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Finally It took 288 days, but the Carolina Panthers found a way to win their first game of the season....heck, it's their first win of the entire calendar year. By virtue of their second-half comeback, the team finds itself with a brand new, one-game winning streak. (When things are going this sideways, you're allowed to call it a "one-game winning streak".) Plus, the good news is that the next two opponents, Tampa Bay and Buffalo, are a combined 1-9. Leave it to the putrid Washington Redskins, to blow a 17-2 lead in the third quarter; the Skins proved that bad teams find ways to lose games, and the Skins absolutely fall into this category. The Skins have "DFL" written all over them. As for the Panthers, the win was essential after a bye week, an 0-3 start, and the intriguing comments made by Jon Beason on my radio show last week. Some folks thought Beason called out Julius Peppers on the show with his remarks, but that was far from the truth. Beason was looking to jumpstart Peppers, himself and anybody else within earshot of his comments. Apparently, it worked. Not only did the team find a win, but they also held the Skins to under 200 yards of total offense. In the process, Beason led the team with 10 tackles and Peppers was credited with two sacks. There was no doubt that Peppers played his best game of the season. So much for the "risk" by Jon Beason. A local writer thought the linebacker was out of his mind for his public remarks on the air. I guess they would have felt differently if they were made in their respective paper instead of the radio, but that will be addressed on the show later this week. Anybody with a brain in their head should have realized that there was absolutely no downside in the comments. What was the risk if the team fell to 0-4 and Peppers continued his disappearing act? The fact that Pep made plays, Beason and Thomas Davis led the charge, and the Panthers made enough plays on offense in the second half is all that matters. Could this be the turnaround to the season? Only time will tell.....but I can assure you that these guys along with John Fox and company are sleeping better this week than they have at any point of 2009. The team has a ton of work to do to get on the radar of post-season play....when you're 1-3, it's not even a topic. Right now, they just hope to be average by the time the Trick-or-Treaters ring your doorbell. N.C. State...shame on you. The Duke Blue Devils' 21-point thumping of the Wolfpack on Saturday confirmed that the ACC's Atlantic division is the worst in all of the BCS. Just look at the results this week, where the Coastal teams thumped their lesser Atlantic foes:
By last count, the Atlantic division is now 0-5 against the Coastal in 2009. Who would have thought that Duke would have more conference wins than FSU, NC State and UNC combined, as we approach mid-October? If the Blue Devils keep this up, they might be able to become bowl-eligible, and we all know what that means....Duke immediately comes off of Southern Fried Football™ Probation. The SEC's big weekend did nothing to change my mind about the league. Florida and Bama put on impressive defensive performances as they suffocated LSU and Ole Miss, respectively. In fact, the defenses were so good that it immediately eliminated any sign of an upset in either game. The outcomes also confirmed that the SEC is a two-team league in 2009. I've stated all year that the SEC appears to be down to me, this season. The Gators and Tide might be the two best teams in all the land, but the rest of the SEC has slipped a notch. There isn't another team in the bunch that is really Top 10 worthy. The fact that this is a topic just goes to show you how great and dominant the SEC is, when it comes to the college football world. In the past, they have always had three teams in the Top 10 mix...this year that isn't the case. LSU is definitely a Top 15 team.....but after that, the league hovers with a bunch of Top 20-25 teams. It still might be the best conference in all the land, but based on their own lofty standards, the SEC is down in 2009. The reason is simple....the QB play is below average. One team that has dropped considerably is Georgia. They also are the proud recipients of Lane Kiffin's first SEC victory. Kiffin took some shots at Mark Richt and Bulldog Nation during the off-season, and on Saturday, he beat their brains out. Georgia was so weak on defense, they made QB Jonathan Crompton look like Peyton Manning....and that's nearly an impossible analogy. Auburn finally cracked the polls, just in time to be embarrassed by Arkansas. The reason the Hogs are dangerous is because they have one of the few QBs in the league that can throw the forward pass with purpose in Ryan Mallet. South Carolina is off to another good start under Steve Spurrier. The Cocks are 5-1 after squeaking by Kentucky, and now they become the Homecoming opponent for Bama this upcoming weekend. We've seen USC pull this move in the past, only to limp home when the schedule becomes more difficult. It's hard to believe that South Carolina is the only ranked team left on Florida's remaining schedule...that is if the Gamecocks can stay in the Polls. Man, can Michael Jordan coach, or what? Fred Couples selected the Bobcats' front office executive to be the assistant golf coach for his US squad in the President's Cup. It is quite obvious that Jordan's amazing insight into the world of golf and mental preparation was the difference in Couples' team winning the Cup in San Francisco. Tiger Woods was a perfect 5-0 in his matches, and is there any doubt that Jordan's ability to motivate the world's best player had to be a key ingredient in the team's success? I thought it was great, what Couples said after the first day of the matches. When he was asked about Jordan's presence on the team during the matches, he said..."I never saw him out there." Hey Freddie, don't worry...we say the same thing about him when it comes to the Bobcats, too. Hopefully, MJ will be able to put down the champagne and victory cigars and head back to Charlotte to find out that his basketball team has already played a week of pre-season exhibition games. Of course, who has time for such things when you're partying with Tiger and the guys? It looks like the city of Los Angeles is enjoying the Major League Baseball playoffs. Both the Angels and Dodgers have advanced to the ALCS and NLCS, respectively.....as a San Francisco Giants fan, this pains me a great deal.....I despise both of them. But I have to admit that they both deserve to be there, based on the regular season and the impressive sweeps in the first round of the playoffs. I'm having a hard time finding a team to root for in the playoffs. That's why I'm concentrating on the NHL and the Carolina Hurricanes.....I can at least get into those guys, while somebody picks up the hardware in baseball. I read in the latest Harris Interactive Poll that the Dallas Cowboys were selected as the most popular NFL team. That doesn't come as much of a surprise, but here is one poll that did make me scratch my head: Sports Illustrated surveyed 239 active players and asked them to name the most overrated player in the league.......their response? Brett Favre was picked #1 on the list. Coming in second was the Cowboys' Tony Romo.....and if I were asked, Romo would get my vote, too. By the way, in regards to the Harris Poll, the Panthers finished up as the 25th most popular NFL franchise. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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