From the Press Box: Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals

The fourth quarter began with a near pick of Kurt Warner’s first pass, which he paid no mind and hit Breaston for a 21-yard gain on the following play. Warner hit Breaston on the following play for 7 yards, and gained the first down on a 12 yard pas to tight end Leonard Pope. Boldin caught a pass before the Cardinals received an automatic first down on an 5-yard illegal contact. John Beason intercepted a Warner pass tipped by Early Doucet and returned to the 50-yard line.

After the Carolina completed a couple of running plays and a short throw to King, Kasay knocked in a 50-yard field goal, putting the Panthers up 27-23.

Warner threw another near interception to begin their drive from the 20-yard line. He converted a first down to Hightower on the next play. Another tip on a Warner pass came on first down. Urban caught a 20-yard pass that was called back on a hold call. Johnson registered his second sack of the day when the Cardinals faced a second-and-20 down. They later punted on fourth down.

When they began their drive, Carolina was set in running the clock off with the run and did just that. They finished with a 23-27 win.

4th quarter: Panthers:27; Cardinals:23

From the Press Box: Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals

Kurt Warner’s offense came back on the field in the second half and scored quickly, gaining 64 yards on right plays en route to a two-yard Hightower rushing touchdown.

In the first positive to begin a Panther possession, Williams rushed for 14 yards, breaking several tackles on the play. He followed that run up by breaking for 13 yards and a second touchdown. Delhomme then hit tight end Jeff King on a 31-yard pass. Williams continued his dominance, bouncing off defenders into the in-zone for a 15-yard touchdown, the Panthers first of the day. The score shortened the Cardinals lead to seven in the 10-17 game.

Edgerrin James fumbled on the Cardinals’ 20-yard line and set the Panthers up at the 18-yard line, which immediately paid dividends as Delhomme hit Steve Smith for a touchdown, tying the game at 17 with 6:10 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinals attempted rolled down field, as Warner picked the Panthers’ defense apart, hitting four different receivers on the drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Boldin. The Cardinals’ special teams gave the Panthers’ offense something to build on when they botched the snap, leaving a point on the field and off the scoreboard of the 23-17 game.

With 52 seconds left in the third quarter, the Panthers had their shot to create something on the offensive side of the ball. Williams was their to extend the drive once more, gaining eight yards on a third-and- two down. Smith turned a play-action play into a 65-yard touchdown that was challenged by the Cardinals when he seemed to step out of bounds. In a questionable call, the ruling on the field stood and took a timeout away from Arizona, giving the Panthers a 24-23 lead, their first of the day, to end the third quarter.

3rd Quarter: Panthers:24; Cardinals:23

From the Press Box: Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals

In what seems to be a slow game offensively, the Panthers began their first posession of the second quarter with their seond third and out for a quick punt.

Linebacker Karlos Dansby added some suspense to a dull game when he forced a Jake Delhomme fumble that led to an immediate Cardinal touchdown, as Kurt Warner hit Anquan Boldin for a five-yard touchdown pass. The score put the Cardinals up 10-0 with 11:16 left in the quarter.

The Panthers’ offense was still stagnant when they returned to the field, taking their first shot down field, with a miss fire to Steve Smith. Delhomme threw a eight-yard pass to Dwayne Jarrett on the third down to gain a first down. Williams broke for 14 yards and a face mask tacked 15 yards onto the run for a Panthers’ 29-yard gain.

William followed with a nine-yard gain on a direct snap, and the Panthers gave the ball to full back Brad Hoover for another first down. Steve Smith then caught his fist ball of the day on a 11-yard pass that put his team on the four-yard line. Muhammad dropped a easy catch on a out route on the following play. Williams was stuffed on second down, leading to a third and four play that was a near interception. Kicker John Kasay came on to finish the drive with a 22-yard field goal.

Kurt Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald for 16 yards on a critical third and eight. Warner continued to heat up hitting Steve Breaston on a 21-yard pass two plays later. Urban was Warner’s next target on a 23 yarder that put the Cardinals on the Panthers’ 16-yard line. Edgerrin James rushed for 10 yards, before the Panthers’ Charles Johnson forced a fumble that saved a touchdown and gave the Cardinals a fourth down.

The Panthers’ coaches did what’s all the rage in NFL circles, call a meaningless timeout to ice the kicker, who missed the first kick, and was given another shot by the shady decision. The Cardinals faked the kick on the next play and gained 10 yards on a pass that turned it over on downs.

With a little more than a minute on the clock, Delhomme hit Muhammad on consecutive plays to reach his own 40-yard line. A holding call gave the Panthers a first down with five seconds on the clock, which resulted in a miscue between Delhomme and Smith to end the first half.

2nd quarter: Panthers:3; Cardinals:10

From the Press Box: Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals

The First Carolina drive saw a failed revers and two incomplete Jake Delhomme passes lead to a quick three-and-out series.

The Cardinals’ offense came on the field with intent to pass hitting wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and newly re-implemented Anquan Boldin. A one-yard run by Tim Hightower on third down kept the drive alive. Arizona kept the drive going on another third down when quarterback Kurt Warner hit tight end Jerheme Urban for an eight-yard completion. On the following play  Boldin broke a reverse for 30 yards.

The Panthers played stout defense with the ball in goalline territory, forcing a fourth-and-one down and a 22-yard field goal from kicker Neil Ruckers.

The Panther road a 6-yard pass and DeAngelo William run to their first first down of the game. After a Jake Delhomme pass to Mushin Muhammad, another attempt to Muhammad seemed to be a pass interference, but no flags flew. The Panthers were then forced to punt and the Cardinals began their drive from the 14 yard line.

After an uneventful drive, the Cardinals punted to the Panthers where they began their next drive from the eight-yard line, ending the first quarter.

1st Quarter: Panthers:0;Cardinals:3

From the press box: Carolina Panthers

Brees finally broke through with a deep pass to Colston that they’d tried all game. The play led to a goal stand where the Panthers stopped the Saints on third down, leading to a fourth and two where the Panthers stopped the New Orleans running game.

Panthers went on to win the game 30-7, holding New Orleans below 30 for the first time in their last four games.

Also: Reggie Bush may have torn the miniscus in his left knee. I will not accompany the team on a flight to London to play San Diego, and will go to Birmingham, Ala. to have it looked at.

Panther:30; Saints: 7

From the press box: Carolina Panthers

The Saints began the third quarter with a three-and-out series that saw Brees throw a near pick.

The Panthers were immediately pushed to New Orleans’ 36-yard line with a pair of runs and a personal foul call. Delhomme floated a touchdown pass to Steve Smith to give his team a 20-7 advantage over the Saints. One of the most successful drives of the day, Carolina only possessed the ball for 1:16, converting three plays into 78 yards.

The Saints drive was over after a couple of penalties and another near pick by Brees stifled their series. Panther couldn’t continue their success, as they stayed in their own backfield for the entirety of their series. They punted after a eight-yard Delhomme run and an attempted pass to Williams.
On the following series, Brees’ attempted pass to Colston was picked by Ken Lucas, who returned the ball 30 yards to set the Panthers up on New Orleans’ 18-yard line. Consecutive Stewart runs netted nine yards, leading to a third and one on th nine-yard line. Stewart picked up three yards for the first down, setting the Panthers up with first and goal on the six-yard line. A failed pass to Muhammad and a two-yard Stewart run resulted in a third and four for the Panthers. Williams scored on the following play with a four-yard screen pass that gave Carolina a 7-27 lead.

A 25-yard pass to Jeremy Shockey put the Saints on the 50-yard line, where they stalled until they faced a fourth and one on the 49-yard line. McCallister attempted to gain the first down, but was met by the Panthers front seven. New Orleans, desperate and trailing 27-7, challenged the play that stayed in the Panthers’ possession.

The third quarter ended on a third and four for the Panthers.

Panthers: 27; Saints: 7

From the press box: Carolina Panthers

Bush began the second quarter with a series of runs, performing a successful set of downs. But Defensive end Julius Peppers forced a fumble that was recovered by strong safety Chris Harris.

A pair of Stewart runs began the series for the Panthers. A 19-yard pass to wide receiver Steve Smith kicked off a touchdown drive that was finished on a 18-yard run for by Stewart, which capped off a 4 play, 40 yard drive that only took 2 minutes with a short field. The score gave the Panthers a 10-7 lead.

After being stuffed on another punt return, Bush ran two consecutive plays for a total of only a yard. Brees found tight end Billy Miller on a third and ten from the 27-yard line to keep the drive alive. Saints center Jonathon Goodwin went down on the play and was helped to the sideline. Brees followed the play up with another complete pass, this one went to Saints wide receiver Devery Henderson.

Bush was stopped short on a third-and-one play where he loss two yards, leading to a Saints punt.

A 29-yard flee flicker led to a Smith catch that sent the Panthers to the 30-yard line. A short pass to Smith and a Williams dropped ball led to a 48-yard field goal kick by Kasay that gave the Panthers a 13-7 lead.

Later, two great defensive plays by Richard Marshall led to a Saints punt. The Panthers had a short possession, performing a three-and-out before a punt with seven seconds less in the first half.

Bush ran off every remaining second on the clock trying to finish the punt, but was ran out of bounds, leading to the end of the first half.

Panthers: 13; Saints:7

From the press box: Carolina Panthers

I’m posting from the press box of Bank of America Stadium, covering the Carolina Panthers for the Rock Hill Herald of South Carolina. The Panthers are facing a 3-3New Orleans Saints team that would have a record identical to the 4-2 Panthers.

The early minutes of the first quarter saw the Panthers orchestrate a productive drive that included 10 plays and a total of 50 yards with a time of possession of 5:49. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme hit wide recievers Dwayne Jarret and Mushin Muhammad on the drive, while running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart finished out the last couple of plays which led to a 39 yard John Kasay field goal.

After a three-and-out possession, the Panthers stuffed Saints running back Bush on the punt. They gave Bush the yards on the following down, as he ran for 29 yards. Peppers got a sack on Saints quarterback Drew Brees on was immediately erased with a 13-yard pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey.

After a series of running plays the Saints ended the first quarter at the one-yard line after a Deuce McCallister. Full back Mike Karney immediately scored the one-yard touchdown and a kick by Taylor Mehlhaff was good.