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NOW it’s official — Panthers out of playoffs with tough 20-13 loss to Dallas

That was a difficult game to swallow.

A more detailed recap will be on the way, but for now, here are some observations…

-First and foremost, the missed pass-interference call that should have netted Carolina a big gain (the one against Drew Carter; if you watched you know what I’m talking about; if not, thinking of just about the most blatant way to interfere with a pass)

-Rookie quarterback Matt Moore reminded us plenty of times — particularly via inaccurate passes — that he is young and inexperienced; nonetheless, he did fairly well; whether or not he’s worth a more longterm investment will be a major decision this offseason (looking good for him, though)

-Coverage was inconsistent, but really good when it was good; this was only the second time this season the Cowboys were held to fewer than 24 points (the other being last week against the Eagles with six points)

-Running between the tackles just isn’t working for the Panthers; after tonight, it clearly isn’t even DeShaun Foster — it’s poor blocking and poor play-calling

-DeAngelo Williams’ 39-yard run success demonstrated a need for a more spread offense, especially when he is on the field; use Williams a lot more for a check down option

-Steve Smith reminded us he is a beast; Carolina put him out there to be abused as he nabbed nine catches for 137 yards and a touchdown, even coming back into the game when it looked like he’d be out for the rest, although he probably had so much adrenaline running that he felt very little

-Going back to the offensive line having issues run blocking, things weren’t better pass blocking; Moore looked like he had been receiving quarterbacking advice from David Carr with all the sacks he took, but a lot had to do with poor blocking (meaning, it could have been double-digit sacks had Carr been in the game) as Dallas managed five sacks

-There were some great hits in the game, including a nasty stiff arm from Williams on that long run; oh, and who else thinks Marion Barber looked like a real-life bobblehead on that one hit?

-There were a lot of other calls (i.e., the holding-but-not-holding call on Ken Lucas, especially when there was a more callable block in the back right there, too; Jeff King’s no-call pass interference) that had to make fans wonder if there was a ref conspiracy against the Panthers

-At last, you can let go of your hope: Carolina is out of the playoffs; the Panthers would have had to win out, and other teams in contention would have had to achieve 8-8 records (definitely not likely for the 8-6 Vikings, either), but with the NFC record, Carolina would have earned a wild card spot

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 23rd, 2007 at 12:02 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.