Panthers Devour Cardinals

A lot can happen in ten years. It was ten years ago that an unknown quarterback named Jake Delhomme couldn't beat out some other guy named Kurt Warner to win the starting job for the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe. Jake then had to play second fiddle as a backup to Warner. If the NFL season ended today, the Panthers would be the No. 2 seed in NFC.

Delhomme commented about facing his old teammate Warner for the first time, "Talked to him a good while before the game. Didn't get to talk to him after. I would have probably asked him for his autograph."

This victory leaves Carolina alone in first place in the NFC South because of a Tampa Bay (5-3) lost to Dallas and the Falcons (4-3) also lost the bird fight to the Eagles.

NFL FACT: West Coast teams are 0-8 this season when traveling to the East Coast to play 1 pm games.

The first quarter was all Arizona with a Neil Rackers 21 yard field goal. Until this game, Carolina was the only team in the NFL not to allow opponents to score points on their first possession.

In the second quarter, Kurt Warner led the Cardinals down the field and completed a 5 yard pass to Anquan Boldin. The Panthers show a small sign of life, but not much as John Kasay nailed a 23 yard field goal to put the Panthers on the board. Kasay's field goal ties him with Jan Stenerud for 8th in NFL history with 373 field goals.

The third quarter was a shootout as Arizona's Tim Hightower ran for a 2-yard touchdown. Not to be out done, Carolina's DeAngelo Williams rushed for a 15-yard touchdown.

FUN FACT: The Panthers are 7-0 when Williams rushes for 80+ yards.

The Panthers weren't finished as Steve Smith caught an 18-yard pass to tie Carolina 17 - 17. The Cardinal's Anquan Boldin caught s 2-yard pass from Kurt Warner with a failed point after attempt. Smith catches a beautiful 65-yard pass.

The fourth quarter was quiet as the only score was a John Kasay 50 yard field goal to make the Panthers victorious 27-23.




Carolina gave Kurt Warner his first interception of the season as Jon Beason takes the ball for a 44 yard INT.

FUN FACT: Jake Delhomme is 3-0 all time versus the Cardinals.

For the second time this season, the Panthers overcame a 14-point second half deficit at home.
After the game Jake Delhomme said, “Hey, 6-2 compared to 5-3 going into the break is huge. Hopefully we can look back on this game down the line and say that it was a pivotal win for us. We’ve given ourselves a chance. But it’s only eight weeks.”

He also commented, “At halftime we were upset with ourselves offensively. We left some points out on the board and we didn't play good football. That was the thing we said, take it one play at a time and don’t get caught up in everything else.”

Kurt Warner was positive as he answered, "We did a lot of good things. It's a good football team, but bottom line we made one too many mistakes."

John Fox commented, “We knew we were going to have our hands full defensively and did, I think our offense came out and sparked us in the second half.” "That was a character win."

Bishops Collar Cougars

It was a very chilly day at the Northern Nash Football Complex in Rocky Mount, NC as the N.C. Wesleyan College's Battling Bishops collared the Cougars of Averett University 49-24 in USA South Conference play.

This was an outstanding day for the Bishop's senior defensive end, Quinderra Spellman as he became N.C. Wesleyan's all time career sacks leader during this game.

Spellman had two sacks for the game to increase his career total to 11.5 and his season total to 5. Both of these totals are new Bishop records.

During a fumbled punt that extended an Averett's drive, potentially swinging the momentum of the game in their favor, Spellman recorded two sacks on back-to-back plays to force a Cougar punt.

This allowed the Bishop's offensive to quickly tact on their fourth touchdown of the day as Bo Jordan threw a 36-yard bomb to Orlando Webb for a touchdown.

Quarterback, Bo Jordan had a great day as he completed 18-of-27 passes for a total of 250 yards. jordan also recorded three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Bishops had an awesome day for offense as they combined for over 500 yards.

In addition to Spellman and Jordan's performances, Harris finished with 146 yards on the ground and Webb caught five balls for 129 yards.

Wesleyan's defense held the Cougars to just 203 total yards of offense.

The game lasted three hours and ten minutes due to a combined total for 27 penalties and over 225 penalty yards between both teams. There were also eight turnovers, three by the Cougars (two fumbles, one pick) and five by the Bishops (all fumbles).

The Bishops took complete control of the game when it came to first downs and time of possession.

NCWC evens its overall record at 3-3 and moves to 2-1 in the USA South while Averett now stands at 2-4 overall reacors and, 1-2 in the conference.

Hip Hip Hoo-RAYS!!!

From worst to first the Rays have finally made it to the World Series by knocking off the defending champions, Boston Red Sox. It was unbelievable as Tampa Bay fought to the end to send the Sox packing home and earning their first ever World Series appearance. This win came behind Matt Garza's pitching in Game 7 of the ALCS.

All the bookies in Vegas are cringing, as the Rays were a 200-1 shot to win the World Series before the season started let alone make it.

The game started with a Pedroia homer for the Red Sox to left field to start the game 1 0.
Tampa Bay shows life in the 4th inning as the Rays, Evan Longoria doubled to right scoring Pena to tie the ball game, 1-1.

The Rays were determined not to back down to the defending champs so Baldelli singled to left, with Aybar on base and scores, moving Navarro to second. Rays lead 2-1. The last inning for scoring was the 7th as Aybar homered to left.

The top of the 9th was a nail biter as the least experienced Ray, David Price, was on the mound at the most critical point of the ALCS. He first walked Bay. Next up he struck out Kotsay who got caught looking. Jason Varitek was confident as he was struck out swinging. Lowrie came in the game to hit for Cora to get the Sox some life to extend their play in October but grounded out to second.

Tampa Bay's manager Joe Maddon commented about Price experience, "Minimal experience, but I was not hesitant,"

It was mayhem at Tropicana Field, as the Tampa Bay Rays left no doubt in everyone's mind that they were worthy of a World Series trip, after all.

Rays center fielder, B.J. Upton said, "It's unbelievable. We battled a lot of adversity this year. We stuck together as a team."

Boston had plenty to say, as they were shocked in front of the world by a team who had never made it to the World Series and wasn't supposed to make it this year.

"It's not what we expected to happen," David Ortiz commented. "You have to give them credit. They pitched well. They've got good hitters."

Boston's manager Terry Francona said, "We didn't get as far as we wanted, we came out to win and go to the World Series and we didn't accomplish that."

"We played as hard as we could. Just kind of ran out of magic," Pedroia said. "I'm proud of everybody, but it's obviously a tough loss."

The Tampa BayRays will face the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

Delhomme Looks Great Against Old Team

Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina for quarterback, Jake Delhomme. Before we look at Jake's amazing game against the Saints, let's look back at Jake's beginning. His start didn't begin in Carolina but started deep in Cajun country. Jake was born in Lafayette, LA on January 10, 1975 and loved football even when he was eleven years old.

He attended Teurlings Catholic HS in Lafayette, LA. Delhomme and Peyton Manning attended high school in Louisiana at the same time, although their teams never faced each other. He later married a hometown girl who was his seventh-grade girlfriend.



He went to college 10 minutes from his childhood home to become a Ragin Cajun with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and ended his college career as the all-time Louisiana college passing leader with 9,216 yards on 655 of 1,246 passing, 64 touchdowns and 57 interceptions. He then led the Ragin' Cajuns to three consecutive winning seasons in his four years at the school and became the first player to pass for more than 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons. Jake started the last 43 games of his career, which was the longest streak among active quarterbacks in the nation. He was ranked 22nd in NCAA history for passing yards and 28th for total offense at close of his career.

Delhomme has 10 years of NFL Experience. He played in 1998-2002 for the New Orleans Saints then the past 6 years with the Carolina Panthers.

This past Sunday against the Saints, Carolina's offense was on fire as Jake Delhomme went 14 for 22. He had a total of 195 yards with an average of 8.9 yards per attempt. Jake's 2 touchdowns was complimented with 0 interceptions for the game which was a big improvement over last weeks game against Tampa Bay. Jake was sacked 1 time for a 2 yards loss.

While his New Orleans counter part, Drew Brees came into the game as the league’s second highest rated quarterback in the NFL, averaging 332.2 yards passing and two touchdowns per game. Drew went 21 for 39 for a total of 231 yards. Brees recorded 5.9 yards per attempt, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

Even though Jake had less total yards, he out gained Brees in average yards per attempt and touchdowns. I also believe not turning the ball over was the key to his success.

Jake lives in Breaux Bridge, LA in the offseason with his wife, Keri, and 13-month-old daughter Lauren in what used to be his grandfather's house.

Panthers Hex the Saints

The Saints came marching in but then went limping out of Charlotte, NC. All the NFL "experts" said this would definitely be New Orleans day after Carolina had their worse game of the season a week ago versus the Bucs. Carolina wasn't listening and proved they are still clawing their way up to 1st in the NFC South and will not go quietly.

FUN FACT: One this day, the NFC South and NFC East are the only 2 divisions in the NFL with all team at or above .500.

During the First Quarter Carolina pounced early with a John Kasay 39 yard field goal kick. That was the only scoring action of the first.

While watching the game, I believe the second quarter was the turning point for the Panther. This was the only time during the game New Orleans found their way to the end zone when Mike Karney had a 1 yard run to putting the Saints ahead 7-3. Carolina quickly responded with an 18 yards run for a Jonathan Stewart touch down. Close to halftime John Kasay once again nailed a 48 yard field goal to make the score New Orleans 7, Carolina 13 at halftime.

The Saints running back, Reggie Bush, left the game at the half with a left knee injury, which will require surgery that could sideline him for several weeks. New Orleans quarterback, Drew Brees said, "Of course it's tough. He's a big-time playmaker. We're going to miss him, and I hope he's not out very long."

FUN FACT: New Orleans is 0-14 when trailing after 3 quarters.

Carolina came out in the third and spread the ball around to score Steve Smith a 39-yard pass and gave DeAngelo Williams a 4-yard pass reception, which put the Panthers up 27-7.

The fourth quarter was quite with only a 28-yard field goal from John Kasay ending the game at 30-7 Carolina.

The Saints head coach, Sean Payton, tried his best to "challenge" Carolina authority by throwing the red flag 2 times but was denied and lost both key challenges during this game.

Carolina's offense was on fire as Jake Delhomme went 14 for 22 with a total of 195 yards with an average of 8.9 yards per attempt. Delhomme also had 2 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. While his New Orleans counter part, Drew Brees went 21 for 39 for a total of 231 yards. Brees records 5.9 yards per attempt, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

Carolina rushing game used Jonathan Stewart carrying the ball 17 times for 68 yards with 1 touchdown and DeAngelo Williams had 18 carries for 66 yards. While Carolina's receiving duo, Steve Smith had 6 receptions for 122 yards, 1 touchdown and Mushin Muhammad had 3 receptions for 43 yards.

The Carolina defense held Reggie Bush to only 9 carries for a total of 55 yards. Deuce McAllister also had 9 carries for only 47 yards. The Panthers once again shutout all star rushers from getting a touchdown while holding the duo to only 102 yards combined. New Orleans’s Drew Brees came into the game as the league’s second highest rated quarterback in the NFL, averaging 332.2 yards passing and two touchdowns per game. This was not impressive as the Panthers raging defense punished Brees by applying plenty of pressure at the line of scrimmage and outside. The Panthers threw off the Saints by applying amazing pressure on their receivers at the line of scrimmage. “We wanted to take them out of their rhythm,” Lucas said. Carolina Growl reported that close to the end of the first quarter, Bush was hit so hard Carolina’s Chris Gamble that he vomited in midair on the way down near the 15-yard line when he tried to leap over Carolina defenders. Now that's a hit!

Julius Peppers has a great game. This was his most dominating game in more than two years; Peppers had three tackles, a sack, a forced fumble on Jeremy Shockey. His biggest play of the game may have been the touchdown saving hit on Aaron Stecker on the Carolina 3 yard line. “Julius makes his presence known every week,” said coach John Fox. “Some weeks it’s more evident because teams are throwing it more and opening it up a little bit. Julius has played outstanding in his career here and as far as this season, I think he’s been very good.”

Carolina's Chris Harris had 1 fumble recovery in this game. He commented about their loss to Tampa Bay by saying, "You have that nasty taste in your mouth until you play another game. We still thought about it, because we were pretty much embarrassed last week. So we had to come out and do something about it."

Steve Smith commented, "I think, honestly, we hardly made any mistakes offensively compared to that debacle that we had last week down in Tampa. I don't think it's a statement game, it’s just another game that we get to put in the win column, and the closer and closer we get to 10, the easier and easier it gets and we can relax and start looking at games in January and February."

NFL Quarterback Profile: Jake Delhomme

After Jake Delhomme went down last season with an elbow injury, things look bad for Carolina. They were without their star quarterback and had to rely on backups. The Panthers ended their season below par at 7-9.

Delhomme decided to have Tommy John surgery, which replaces the damaged ligament with a tendon from another part of the body. His procedure took only 90 minutes and was performed by team physician Dr. Pat Connor at Carolinas Medical Center.

Delhomme commented to ESPN, "In all honesty, there's a part of me that's happy this all happened. The last couple years, the elbow was really giving me problems and I was playing through them. I'm not sure how long I could have gone on like that. But the elbow's stronger than it was before and it's going to be better than it was before. I think this has probably added some years onto my career."

Jake had a long road to recovery. He rehabbed his revamped elbow by tossing of a Nerf ball in the Bank of America Stadium training room. This rehab has seemed to help Delhomme come back strong. He's looked great so far this season. Jake's performance through six games, we've seen him complete 106 passes out of 181 attempts. This makes his completion percentage 58.6%.

Delhomme has tossed for a total of 1338 yards with an average attempt of 7.4 yards, which combined for 5 total touch down passes. He's tested out his new elbow by completing his longest pass, which was for 56 yards. Jake has also thrown a total of 5 interceptions this season.

Jake has been throwing the ball all over the place this season. With the off-season acquisition of Muhsin Muhammad and D.J. Hackett, Jake has had more targets to spread the ball to this season. Delhomme has completed 29 passes to Muhsin Muhammad for a total of 426 yards with 2 touchdowns. Then there's the team favorite, Steve Smith with 22 receptions for 374 yards with 1 touchdown. Steve's stats may seem low right now due to his 2 game suspension he received for punching teammate Ken Lucas in training camp. Jake has also used Dante Rosario for 15 receptions, which gives Rosario 166 total yards with 1 touchdown. Even injured D.J. Hackett has received the ball 10 times for 131 yards.

The only place I can see Jake improving would be his interceptions. One reason this stat is so high this year came during the Tampa Bay game where all three of Tampa Bay's interceptions came on passes that were deflected off Delhomme's intended receivers. So if you subtract those 3 interceptions form his total of 5 then you get a new total of 2. I wish math mattered but in this case it doesn’t.

Overall Jake has been impressing Carolina fans with his miraculous return to the NFL. His return makes him the only NFL quarterback to return and start in the NFL after Tommy John surgery. This toughness makes him the man in Carolina to lead the Panthers to victory each Sunday.

This Sunday versus the Saints, Jake will have his hands full with the defense. Jake needs to stay alert behind his injured riddled offensive line because the Saints defense has a total of 13 sacks this season. Jake has already been sacked 9 times this season. The Saints have 5 interceptions this season, which means Delhomme's receiving corp. needs to hold onto the ball. Overall I think Carolina has a great chance to beat the Saints at Bank of America Stadium where the Panthers are purrrrrfect this year.

Back to Tropicana Field for Game 6

Boston wants 1 more game in sunny Florida to shake the winter blues up north. This series is turning into a real slug fest with home runs launching all over the ballpark. The trip back to Tropicana Field gives Tampa Bay a chance to close out the ALCS at home for their fans and that will be a special moment. The Rays want their first World Series appearance and the Red Sox want another run. If the past games are any indicator, there will be a brawl in Florida.




Scott Kazmir was perfect through 5 innings as the Rays led 5-0. Scores came from a 2 run home run from Upton scored Iwamura in the 1st inning. In the 3rd a home run shot from Pena scored Upton with a solo home run from Longoria.

FUN FACT: Evan Longoria sets a ALCS record with 4 consecutive games with a home run.

FUN FACT: Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka only gave up 12 home runs this season but game up 3 by the 3rd inning in this game.

The 7th inning started the dog fight between these two clubs. BJ Upton doubled to deep left scoring Bartlett and Iwamura. to make the score 7-0 Rays. Bostons got a jolt of confidence as Pedroia singled to right scoring Lowrie and advancing Crisp to third base. This game Boston hope and updated the score 7-1. The game really turned as David Ortiz got a 3 run homer to right, keeping Boston alive 7-4.

"There's a lot of fight in that dugout," Drew said. "And a lot of guys knew as soon as we got some runs on the board, we could get something going."

FUN FACT: Boston has never lost 3 straight postseason games at Fenway Park within 1 series.

FUN FACT: The Rays combined for 645-972 in their first 10 years and only held 1st place for 20 days. This season they go 97-65 and held 1st place for 111 days.

The 8th inning was all Red Sox as they tied the Rays 7-7. JD Drew homered to right scoring Bay scored. Crisp singled to right scoring Kotsay then Crisp was tagged out at second attempting to advance on the play.

In story book fashion, it was the bottom of the 9th when JD Drew hit a single to deep right, just deep enough to allow Kevin Youkilis to score the winning run and prolongs Boston's chance for a World Series repeat.

FUN FACT: No team has repeated as World Series champion since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000. That mark is still in jeopardy.

FUN FACT: The Red Sox overcame a 7 run deficit to win this game which make it the 2nd largest deficit to overcome in history.

After the game Rays manager Joe Maddon said, "There goes Papi and there goes Drew, I mean that can happen at any time, we're just going to have to go back home and get it going again. We played a great game. They just came back and beat us. That happens."

Rays Sting Green Monster, Lead Series 3-1

Tampa Bay Rays v/s Boston Red Sox

ALCS Game 3 Recap:

Final: Rays 9, Red Sox 1

This game was all Tampa Bay which led 5-0 going into the 7th inning. They were looking to shutout the Sox at home in Boston. FUN FACT: Red Sox have not been shutout at home since the 1918 Worlds Series Game 5 against the Chicago Cubs.




Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury destroyed the chance for the Tampa Bay shutout with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th. Jacoby had a base hit to right field that scored Jason Varitek from 3rd base. This Made the score Rays 5, Red Sox 1

FUN FACT: Tampa Bay Rays have stole 3rd, 28 times this season which is tied for 1st in the MLB with the NY Mets. Top of the 8th, the Rays had a 3 run HR with 1 out for Rocco Baldelli which gives the Rays an even lareger lead, 8-1.


Disappointment: The "Fenway Faithful" started heading for the gates after this HR. Come on Boston fans, you guys are ridiculous!!! You really would give up on your team that easy? "Faithful" is a joke!

Top of the 9th, Carlos Pena hit a Solo Home Run gave the Rays the final score of 9-1. This marks Boston's Jon Lester first loss since April 9th.

ALCS Game 4 Recap:

It seems this game was all Rays from the beginning. It wasn't as close as the score led you to believe. It all started in the first inning for the Ray when Carlos Pena homered to left field and scored BJ Upton. The Rays weren't finished with the 1st inning just yet as Evan Longoria homered to left again. This put the Rays up 3-0.

The 2nd inning was quite with no runs scored by either team.

The bats cam blazing once again in the 3rd as Tampa Bay's Aybar homered to left scored Crawford in the process. Boston answered back as Cash also homered to left which made the score Rays 5- Sox 1.

The 4th inning was quite once again as no teams scored.

The 5th inning saw Willy Aybar single to shallow left once again scoring Crawford scored. Only if Aybar's base running was better, he was thrown out attempting to return to first. Rays up 6-1.

More cam in the 6th as BJ Upton singled to shallow left scoring Bartlett and moving Iwamura to second. Rays lead 7-1.

The 6th was a very busy inning for the Rays as they scored 5 runs: Bartlett, Iwamura, Upton, Pena, and Longoria.

Bostons showed a glimmer of life in the 7th as Keving Youkilis grounded out to shortstop and scored David Ortiz scored which made the score 11-2 Rays.



The 8th inning was busy for both teams as the Rays Crawford tripled to deep center scoring Pena scored and the man of the day Aybar singled to right scoring the waiting Crawford. Boston tried to rally back as Pedroia singled to shallow center while Lowrie scored and Kevin Youkilis doubled to left center scoring the patient Pedroia. This was all Boston had left.

The Rays win 13-4 in Boston.


The Tampa Bay Rays are one win from their first AL pennant after another blowout in Boston. They look to face the Phillies in the World Series. "We know we're real close now to going to the World Series," said Carl Crawford, who tied an AL Championship Series record with five hits. "A lot of guys won't say it: There's a nice vibe right now."

Boston's "Fenway Faithful" lined up for the exits after the Red Sox went down 1-2-3 in the sixth, this was the third inning in a row they were Bostons was retired in order. You know it's a boring game when the King of horror, Stephen King, was aired reading a book in the stands, bored out of his mind. Maybe this will be one of his next horror novels?

"They're dangerous, they play loose and have good chemistry. Sometimes it's an advantage when there aren't a lot of expectations," said Red Sox pitcher Paul Byrd, who was on the Indians when they blew a 3-1 lead over Boston in last year's ALCS. "I don't think anybody thought we would go back to our place and get beat up like this."

Pacman Suspended Indefinitely by the NFL

No matter what you want to call him, call him SUSPENDED once again! Adam "Pacman" Jones was suspended indefinitely for his alcohol-related/bodyguard incident at a Dallas-area hotel last week which was a violation of the league's personal conduct policy. Seems to be a repeating pattern for Jones as he was suspended the entire 2007 season for multiple violations of the league's personal conduct policy.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that Jones' "disturbing pattern of behavior was clearly inconsistent with the conditions I set for your continued participation in the NFL."

Goodell will determine the final length of the suspension. Goodell stated, "a player's participation in the NFL depended on demonstrating that he can conduct himself in a socially responsible manner, avoiding any other conduct that brings disrespect to himself, his team, or the NFL."

If Jones wants to return to play this season he will be required to follow strict compliance with his NFL and Cowboys treatment plans. There will also be evaluations of his' progress that will be provided to Goodell by clinical experts retained by the NFL.

Please tell me that someone will get the picture here and realize this guy is not worth the time and effort for "rehabilitation" by the league. He's been given way too many chances and has not proved he can change. He has not learned his lessons, PERIOD!

More QB Woes...

This year is a tough year for NFL quarterbacks. First the Colts, Peyton Manning, had two surgical procedures on his knee to remove an infected bursa sac from his knee. He was cleared to return to the field in late August.







On the west coast the 49ers are feeling the QB blues because Alex Smith's season is over. He suffered another shoulder injury. The high-priced quarterback's short career with the San Francisco 49ers is probably finished as well. Smith was paid more than $31 million during his four years with the 49ers. Unfortunately because of the NFL salary cap, he will likely be released before next season.



During the Patriots' 2008 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Brady's left knee was seriously injured midway through the first quarter. The hit came courtesy of Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard, Brady left the game and did not return. Brady tore both the ACL and MCL in his left knee and discovered he needed season ending surgery.




BREAKING NEWS (Literally):

The Cardinals did more than just win against the Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo has a broken finger on his throwing hand. This news comes as a shock because he will be out for up to four weeks. The Cowboy's medical staff commented that the injury won't require surgery. On the first play of overtime when Romo was sacked by Chike Okeafor is when the injury occurred.

Romo, who had started 30 straight regular-season games since replacing Drew Bledsoe in 2006. He passed Troy Aikman with 14 game throwing 300+ passing yards. This gives the starting nod to 40 year-old Brad Johnson, who won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay but hasn't started a game since 2006 with the Vikings.

It's a wonderful year to be a QB in the NFL!!!!

Bucs Punk Panthers

So much for predictions and stats. Sundays game was Tampa Bay's first at home victory against Panthers since 2002. With this Panthers loss there is now a two way tie for first in the NFC South between Carolina and Tamp Bay.

FUN FACT: Both head coaches, Carolina's John Fox and Tamp Bay's Jon Gruden, have been with these teams since the division re-alignment that created the NFC South.

The Bucs first scored off a Jason Baker blocked punt. Then a Jeff Garcia pass put Tampa Bay up 14-0.

In the second quarter the Panthers had to settle for a John Kasay field goal which put 3 on the score board. The Bucs answered with a field goal of their own to make the score, 17-3 before the half.

That was all the Panthers had, as the Bucs scored another field goal and touchdown in the second half.

Coach John Fox said in an interview that he thinks it’s harder to handle success than failure.

Franchise offensive linemen, Jorgan Gross said, “I know you’ve heard this a million times, but we’re 4-2 and I don’t think anybody needs to throw in the towel. But if we’re going to beat good teams we are going to have to play a heck of a lot better than we did.

There were missed opportunities when Delhomme under threw a wide open Smith on a 48-yard completion that easily could have gone for a 72-yard scoring pass. Steve Smith also dropped what would have been a TD pass in the final minutes of the game. Smith finished with six catches for 112 yards.

“You have a good game last week. You dominate defensively, offensively, you run the ball, and pass the ball and then just come in here and basically lay an egg,” Smith said. “A loss is always a letdown. With the kind of success we’ve had and we showed so early the way we had it. You know it’s a letdown, you can’t take away that they are a good team. A team like this, you can’t start 14 down or seven in the hole, you just can’t do that. You know you put yourself in a position where you have to do things you necessarily don’t want to do, and that’s what happened.”

Even though the Panther's QB, Jake Delhomme, was 7-1 versus the Bucaneers this didn't help today. All three of Tampa Bay's interceptions came on passes that were deflected off Delhomme's intended receivers. "I don't know if its a wake-up call. We got beat," Delhomme said. "Very simply, we didn't play well and they played well."

Carolina's QB Jake Delhomme had 20 catches for 39 attempts, a total of 242 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT. Jeff Garcia had 15 catches for 20 attempts, a total of 173 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT. So it seems that even though Delhomme through for more yards, it was the interceptions that paved the way for Garcia to win this battle.

This is the first time this season the Panthers defense has allowed a 100-yard rusher. Earnest Graham had only 5 carries for 11 yards but scored 1 TD.

Previous rushers the Panthers faced this season:
- L. Tomlinson (Chargers), 97 yards, 0 TD
- M. Forte (Bears), 92 yards, 0 TD
- A. Peterson (Vikings), 77 yards, 0 TD
- M. Turner (Falcons), 56 yards, 0 TD
- L. Johnson (Chiefs), 2 yards, 0 TD

The Panthers need to focus on the rest of the season and put this loss behind them however his picture says alot on how Carolina was feeling in Tampa Bay.