One thing no one seems to be mentioning.

[JeffGollin]

While our defense did struggle and had some blow assignments. The Panthers who are a very good running team totaled 74 yards on the ground on 27 carries for 2.7 ypc. Got some work to do in our pass defense but our run defense is stout. I'm personally excited to see this defense progress through out the season.

Go Cards!

Take away Newton's running yardage and I believe we held their RB's to under 50 yards.

 

[Chopper0080]

I'm almost positive that's how teams will play him after watching our tapes.

He's not that accurate, most of his passes weren't dead on, although oddly enough the two TD's were.

Anyway, I think they do just that because if you blitz him and don't get to him he has the arm to make you pay dearly for that.

He throws a really accurate deep ball.

 

[Russ Smith]

Would LOVE to see Williams continue to develop into a major force. I question his maturity when he reports into camp out of shape each year... However, he consistently shows flashes of what "could be" which is hard to ignore.
And for a late round pick, Carter appears to very solid! Hope both of these guys become mainstays in our run defense!

On the football part of the UCLA board I read everyone is complaining how Carter was clearly misused in college since he's getting raves in the NFL.

 

[kerouac9]

I think Newton is a lot like Roethlisberger in that even if you do get to him he has the ability to get away and make a play or at least pick up a few yards running because he is so big.

So I would agree that playing coverage may be the way to go. But with both of those things considered, accuracy and strength in the pocket I still go with the Cardinals game plan Sunday being the right way to go given the circumstances.

That's the comparison that I'd make. Newton might be a harder-working Roethlisberger. What an incredible talent.

The question depends on whether or not you think you can beat the opposing offensive line with a four-man rush. I'm not confident that our four rushers will ever get to an NFL QB before coverages start to break down--and they always do--even against rookies.

Blitzing is the only option if you're not going to be able to get to the QB with a four-man rush. The Panthers' OL is much better than the 2010 Rams' OL was, so we needed to bring heat.

Yes, the run defense was awesome. I'm excited to see what happens next week when there isn't crowd noise in our favor.