Sorensen: Is this football or futbol?
Posted: Sunday, Nov. 09, 2008
In My Opinion
By Tom Sorensen
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/gameday/story/315635.html
OAKLAND, Cal. – Here’s how little action there was in the Carolina-Oakland game: A soccer fan would have left early.
Football fans joined them. By the end of Carolina’s 17-6 victory there were more seagulls in McAfee Coliseum than humans.
Oakland is the worst team in the NFL that is not Detroit. In the opening 95 seconds, the Raiders lost a fumble, called a timeout and gave up a touchdown. They never improved.
But Carolina’s offense was almost as inept. Quarterback Jake Delhomme, who had been so precise this season, threw seven passes to his own guys and four to the other guys. The last time Delhomme threw four interceptions, the Panthers lost to Philadelphia 30-8.
Delhomme had a quarterback rating of 12.3. To post a number that low, a Panther quarterback usually has to wear color-coordinated gloves.
After the game, Delhomme praised the mighty Oakland defense. And he undoubtedly was sincere, even though it ranks 28th and there are only 32 teams. But as he praised them, he began to smile. He added, “It’s on me.”
If there was a bad time to play the Raiders, Sunday theoretically was it. Atlanta shut out Oakland in Oakland 24-0 last week. The Raiders probably did some out angry and inspired. But emotion is not enough. They are believed to have broken the modern day record for draw plays set by former Panther offensive coordinator Dan Henning. They are one of the worst offenses in NFL h history. They could not score against the Canton Bulldogs.
So how did they amass six points?
They twice drove five yards after picking off a Delhomme pass.
To be fair, injuries forced the Raiders to deploy their second team quarterback and, when he got hurt, their third team quarterback. To be even more fair, little separates the three.
“They should put a hold on their checks until they can score a touchdown,” a Raiders employee said with considerable disdain as he walked through the tunnel after the game.
The flipside of the Panthers’ lack of offense is this: They won their third straight game, they won it on the road, they are 7-2 and they are in first place in the surprisingly competitive NFC South.
Defense end Julius Peppers was as disruptive as he has ever been. He had seven tackles and three sacks. Peppers says again that outsiders put too much emphasis on stats and sacks and he probably is right.
So here’s a play statistics won’t reflect. It’s third down. Oakland calls a screen. Peppers recognizes the call, cuts off his rush and floats into the right flat. Quarterback Andrew Walter looks for a 6-1 back and instead sees a 6-7 defensive end. What does he do? He does what you would. He heaves the ball out of bounds.
Peppers had help, although I’ll have to resort to statistics to prove it. Middle linebacker Jon Beason had a game-high 15 tackles, 11 solo, and linebacker Thomas Davis added eight and 10. Cornerback Chris Gamble made an extraordinary interception, staying step for step with Javon Walker, beating him to the ball and hanging onto it.
Carolina’s offense, meanwhile, was sponsored by running back DeAngelo Williams. Williams rushed for 140 yards, patiently waiting for holes to open and aggressively charging into them.
In the second quarter, he took a handoff and ran up the middle. He was going to pick up six yards. You could tell.
And then Oakland safety Rashad Baker smacked him, and Williams spun and retained his balance and kept his feet moving.
Accompanied by Steve Smith, he took off for the end zone with linebacker Thomas Howard in close pursuit.
It was uncanny. Every time Howard was about to dive for the running back, Williams cut the other way. Howard finally guessed wrong and dived face first into the air and then the grass.
“I was looking up at the Jumbotron and I saw him and I was zigging and zagging,” Williams says about the giant scoreboard. “And I had Steve giving me directions. He was my navigational system back there.”
Smith led Williams to the end zone and Williams and the defense lead the Panthers to as good a record as they have ever had after nine games.[i]
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