22-year old Jonathan Stewart has really played well once again this season giving the Panthers the best RB duo in the NFL (DeAngelo Williams).  He has played in 14 games for the Panthers this season and he has carried the ball 177 times for 802 yards (4.5 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  Stewart has also caught 16 passes for 123 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The contrast in styles between Williams’ speed and Stewart’s power make them able to co-exist giving the Panthers one of the best 1-2 punches in the NFL at RB.

25-year old QB Matt Moore has looked really good so far this season.  He has played in 5 games in which he has completed 56 of 95 passes (58.9%) for 720 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs (88.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 7 times for -4 yards (-0.6 ypc) this year.  Moore’s fine play so far has brought elite WR Steve Smith back into the offense making it so much better than it was with Delhomme under center.  If Moore plays well the last two weeks he will likely challenge Delhomme for the starting job next season.

Steve Smith’s season numbers don’t look that impressive.  He has played in all 10 games for the Panthers this season and he has caught 45 passes for 599 yards (13.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 2 times for 21 yards (10.5 ypc).  But, in his last five games Steve Smith has looked like his old self catching 24 passes for 340 yards (14.2 avg) with all 4 of his TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 1 time for 17 yards in those games.  It’s no surprise that the Panthers have been scoring more points the last few weeks as Smith has been a key in that.  The Panthers will likely have to win out to make the playoffs this season so they need Smith to keep up the good work the rest of the season.

22-year old rookie Tyrell Sutton was said to be too small to play in the Big 10 and the experts were wrong as he was a force at Northwestern.  The same things were whispered when he went undrafted.  But, the 5’8″, 213 pound Sutton played well in the pre-season and that caught the eye of the Panthers who signed him recently.  He has played in 3 games for the Panthers this season and he has carried the ball 3 times for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) and he has also caught 3 passes for 29 yards (9.7 avg).  Sutton also has found a home on special teams as he has returned 4 kickoffs for 106 yards (26.5 avg).  The Panthers found themselves a great little player in Sutton who I used to watch play at Hoban High School in Akron, Ohio.

Over the last three games the Panthers are averaging 27.3 points per game and QB Jake Delhomme has not thrown and pickoffs.  In his last three games, Delhomme has completed 39 of 68 passes (57.4%) for 486 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  The Panthers need Delhomme to keep up the good work if they are going to make a playoff run.   Delhomme has now completed 145 of 245 passes (59.2%) for 1,658 yards with 7 TD passes and 13 INTs (67.0 QB Rating) so far this season.  The Panthers need his rating to keep climbing if the offense is going to take off in the 2nd half of the year and they need him to protect the football.

The Panthers are now averaging 156.6 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry this season as DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are carrying the offense.  Williams has carried the ball 168 times for 860 yards (5.1 ypc) with 7 TD carries and he has also caught 21 passes for 215 yards (10.2 avg).  Williams has the ability to score any time he touches the football.  Stewart is the muscle of the running game for the Panthers.  He ahs carried the ball 98 times for 466 yards (4.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs and he has also caught 13 passes for 103 yards (7.9 avg) this year.  Stewart would be the main ballcarrier on a lot of teams in the NFL but he works in a great timeshare with DeAngelo Williams in Carolina.

Dante Rosario almost always has one game that makes you think he could be a star in the league and then the Panthers don’t throw him the ball anymore.  He is off to a great start this season as he has caught 6 passes for 89 yards (14.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Panthers would be smart to get him more involved in the offense because a good pass catching TE is a QB’s best friend when the O-Line is having problems with pass protection.  Maybe this will be the season that Rosario truly breaks out.

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 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.