Archives for September 15, 2017

'When Sean McDermott left, the reaction was that fans, players and front-office personnel/fellow coaches were sorry to see him go, but knew he had earned the opportunity. There was a little bit more surprise around the departure of Brandon Beane, but similar reactions as Beane had worked his way up for a long time in Carolina and was handling a huge amount of work and responsibility for the team- the consensus to both was that they are two bright, talented up-and-comers in the league that Carolina was lucky to hold on to for as long as it did.'

'Playing time drama: Speaking of the defensive line, how much will each play? Marcell Dareus only saw 59 percent of snaps last week for the defense, despite a huge pay day. Dareus also did not record a tackle nor did he play on third downs. Simply looking for Dareus to make a tackle this week will be something to watch, but seeing how often he plays will be another. But, if that low count wasn’t a targeted at Dareus, there’s a chance that someone else on the line such as Kyle Williams, Jerry Hughes, or Shaq Lawson, who could see a dip in playing time.'

'Buffalo running back LeSean McCoy has made his personal goals well known this season. McCoy, 29, is chasing the 10,000 rush yards plateau for his career and expects to top that this season. McCoy currently has 9,064. But that’s not all. For his career, McCoy surpassed the 12,000 yards from scrimmage mark last week against the Jets. Carolina’s Jonathan Stewart is also close to surpassing milestones, including the one for all-time leading rusher in Panthers history. Stewart has 6,703 rushing yards in his career, only 143 yards behind DeAngelo Williams. Stewart also needs two more touchdowns for most-rushing touchdowns for a running back in team history.'

'"Yes, he knows us. Yes, we know him," Panthers safety Kurt Coleman said. "But it's going to come down to guys just beating the guy across from them. When you know each other that well you have to whoop a man."'

'Bills’ 214 yards offense allowed last week were fewest since Dec. 22, 2013.'

'Panthers, 35-17.'

'Rivera said his quarterback was “a little rusty” following the team’s 23-3 week one victory of the San Francisco 49ers. In that game, Newton completed 14-of-25 passes for 171 yards, two TDs and an interception. Newton threw only two passes throughout all of preseason.'

'A video by Joe Raczka shows the fan wearing all the jerseys and one by one takes them off to show all the QB turnover.'

'“You just like playing with people that know the game and communicate well, who don’t panic,” said Alexander. “He’s your ultimate pro. For me I really enjoy playing with guys like that.”'

'Since 2015, the two have led the league in many rushing statistics by quarterbacks. In rushing yards, Taylor (1,186) tops Newton (998) over the past two seasons. But Newton (15) has the upper hand over Taylor (10) in rushing touchdowns.'