Chicago Bears 33, Washington Redskins 31 – RGIII looked more like a rookie in this one but he didn’t look horrible. He’s just having a few growing pains. QB Kirk Cousins threw 3 TD passes with the second team. Bears WR Alshon Jeffery looks like the player “they THOUGHT they were” (getting, that is – hat tip to Denny Green). The biggest concern was when Redskins OLB and Pro-Bowler Brian Orakpo injured his right pectoral muscle on a tackle – the same one he injured last year. Hopefully it’s just a strain, but a tear would keep him out possibly the entire season. It’s too early to know yet but listen for news as it develops. Redskins starting safety Brandon Meriweather hurt his knee, was helped off the field, and didn’t return in the game. I wonder if the GEICO caveman is gloating?

Houston Texans 20, San Francisco 49′ers 9 – Matt Schaub looked sharp once again and Andre Johnson looked horse-healthy on a 43 yard completion as the Texans’ first teams looked impressive once again. 9′ers RB Brandon Jacobs left the game after a tackler speared his right thigh/knee area on a tackle. It looked quite painful to be sure, but probably will wind up being a deep bruise. Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter are still the top two backs and that shouldn’t change. Jim Harbaugh seems to be interweaving his new receiving bodies into his run-based offense nicely and they’ll be a force in the NFC. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me all that much if this game is a Super Bowl Preview.

St. Louis Rams 31, Kansas City Chiefs 17 – Rams’ QB Sam Bradford looked sharp, throwing 2 TD passes on 6 of 9 passing and appears to be healthy again after an ankle injury hampered his sophomore season. Rookie WR Brian Quick had 3 catches and he was considered a talent who needs a little seasoning but seems to be developing nicely so far. Danny Amendola had 3 catches for 58 yards and a TD. Matt Cassel of the Chiefs had a nice outing as well while RBs Peyton Hillis and Jamaal Charles, both injured much of last season, got a little work and looked nice on a few runs. If that duo can get going, they could possibly be the best “Thunder (Hillis) and Lightning (Charles)” combo in the NFL if they live up to their talent…and if Hillis doesn’t get Strep Throat again. Rookie NT Dontari Poe’s struggles continue as he recorded a single tackle on the contest.

Seattle Seahawks 30, Denver Broncos 10 – 38 year-old WR Terrell Owens dropped a sure 48 yard TD pass from QB Matt Flynn, but the Seahawks won anyway. Peyton Manning had a good day other than a couple of interceptions – one on a tipped pass and the other on a throw that drifted on him a bit when he had to make a perfect pass. Don’t worry about Manning; he’s Manning and will be fine. Fantasy owners should take notice that Brandon Stokley and Manning seem to be getting familiar with each other again. Keep tabs on the pair; Stokley might be worth a late-round pick as a bit of a sleeper that some owners will pass over due to his age and injury history, but might see some production in this offense.

San Diego Chargers 28, Dallas Cowboys 20 – Dallas loses their second preseason game but their starting defense is really looking good. All of the Chargers’ points came in the second half. Lots going on in this game. First, Chargers’ apparent #1 receiver Vincent Brown broke his ankle and will miss at least 8 weeks. The Chargers WR group as a whole isn’t the most durable even while they have depth. QB Philip Rivers continued throwing picks like last year. It’s not all his fault, however, as his line is giving up ground so he can’t step into some of his throws. That Cowboy first-team looks pretty good on both sides but especially on defense as they have yet to allow a score in two games. Undrafted rookie free agent Cole Beasley from SMU had 7 catches and 104 yards as he stated his case for the #3 WR behind Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Bryant made a would-be spectacular one-handed catch in the back of the endzone, leaping high to snag it out of the air. He came down JUST out of bounds and there was a holding penalty anyway, but the spectacle clearly demonstrated his talent and ability. They don’t make many like him.

After Week 10 let me start by saying I like coach Rivera, I really do.  After this week’s loss I’m starting to wonder if I like him for the right reasons though.  For one, look what we have to compare him to.  John Fox.  Fox was horrible in Carolina far more often then he was good.  Sir Purr could of come in as the head coach and I would have been full of optimism compared to the alternative of sticking with Fox.

Fox was Conservative. Rivera is Aggressive.

Fox made his players play in his system.  Rivera adjusts his system to his players.

Fox used his veterans.  Rivera teaches and develops his youth.

Fox tries not to lose the game.  Rivera tries to win the game.

They are polar opposites, so what is not to like right?

Well… after being in so many close games this season and getting completely out played coming out of a bye week I’m not going to lie.  I’m starting to waiver.

Coach Rivera is the gift and the curse.  He has raised expectations while at the same time disappointed us fans.  He has showed us our Carolina Panthers CAN win a lot of games but at the same time has not come through with the actual wins.

Normally this would not be enough to make me waiver.  The fact that:

• He is a first time head coach (he wasn’t a head coach in college).
• Our team is young.
• Our team has a new system to learn.
• We have one of the toughest schedules.
• And our team has caught the injury bug pretty bad.

Would still leave me confident in Coach Rivera being chosen to lead the Panthers into the future. But the same thing that had me high on coach Rivera is the same thing that may break my confidence in him.

A comparison.

The Rivera vs Fox comparison is what brought me confidence in our choice.

But the Ron Rivera vs  Jim Harbaugh comparison however has me starting to wonder if the Panthers did in fact make the right choice.

The Harbaugh coached 49ers have a record of 8-1.  Let me repeat that.  The 49ers have a record of 8-1!

How many of you Panther fans can honestly say that the 49ers have a superior lineup compared to ours?  I surely can’t.  Really the only major change from the consistently horrible 49ers of the past decade is Harbaugh.  And now they are unstoppable.   Where Carolina has not be consistently horrible, just horrible recently, yet we seem to look much improved on tape but not on the score board.

Remember, when the Panthers were shopping for a coach, they did not even consider interviewing Harbaugh.  If they had brought him in for an interview and ended up hiring him do you think the Panthers would still have only 2 wins?  Or do you think we would be atop our division much like the 49ers are?   Or do you think we would be worse off and winless at this point in the season?

I want to hear other’s opinions on this topic, what do you all think?

Do you think their weak division is the reason for their success or do you think Harbaugh is just that good?

Comment below.

The misfortune of a 2-14 season puts a team’s needs into focus and nothing will ever be as glaring as the quarterback spot. Sure the Panthers have a couple of youngsters and adding Luck isn’t going to take this team to the playoffs next season. It just might the year and years after that. The Panthers play in a very tough neighborhood with warring factions of QB supporters. Matt Ryan in Atlanta, Drew Brees in New Orleans, to a far lesser degree the up and coming Josh Freeman in Tampa Bay. For the Panthers? Nothing.

This is a powerful division and you only need to look at the two teams repping the division in the playoffs to realize that a strong, smart, mobile QB is the answer. Andrew Luck can take this franchise so much farther than Jake Delhomme did. The word “perennial” comes to mind.

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