Saints Neuter Panthers on Thursday Night, 28-10

#460862203 / gettyimages.com

Okay Panthers fans....it's Halloween Day and officially time to panic.

The Panthers laid an egg at home last night, losing to the road warrior I mean road kitten Saints, 28-10 on Thursday Night Football.

Offense was at a premium for both teams in the first half as the Saints took a 14-0 lead into halftime. One of the two TDs came on a long, hard-fought, 4-yard drive of two plays thanks to a Newton fumble at his own goal line after a sack by Junior Gilette.

The other was set up by a highly dubious pass interference call on Antoine Cason. 

A third TD, the Saints' first of the second half, came on a 4th and goal QB sneak where Drew Brees tried the "jump-stretch" play that Cam has the size to do but Brees made it close. He still scored, having the ball break the plane of the goal line before he got body slammed back.

It was that kind of game. 

The Panthers got two turnovers 

Mark Ingram had 100 yards on 30 carries, so the defense made him earn it. Considering the manner in which the Saints scored their points, the Carolina defense actually played well overall. The problem is the offense couldn't do much to keep Brees & company off the field.

I do want to set ONE thing straight here and now: the problem is NOT Cam Newton. Cam is trying to do everything because he isn't getting much help aside from Kelvin Benjamin. And Kelvin dropped a TD pass last night.

NFL AM is showing a teaser right this moment "What's WRONG with Cam Newton?" 

You wanna know what's "wrong with Cam?" FINE!

- His offensive line had not one but TWO rookie UFAs starting! STARTING! Not only that, the certainly seemed to make the weak side of the offensive line truly weak. I don't blame the kids in there playing and trying...but you can't expect a couple of inexperienced and undrafted rookies to play like the line they have in Dallas these days. The Cowboys spent multiple high picks on theirs and over multiple seasons to get where they got their O-line to now. Dave Gettleman appears bound by some unholy contract NOT to get offensive linemen in the top two rounds.

Cam's targets are still dropping passes. Cam might get excited and put too much mustard on some passes, sure, but it isn't like his receivers don't see him EVERY DAY or know what he can do. In fact, Cam's first half interception was due to a pass bouncing off Breston Bersin's hands. Cam had the worst QBR (12.1) he's ever had in a half, and it was plays like that which contributed to it.

Certainly, Cam hasn't been perfect. His timing was off last night and he wasn't completely accurate on a lot of throws but a good WR should be able to adjust to a catchable but less-than-perfect ball placement to haul it in. 

Also, Cam pretty correctly feels that he needs to do all he can to help the team win. The running game went largely nowhere as DeAngelo Williams could only put up 20 yards on eight carries. Stewie had 46 on 8 carries for a nice average, but he got stuffed for little to no gain on half his attempts. Cam got the team on the board with a 10 yard diving-to-the-pylon scramble and run on 3rd and goal as the pass rush got after him almost as soon as he received the shotgun snap.

And Cam is the PROBLEM? Folks, open your eyes willya? He's the only one making things HAPPEN on offense! He got decent protection on perhaps a handful of drop-backs; the rest of the time he was running for his life. Last night, his passes were generally on target or "close enough" that the target should have made the catch but didn't.

If you look at any given game where the offensive line isn't protecting the QB well, you're going to see a sub-par game from the QB. Look at the Super Bowl last year. 

With the gifts the Saints' Drew Brees-led offense got last night, I'm surprised they only got 28 points. Both TDs in the first half were gifts, wrapped up in nice paper with a bow and they had to reach into their 4th down "trick or treat" bag for a third TD. Under those circumstances, the defense did as much as could be reasonably asked, I think.

I have been telling the fans (those that will listen) what's wrong with the team all year and the same things continue to be problem areas. Those are the offensive line and the defensive backfield. 

Until those needs are addressed, don't expect the Panthers to play too much better than they did last night.

Follow me on Twitter @Ken_Dye

C3 On the Line: Saints at Panthers

C3 On the Line series bets the Carolina Panthers line and discusses the stakes of the game in the context of the Panthers season. CarolinaCatChronicles.com On the Line is not betting advice, but a means for football discussion.

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers

Saints -3 (49.5 O/U)

Here we are again, the Saints are marching to town and the division could be On the Line as it was last season when they visited Charlotte.   The stakes are strikingly similar to last season’s Saints at Panthers matchup, but the circumstances are the polar opposite.  Here’s what C3’s On the Line piece for this game last season noted:

Two 10-4 juggernauts meet Sunday at Bank of America Stadium to decide the NFC South division champion.  The Carolina Panthers host the New Orlean Saints in what looks to be a match between two titans.  The high powered Saints’ offense will try to take their game outdoors and topple Carolina’s league leading defense.  There is clearly a lot On the Line for both teams....This is like having an NFC South Championship game.  

Well 2014 has hardly produced the two titans bound for the playoffs as in 2013.  The Saints offense has sputtered at times, and the Panthers’ defense is among the league worst.  Like last year, the spread is 3 points (last year Carolina was favored) and likely this game will go a long way in determining the division champion.  This season, however, there will only be one playoff team representing the NFC South, and it may just be the winner of this game.  Again, there is a lot On the Line.

All Bets Are In:

Professor’s Bet: Panthers -3   (Taking the Under 49.5)

My head tells me to pick the Saints, but my heart is in Carolina.  The defense showed signs of life last week, Star and Ealy played particularly well, and continue to see signs of offensive life.  Yes, the Panthers didn’t get into the endzone, but they did move the ball.  Hopefully, Shula, who has taken considerable heat, will rev up the offense a bit this week and get some results that ward off his termination.

The pieces have to come together at some point.  This week is going to have to be that week.  The Panthers back is to the wall after 1-4-1 in the last six weeks.  Another loss here would be devastating.  This to me is a division title match right here.  The team that walks out of BOA has to be the favorite to win the division.  Yes, New Orleans schedule gets tough and the Panthers gets easy.   I just don’t see Carolina winning in Philadelphia after a demoralizing loss at home.  There’s no choice, the Panthers have to get this win.  If they do, there’s a real chance they can parlay the victory into some real momentum.  Carolina 24-20

Commish’s Bet: Panthers +3 (Under the 49.5)

Tonight, all eyes in the NFL will be on Charlotte in a case of a “hot potato” ball game. Neither team has much that points to any sort of advantage over the other. Carolina’s offensive line (and team in general) has been completely decimated by injuries and the unit has been maligned lately even when healthy. Center Ryan Kalil can’t block TWO guys at once! We know the Panthers generally don’t play well at night, and the Saints don’t fare well on the road. Yeah - SOMETHING has to give, doesn’t it? Reminds me of the ancient commercial with “Mikey” eating cereal even though he “hates everything.” A bad road team going to play a bad night team on the road at night, ouch! I’m half expecting the Three Stooges to come out in the opening series and take up spots on the offensive line. With the Saints defense having regressed to 2012 and our own defense having played quite well last week at home, I’m just going to throw my hands up and say that the trend continues. The question becomes if the offense can put things together enough to score a few times. I think that they will, and a healthy backfield duo of Stewie and DeAngelo should help keep Brees on the sideline just enough to win it. Carolina 24-21

Justin Raymond’s Bet: Panthers -3  (Taking the Over 49.5)

Like I wrote in my latest article, the Carolina Panthers are a bipolar team and we don’t know what to expect from week to week. The offense shows up one game and the next game the defense shows up. When will they both come together? This might be the game where the Panthers solve this issue. The Panthers are at home against a rival team and should bring their “A” game. Brees has plenty of weapons on offense and the Panthers defensive secondary will have to step up, and make some plays. The only way I see the Panthers winning this game is if the defense can get to Brees and pressure him all night. I believe  that the Panthers will make this a good game, but they won't come out on top. Saints 28-24

NFC South Bound and Down Episode 8: In the Thick of It

South Bound and Down round-table huddles up to discuss Week 9 and the NFC South.  Join the crew as they talk about the wins, well ties, losses, injuries, and match-ups facing the NFC South.  We'll be doling out the typical banter topped off by our picks for the week.  Tweet the show at #SouthBound  

Panther Nation Holds Monday Night Mental Health Meeting

Boy did I need something to pick me up after two demoralizing Panther losses.  We all know the deal, Carolina gave up 70 points in two weeks falling to 2-2.  So, #C3 scheduled an emergency mental health meeting Monday night. The meeting helped, if you didn't make it.  Here the bullet points:

South Bound and Down Episode 1

Check out the premier NFC South podcast tonight at 10 pm.

NFC South Quarterback Rankings

As NFL teams prepare for training camp that begins later this month, fans continue to speculate about offseason hype, frankly, because there’s nothing else.  Fans and analysts are taking statistics from previous years and meshing them into some sort of equation that is suppose to determine the fate of the 2014 NFL season. Certain teams made big splashes during free agency, while others remained quiet until the draft. Some teams, like Cleveland, searched for that franchise quarterback, while others like Dallas tried to find ways to protect their franchise guy or give him more weapons.

Panther Nation Division Hate Week

#C3  Crew hosts "Hate week," a time where #PantherNation  unleashes that fan fury on our divisional rivals....and oh those Patriots.  Join us at 10pm as we let it fly against Meg Ryan and those New Orleans Skanks....oh and you know our defensive line goin to Lovie some McClown

Deep Divisions Panthers Host Saints in Primetime Matchup

In last week's +Cat Chronicles episode, we broke down the division schedule in context of the 2014 season. Here's a look at the bit on the season opener vs +New Orleans Saints . Take a peek to see what to look for in this divisional rivalry and prime time match-up! !

Who Does PantherNation Hate the Most? Vote Now!

What I say to my haters pic.twitter.com/qt3nKQiA22
— Darth Vader (@DepressedDarth) May 31, 2014

Twitter has turned out to be a good source for inspiration.  Sometimes it inspires me to have a good day or to do additional research,
 but today my musing turned to hatred.  Some PantherFans recently engaged in a Twitter war with our “Friends” down I-85 South. 

Divisions Run Deep: Carolina Panthers Divisional Schedule Analysis

Join us live at 10 pm as we look at those we hate the most--our divisional rivals! #C3 will look at divisional match-ups in the context of the schedule and season.  Tweet us at the hashtag #C3 during to the show to voice your dislike for our divisional foes.  Divisions run deep....don't forget that! 

Joe picked up some sweet gear at The Fanzone in Charleston today.  He'll be showing it off in tonight's show! 

Cat Chronicles Represented PantherNation in the "Extra Point" with Sharona Fabulosa!

PantherNation give a tip of the cap to the Extra Point's  +Sharona Fabulosa for inviting +Cat Chronicles to rep on the NFC South Draft Preview Special.  I had a great time and talked a lot of good football about the +Carolina Panthers and our divisional opponents.  All C3's family knows how we do, so you'll have to check the sign I brought to the show!