Carolina's first team offense and defense shine, backups leave questions

by user DraySpittle

If the first quarter was any indicator, the experts picking the Carolina Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl may be right. The Bills didn't get a single first down against Carolina's first team defense, and Carolina's first team offense, in their lone possession, scored a touchdown via a 14-yard strike from Jake Delhomme to Drew Carter

Now, it's important to note in all this, that save for special teams, the Buffalo Bills are horrible. Both on offense, and on defense. However, a good performance by these units will be a morale booster for Carolina, which visits the Jacksonville Jaguars next Saturday. The Dolphins will be a much better team by which to judge player's individual performances, and with the first stringers on both sides playing into the second quarter, it will give a much less skewed view of the starter's stats.

Now, on to grades.

Quarterbacks: C

Jake Delhomme was 5/6 for 64 yards and a touchdown, but beyond that, things get less impressive. Chris Weinke was 7/10, but only for 38 yards, as most of his passes were short dunks and dinks. Despite getting a series in with the first-string offense, he failed to score any points. Stefan LeFors was 8/13 for 66 yards, but he also failed to lead any scoring drives, and also fumbled the ball, as well as displayed more of his noodle-ish arm which concerned me last pre-season.

Running Backs: B+

DeShaun Foster carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards, and looked better than I've ever seen him. DeAngelo Williams had 8 carries for 21 yards, though 20 of these came on one carry. He looked flashy and fast, but got the worst blocking of any of the RBs. Eric Shelton looked better than he did last year, with 4 carries for 18 yards. If someone told me Hoover died, I would believe it, where was he?. His back-up, Cramer, can block and catch. He had one POSSIBLE fumble, but I still think I'd rather see him start over Hoover.

Recivers: B+

Keyshawn Johnson gave me a taste of what having a legit #2 receiver will do for the passing game, and I liked the flavor. He caught two passes for 27 yards, both on the only scoring drive for the offense of the game, both for first downs. There are a lot of fans who dislike Keary Colbert, but he seemed much better after having his off-season ankle surgery, and had a great catch on that same drive. Drew Carter caught 3 passes for 20 yards, including a 14 yard touchdown strike from Delhomme. Even Karl Hankton, known only for being a captain on the special teams, showed he had some hands. Some of the secondary guys had fumbling issues, but they're not likely to make the team anyway. None of the tight ends did much of anything.

Offensive Line: C+

Pass-blocking was decent all the way down, as there were only 2 sacks allowed all game, and with the exception of some of the second stringers, mainly Geoff Hangartner, so was the run-blocking. The problem I had was way too many penalties with this group. But, that's what pre-season is for.

Defensive Line: A+

Julius Peppers absolutely LEVELED Kelly Holcomb on a third-down play on the Bill's first possession. Kris Jenkins and Ma'ake Kemoeatu look to be an unmovable force in the middle. The Bills never really got a good ground game going, and there was pressure in every quarterback's face all night.

Linebackers: A

Not much to report here, More depth then I originally thought at this position, and it will be a tough job to decide who gets cut from this group.

Defensive Backs: B

Ken Lucas took an interception from Holcomb 23 yards to the house. Sure, the Bills points came mainly as a result of J.P. Losman getting semi-hot in the second and third quarters, but then again, the defense wasn’t getting any help from the offense. All in all, not a bad game for these guys

===Special Teams: A-=== Jason Baker was good on kickoffs and punts, and the coverage teams were rarely letting the Bills get past the 20. Jamal Robertson had some good kickoff returns, but Efrem Hill is not the answer at punt returner. He fumbled one, and the ones he didn't fumble he failed to do anything with.

Odds and Ends

1.Linebacker Adam Seward, for the second pre-season in a row, has caught my eye. He blocked a punt, almost had a sack, and led the team in tackles. Also for the second year in a row, I am campaigning for him to start at linebacker. He can blitz, he can cover, and he can tackle, what more can you ask for?

2. Defensive end Stanley McClover is fast. There were a couple of times where he blew by his man and just missed creaming the QB/forcing a fumble. A lot of people had this guy going in the second or third round, it's his lack of size that caused him to slip to the seventh, but he's still incredibly gifted. Look for him to come in on third and long as a situational pass-rusher a lot this year.

3. Stefan LeFors has a noodle arm. That is all.

4. Too many penalties for this team, hopefully that will be something worked out by the start of the season. I’m not too worried, most of the penalties were with guys who won’t make the team anyway.

5. Four fumbles is just bad, but like the penalties, most of them were from players who won't even make the roster, so I'm not too worried.

Date

Sat 08/12/06, 7:44 pm EST