Read Sports Geek’s argument that the play of Terrelle Pryor was the biggest surprise of Week One and Bleacher Fan’s argument that the play of the Ravens defense was the biggest surprise.
It was an exciting first week in the NFL with tonight’s two games still to come. The end of Denver-Cincinnati game was surprising, and I thought the Packers-Bears game last night was very entertaining. Hope you enjoyed Week one, and I hope your fantasy team did well.
The biggest surprise was what Kanye West did to Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards last night… oh wait, we are talking football, not dramatic (or staged) music video awards. To me, the biggest surprise of this past weekend was the complete whipping the Carolina Panthers took as host of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Carolina came into this season as one of the favorites in the NFC. Despite ending last season last year on a sour note with a second round loss to Arizona at home in which quarterback Jake Delhomme had six turnovers, the Panthers still had high hopes for this season… and they probably still do. But, it was not the way they envisioned starting off.
On Sunday, Delhomme picked up right up where he left off last year, turning the ball five times before being pulled in the third quarter for Josh McNown (yikes)! You know you are struggling with a guy when someone with the last name McNown (Cade, Luke, Josh, etc) takes your place. Head coach John Fox has not yet announced who will start this week at quarterback, but you can bet Panthers fans are getting anxious… and Fox is smacking his gum a little faster.
The Panthers running game also struggled Sunday, with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combining for 72 yards on 25 carries. That can partially be attributed to the struggles of the passing game and the fact that they got behind early against the Eagles.
The Panthers do not get a breather this week, either, as they travel to NFC South rival Atlanta on Sunday. Lose Sunday, and they are already behind two games in the division. This does not even include the Saints, who looked really good on offense yesterday (okay, so it was against the Lions). With the Panthers upcoming schedule, they really cannot afford to dig too deep of a hole. This year, the NFC South matches up with the NFC East and AFC East. That gives them a trip to Dallas in two weeks and two cold December trips to look forward to. If you are a visiting team, you cannot be looking forward to December trips to Foxboro and the Meadowlands!
It is still early in the season, and it is WAY too early to push too many panic buttons. But, if I am a Panthers fan, I definitely woke up this morning not feeling too good about my team. It is one thing to lose a close game. At least there is some hope! It is quite another to get whipped on your home turf! And with Delhomme struggling the way he is, I am not sure this team can turn it around this season.
