WEEK 11 THOUGHTS -- BEFORE & AFTER THE GAME

Returning to action this week after what is euphemistically called the "mini bye", the Panthers will face a series of obstacles that will test their mettle. Several of these obstacles are 'internal' to the team, first among them the apparent loss of PJ Walker for the coming game. Walker will not play this week according to Wilkes. He joins the list of Panthers QBs that have been hobbled by a "High Ankle Sprain", although his does not appear to be a 'major' calamitous injury. Preceding him down that particular avenue of pain are Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield, both of whom have lost significant playing time to the same generically described injury. Darnold has not played a snap yet this year after his injury at the end of the pre-season. Mayfield played in the first five weeks before falling prey to the same injury and missing almost all of the last five weeks, which opened the door for Walker. Now, with Walker out, we will get to see Mayfield again with Darnold in reserve as Walker recuperates.... Oh well...????

In addition to the revolving door at QB, more obstacles have raised their head in the Defensive backfield. At Safety, the Panthers are still without Justin Burris, who continues to fight off the effects of a concussion. Burris has missed several weeks and there has been no sign of him on the practice field recently. I keep hoping to hear something positive, but so far... nothing. In addition to Burris, the Panthers are now without the services of CB Donte Jackson, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon and is now scheduled for surgery. He won't be back until next year.

Speaking of obstacles, this week the Panthers face the Baltimore Ravens and their All-Everything QB, Lamar Jackson. Jackson has joined the queue of players (mostly QBs..), who think they are God's gift, and are demanding huge, no... HUGE contract modifications and extensions. Jackson's demands are so stratospheric that the team has broken off talks until after the season. Which, of course, has little or nothing to do with the game this week. The Panthers will play the Ravens on Sunday and Jackson will undoubtedly be their QB. So that makes obvious the "clear and present danger" that Jackson presents. Definitely an obstacle that needs to be surmounted if the Panthers have any hope of playing a decent game, much less winning.....

So, the Panthers--Ravens game opened earlier showing the Panthers as 12.5 point 'dogs'. Which, upon some mental consideration, seems a little understated. This is one of those games at a certain point during the season where ANYTHING could happen. I would not be surprised to see a MUCH closer game..... nor would I be surprised to see the Panthers lose by 20.....

Just a quick note here this morning....

The Panthers will face the Ravens in Baltimore this week. This has the possibility of being a landmark game this year....a true 'watershed' moment. So far this season, the Panthers have won three games. ALL THREE of the wins have been against Division opponents. The Panthers have beaten each of their Division opponent teams one time. No other wins.....

In addition, the Panthers have won three games, all at home in BofA stadium. No road wins.

So, this game has the potential to end those dismal streaks.....or not.  If the Panthers should find a way to beat the Ravens this week it would be the first win against a non-division opponent, AND the first win on the road. Two "firsts" in one game. !!!

As mentioned earlier, the Panthers are invading Baltimore this week. The Ravens are at 6-3 and are leading their division (AFC North..). The Ravens should be well rested this week as they are coming off of their Bye week. Lamar Jackson was listed as "Illness", but Coach Harbaugh said he is fine and will play. The Ravens Injury report showed three players listed with a 'status' for the game (not counting Lamar Jackson who will definitely play..). TE Mark Andrews and RB Gus Edwards are listed as 'Questionable' but have practiced fully this week. That leaves only CB Jalyn Armour-Davis who is listed as 'Doubtful'. Depending on the weather of course, that means Jackson should be ready and complete with his selection of "weapons" for the game.  That bodes well for Baltimore, but sadly, not so well for the Panthers.

Because of the location (Baltimore..) and the weather (C O L D..), it would seem that the game could come down to the team who has the best running game AND who best defends against the run. Jackson is currently #2 QB in the league with over 600 yards rushing, second only to Justin Fields. His YPC is #1 at almost 7 1/2 yds per carry. In fact he leads all rushers with at least 50 carries.  The Panther Defense will have their hands full.....

According to CBS Sports, the Ravens are favored by a healthy 13 points, with the Over-Under at 41.5.  Those numbers seem reasonable to me, with the O/U maybe just a tad too low. If I were a betting man (which all of you know, I am NOT..), I would bet the Over. My guess would place the total closer to 47.

This is another one of those games which could really fool you. Depending on how "ready" the Ravens are, it could turn out to be a "laugher". OR...If they're a tad OVERconfident, the Panthers could squeak out a victory IF our Defense can keep Jackson bottled up a little.  Still..... I think the Ravens win this game handily.

Okay..... Here we go again.  So, in week 11 the Panthers performed much the way I expected. The game went just about as well as could be projected, except for a couple of big anomalies. So, lets start there.....

First, the spread at game time was about 13 points, and the game ENDED at 10 points, so I guess that wasn't too far off. BUT...it all happened in the last six minutes or so of the game, so it doesn't really reflect the reality of the game. This game was a defensive struggle as I thought might happen, although I NEVER thought it would end at 13-3.  The game was a classic battle of old-school football, and was a LOT closer than the final score indicates.........  For these two teams to play 50+ minutes of football and be tied at 3-3 was, ...... I don't know, ...... very strange.  
Second, the O/U of the game was at 41.5 which I thought was a conservative number. I expected the Panthers to score 14 to 17 points and to be soundly beaten by the Ravens on Offense. I expected around 45-48 points in the game and to bet the "OVER" at 41.5 seemed like a smart thing to do. Boy, was I wrong. 
  

This was a classic Defensive struggle with the Panthers continuing to work with NO Offense at all, while hammering at the OPFOR on Defense. The Panthers Defense played a GOOD game and showed a lot of resilience against a much superior team. Our Defense kept us in this game and did far more than could have been reasonably expected under the circumstances. I am proud of our Defense and their energy in a cold, unrelenting environment. But, sadly, in the end it just wasn't enough. Worn down after 50+ minutes of struggle, the "D" couldn't continue to carry the team with NO help from the Offense. Mercifully, it ended at 13-3.