Can the Carolina Panthers Catch a Tiger by the Toe?

Who would have Sanu, you really can catch a tiger by the toe.

Sunday, the Carolina Panthers will attempt it when  they venture to Cincinnati to take on the 3-1 Bengals. Cincinnati, who are 7 point favorites and have won 11 straight home games, are looking to wipe the egg of their face from the Patriots prime-time beating this past Sunday.

This is going to be a tough match-up for the Panthers. Cincinnati is good. Prior to Sunday, the Bengals defense allowed only 11 points per game. Cam Newton will need to be quick and decisive against this stifling defense because the Bengals defensive front is guaranteed to get pressure. Geno Atkins will get push up the middle on the youngins and Nate Chandler, given his performance so far, will be easy work for Carlos Dunlop.

Thomas Davis Willed the Panthers' Win against the Bears

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

What's Wrong with the Carolina Panthers?

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We've seen the Carolina Panthers get off to a good 0-2 start, but ole Riverboat Ron had patented slow starts long ago, and let's face it. This time last year, we were 1-3, so things aren't quite so bad as they may seem in some ways.
 

Top 10 Things Carolina Panthers Can Say or Do that Lead to Steve Smith's...

The Blood and Guts Battle is here, and we know Smitty is ready to fight.  Check out C3's Top 10 Things that the Carolina Panthers Can Say or Do that Lead to Steve Smith's Ejection.

C3 Up, Three Down Week 3: Steelers forge victory in convincing fashion

Three Things the Carolina Panthers Did Well

This week it was very hard to figure out what the Carolina Panthers did well. The way the Panthers played on both sides of the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers was embarrassing. This was the one game I had no doubt that we were going to win. Panther Nation is speechless after this loss and embarrassed. I had to turn into Sherlock Holmes just to find the answers to what three things the Panthers did well. 

So what did Sherlock Homes come up with?

Carolina Panthers Three Up, Three Down

Three Up

The battle between the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers turned out to be a nail bitter. But, the final score does not represent how well the Carolina Panthers actually played. A lot of the fans and media doubted the Panthers because of the injury to Cam Newton. There is no need to worry though because the defense was phenomenal, and Derek Anderson led the Panthers to a victory! The Panthers played a good game overall, but what three things did they do really well?

No Quarter!

What does the saying “No Quarter” mean? In football terms it means NO MERCY! The Carolina Panthers won’t be providing any mercy to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they match-up for their first game of the 2014 NFL season on September 7.

Will Cam be Cam, or will he be a bust in 2014?

Oh the possibilities!  After all, they are what keep us coming back, right?  Thirty one teams get their hearts broken every year, but come back with even more fervor the following season.  I was depressed for a week after losing the 49ers last year in the Playoffs but am chomping at the bit for the 2014 season.  I am, after all, one of the biggest Carolina Panther fans that you’ll ever meet.  In fact, if I were eligible, I would have entered the C3 Fan Spotlight Contest. I would have given the awesome finalists in that contest a run for their money.  Some lucky fan will win dinner for two at Firebirds and two tickets to the Panthers Home Opener.  Read their stories and vote for your favorite fan here:  http://www.carolinacatchronicles.com/p/fan.html.

C3 Podcast: Fantasy Football Extravaganza (7/8/14)

The Crew this week is anticipating the coming 2014 season and will delve into fantasy football in relation to the Carolina Panthers.  Fantasy writer Matt Haithcock will join the show at 10:15 and we will be unveiling a little fantasy surprise for Panther fans afterward.



Links to different formats...same awesome podcast!!!

https://ia802506.us.archive.org/7/items/C3FantasyFootballExtravaganza/C3%20Fantasy%20Football%20Extravaganza.ogg

https://ia802506.us.archive.org/7/items/C3FantasyFootballExtravaganza/download%2FC3FantasyFootballExtravaganza%2FC3FantasyFootballExtravaganza_vbr.m3u

They Don’t Call Charles Johnson “Big Money” for Nothing

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Carolina’s premier pass rushers, Charles “Big Money” Johnson and Greg “the Kraken” Hardy, couldn’t have more polar personalities. Described as the “Odd Couple,” the two differ in nearly every respect.  Big Money, or “Chuck,” has the big contract and reticent personality. Not known for being particularly vocal in the locker room, Charlotte News and Observer’s Joe Person describes Johnson as a reluctant leader, and his teammates color him as “professional” and as a “normal guy.”  In contrast, teammates describe “Little Money” Hardy as a “guy who is a little off.”  Hardy’s alter ego, “the Kraken,” highlights his cavalier and domineering personality, which starkly contrasts the unsung hero Charles Johnson.

Who Do the Carolina Panthers Have in Jerricho Cotchery?

Who Do the Carolina Panthers Have?

Part 1: Jerricho Cotchery

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Much to do has been made of who the Panthers lost this offseason.  The exodus of Panther staples, such as Steve Smith, Jordan Gross, and Captain Munnerlyn has left fans uncertain. The uncertainty of the unknown has caused fans to flail for something to help them get their bearings, particularly on the offensive side of the roster. 

This is part one of a series meant to explore Carolina’s unknown, well less known anyway.  The series will first focus on the Panthers’ unknown receiver core because that has been the greatest cause of fan angst. Followed by an analysis of offensive additions, we’ll look at new, but more familiar, defensive players, such as Roman Harper, Antoine Casson, and Thomas Decoud. Fans need to know who we have to understand what we need.  The series will conclude with a who we added group of articles, producing the final product of: 

Who the Panthers have, who did they add, and what do they got? Let’s look at some of those mysterious wide receivers first!

Jerricho Cotchery: Panther fans, welcome back a familiar star! The

Ron Rivera: Chump or Champ?

29-38-13-7-15-8…the numbers that forged the legend of “Riverboat Ron.”  Rivera’s Powerball jackpot was big. It included a NFC South Championship, a 3-year contract extension, and the slick-ass moniker “Riverboat Ron.” The numbers weren’t random, however. They’re significant. Rivera had played these numbers for three years before hitting his payday.

2-9 (2011 start)

3-8 (2012 start)

1-3 (2013 start)

7-15 in games decided by less than 7 points.

8 game win streak (franchise record) that ended in a 12-4 season, a division title, and a home playoff game in 2013. 

Winning the Powerball jackpot removed the angst of losing for most fans.  It was an electrifying experience. Panther fans huddled around Rivera’s Panthers as they went on a hot streak that would make any Vegas pro jitter with excitement. The hot-streak ended, however, as they all do, in loss. Burned by the river card, Rivera walked away convinced he had made the right play. He was still Riverboat Ron, right?

All professional gamesters experience this defining type moment.  It’s not the hot streak. It’s not the loss. It’s not even that the loss came because of a bad beat. It’s the return to the tables that is the real test of a gambler’s fortitude.  Rivera's 2014 return to the high stakes table will determine his legacy in Carolina. 

Gamblers generally attribute winning to skill rather than luck. Despite their devotion to the numbers, the strategy, the game, there are times when they are reminded that they are still fundamentally games of chance.  In the end, the gambler is always gambling. The gamester can respond to these defining moments in two ways: through instinctual confidence or a developing a festering fear of failure. The burn can either resolve their confidence that chance can be mastered or paralyze them by the fear that chance is not in their favor.

So how will Riverboat Ron respond?  Is he a “chump” or a “champ?”

On the Line--NFC South Division Championship

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.  The winner of this game will most likely become the #2 playoff seed, winning both a bye and home playoff game.  This is like having an NFC South Championship game.  

Although New Orleans soundly defeated Carolina two weeks ago, the betting lines indicate that it will a close one.  Currently, the Panthers are -3 point favorites with several oddsmakers.  Keep reading because our bets are ALL IN!

All Bets In:

Tony’s Bet: Carolina Giving -3 points

Traditionally, Vegas allots 3 points for home field advantage--making this game a pick’em. Carolina’s odds advantage may derive from more than just the home field, however.  Oddsmakers appear suspicious of the beat-down New Orleans put on Carolina two weeks ago.  The divisional and playoff stakes look to weigh heavily on this betting line. The Saints have struggled mightily on the road this season, exemplified by their two recent road embarrassments in Seattle and St. Louis.  Both were in domes, so it appears to be less of a home field thing and more of a on the road thing.  New Orleans will be venturing into a den filled with wounded Panthers with their backs to the wall.  Brees will simply not be as safe as he was in New Orleans.

This close line also suggests that both teams will come to play.  I’m guessing that it will come down to each team’s weaknesses, rather than their strengths.  The Panthers defense will hope to recover a little dignity and the Saints offense will do its best to package a road victory.  This game’s storyline will be about the Panthers offense and the Saints defense.  The Panthers offense has been on the brink of breaking out several times this season and the Saints defense, while much improved under Rob Ryan, can be broken.  Look for Cam to have a breakout game behind a powerful running attack led by Deangelo Williams.  We need LaFell to play bigger and Ginn to catch a deep ball.  Mike Shula will open this offense up and make sure that we get this victory!

Carolina’s offense will win this one putting up over 30 points.  (31-26 Panthers)

Joe’s Bet: Carolina Giving -3 points

The game of the day Sunday will take place early as the Saints come marching into Bank of America Stadium. This game is a rematch of one which took place two weeks ago. In that contest the Saints outplayed the Panthers on a grand scale--but that game was played where the Saints are almost unbeatable, the Mercedes Benz Superdome. This Saints team is completely different when they travel away from the comfortable fast track of their home turf. The Saints away record this season makes this clear. The Saints are 3-4 on the road, and their 3 wins are by a combined 14 points.

The Panthers have only one loss at home this year, which came in week 1 against the Seahawks.  Even this was a game Carolina could/should have won (late 4th quarter fumble on the Seattle 8 yard line cost the Panthers the game).  

On Sunday in this game the Panthers need to lay it all On the Line.

Panthers are 3 point favorites, which translates to both teams being even and Carolina is only favored because they are the home team. I beg to differ. Yes the Saints blew the doors off Carolina two weeks ago, but the Panthers are looking for payback. I have a feeling this game will not be as close as many think. I believe Carolina wants this division title and they know the first step will be winning this game versus the Saints.

Panthers win this game, 31-13.

Are Panther Fans Ready to Believe?

Are Panther Fans Ready to Believe?

In making a wild card run?  Winning the NFC South ? Going deep into the playoffs? Stranger things have happened.  I mean if the Panthers can get above .500, the sky's the limit right?

Few Panther fans have thought that far forward, however.  We are still trying to understand this feeling of....well...having something to play for.  While we finished strong last season, it was clear that it was too little too late.  The fans knew it; the players knew it; the coaching staff knew it.  Perhaps that's why they finished strong--no pressure.

Fan commentary in social media indicates a hesitant optimism among Panther fans.  Winning big on Thursday night against the Bucs has uplifted fan spirits, but fans are still afraid of getting burned.

Going back to the six turnover playoff game against the Cardinal's in 2009 turned the ball over a mere seven times.  We thought it can't get any worse, but then he turned it over six times in the season opener the following year.

Then there was the 2-14 season, and the first pick the following year--Cam Newton.  Fans were divide over Cam, many believing we should have drafted Patrick Peterson instead.  Cam exploded on the scene generating national attention and an optimistic fanbase.

The next year, many called for the Panthers to win the division (I was one of them).  Then 2012 happened. We looked terrible.  Cam fell out of favor with the national media as they jumped the bandwagon  over Russell Wilson and RGIII.  The Panthers finished strong, but nothing that created great optimism for Carolina fans.

And then this year happened.  Another terrible start, opening 1-3.  Fans called for Rivera's head, and the Arizona loss suggested we should start looking for a new coaching staff and focus on the draft.

Oh but ripping off  three consecutive wins, even if they were against the league's worst teams, changes things so quickly. Admit it, winning feels good--strange, but good.  You want to feel it again, but you don't want to let yourself once again naively believe in the Panthers.

Here are a few reasons that may help you believe:

1. Wildcard Within Reach- The Panthers are in the wildcard hunt. If the playoffs started today, we are tied with Detroit and Chicago for the second wild card spot.  The 49ers, who are currently 5-2, would get a bid in the bracket.  Two things are favorable about this situation:  
•  We are on the uptick and the NFC North is not.  The NFC North is up for grabs between 3 (GB, Chi, Det) teams with winning records.  The Bears lost Cutler.  The Lions are always underachievers, and Green Bay, currently leading the division, is physically falling apart.
•  We get to play current wildcard leader 49ers.  This is the biggest game for us outside of the two we play against the Saints.  
2. Rivera May Prove Us Wrong- Panther fans called for Rivera's head after losses to Buffalo and Arizona.  Rivera stayed annoyingly cool, exactly what a head coach of a talented, underperforming team needs to do.  Amidst the panic, he continued to coach up a formidable defense that positions the Panthers for success.
3. Offense Turning a Corner- Rivera was not the only one feeling the heat.  Both offensive coordinator Mike Shula and quarterback Cam Newton received criticism. Shula, however, may have just figured out the Cam Newton success formula: establish him as a run threat early.  This has worked, and allowed Cam to flourish as a passer, averaging a 79% pass completion rate in the last three games.
4. An Emerging Elite Defense- The Panthers defense has been quietly awesome. GM Gettleman looks brilliant for drafting Kwan Short and Star Lotulelei.  Hats of to the quietly successful defensive coordinator, Sean McDermott, who has coached up a stingy defense that allows on average 13 points per game on average.  Even with a young, piecemeal, unsettling secondary, McDermott utilized his strong front seven to mask their vulnerabilities.

The Reason to Believe: The Panthers are starting to believe in themselves.

The fans may not be ready to let their emotional guard down yet, but the Panther players may be.  Winners believe that they are going to win.  The Panthers haven't had a winning mentality for years.  That's why people have advocated for Rivera's firing, questioned Cam Newton's ability, and most apparently the Panthers constant squandering of winnable games. 

But now we are seeing what we have all wanted to be seeing--Cam smiling and Rivera screaming.  It may be becoming safe to BELIEVE.

Comment or retweet if you are starting to BELIEVE

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Panthers' Defense Climbs Towards #1 Ranking

Panthers' Defense Climbs Towards #1 Ranking

Earlier this week, I wrote a piece titled "Does Carolina have the NFL's Best Defense?" The piece did not argue that the Panthers defense was the NFL's best, but instead that they were quietly playing lights out and should be considered a top 3 NFL defense.

While the stats have been impressive, fans have still been weary to get behind Carolina's defense as dominate.

Once again though, the the Panthers defense punished a team into submission, holding the Bucs to 13 points. The Panthers defense seems to bend a bit every game, but never break.

Carolina's stingy defense has allowed on average only 13 points per game.  Even when everything seemed to suggest that the Bucs were going to get a late score, the defensive stars and planets came into alignment for the Panthers.  The Bucs recovered an onside kick. Davis was flagged for a personal foul, which Rivera went insane over.  Right when the Bucs seemed poised to score, Big $$ Charles Johnson forced Tampa into a long field goal situation.  The Bucs kicker then hit the field goal to put them at 16 pts, but the Panthers received  a ticky tack penalty that resulted in an automatic first down.

As fate would have it, the Panthers held the Bucs to 13pts--preserving their impressive 13 points allowed average.

Tonight's Panther defense allowed 275 yards in the air and 48 on the ground (323 yds total).  Currently, sitting at #3 in yards allowed, the Panthers ranking can only improve.

If the Seahawks and Chiefs lose this week, will the Panthers' defense be the NFL's best defense?

Statistically, they just might be.  Prior to tonight, the Panthers defense was ranked #2 in points allowed per game.  Tonight's fortune will likely propel them to a #1 ranking in this category by Monday.

The Panthers may just now be believing in themselves.

Follow @Cat_Chronicles

Are the Carolina Panthers the NFL's Best Defense?

Are the Carolina Panthers the NFL's Best Defense?

Had we beaten the Seahawks, the question wouldn’t be totally absurd. Panther fans should savor the defensive flavor presented in the following statistical breakdown.

OK, OK, so you may not be ready to go that far, Panther fans can celebrate a top #5 overall defense and the #1 defense in the NFC.

The eye test does not always make the Panther fan ready to leap to the defense of the Panthers’ defensive honor in the sports banter world, the stats suggest, however, we can at least when arguing with fans of divisional rivals.

Here is a quick breakdown of Carolina’s overall NFL defensive rankings in comparison with their closet NFC categorical competitor.

Defensive Stat	Panther Ranking (NFL Overall )	NFC South Top Closest Opponent Ranking (NFLOverall)
Yards Per Game	3	11 (Saints)
Points Allowed per game	2	4 (Saints)
Passing (YPG)	5	9 (Saints)
Rushing (YPG)	4	5 (Tampa)
3rd Down Stop %	15	8 (Saints)
Interceptions	6	10 (Saints)

I’m not ready to say that this defense has the chops of of the Peppers, Rucker, Morgan, and Witherspoon era, but this is a solid group that could become that elite defense next year--given we can hold onto Gregg Hardy.

The bright spots:

• Luke Kuechly- Tackling machine and potentially the most instinctive defensive player since Ray Lewis.  
• Defensive Line- Big Money and Hardy are tough on the outside, while Star and Short appear both to be capable of becoming elite tackles.
• Bend but not Break- The Panthers defense is has not emerged as an intimidating foe.  Mediocre offenses have moved the ball on Carolina, but the defense has clearly kept Carolina in ball games.  Ranked 2nd overall in points allowed per game, Carolina’s point stingy defense allows on average 13 points per game.

The irritated eye test:

We see glimmer of hope with this bunch, but 3rd down, the red zone, and the fourth quarter consistently disappoint.  These are categories that count--a lot. Teams seem to move the ball at the worst times.  Is this because we are young in the secondary and lack a deep defensive rotation on the line and behind the linebackers?

Seattle, Buffalo, Arizona--enough said.  All beat us down the stretch.  All games we should have won.  Is this all on the defense?  Seattle and Buffalo were. You can say the Williams fumble was the problem in the opener, but Russell Wilson killed the Panthers.

There is good news, however. We can easily improve these less impressive defensive statistical categories.  Strangely, this will have to happen on the other side of the ball.  Extended drives and an effective run game will keep defense rested and create less of the situations in the long-run.

Just think Panther nation, in week four we were considering a coaching change and looking to the draft.

Follow @Cat_Chronicles