The Panthers defense was the reason for the win last night over the Titans.  LB Jon Beason led the way for the Panthers last night with 5 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  DE Charles Johnson was all over the place for the Panthers last night with 4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits.  Rookie DE (6th round) Greg Hardy pitched in with 3 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 3 QB hits.  CB Brian Witherspoon only had 1 tackle last night but he also defensed 2 passes and had 2 interceptions.  The Titans finished up with 45 yards rushing (2.3 ypc) and 172 yards passing.

Matt Moore looked decent in this game as he completed 18 of 33 passes for 190 yards.  Jimmy Clausen finished up the game by completing 4 of 5 passes for 79 yards.  Mike Goodson had a great game last night as he was the star of the show for the Panthers.  He carried the ball 4 times for 30 yards (7.5 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 18 yards.  But it was on special teams where Goodson made his biggest impact as he returned 1 kickoff for a 91-yard TD.  DeAngelo Williams found yards hard to come by last night with 9 carries for 13 yards (1.4 ypc).  TEs Gary Barnidge (1 rec, 50 yards) and Dante Rosario (3 rec, 38 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Panthers.  Rookie WR (6th round) David Gettis pitched in with 3 receptions for 31 yards in this game.  The Panthers finished up with 59 yards rushing (2.6 ypc) and 269 yards passing in this game.  The Panthers are now 1-2 on the pre-season.

The Panthers QBs have really been stinking it up this pre-season.  Matt Moore is still in line to be the starting QB despite playing poorly this pre-season.  He has completed 10 of 24 passes (41.7%) for 89 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (34.9 QB Rating) so far.  Rookie 2nd round pick Jimmy Clausen also isn’t looking too great as of yet.  He has completed 17 of 37 passes (45.9%) for 152 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (35.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 5 times for 26 yards (5.2 ypc) so far this pre-season.  He is the #2 QB for the Panthers right now.  Hunter Cantwell has also looked pretty awful so far.  He has completed 6 of 17 passes (35.3%) for 68 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (48.2 QB Rating).  The Panthers might as well give 6th round pick Tony Pike a bigger audition the next two weeks.  He has only thrown 1 incomplete pass this pre-season.  The Panthers would have nothing to lose giving Pike a chance to show what he can do because I doubt that he would clear waivers to be placed on the practice squad because whispers are that the Bengals would claim him.

The Panthers were awful offensively last Saturday Night.  Matt Moore looked pretty stinky in this game as he only completed 6 of 17 passes for 57 yards with 1 INT.  Jimmy Clausen wasn’t any better as he completed 9 of 22 passes for 72 yards with 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) in this game.  Mike Goodson led the way on the ground for the Panthers in this game with 33 yards rushing on 6 carries (5.5 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg) in this game.  DeAngelo Williams pitched in with 26 yards on six carries (4.3 ypc) in this game.   The Panthers finished up with 82 yards rushing (3.9 ypc) and 93 yards passing in this game.

Linebacker Dan Connor led a great effort by the Panthers’ D last Saturday with 6 tackles.  DE Everette Brown exploded in this game with 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits.  DE Eric Moore pitched in with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits.  The Jets could only muster 96 yards rushing (2.8 ypc) and 16 yards passing in this game.

The Panthers have signed 23-year old linebacker Nic Harris to a 1-year deal.  Harris played in 15 games for the Bills last season (his rookie year) and he made 30 tackles.  Look for Harris to provide depth and linebacker and probably an ace on special teams.  I like this signing for the Panthers as Harris is still young and he has a nice upside.

The Panthers looked good running the ball offensively and they were solid on defense in the rain against the Ravens last night.  Matt Moore started the game for the Panthers and he was so-so completing 4 of 7 passes for 32 yards.  Jimmy Clausen was the second guy is and he completed 8 of 15 passes (53.3%) for 80 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc) last night.  Hunter Cantwell was the third QB in for the Panthers and he was awful completing 6 of 17 passes (35.3%) for 68 yards.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 10 yards.  Tony Pike finished up the game at QB by throwing 1 incomplete pass.  RB Josh Vaughan led the way for the Panthers on the ground with 48 yards rushing on 11 carries (4.4 ypc).  DeAngelo Williams pitched in with 5 carries for 33 yards (6.6 ypc) last night.  Tyrell Sutton was also busy for the Panthers with 4 carries for 32 yards (8.0 ypc) and 3 receptions for 22 yards (7.3 avg) but he did lose a fumble.  WR Dexter Jackson led the way for the Panthers in the passing game with 35 yards on 2 receptions (17.5 avg).  The Panthers finished up with 142 yards rushing (5.5 ypc) and they also threw for 131 yards last night.

Defensively the Panthers looked solid as they finished up with 6 sacks and they stuffed the running game of the Ravens.  Rookie 6th round pick Greg Hardy was outstanding for the Panthers in his debut last night with 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits.  DE Eric Moore also had a solid game with 5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  CB C.J. Wilson finished up with 3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and he returned a fumble 31 yards for a TD.  The Panthers held the Ravens to 61 yards rushing (2.3 ypc) and 164 passing yards last night. 

The Panthers could really use better starting position for the offense in 2010.  23-year old RB Tyrell Sutton is a very talented player who could excel in this role.  He’s on the small side at 5’9″, 190 pounds but Sutton is strong and fast.  He played in 7 games for the Panthers last season and he returned 14 kickoffs for 302 yards (21.6 avg).  I think he will be better in 2010 for the Panthers.

23-year old RB Mike Goodson is also in the hunt for kickoff returns.  He played in 8 games for the Panthers last season and he returned 17 kickoffs for 352 yards (20.7 avg).  Goodson will need to improve to beat out Sutton for the kickoff returner job in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS KICKOFF RETURNERS  in 2010:  C-

The Panthers have one of the most talented offensive lines in all of football.  It all starts on the blind side at tackle where Jordan Gross plays.  He is a solid technician who is always in the right place at the right time.  He will do a fine job of protecting whichever young QB takes the snaps for the Panthers in 2010.  Left guard Travelle Wharton is equally adept at run blocking and pass blocking.  That’s because he likes to hit the defender hard and first.  Center Ryan Kalil is very quick off the ball and that helps him win battles with DL who are bigger than he is.  Mackency Bernadeau will likely be the starting RG this year for the Panthers.  His stength is pass blocking but he has everything it takes to also be a good run blocker.  RT Jeff Otah is just plain nasty.  The only reason he’s playing RT instead of LT in because he’s quite a masher in the running game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS O-LINE in 2010:  A

The Panthers have claimed 25-year old OG Andrew Crummey off waivers from the Jaguars.  Crummey is a big guy at 6’5″, 301 but he doesn’t have much playing experience.  Crummey last played in the NFL in 2008 (which was his only NFL action) with the Bengals playing in six games but starting none of them.  He will be little more than a backup if he makes the team as the Panthers have a pretty strong O-Line heading into 2010.

55-year old head coach John Fox might be on the hot seat in 2010 but he won’t have a hard time finding a new job if the Panthers let him go.  Fox somehow got his team to finish 8-8 last season despite getting horrible play out of the QBs.  It might have been his best coaching job ever.  Fox has a 71-57 (55.5%) record in his eight years with the Panthers and he is 5-3 (62.5%) in the post season.  He led the Panthers to a Super Bowl in 2003 in which they narrowly lost to the Patriots.  Fox is a good coach and he will get the most out of the Panthers in 2010.

40-year old John Kasay is getting up there but he’s still productive for the Panthers.  Kasay played in all 16 games for the Panthers last season and he connected on 22 of 27 field goals (81.5%).  He also made 31 of 32 extra points as he finished up with 97 points last year.  He has now played in 269 games in his NFL career and he has made 408 of 500 (81.6%) field goals and 507 of 518 extra points as he now has 1,731 career points.  It looks as if Todd Carter will be the Panthers kickoff specialist to save the bullets in Kasay’s gun for when they really count.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS KICKERS in 2010:  B