By Daniel Lacy - Well, I am officially back at college after getting everything moved into my dorm room on Thursday. My schedule the past four days has been band, band, and more band. Practice ended at 10 so I didn't get to start watching the game until the end of the third quarter. However, this is my take based on the statistics I looked at and what I saw from the rest of the game.
This was Cam Newton's first game since he had surgery on his ankle over the offseason. He and the rest of the offense started out slowly, but got a spark in the second quarter with help of a few big passes from Newton and a more productive running game, they ended the half leading 14-6. Jonathan Stewart scored both short yardage touchdowns in his first game since who knows how long. Newton ended the game 4/9 with 65 yards.
The Panthers' lone passing touchdown for the night came from Derek Anderson to Brenton Bersin on a 16 yard score. Bersin is fighting for a roster spot as a reserve receiver.
The first play I saw when I walked in the door was a running play in which DE Frank Alexander ran down the running back and brought him down from behind, preventing a big gain. He is suspended the first four games so he won't be able to produce right away, but Ron Rivera named him the training camp MVP after playing more consistently and constantly creating havoc for the offensive line players.
Two plays after that, LB AJ Klein cut in front of the TE to intercept a pass and returned it down to the 8 yard line.
After that, RB Fozzy Whittaker pounded the ball into the endzone to put the Panthers up 28-16, which ended up being the final score of the game. Whittaker had a fantastic night, finishing with 12 carries for 71 yards and added a 22 yard catch. In the first two games, he has shown his speed and versatility not only to catch the ball out of the backfield, but convert in short yardage situations. He has an impressive burst and was constantly eluding defenders and breaking tackles. I didn't see him go down on the first hit all night. If Kenjon Barner doesn't earn the job handling kicks and/or punts, I say that Whittaker played good enough to take his roster spot.
WR Philly Brown muffed a punt in the 4th quarter, which didn't help his cause for a roster spot at all. Based on what I have heard, the guys vying for return spots haven't played well at all, making it more likely that the Panthers will just cut all of them and try to get a guy at the end of roster cuts.
So yeah, after a slow start, the Panthers rallied and won the game 28-16. The next game will be the most important because the starters will likely play through the third quarter. After that, the roster gets cut down to 75, then the fourth game is spent evaluating the players who are fighting to make the final roster. When I get a chance, I will predict what the final roster will be. Time will tell what will actually end up happening.
