MVN - Most Valuable Network

Jags punish Panthers

The fewest points of any team in the NFL this Sunday (or Thursday, and probably Monday, too).  Embarrassing.

The first half looked promising. Carolina kept up and was so close so many times to a potentially game-changing interception. But in the second half, Jacksonville poured it on, outscoring Carolina 27-0 to ultimately win 37-6.

Vinny Testaverde had previously looked good when given time. And today, the offensive line did a good job giving him time, but Testaverde was off — way off. Just about every incompletion he threw was an overthrown pass. He put too much zip on passes then, but on other passes, he was far too soft, such as the interception that was returned for a touchdown. He went 13-of-28 for 84 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

It’s no wonder Matt Moore came in during the fourth quarter, and he once again looked decent. Some first-string practice time would do him well.  DeShaun Foster didn’t look bad, rushing 11 times for 46 yards, but the run game was never given a chance.  That didn’t make sense given the struggling passing game.

The defense was a great surprise in the first half, holding the Jaguars to only 10 points. The secondary looked like it would force David Garrard into only his second (or even third, too) interception of the season. But missed opportunities passed, and the overwhelming time of possession for the Jaguars eventually wore down the Panthers defense.

By the second half, the defense couldn’t even catch up to Jacksonville’s 10-year veteran runningback Fred Taylor, who ran for a franchise-record 80 yards for a touchdown. Granted, Taylor ran harder on that play than most people have seen anyone run in a long time, but it was hard to believe no Panthers could catch up.

The playoffs are now practically out of reach, with the exception of a select few, specific scenarios that require a lot of losing on behalf of NFC teams. Tampa Bay has practically locked up the NFC South (New Orleans technically still has a shot if they win all the rest of their games and Tampa Bay loses all the rest of their games). The New York Giants will have one wild card spot, leaving only one other. Minnesota took a step forward to nab it, while Arizona and Detroit took steps back.

The current playoff picture will likely not change. So that leaves Carolina thinking about the draft and quarterbacks. Assuming Jake Delhomme is back next season and in the form he displayed for the first few games this season, he will be quarterback for at least the 2008 season, but with his age, the 2008 draft will be the time to grab Brian Brohm, Matt Ryan, Andre Woodson (my personal favorite) or Colt Brennan (or any number of other quarterbacks in the second round).  That’s getting into a whole other article, though…

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2007 at 12:24 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.