Clay
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Praise from ESPN's Morning After
Praising the Panthers
There should be a lot of game balls handed out in Carolina, after the Panthers rallied behind backup quarterback Jake Delhomme and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-23 in thrilling fashion.
The team should cite Delhomme, of course, with three touchdown passes in relief of an ineffective Rodney Peete. The sack-happy tandem of ends Michael Rucker and Julius Peppers, who combined for four quarterbacks scalps, including three for the former, ought to be recognized. Ditto tailback Stephen Davis, who rushed for 111 yards on 22 carries, and who is perfect for the low-risk offense that the Panthers typically employ.
But me? Hey, I would give a game ball to every member of the Carolina special teams units, starting with assistant head coach Scott O'Brien, one of the league's premier kicking game mentors. O'Brien kept Rod "He Hate Me" Smart around -- yeah, the guy from the XFL -- because of his special teams prowess. Smart blocked a punt for a safety and returned two kickoffs for 43 yards. His coverage skills allowed the Panthers to dump former Pro Bowl special teams ace Michael Bates last week. Steve Smith had six punt returns for a 17.0-yard average. As usual, punter Todd Sauerbrun was solid, with a net average of 35.3 yards. And the coverage units were characteristically outstanding, limiting the Jaguars to a puny average of 18.2 yards on five kickoff returns.
Oh, yeah, the Panthers secured the victory when safety Mike Minter blocked a 55-yard field-goal try by Jacksonville rookie kicker Seth Marler on the game's final play. One of the best moves that Carolina head coach John Fox made, when he was assembling his staff in 2002, was to retain O'Brien as his special teams coach.
Praising the Panthers
There should be a lot of game balls handed out in Carolina, after the Panthers rallied behind backup quarterback Jake Delhomme and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-23 in thrilling fashion.
The team should cite Delhomme, of course, with three touchdown passes in relief of an ineffective Rodney Peete. The sack-happy tandem of ends Michael Rucker and Julius Peppers, who combined for four quarterbacks scalps, including three for the former, ought to be recognized. Ditto tailback Stephen Davis, who rushed for 111 yards on 22 carries, and who is perfect for the low-risk offense that the Panthers typically employ.
But me? Hey, I would give a game ball to every member of the Carolina special teams units, starting with assistant head coach Scott O'Brien, one of the league's premier kicking game mentors. O'Brien kept Rod "He Hate Me" Smart around -- yeah, the guy from the XFL -- because of his special teams prowess. Smart blocked a punt for a safety and returned two kickoffs for 43 yards. His coverage skills allowed the Panthers to dump former Pro Bowl special teams ace Michael Bates last week. Steve Smith had six punt returns for a 17.0-yard average. As usual, punter Todd Sauerbrun was solid, with a net average of 35.3 yards. And the coverage units were characteristically outstanding, limiting the Jaguars to a puny average of 18.2 yards on five kickoff returns.
Oh, yeah, the Panthers secured the victory when safety Mike Minter blocked a 55-yard field-goal try by Jacksonville rookie kicker Seth Marler on the game's final play. One of the best moves that Carolina head coach John Fox made, when he was assembling his staff in 2002, was to retain O'Brien as his special teams coach.
