"It was unbelievable because it was so out of character for him," one Panthers player told Glazer. "Pep NEVER talks. He's just never been a vocal guy. In all the years he has been here he's never opened up in front of the guys. This was so well thought out though, like it was half-psychologist, half-coach suddenly got into Pep. It really was incredible."
But the impact lasted only for a week.
On Sunday, in one of the last few clearly winnable games on the schedule, the Panthers gagged at home against the Bills. The 11-point loss came despite the fact that the Panthers rolled up 425 yards of total offense, and Carolina held the Bills to only 167.
And the first downs matched the points, only flipped -- 20 for the Panthers, nine for the Bills.
So what happened?
Well, Jake Delhomme threw three more picks, two of which became 14 Buffalo points. And John Kasay missed a couple of field goals, and the Panthers otherwise couldn't sustain drives long enough to turn those yards into points.
For the Bills, a two-game winning streak has unexpectedly thrust the team into the fringes of the discussion for a playoff berth, even as the guy who was supposed to be the one carrying them there had only 27 receiving yards on three receptions. To crash the party, a win over the Texans on Sunday will be crucial.
For the Panthers, the road suddenly gets a lot rockier, with games at Arizona and New Orleans followed by visits from the Falcons and Jets. After the second half of the home-and-home against Tampa, the Panthers finish with games against the Patriots, Vikings, Giants, and Saints.
So 3-13 is looking realistic, as is a gutting of the front office and coaching staff -- and the arrival of a certain North Carolina resident who does plenty of spitting without ever putting a leaf of tobacco inside his jutting jaw.
I didn't watch the game but - how do you only rush 23 times against the leagues worst rushing defense?
It's time for a change in Carolina Mr Fox.
And the San Francisco 49ers are sitting pretty with the Panthers 2010 first round pick in their back pocket. Hoot!! Nice gamble McCloughan!!
The reason the Bills rushing defense is worst is because teams have had a couple of long runs (e.g., 60, 70 yards) each game, not because they can run over the Bills every play. This happended mainly when the starting MLB, OLB, SS, FS and CB have been out with injuries. Now that the starting MLB is back, there should be fewer long runs. The real strength of the Bills rushing defense could be seen when Carolina faced fourth and one and decided to go for it with a running play, but the Bills stopped them for a two yard loss. While teams have been running up the yards against the Bills, the last three opponents have scored 6, 13 and 9 points. Actually, if not for two dumb plays at the end of the Patriots and Browns games, the Bills would be 5 - 2 and alone in first in the AFC East.
Way to go Bob
The Bills defense appears bad because the Bills offense is truly putrid. It three and outs all the time.
The Bills never win time of possession and the defense is left to play the majority of the game. When the defense wears out other teams run the ball to kill the clock and occasionally break huge runs. Until the offense gets better it is truly hard to tell how good the Bills defense is.
Jerry Richardson will NOT hire Bill Cowher for these reasons: 1- Cowher would want total control over all football decisions. Since Richardson hired someone to be the new team president a month ago, Cowher won't get that power. 2- Cowher runs a 3-4 defense. The Panthers don't have the personel for the 3-4 scheme. Right now, Panther fans don't have the patience for a rebuilding project. They want to win NOW! 3- Look at the success younger coaches have had. Ken whisenhunt took Arizona to the Super Bowl last year. Mike Tomlin is having success with the Steelers. Josh McDaniels is undefeated in Denver (so far) this year. Younger coaches are coming in with fresh ideas and having success with those ideas. -- My opinion, John Fox, GM Marty Hurney, and Jake Delhomme will be gone after this season. The Panthers next coaching hire needs to be a younger coach.
Jake will be the starter for two more weeks. Even if he turds out against 'zona, you just know Foxy wants him to start against the Aints. Then, I think it's time for Moore. Feeley doesn't even want to play, said so when he got here. Two more weeks, you heard it right here.