Archives for November 2005

‘”I know what I signed up for,” Smith said. “I’ve played in some chilly ones, but I don’t mind it. I know what I signed up for. And Buffalo isn’t too bad except for the wind.”‘

‘Will Willis be a factor?

Willis McGahee has been a solid back for the Bills over the last two seasons, but has struggled of late and hasn’t had a 100-yard rushing game since early in the season. If the Panthers can take him out of the game early, they should have no problem holding J.P. Losman in check.’

‘Mularkey and Fox once coached together on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ staff of Chuck Noll. Fox has said that Noll taught him a great deal. Mularkey said the same. “I’ve taken more from him than anybody I’ve ever been around as far as his style,” Mularkey said of Noll. “He never had to say a whole lot. When he did, it was an important time. His mentality of tough, physical football starting with defense has carried over. One thing John has done is he’s instilled the same philosophy where the whole team, offense included, is a tough, physical team.”‘

‘On Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman: There has been steady progress. It’ hard to explain to people when he hasn’t been on the field in those games that Kelly has started. It’s been recognized in practice and when Kelly got hurt in the Chiefs game. He is still experiencing some things as a first-year starter, which is expected. It’s frustrating to him because he wants to do well for his team. Taking a step back and watching Kelly was a positive for him. He needed to catch his breath a little bit and watch Kelly anywhere he could watch him and study him and evaluate a veteran of his experience.’

‘On Buffalo’s season: We went into the offseason having won five of our last six games. We had a good training camp and started off in Week One with a win. We’ve been going back and forth, back and forth and we’ve lost some players due to injury like everyone has. Now, we are sitting at 4-6, and it’s not what we had planned but we’re still in it. Last year, I think we were in the exact same place at this point, record-wise. We just haven’t played sound, good defense week-in and week-out. We’ve been inconsistent, and our record shows that. At times, we’ve played pretty well and at times, we haven’t played well at all.’

Buffalo trip brings back bad memory (Charlotte Observer)

Gameday (Charlotte Observer)

Scouting report (Charlotte Observer)

It’s time for Panthers to hit ground running (Charlotte Observer)

LB Morgan out today (Charlotte Observer)

Panthers, NFL merchandise scoring more with women (Charlotte Observer)

Panthers can’t afford a loss (Gaston Gazette)

A winter wonderland? (Gaston Gazette)

Five minutes with Jason Kyle (Gaston Gazette)

Five burning questions (Gaston Gazette)

Scouting Report on the Buffalo Bills (Shelby Star)

Veteran Minter coming into his own as safety (Rock Hill Herald)

Smith doing it all for Carolina (Rock Hill Herald)

History Lesson (Winston Salem Journal)

Linemen need to pick it up (Winston Salem Journal)

Panthers Roundup (Winston Salem Journal)

Cold concerns for Panthers (Columbia State)

Panthers @ Buffalo (CarolinaPanthers.com)

Mike Mularkey conference call (CarolinaPanthers.com)

Troy Vincent conference call (CarolinaPanthers.com)

‘”I really don’t have a choice,” Parrish said. “I just put on the right clothes that I need to stay warm.”‘

‘Unlike the Bills defensive front, Carolina is strong against the run, as they come into this one ranked fourth in the NFL.’

‘Looking back, Fox admits he didn’t interview well. He was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants and the day before the interview, the Giants lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. “If you’ve ever coached in a Super Bowl, it’s a very long season,” said Fox, who still considers Bills president/general manager Tom Donahoe a friend. “It was the longest I ever coached in one year and we happened to lose that Super Bowl so you’re not real chipper. But there are no hard feelings there at all. Tom’s a guy I have the utmost respect for.”‘

‘Rucker and Peppers will both make big plays, and the Panthers will win 23-13.’

‘”Roscoe is a very exciting player to watch,” fellow wide receiver Lee Evans said. “We’re trying to get him involved with some intermediate routes and let him do what he does. He’s getting back into it, he’s learning fast and he’s progressing.”‘

‘The most telling stat is red-zone defense. Chicago has the best red-zone defense in the NFL (opponents have only four TDs in 22 trips inside the 20-yard line) and Buffalo has the worst (opponents have 19 TDs in 28 trips inside the 20-yard line).’

‘”We just haven’t played sound, good defense week in and week out. We’ve been inconsistent, and our record shows that.”‘

‘At 4-6, it appears time to write the epitaph on the Buffalo Bills’ 2005 season. Or at the very least, they are one good shove from being sent over the cliff for good.’

‘So what will the Bills do against Delhomme and Smith? Vincent isn’t saying exactly, but he did say that whatever they do won’t come as any great surprise to the Panthers.’