance to control the clock and keep the defense off the field.  The Panthers are allowing 155.5 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry so this could be the game that Cadillac Williams truly breaks out.  Kellen Winslow has emerged as John Johnson’s favorite receiver so the Panthers’ D will likely give him a lot of attention and dare Johnson to beat the D with his WRs (Michael Clayton and Antonio Bryant) who have been dropping more passes than they have been catching.  Look for Julius Peppers to have his best game of the year forcing Johnson into making some big mistakes.

PREDICTION:  PANTHERS 24, BUCCANEERS 10