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"Alex, I'll Take 'Watching Paint Dry' For a Hundred, Please"
Posted August 29, 2010, 6:43 PM ET

After watching the Carolina Panthers attempt to complete a forward pass and pick up a first down Saturday night, all I could think about is apologizing to all the World Cup soccer fans for calling their sport boring.

My God, it's going to be painful watching this team this year, if they can't pick up the tempo and at least pretend they play in the NFL.

While the offense looks anemic, the defense gets me excited.....those guys are playing lights-out and flying around the football. If you would have told me that the Panthers' defense would be this dominant after the all the changes from a year ago, I would have called you crazy.

The defense looks fantastic, and the Greg Hardy pick in the Draft looks like one of Fox/Hurney's best selections in years. I was nervous about moving Beason after the first game, but the All-Pro LB is proving that he can make plays from anywhere on the field.

What is there not to like about the way these guys are playing? The other aspect of this unit that has been great is that they are getting terrific production from everybody.....I really like what I see so far from Ron Meeks' squad.

For all the accolades coming their way, the offense remains a mystery. Don't bother telling me about Steve Smith's absence....I know he'll be back in the starting line-up against the NY Giants in week one. He'll also have two Big Blue defenders attached to his hip when he gets off the team plane.

I know Jonathan Stewart will be back, too....he and DeAngelo form a nasty tandem in the backfield. I also know that Jeff Otah should be back to help anchor a solid offensive line. Maybe the Panthers can run the ball 60 times a game and resort to the glory days of Oklahoma and Nebraska of the 1970's?

With all that said, why has it been impossible for the Panthers to find the end zone when they have the ball?

30 points in the first three pre-season games doesn't bode well for the regular season....the first-teamers need some momentum heading into the season opener. No other team in the NFL has been this lame on the offensive side of the ball in the month of August.

I suspect the final pre-season walk-through against the Steelers on Thursday night will offer very little.....so we'll just have to wait and see what shows up in the Jersey swamp in week one of the NFL season.

A couple of more items from Saturday night....Dwayne Jarrett continues to prove my point every time he puts on a Panthers jersey. In a job that is open for the taking, the All-Pro practice player had one catch for 5 yards. While some local sportswriters will continue to tell you that he's only 23 years old, I'll continue to tell you that the four-year NFL player needs to be cut.

I was also surprised that John Fox had seen enough of Armanti Edwards' attempt to field a punt after one period of football....he was replaced (or is it displaced?) by fellow rookie Trent Guy. Based on Saturday's results, I can't imagine Edwards being in the mix for the job....Guy actually caught the football.

All-in-all, it was another mixed bag for Carolina.....the defense has been great, the offense has been awful....but the good news is that the Panthers won their first pre-season game since August of 2008...

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Be sure to catch "Packman on Sports", weeknights on the 10pm newscast on WJZY-TV. I opine about the latest developments in the world of sports and other stuff....for a sneak preview, you can read tonight's script. Be sure to tune in to the News at 10 on WJZY.

9/3/10 Good evening, everyone... Thank goodness, the Panthers' pre-season games are over. I'm convinced that the final pre-season game in the NFL is the biggest rip-off in sports. It's a shame that fans actually have to spend regular season prices to watch third-string guys attempt to play at the ultimate level. Congrats go out to Johnny Harris and his group for landing the PGA Championship in 2017. It's one thing to have a big-time PGA Tour event in town; it's a whole different beast to have a major championship in Charlotte. Quail Hollow has already established itself as one of the best tracks on Tour, and now it really goes big- time. I thought it was a touch of class for Michael Jordan and the Bobcats to pony up $250,000 to CMS for the middle school sports programs. Hopefully, the good karma will rub off on the Bobcats when the season starts next month. And you can sleep on that one.

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