Post by Panther on Sept 14, 2012 10:12:28 GMT -5
The game is 1 PM (Eastern Time) on FOX. The Panthers will be wearing their away White Jersey.
Everyone between North Carolina and Louisiana will get the game. Check this line to see if you'll get the game (credit to Bengalmania2 with the link).
Why this game matters:
Other than the fact that both teams are 0-1, there is more riding on this game. Both teams are division rivals who played twice last season, once on week seventeen. The Panthers season was lost with a 6-9 record at the time, the Saints clinched the playoffs and the division with a 12-3 record. But that didn't stop the Saints from leaving their starters in. They left Brees, Graham, and Sproles all in to break records when the game was well in hand with a 21 point lead heading to the fourth quarter.
A lot of Panthers players, including Greg Hardy, Thomas Davis, and Captain Munnerlyn were not happy with the Saints chasing records. Head coach Ron Rivera wasn't either. Some quotes (I do not have Hardy's, but it was on ESPN the other day):
Rivera:
“It's a philosophy. It's an attitude. And that's what his is,” Rivera said of Payton. “So he coaches that way and they play that way. My attitude and my philosophy is win the football game, and then be smart about your next week. That's just the way I look at it, a difference in philosophy.”
Munnerlyn:
“They broke a lot of records. I think they broke like 10 records against us. I'm fired up about that,” Munnerlyn said. “It's in my mind still and I know some guys on defense, we don't like that.”
Davis:
“That's a game that I definitely have marked on my calendar for this year,” Davis said. “With the Saints going in and playing the way that they did and having guys in with a big lead that late in the game. You can say they were shooting for records or whatever. I don't care. That's disrespectful to me. I'm definitely looking forward to playing the New Orleans Saints this year.”
How the Panthers can win this game:
No stupid mistakes - None of this:
Off his back foot, inaccurate pass in tight coverage. Bad mistake.
That block was all on Nakamura (#43), horrible punt protenction.
Do I really need to say anything?
Out coach the Saints - With Sean Payton not here, nor Joe Vitt, the Saints are at their thrid option as the HC. The Panthers called horrible plays last game, making the offense's struggles even worse. Expect the team that is coached better to have the advantage.
Win the battle in the trenches - Last game, the Buccaneers dominated the trenches. Their DL out played our OL, their OL outplayed our DL (most of the time). The Saints don't exactly have a dominate DL. Their DL has a lot of potential, but mainly has lead to disapointemt. The Saints conceded over 90 rushing yards to an Undrafted rookie. The Saints Defense was expected to turn it around, by me and others, but they haven't got off to a good start. The Panthers haven't been much better, letting Doug Martin get over 100 total yards (90 rushing + 20 receiving). Expect both Quarterbacks to have plenty of time in the pocket and both RBs to find open lanes often.
Call plays that make sense - Don't make Newton drop back and throw it twenty yards downfield when the Buccaneers are blitzing and our OL can't stop anything. Don't run zone reads from shotgun. Don't remove DeAngelo Williams from the game because of a few bad plays. We ran horrible play calling on offense, I would most certainly blame the loss on Ron Rivera and Rob Chud. They must do better.
Establish a running game - Something so simple, couldn't be done last week. We gave the ball twice to DeAngelo Williams early, resulting in negative 7 yards. He touched the ball three other times the whole game. We need to make the Saints not send the whole team to pass rush Cam and forgot on the running game. Hopefully Jonathan Stewart will help with this, the superior RB in Carolina.
Stat predictions
Panthers:
Cam Newton - 338 passing yards, 3 TDs (all in the air), 1 INT, 16 rushing yards.
Jonathan Stewart - 61 rushing yards, 1 TD, 3 recs, 21 yards.
DeAngelo Williams - 23 rushing yards, 0 TDs.
Steve Smith - 7 recs, 113 receiving yards, 1 TD.
Brandon LaFell - 3 recs, 51 receiving yards, 0 TDs.
Louis Murphy - 4 recs, 41 receiving yards, 1 TD.
Greg Olsen - 5 recs, 48 receiving yards, 1 TD.
Sacks: Charles Johnson X1
INTs: Josh Norman X1.
Saints:
Drew Brees - 376 passing yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT.
Darren Sproles - 28 rushing yards, 5 recs, 43 receiving yards, 1 TD.
Mark Ingram - 31 rushing yards, 0 TDs.
Marques Colston - 6 recs, 76 receiving yards, 1 TD.
Lance Moore - 5 recs, 43 receiving yards, 0 TDs.
Jimmy Graham - 8 recs, 109 receiving yards, 2 TDs.
Sacks: Martez Wilson X1
INTs: Malcom Jenkins X1
"Experts' " Predictions:
ESPN Experts: 9-3 in favor of NOS.
CSR (Panthers SB Nation Blog): 5-5 tie.
Got any more I should add?
Game Prediction:
31
34