Carr and Panthers Stomped by N.O.

Thick gray clouds covered the sky like a blanket in Charlotte on Sunday, November 25, 2007. I went to see my first NFL game with my dad and brother. We had great seats, so I saw the players very well. On Sunday, the Carolina Panthers were battling the New Orleans Saints. Both teams were 4-6 at the start of the game, which meant that the winner would move up in the division ranks and have a better potential of getting into the playoffs. Vinny Testaverde was supposed to start as quarterback for the Panthers but was inactive due to a sore back from the previous day. To take his place, David Carr became the starter. Panthers fans knew what to expect from their team after the first half in which Carolina made only one first down to a penalty against the Saints. As time progressed through regulation, the Saints kept playing better, the Panthers worse. Carolina coach John Fox finally substituted David Carr with Matt Moore after hearing enough negative things from the stands. Overall, New Orleans played a pretty good game. They were aggressive on both sides of the ball and held the Panthers to score only two field goals by kicker John Kasay. The Panthers, on the other hand, played horrible. Their defense struggled against Saints running back Reggie Bush. The offense had a hard time moving the ball up the field, partly because of the simple mistakes of David Carr. But you can’t blame the mistakes of a team on one man. Or can you?

New Orleans Saints

1st Downs: 22
Total Yards: 373
Passing: 260
Rushing: 113
Penalties: 5-76
3rd Down Conversions: 11-18
4th Down Conversions: 0-0
Turnovers: 1
Possession: 39:23

Carolina Panthers

1st Downs: 11
Total Yards: 195
Passing: 152
Rushing: 43
Penalties: 5-35
3rd Down Conversions: 3-13
4th Down Conversions: 0-2
Turnovers: 4
Possession: 20:37

Week 12 Scores From Around the League

Green Bay (10-1) 37
Detroit (6-5) 26

New York Jets (2-9) 3
Dallas (10-1) 34

Indianapolis (9-2) 31
Atlanta (3-8) 13

Tennessee (6-5) 6
Cincinnati (4-7) 35

Houston (5-6) 17
Cleveland (7-4) 27

Oakland (3-8) 20
Kansas City (4-7) 17

Seattle (7-4) 24
St. Louis (2-9) 19