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A guy proposed marriage on the scoreboard at Bank of America Stadium on Thursday. I hope the woman says no. You propose at a sold-out stadium on a night when nothing else is going on in Charlotte and what do you think she's going to say? The pressure is enormous. You want to find out if she loves you? Propose at a Charlotte Bobcats game.
Julius Peppers played with an injured right hand, I'll give him that. I'll also give second-year tackle Jake Long credit. He handled Peppers. Long occasionally had help; Peppers would spin off Long and encounter, say, tight end Kory Sperry. I watched Peppers go against Long throughout the first half. Long was the first pick in the draft. Peppers was a tall, long-sleeved, nonfactor.
Third-and-1 from the Carolina 41 and the Panthers go deep to Steve Smith? What are they thinking? They're thinking that Smith will get single coverage from rookie cornerback Sean Smith. Both Smiths played at Utah. Jake Delhomme throws a nice pass and Steve Smith reaches for the ball and gets his fingers on it and - the ball falls incomplete. Sometimes a good call fails. It fails here.
Is it over for Carolina? Is it not over? The debate changes every week. I thought it was over Oct.25. If you lose at home to Buffalo, the first team in the NFL this season to fire its head coach, it probably is over.
Steve Smith had been talking to rookie cornerback Vontae Davis since Carolina's opening drive. Smith went at Davis and Davis went back and talked back. Finally, with 5 minutes, 18 seconds left, Smith burned him, timing his leap perfectly as Davis ran past to grab a 27-yard touchdown pass. Respect your elders. And if you don't, at least pretend.
