Up next for Bears: Panthers

Up next for Bears: Panthers

Homecoming for Julius Peppers

By Dan Pompei, Tribune reporter
11:54 p.m. CDT, October 3, 2010

Quick look: Welcome to Julius Peppers' homecoming.

Peppers will be anxious to show the Panthers what they are missing. The Panthers, meanwhile, would like to show Peppers they can do fine without him.

The truth is the Panthers lost a lot when Peppers and several others of his former teammates left town in the offseason, and it has shown in the Panthers' struggles this season. This is a young team that has some talent but not much experience and know-how.

The Panthers will try to run the ball down the Bears' throats, and the Bears' run defense, which came into the weekend ranked first in the league, is sure to be tested more than it has in any game up to this point.

Key stat: The Panthers came into the weekend leading the league in turnovers. The Bears came into the weekend with the second-most takeaways in the league.

Key matchup: Bears free safety Chris Harris vs. Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen. Harris knows the Panthers offense from having practiced against it when he was on the team. He'll try to goad Clausen into making rookie mistakes. Clausen, meanwhile, could try to take advantage of Harris' lack of speed and range.

Early pick: Bears 30, Panthers 13

and think we really need to get after Clausen sunday, and KNOW peppers would love a 3+ sack day : )

Clausen looked better Sunday, but .......

NEW ORLEANS -- When you sign up for being led by a rookie quarterback, as the Carolina Panthers have, these are the sorts of days that you get.

Jimmy Clausen made a couple of startlingly good plays Sunday. And he didn't fumble any snaps. But then he did something you really can't do - taking a sack when the Panthers could least afford it - and the Panthers lost again, 16-14 to the New Orleans Saints.

Clausen matured Sunday, playing far better on the road in his second start as a Panthers quarterback than at home in his first. He has got his issues, like all rookie quarterbacks. But he never made a turnover, and he converted several superb plays on the run, including a 55-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Stewart that came because Clausen kept the play alive and Stewart sneaked behind the defense.

On the upside, Clausen had a 90.8 quarterback rating while completing 11 of 21 for 146 yards (Drew Brees' rating was only 90.2).


On the downside, Clausen had at least three passes batted down at the line. At a listed 6 feet 2 and with a tendency to dump the ball off, the Saints' defensive linemen knew they had a shot at some blocks.
Plus, Saints defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis said to reporters about Clausen: "He's got a long windup."
And then came that final drive. Oh, man, that final drive.

The Panthers got the ball down by two points, at their own 28, with two timeouts left and 3:50 on the clock.
And they still ran out of time.

That's why the Panthers are 0-4 today, despite playing their best game of the season.
Now I understand they weren't in the hurry-up offense, and for good reason. You kick a field goal with two minutes left against the Saints and you're just leaving time for Brees to come back and beat you.
So the Panthers moved as slowly as a sloth for much of the drive - running the ball on their first four plays (one was a Clausen scramble). Then came two incompletions (it didn't help that Steve Smith was out with an ankle injury for the entire march).

Unfortunately, by then, Carolina had spent both of its final timeouts.

This is something else you get with a rookie quarterback. It was incredibly loud. There were some miscommunication. And so with 1:57 to go, the timeouts were all gone.

Then Clausen made the best play he has made yet as a Panther, the one that gives you hope for the future.
On fourth-and-4 from the Carolina 46, he avoided a sack, scrambled right and threw a 16-yard laser to David Gettis into an area the size of a handkerchief.

It made his teammates proud.
"That fourth-down play he made speaks volumes for what I think is inside of him," Panther offensive tackle Jordan Gross said of Clausen. "That's as clutch as you get there."
Then, however, came the problems.

After one running play, the Panthers had a second-and-8 from the New Orleans 36 with 1:35 left. They were just on the edge of John Kasay's range.

And then the Panthers moved even more slo-o-o-wly.

DeAngelo Williams took a gamble, cut back and lost four yards. It was 40 seconds later before Carolina got off another play - 40 seconds! - and it was a bad one.

New Orleans brought a safety blitz on third-and-12, and Clausen tried to find his "hot" receiver for such an occasion.
"I can't take a sack in that situation," Clausen said.
But he did.

With no room to run and not wanting to throw the ball away, Clausen took the sack.
And the Panthers again took about 40 endless seconds to run another play, this time snapping the ball with eight seconds remaining on fourth-and-16. Given that Clausen threw the ball at Dwayne Jarrett, you know that one didn't work either.

And so Clausen is 0-2 as a starter for Carolina, despite a marked improvement from last week.
So this is how it feels to have a rookie quarterback.

It's like having a new puppy in the house. Life is very interesting, but you never know what the next moment will bring.

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/...#ixzz11OXOMTir

Notebook: WR Smith likely out for Chicago game

Darin Gantt
dgantt@heraldonline.com
Posted: Sunday, Oct. 03, 2010

NEW ORLEANS Notes

Panthers WR Smith likely to miss Chicago game

It appears the Carolina Panthers are going to have to get used to playing without their money man, as wide receiver Steve Smith suffered an apparent high ankle sprain in Sunday's 16-14 loss to New Orleans.
Smith was hauled off the field on a cart during the third quarter, after a catch and awkward roll had him grabbing his left ankle and shin. Trainers placed him in a large walking boot, and more tests will come today. X-rays taken Sunday were negative, but the expectation is that he's not going to be ready to play Chicago, if anytime soon.

Asked how he felt, Smith shook his head: "I feel like a trillion dollars ... I feel like a money order, that's what I feel like."

When asked if he feared the injury would keep him out of next week's game against Chicago, Smith's eyes shot wide with dismay.

"Go next week? I'm just trying to walk to the bus," Smith replied. "I'm having trouble walking. Is it serious? I can't walk. That's pretty serious. It hurts to walk."

If he's out any amount of time, the Panthers will be down to Dwayne Jarrett and three rookies.

The Panthers spread the ball around Sunday, with Jimmy Clausen completing to eight targets (but none to Jarrett), though none of them caught more than two.

"I mean, it's tough sledding, now," running back DeAngelo Williams said. "Whoever's up next, I'm sure they're going to step in and do just as well as Smitty. We're trying to win a football game.

"Whether it's 89, 88, 80, 81, 83, 82, whoever they put out there they're going to put their best product out there on the field."
Since they don't even have a 81 or an 83, it underscores how desperate they are. David Gettis, who has taken over the starting job opposite Smith, said those left standing have to pick up the slack.
"No pressure at all," Gettis said with a shake of his head. "We're professional athletes, and we have to go out there and make plays for our team, for our offense. That's it."

INJURY UPDATE


In addition to Smith, safety Sherrod Martin was unable to finish after leaving with a concussion just before halftime. Rookie Jordan Pugh replaced him for the second half.

The Panthers deactivated wide receiver Armanti Edwards, running back Tyrell Sutton, center Chris Morris, defensive tackle Andre Neblett, cornerback C.J. Wilson, injured linebacker Jamar Williams and right tackle Jeff Otah and third quarterback Tony Pike.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...#ixzz11OZwfE00

I'm thinking that the game will be a close one. Cutler probably should sit.

the panther defense is still playing good. Basically we are both the same team right now with Cutler out. They might have the edge cause they can run the ball

The only thing that is saving me from a complete meltdown is that we play the the Panthers and the Seahawks.

Can you imagine if we had the Jets and Patriots as our next 2 games.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by motownbear

the panther defense is still playing good. Basically we are both the same team right now with Cutler out. They might have the edge cause they can run the ball

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but now missing steve smith, think balances it in our favor.. they don't have any good wr's after him