Thomas Davis Willed the Panthers' Win against the Bears

Thomas Davis willed the Panthers win Sunday.  He simply refused to be defeated.  

Carolina's Loss to Patriots Not Nearly as Bad as it Seems

Yes, we all watched last night's "Fiasco at Foxborough," we all have our opinions on it, and many are worried about the team regressing...even some writers here perhaps.

Well, I'm here to help put many of those fears to rest - I hope - as I see things in a bit of a different light.

1- I think first and foremost, the Panthers' offensive line looked about as clueless as as people who have no idea who Mr. Boddy is. Both tackle Nate Chandler and rookie guard Trai Turner stayed completely out of the game - didn't even dress - so our already thin o-line started the game with quite a handicap. 

When you're trying to "gel" an o-line, it takes time, patience and practice. Getting the o-line to play like the fingers of a hand is always the ultimate goal, but is only achieved by repetitions as a unit. So far, the Panthers haven't had that luxury. Chris Scott was in at RG and Garry Williams, a career castoff, started at RT. I have always liked LT Byron Bell, but I call him "The Turnstile" for a reason. He struggled all night long mainly against Chandler Jones.

The Only Positive of the Panther’s Preseason Game Against the Patriots

Carolina’s first two preseason games reminded me of that inevitable moment in any guy’s life where the  hot girl in class is nice, and he gets courage to ask her for her number.  She is naturally nice, and even entertains his phone call. The third game, however, was the call where she told him she just wanted to be friends.  It stings. The euphoria so quickly dashed by a swift kick to the manhood.  That’s pretty much what happened last night at Gillette Stadium, where lady Brady said to Carolina, “kitty cats, aren’t they cute?”

The offensive line played terrible, the run game was non-existent, Cam looked indecisive at times and failed to connect on some easy open looks, the secondary blew coverages and missed tackles, and New England running backs ran through gaping holes left by a gassed defensive line.  On top of that, Greg Hardy re-aggravated his shoulder, Robert Lester sprained his ankle, Cam took a knee to the back, and everyone else who didn’t get hurt played gimpy anyway.  It was a long game, one that the Panthers never looked the least bit in control.

My All-Time Carolina Panthers Squad

#636854 / gettyimages.com

I'm sure every fan of the Carolina Panthers has had this discussion, in one form or another, with other fans.

"Who would you say are the all-time greats of the Carolina Panthers?"

The Carolina Bulldog: Thomas Davis

When you think about the Carolina Panthers, who is the one player that best exemplifies the heart and soul of the team? Is it Cam Newton? Luke Kuechly? Greg Hardy? While all of those players are important to the team’s identity, only one player truly personifies the heartbeat of the Carolina Panthers……. Thomas Davis!  So why is Thomas Davis the heart of the team? To find out, let’s recap his football journey. Davis played college ball at the University of Georgia. As a safety in 2003, he was very successful leading an aggressive Georgia Bulldog defense and earning second-team All-SEC honors. In 2004, he was named a first-team All-SEC selection, a consensus first team All-American, and in 2005, he was the Panthers 14th overall selection in the 2005 NFL Draft.