The Carolina Panthers have lost 25-year old Geoff Schwartz for the season due to a hip injury. Schwartz played in 16 games (all starts) for the Panthers last year.  He has played in 32 games (19 starts) in his first two years with the Panthers.  This is a big blow for the Panthers, who had Schwartz penciled in as the starting right guard in 2011.

The Panthers will probably be without 25-year old QB Tony Pike for probably the whole 2011 season as he has underwent elbow surgery.  Pike played in 1 game as a rookie last year for the Panthers and he completed 6 of 12 passes (50%) for 47 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (60.1 QB Rating).  The Panthers won’t miss Pike as they have Cam Newton, Jimmy Clausen and Derek Anderson ready to go at QB in 2011.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2011) – The Panthers have waived Tony Pike.

The Panthers have signed 32-year old long snapper Chris Massey.  Massey played in 16 games for the Rams last year.  He has now played in 135 games (1 start) in his first 9 years in the NFL.  He will compete for the starting long snapping job in the next couple of weeks.

The Panthers looked pretty bad yesterday.  Offensively they stunk all night long, defensively they stuck in the second quarter when the Bengals scored all 24 points and played decent the rest of the way.  Rookie QB Cam Newton looked lost last night as he only completed 6 of 19 passes (31.6%) for 75 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He did look good running the ball though as he had 4 carries for 49 yards (12.3 avg) with 1 TD run.  Jimmy Clausen finished up the game last night by completing 4 of 7 passes for 35 yards without a TD pass or an interception.  DeAngelo Williams led the way on the ground for the Panthers last night with 27 yards rushing on 5 carries (5.4 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 11 yards for the Panthers in this game.  Jonathan Stewart had a rough time last night with 13 yards rushing 8 carries (1.6 ypc).  TEs Greg Olsen (1 rec, 28 yards) and Jeremy Shockey (2 rec,21 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Panthers last night.  The Panthers rushed for 108 yards on 25 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 26 passes (38.5%) for 95 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 25:47 last night.

The defense played hard but they just couldn’t seem to get off the field last night.  LB Thomas Davis (11 tackles, 1 pass defensed), safety Charles Godfrey (10 tackles) and LB James Anderson (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Panthers’ D last night.  DE Everette Brown and CB Chris Gamble pitched in with 1 fumble recovery apiece last night.  The Bengals finished up with 191 yards rushing on 41 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 27 passes (66.7%) for 165 yards last night.  The Panthers are now 1-2 on the preseason.

The Carolina Panthers have lost 25-year old TE Gary Barnidge for the 2011 season after he broke his ankle in last night’s game against the Dolphins.  Barnidge played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Panthers last year but he didn’t catch any passes.  Barnidge has played in 47 games (16 starts) in his three years with the Panthers and he has caught 12 passes for 242 yards (20.2 avg) without scoring any TDs.  The Panthers are loaded at TE for 2011, so they shouldn’t miss Barnidge too much.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2011) – The Panthers have placed Gary Barnidge on the Injured Reserve List, officially ending his season.

The Panthers showed no life on either side of the ball last night and they were lucky that they didn’t get beat a lot worse.  QB Cam Newton started at QB last night and he didn’t look too sharp.  Newton completed 7 of 14 passes for 66 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 18 yards (4.5 ypc) last night.  QB Jimmy Clausen finished the game out for the Panthers last night.  He completed 9 of 15 passes for 69 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards last night.  RB Josh Vaughn led the way on the ground for the Panthers in this game with 21 yards rushing on 5 carries (4.2 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 21 yards (10.5 avg) last night.  Tyrell Sutton also had a solid game with 5 carries for 19 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg) last night.  TE Jeremy Shockey pitched in with 3 grabs for 24 yards (8.0 avg) last night.  The Panthers finished up with 68 yards on 18 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 29 passes (55.2%) for 131 yards last night as they only had possesion of the ball for 22:11 in this game.

The defense probably got pretty tired last night as they were on the field most of the game.  LBs Dan Connor (8 tackles) and Thomas Williams (7 tackles and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Panthers’ D last night.  DE Thomas Keiser pitched in with 3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and a fumble recovery last night.  The Dolphins finished up with 164 yards rushing on 43 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 34 passes (61.8%) for 253 yards in this game.  The Panthers are now 1-1 on the pre-season.

The Panthers played pretty solid all around football last night as they earned a nice win over the Giants.  Jimmy Clausen completed 4 of 7 passes for 69 yards with 1 TD pass and a awful interception that was returned 56 yards for a TD by Giants’ LB Michael Boley.  Cam Newton was so-so in his debut with the Panthers as he completed 8 of 19 passes for 134 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Derek Anderson was the sharpest QB for the Panthers last night as he completed 3 of 4 passes for 71 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Mike Goodson led the way on the ground for the Panthers with 30 yards rushing on 8 carries (3.8 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 20 yards (10.0 avg).  DeAngelo Williams pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 4 carries (5.8 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 16 yards.  TE Greg Olsen (3 rec, 58 yards, TD) and rookie WR Kealoha Pilares (1 rec, 35 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Panters last night.  The Panthers finished up with 102 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 30 passes (50%) for 240 yards last night.

LB Thomas Williams led a nice effort by the Panthers’ D with 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  Safety Sean Considine (7 tackles) and LB Jordan Senn (6 tackles) also had solid games  for the Panthers’ D last night.  The Giants rushed for 81 yards on 25 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 37 passes (59.5%) for 217 yards.  The Panthers’ D gave up less points (3) than the Panthers’ O (7 points) gave up last night.  The Panthers looked good in their first pre-season game of the year.

The Panthers have lost 23-year old WR David Gettis for the 2011 season as he tore his left ACL in practice.  Gettis played in 15 games (13 starts) as a rookie last year and he caught 37 passes for 508 yards (13.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Gettis was projected to be one of the Panthers’ starting receivers in 2011.  The Panthers now need Legedu Naanee and Brandon LaFell to step up to make up for the loss of Gettis.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2011) – The Panthers have placed David Gettis on the Injured Reserve List, ending his 2011 season.

22-year old Cam Newton out of Auburn was the #1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.  But, he only started 1 year at Auburn and despite having great physical talent, he might not be ready to excel in the NFL mentally quite yet.  Newton is without a doubt the Panthers’ QB of the future, but, I think it would probably be better for him to watch the first  few games due to the lockout cutting a lot of practice time out.  If Newton would have had a full training camp, I think they would have thrown him into the fire right off the bat.  But, I think he would be overwhelmed by NFL defenses right now.  The Panthers can’t afford to screw up Newton, so look for him to be holding a clipboard early in his career.

23-year old Jimmy Clausen looked overmatched last season but he’s the favorite to start the Panthers’ season opener at Arizona.  Clausen played in 13 games (10 starts) as a rookie for the Panthers last year and he completed 157 of 299 passes (52.5%) for 1,558 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (58.4 QB Rating).  Clausen also carried the ball 23 times for 57 yards (2.5 ypc) last year.  The Panthers were 1-9 (10%) in games started at QB by Clausen last year.  Clausen projects as Cam Newton’s long term backup but he will likely get the starting nod in Week #1.  It’s up to him how long he will keep the starting job.

28-year old Derek Anderson was signed to give this group a veteran presence.  Anderson played in 12 games (9 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he completed 169 of 327 passes (51.7%) for 2,065 yards with 7 TD passes and 10 INTs (65.9 QB Rating).  Anderson also carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) last year.  Anderson has now played in 51 games (43 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has completed 756 of 1,436 passes (52.6%) for 9,148 yards with 53 TD passes and 55 INTs (68.8 QB Rating).  Anderson has also carried the ball 76 times for 205 yards (2.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far in his career.  Anderson is 18-25 (41.9%) as a starting QB so far in the NFL.  Anderson has been to a Pro Bowl in his career but he often makes bad throws that result in pickoffs and his accuracy has never been too good in the NFL.

25-year old Tony Pike is going to have a hard time making the roster unless Newton, Clausen or Anderson gets injured.  Pike played in 1 game off the bench for the Panthers last year and he completed 6 of 12 passes (50%) for 47 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (60.1 QB Rating).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS QBS IN 2011:  D-

The Panthers have claimed 25-year old cornerback Chevis Jackson off waivers from the Broncos.  Jackson played in 2 games for the Jaguars last year but he didn’t have any tackles.  Jackson has now played in 33 games in his first 3 years in the NFL and he has 60 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 7 passes defensed and 1 interception (he returned it for a TD).  It never hurts to take a flier on a player like Jackson as he is still young enough to turn things around.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Panthers have released Chevis Jackson.