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I rip John Fox a lot in this space. Today, I'm going to give him some credit. The Panthers' coach went for a key fourth-and-1 and made it. He won a critical red-flag challenge to keep Tampa Bay short of a first down. And he kept the ball on the ground on 15 of 16 plays on that last TD drive, just like he should have.
The Panthers' Dante Wesley absolutely should have been thrown out of the game after his massive hit on a very vulnerable Tampa punt returner. Wesley should draw a major fine, too, and perhaps an NFL suspension.
Wesley has never been a dirty player and I believe him when he says he mis-timed the hit. Nevertheless, that can't happen.
Somewhat lost on an eventful afternoon: a nice performance by Carolina's defense. Although Tampa Bay scored 21, Carolina's defense gave up only seven.
"Double Trouble" finally looked worthy of the nickname again Sunday. And every member of the Panthers' offensive line should get a game ball for this one.
Bucs quarterback Josh Johnson fumbled five times and reserve defensive end Charles Johnson caused two of them. Charles Johnson had an excellent game in spot duty, also posting two sacks.
This week's "Stating the Obvious" award goes to Fox, who said afterward: "We've won two games. Unfortunately, we lost three games before that. So it kind of is what it is right now. We've got this one behind us and now we've got to get ready for Buffalo." Tell it, John.
Linebacker Thomas Davis made a superb leaping interception to continue his fine season. That set up a TD.
One oddsmaker had the Panthers' predicted over-under on total wins for the season set at 8.5 before this season began. That same number had dropped to 5.5 before Sunday's game. I'll stick with my preseason prediction of 7-9 for these guys, who have some good players but have yet to show they can beat a good team.
