WEEK 12 THOUGHTS -- BEFORE & AFTER THE GAME

Week 12 is here.... That is important for a couple of reasons. First it marks the point where we are 2/3 of the way through the season. After this game against the Broncos we will have five games left to play. The second reason is.... This marks the last game before our Bye week. After this game we will have a full extra week to rest and 'get healthy' before the final run into oblivion.  Not that I think it will make any difference, but.......

Anyway, the Panthers start out this week at 2.5 point underdogs (this against the Broncos whose efforts this year have been less than superlative), AND playing at home too. Although I will admit that the confines of B of A stadium this year have provided scant little in the way of advantage for the Panthers.

To compound the 'question', we will be testing the QB efforts of Sam Darnold this week. Darnold will be playing his VERY FIRST snaps of the season on Sunday after sitting out the first 2/3 of the year. His early "high-ankle sprain" sidelined him at the end of the pre-season and he was only recently returned to the active 53 roster.  It would be unfair to expect too much, but he needs to step up if possible.

We will see....

I really hope Sam shines behind a MUCH better line.  I also would LOVE a top 2 pick when we are qb needy.  Consider me torn…  Still love the fact an udfa player is topping a #1 pick in wins.

On the same note, go Taylor Heinike!

I don't think Baker Mayfield could win a drawing if he got the only name in the hat. Not to mention winning football games.

Look; He is an okay guy, so far as I know, but he's not an NFL caliber quarterback. He talks the talk but when he tries to walk the walk, he trips over his own feet. I hear him saying, "We have to fix our mistakes" and "we have to get better". All that is well and fine, but you have to actually have the ability to DO those things before you can change anything.

So, as the week moves on and the Panthers get closer to game day against the Broncos, the prognosticators climb out of the woodwork and sally forth doing what they do best...... That is to say, not much of anything. In this case, NFL Network has jumped into the game with both feet. They have put together a little video review of both the Panthers and the Broncos. So..... for your viewing enjoyment, here is what the cast over there thinks about the Offense and Defense and QBs and DBs, etc., etc.

At the end of this little motion picture they leave us with their W-L projections for the game..... which unsurprisingly was about even-up Broncos--Panthers.

PANTHERS.COM:  Panthers - Broncos Review & Projections

So, it's Saturday noonish, and the Panthers are preparing to play the Denver Broncos at home in BofA stadium. In some ways this portends a good football game and a good outcome for the Panthers (if you think the possibility of a 'win' is a "good" outcome..). If we look at the season up till now, we see the Panthers have won three games and all three of them have been in BofA. So, that's a good omen, right.??  Right.!!  Uhh, except for one thing. All three wins have been against Division opponents. Every game against NON-division teams have been losses. And the Broncos are a NON-division team.  Oops...

So, let's talk about the Panthers vs. Broncos on Sunday. No one can say that Russell Wilson is NOT a great QB.  He IS. No doubt about it. He's proven it game after game, year after year. It's just that THIS YEAR is an apparent anomaly. The Broncos have underperformed and have been beset by injuries. At least four out with ACLs and multiple others out as well with broken bones, hamstrings, joint damage, etc., etc. Wilson had a shoulder injury too and that undoubtedly played a part in their problems.  Still..... I think we can all agree that Russell Wilson is a superior QB when compared to ANY on the Panthers team.  The Panthers will play Sam Darnold at QB this game. Has not played even one snap yet this year. Hoping for a decent performance, but really, it's a lot to ask. Seriously.

There will be a few interesting things going on this Sunday though. Providing lightning doesn't strike him, JJ Jansen will set a Panthers record for games played at 221 since he joined the team. He will be tied with K, John Kasay. Jansen has been with the Panthers since 2009 and has played in EVERY regular season game since then. Pretty remarkable.!!

With LB Corey Littleton OUT for this game, I expect we will see a lot more of our rookie LB, Brandon Smith. I will be happy to see him on the field a little more. I think Smith will develop into a first class LB, and may end up playing in the middle.

Carolina's Defense has proved to be strong and resilient. If the Offense can score some points, I expect our 'D" will do it's part. We will miss Matt Ioannidis on the D-Line, and Corey Littleton and Myles Hartsfield in the back. But the newly 'repaired' Juston Burris will help back there.

So, what is going to happen on Sunday.??  I don't know. My gut reaction is that Russell Wilson will do his part, and the Broncos' Defense will help him. I think we lose this game, although it should be close. I also think Darnold will play a decent game, but we will be overmatched against Wilson. It's pretty much a toss-up, but....

Broncos  21-17

I’d love to see some yong guys play, like Williams n barno. Cade mays @ fb? ?

I’d love to see some yong guys play, like Williams n barno.  Cade mays @ fb?  ?

Williams ---- Williams...???  Hmmm. Do we have a 'Williams' on the 53 Roster.??  Not sure, maybe I'll go look.....  Amare Barno has been playing some almost every week recently. Not a lot though. A quick glance back shows him in five games with some solo tackles and one sack. But YES... Barno needs to play more when we can fit him in. He's blazing fast for a big DE. 6'6" - 250, runs a 4.36. Dude can fly.

Cade Mays at FB..!!! OMG, another Refrigerator Perry..!!  Mays is 6'6" weighs 325...Can you imagine him running the ball, coming at you..?? 

Meant Smith, my bad. Mays only snap this year came at fb last week.

Meant Smith, my bad.  Mays only snap this year came at fb last week.

Mays played FB last week..???  Really.??   I didn't know that.!! 

I missed it. Would have liked to have seen that.  LOLOLOL...Gosh that's a big boy.!!