Friday, July 31, 2009

Players who Must Step up in 09: Richard Marshall



We all know about the Panthers key cogs in their hunt for a championship. Little has changed in the offseason, as the Panthers will (barring injury in Preseason) return 21 of 22 starters from last season's 12-4 team. But, with a new Defensive Coordinator (and, pretty much new Defensive staff), the Panthers will add a few wrinkles in 2009. Despite there being virtually no new starters, there are still players who must step up in the coming season if the Panthers are to repeat as NFC South Champs and go beyond. I'll be highlighting those players throughout Training Camp and Preseason, before talking about the other key players.

First, let's talk about Richard Marshall. Marshall, entering his 4th season, has been forced to play second fiddle to Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble throughout his career so far. But, with the cap casualty of Lucas, Marshall will get his shot and will be the only new starter entering 2009. Despite being the "Nickle" corner for the Panthers, Marshall is far from inexperienced. He's started in several games thanks to injuries to Gamble and Lucas, and he's made some big plays along the way. Down the stretch in 2007, he outplayed both Lucas and Gamble in the final games. When Marshall has been put in to play, he's made the most out of it.

But, now as the starter, he's going to get a lot more exposure. During the final half of the season, when the Panthers defense absolutely fell apart, Marshall appeared to get lost on defense, giving up big plays. One game that comes to mind is the Tampa Bay game, where he and Lucas got burned down the field several times. Marshall needs to avoid such lapses now that all eyes are on him as the 2nd starter opposite Gamble.

Marshall has all the tools to succeed, though. He's got amazing athleticism, as he put on display last Preseason, intercepting an attempted pitch back to the kicker on a fake FG attempt by the Eagles. Marshall appeared to be a blur as he raced into the Eagles backfield, taking the intercepted pitch all the way for 6. And, again, he's made some big plays in relief of Gamble/Lucas when his number was called in 06 and 07, scoring a defensive TD in both seasons.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d80a847a5/Panthers-Defense-Highlight-WK-P03-vs-Eagles-2008

I, for one, am extremely excited to see what Marshall can do as a starter. All due respect to Ken Lucas, I felt all along that Marshall was the better corner. He's faster, more athletic, but just lacked the experience that the veteran Lucas brought. Lucas was much more physical, but as evidenced late last year, no longer had the athletic tools to be the shut down corner that he was in 2005. I've been waiting a while for this, and I can't wait to see what Marshall can do.

In the next few days, I'll be spotlighting Rookie DE Everett Brown as another key guy who must bring his A game every Sunday. In the meantime, Training Camp starts Monday. Get excited.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

OMG! Teh Panthers Needzzz VICK!


Okay, can we all stop with this whole Michael Vick to the Panthers? This is worse than the Brett Favre cheerleaders last offseason. I mean, at least Favre is a talented QB who could have actually helped the Panthers.

The national media is obviously very ignorant to how the Panthers run their organization. Jerry Richardson is no Jerry Jones, he isn't will to compromise his ethics to win football games. Yes, say all you want about Steve Smith last year, but I feel the 2 game suspension was more than enough to punish Smith. And, hey, punching a guy in the face is not exactly killing, torturing, and maiming animals, is it? Here are all the reasons why the Panthers will go nowhere near Vick (unless they want hints on how to kill dogs, of course)...

1. The aforementioned Richardson. He doesn't want the unnecessary media attention. Not to mention the fan backlash that he will face for bringing a CROOK into his team.

2. Vick's style of play (run first, run second, throw inaccurately third) doesn't fit with Carolina's philosophy. They are a run first team, yes, but they let their RB's do the running and rely on their QB to make the tough plays on 3rd down and late in games.

3. Jake Delhomme is the undisputed leader of this offense. Bringing in Vick would not only disrupt the team with unwanted distractions, but would also bring about an unnecessary QB controversy. Say what you want about the playoff game last year, but the Panthers would have have finished under .500 if not for Delhomme's fourth quarter comebacks last year.

4. Michael Vick is overrated. Once team's figured out how to contain his running, they really exposed him as an inaccurate QB who only has a strong arm. Now that he's been in prison for 2 years, the rust would take a long time to wear off. Not to mention the fact that he has to sit out until Week 6, which Carolina would have played 5 games before then.

5. It doesn't make sense.

There you have it. Write all you want media, but this Jake's team until he gets injured. End of story.

Monday, July 27, 2009

New Dallas Stadium is SO AWESOME!


The Dallas Cowboys owner is so dedicated to his team that, in the middle of the economic disaster, he spends over a billion dollars out of his own pocket to build a state of the art stadium. You know, the one with 100,000 seats and all that jazz. I wonder what it's like to go to a game there as the team with the star represents and the fans go crazy for Tony Romo...

Don't worry Panthers fans, I haven't turned. Far from it. You see, my family moved to Dallas this past summer and guess who happens to be paying "America's Team" a visit in September on Monday Night Football...and guess who just scored tickets to the game! Ha ha. Yes, that's right, not only am I going to the home opener this year, but I'm also crashing the Monday Night party during Week 3 of the NFL season as well! I'll be the only fool there with Panthers gear on, but I'll love every second of it.

Okay, Okay, I know I've been bragging about all of my future adventures going to see my boys, but for a guy who's been to 1 Panthers game (last October) his whole life, this is going to be exciting. I just hope our boys can put it together and not have a slow start to the season. But, I promise, coming up next week as Training Camp approaches, I'll be updating this thing with real Carolina news. Until then, envy me! Ha ha!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Section: 538, Row: 34, Seat: 9


That's where this guy is going to be on Sunday, September 13, 2009 around 11 AM EST. I can't believe it. I'm actually going to the Panthers home opener this year. Could life get any sweeter? Well, I could score a date with Jessica Alba, but this will do for now. Let's hope that the Panthers history of poor home openers takes a vacation for this year at least.

Can't wait, regardless.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Feeling the Fever?



It's hard to believe that it's already July, nearly mid-July...crazy. As the abysmal loss to the Arizona Cardinals in January continues to haunt, the Panthers are gearing up for another playoff run. As training camp approaches, I myself am approaching the upcoming season with a kind of guarded optimism. On the one hand, the Panthers are returning nearly every key cog of the 2008 team that went 12-4 and won the NFC South last year. The bad news, though, is that the Panthers have never had back to back playoff years.

In 2003, after that miracle run to the Super Bowl, the team started off 1-7, then made a courageous effort at a playoff run before falling to 7-9 in 2004. In 2005, the Panthers go 11-5, and get stomped by Seattle in the NFC Championship. 2006 and 2007 saw the Panthers go 8-8 and 7-9. Then, after last season, the Panthers win the NFC South for the 2nd time and get stomped by Arizona. To say that the Panthers are up and down is an understatement. In truth, though, their finishes over the past several years is a reflection of the NFL as a whole, with it's ridiculous parity.

I have a few other fears going into 2009. I fear the defense, with it's nearly complete overhaul in coaching staff. Let's face it, the defense was the weak link to this team down the stretch. Even though the Panthers went on a tear late in the year, it could have been even better if the defense kept it's end of the bargain. Think about it, with the way the Panthers moved the ball so easily (Carolina actually finished as the #4 ranked offense last year) if the defense could've gotten stops, the Panthers might well have won the Super Bowl this past year. With new coordinator Ron Meeks, hopefully that will bring some life to a defense that has the talent to be a top unit in the NFL. One guy to watch out for is Richard Marshall, finally getting the start over departed Ken Lucas. Marshall as all the tools, and his athletic abilities are top notch (remember that fake FG play last year in the pre-season?). Also, I just hope that Peppers earns his freaking 17 million this year...

Another fear of mine is Jake Delhomme. No, I'm not one of those dumb fans that think the Panthers should start McCown or Matt Moore this year (remember when fans said the same thing about Weinke and Carr, how'd that work out for you?). I just fear that after his embarrassing performance last year in the Playoffs is still in his head. I mean, he looked pitiful in the second half. I just hope that he can bounce back, just as he did after Tommy John Surgery, and continue to feed the ball to Steve Smith and lead the team in those late game comebacks he's so good at.

My final fear heading into the season is that difficult schedule. I mean Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas, both NY's, New England, Miami, Arizona, Minnesota and the always competitive NFC South schedule...man, that's harsh. Only Buffalo, with it's 7-9 record, is the only opponent to finish with a losing record in 08. Granted, that doesn't mean a whole lot given the parity of the league, that's still a very tough schedule on paper.

Finally, I liked the draft picks (Everett Brown has me excited),though I really feel like the Panthers should have gotten some WR help. Sorry if I'm still skeptical over Dwayne Jarrett, but the guy has been nothing better than a bust so far. I just hope Muhammad has enough in the tank for another 900 yards to take the pressure off of Smitty.

With nearly everyone back, the Panthers look poised for another run at the Super Bowl. I'm very excited to see D-Will and J-Stew once again running wild on NFL Defenses...and the Delhomme to Smith connections once teams start loading up the box. If all goes well, Carolina will be back making noise in 09.