Week 13 Preview
Meet the Panthers
On Monday night the Carolina
Panthers make a visit to the City of
In their last game, the
Panthers lost a heartbreaker against the woeful Washington Redskins 17-13. QB
Jake Delhomme had a rough day passing for 168 yards
and throwing two interceptions. The Panthers offense was virtually shut down in
a game that head coach John Fox labeled “embarrassing” for his team. The
Panthers will no doubt be looking to come into
On offense, QB Jake Delhomme has many weapons at his disposal despite a
mediocre running game. Starting RB DeShawn Foster is
listed as questionable but will most likely play. Should he not, they have a
capable back up in Deangelo Williams. Both RBs are power backs that aren’t the fastest guys in the
league but can eat up chunks of yards. The place the Panthers are the most
dangerous is their 1-2 punch at the wide-receiver position. Steve Smith is a
proven stud. The guy is fast, he makes amazing
catches, and has incredible playmaking potential. To compliment Smith is former
Cowboy and Buccaneer Keyshaun Johnson. Although
Johnson has lost a step or two to his game, he is still a dangerous receiver
that will need to be watched as much as Smith. Delhomme
has had a rough year in 2006 with some fans calling for his benching. The
offensive line has been questioned as Delhomme has
been sacked and hurried all season.
On defense, the Panthers are in
the top 10 in yards allowed per game. On the line, they have arguably the most
dominating defensive end in Julius Peppers. Peppers is
a force to be reckoned with. He is a tall, strong, athletic DE with 11 sacks on
the year. Peppers is the only big name on what is
generally an overlooked defense. Do not
let this fool you though, all of these guys are very
good and capable of shutting a team down. At free safety, Mike Minter has had
issues (see last week’s play against Washington TE Chris Cooley), but can still
play well enough to shut down a WR. Lastly, at weak-side linebacker the
Panthers have Na’il Diggs who is a solid wrap up
tackler to help the run defense.
What to watch for on Monday
Both the Eagles and the
Panthers have been a disappointment this year and have been plagued by poor,
inconsistent play. The Panthers are playing for a playoff berth while the
Eagles are playing for a slim shot at the playoffs and next year. The Eagles
did not play a horrible game against the Colts on offense, but their defense
was atrocious. Look to see whether the Eagles can shut down a so-so running
game and if this often hyped defensive line of the Eagles can get pressure on Delhomme. A big defensive game would do miracles for this
shaken Eagles team.
When the Eagles have the Ball
Despite leaving the game
against the Colts with a forearm injury, QB Jeff Garcia will once again be at
the helm for the Eagles. Garcia put on an impressive showing against the Colts
and Andy Reid’s gameplan will have to be a good one
to keep the Eagles from dropping to 5-7. The Eagles should try to balance out
their running and passing attack to get everyone besides Brian Westbrook
involved. Westbrook will be a marked man in this one as he is hot with his
three straight 100+ rushing games. To counter this, everyone on offense has to
step up, especially Buckhalter and the Eagles
receiving tandem of Stallworth, Brown, and Baskett. Garcia can get rid of the ball rather quickly and
may need to with Peppers coming at him. It will be up to these guys to make
plays and for the offensive line to hold off the pass rush. Stallworth
and Westbrook are both listed as probable for this game.
A key match up to watch for
while the Birds are on offense is with Peppers and Eagles RT Jon Runyan. Both of these guys are strong, crafty veterans who
are considered to be elite at their respective positions. Peppers
is one of those guys who has the opportunity to change a game and knock
a QB senseless. Garcia’s mobility should help out in case Runyan
has trouble containing Peppers. Runyan will also have
to be careful to avoid drive-killing holding penalties against the relentless
Peppers.
When the Panthers have the ball
The Eagles defense will be
looking to rebound after two straight pitiful performances against the Titans
and the Colts. The Eagles linebackers have had issues this year with tackling
and in this game they will have to finish their tackles with Foster and Williams.
Both of these guys are strong power backs that will not go down easily. The
Eagles cornerbacks (Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown)
will have their hands full trying to contain Smith and Johnson. Neither of
these guys are outrageously tall like some other WRs that have burned the Eagles, Smith is only 5’9’’. These
guys still make catches that look otherwise impossible. In order to help the
cornerbacks out, the Eagles D-Line needs to step it up and get pressure against
the usually pocket prone Delhomme. If they can
pressure him and make mistakes, the Eagles could very well be in luck. As in
weeks past, everything will come down to this Eagles defensive line which has
not shown up in recent weeks.
A match up to watch when the
Panthers have the ball is Eagles DT Mike Patterson against LG Evan Mathis.
Mathis is a great run-blocker who is capable of creating holes for the running
game. Patterson has been on and off all year and will need to help the defense
out to stop the run. If the defensive line can win the battle in the trenches
with Cole and Howard getting pressure off the edges, Delhomme
could have a rough game and their running game may never get going.
The second match up to watch
is Panthers WR Steve Smith against CB Lito Sheppard.
This Panthers team suffered in their first two games without Smith. He is a
dominating force in the passing game and will need to be covered. Lito is having a dazzling year on defense leading the team
interceptions. Lito will have to play smart and not
let Smith break off a big play.
Special Teams
The Eagles have had some
issues with their special teams lately. After long snapper Mike Bartrum was lost for the year last week, the Eagles went
out and signed a new long snapper in Jon Dorenbos. We
believe that the long snapper is a position that you never really think about
until something bad happens (such as the botched snap against the Titans). It
will be interesting to see how Dorenbos does with his
new team and if anything happens. Akers has also been shaky lately, but is
still reliable.
For the Panthers, they have
one of the best kickers in the game in John Kasay. On
the year, Kasay is 18/20 and has quite a leg on him.
The Eagles will also need to improve on special teams
coverage to keep KR Deangelo Williams from breaking
off a big return. This will be a game of field position and the Eagles need to
win this battle to win the game.
Prediction: Panthers 21 Eagles 20