Panthers-Bengals Preview

[redlegsfan21]

The Carolina Panthers always knew receiver Steve Smith was crucial to their success. Their first six games have provided them with a stark reminder of just how important he is.
The Panthers (4-2) look to improve to 5-0 since Smith returned from a hamstring injury when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) on Sunday.

With Smith sidelined during the first two weeks, Carolina managed 19 total points in dropping both games. The All-Pro receiver returned for Week 3, and his impact was immediate, catching seven passes for 112 yards as the Panthers defeated Tampa Bay 26-24.

Since Smith's return, Carolina has reached the 20-point mark in all four games. He has 31 receptions for 450 yards and two touchdowns.

"When Steve came back, certainly it helped," said Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, who has thrown for 976 yards and six touchdowns with Smith in the lineup. "In my opinion, it's like taking Michael Vick away from Atlanta, like taking Peyton (Manning) away from the Colts."

Carolina's top receiving target was instrumental last week in helping Delhomme throw for a career-high 365 yards and two TDs as the Panthers topped Baltimore 23-21. Smith had 189 yards receiving and a 72-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter as the Panthers stayed one game behind New Orleans for first place in the NFC South.

Smith's 112.5-yard average is tops in the NFL.

"Until you are actually out there doing it, you don't get in that condition," Carolina coach John Fox said, noting Smith's progress since his return. "He's gotten better each week."

What didn't get better for Fox's team last week was its rushing attack. The Panthers did little on the ground against the tough Ravens defense, running for only 58 yards. Carolina ran for more than 100 yards in each of the first three games of its win streak.

The Panthers have a good chance to put the ineffective rushing performance behind them against the Bengals, who are allowing 140.4 yards per game on the ground. Cincinnati struggled to defend the run again last week, giving up 140 yards in a 14-13 loss to Tampa Bay, the team's second straight.

That came one game after New England ran for 236 yards in a 38-13 win over the Bengals.

Making matters worse for the Bengals is that their offense hasn't been able to compensate for the defense's problems. Chad Johnson led the AFC with 1,432 receiving yards last season, but has yet to record a 100-yard game or catch more than six passes in a contest this year.

He has just one touchdown catch, on an eight-yard pass Sept. 17 against the Browns.

"Stuff is not going the same way it did last year, to where I can come out and be bold," Johnson said. "We're not playing bold. We're not playing aggressive. So I can't be aggressive. I've got to feel it.

"I can't come up and say, 'Man, we're going to go out and torch these guys,' and we go 75 plays in the game and have one explosive play. We're just not the aggressor right now."

Cincinnati is also struggling to run the ball, ranking 22nd in the league with 97.4 yards per game. Rudi Johnson has accounted for 405 of Cincinnati's 487 rushing yards, but was held to 52 on 17 carries against the Buccaneers.

The fifth-year back ran for more than 1,400 yards in each of the last two seasons.

"We're not throwing the ball like we did last year. We're not running the ball like we did last year," said Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who had season highs with 10 catches and 102 yards along with a touchdown last week. "If you can't do at least one or the other, we're in trouble."

Not helping matters is the loss of left tackle Levi Jones, who learned he likely will need arthroscopic knee surgery, depriving the Bengals of the player who protects quarterback Carson Palmer's blind side for several weeks. Palmer is continuing to work to regain his rhythm after rehabilitating his knee following surgery.

Cincinnati is already without center Rich Braham, who suffered a significant knee injury during the second game of the season.

Rookie Andrew Whitworth is expected to fill in for Jones.

Cincinnati, which fell out of first place and behind the Ravens for the AFC North lead with their second straight defeat, has lost both matchups with Carolina. The teams haven't met since Dec. 8, 2002, when the Panthers won 52-31.

http://sports.myway.com/news/10212006/v7764.html

[Carsonpalmer9]

Who dey!!!??? We better win this week... We've been doing pretty embarrassing. Not as embarrassing as them Steelers though!! YEA BABY!!!

[redlegsfan21]

By JOE KAY

CINCINNATI (AP) -The call came in. The gamble was on. The Bengals were putting the game into the pleading hands of Chad Johnson.

The brash receiver had been begging for the chance.

Johnson turned a risky fourth-and-1 call into a diving 32-yard catch Sunday, leading to a touchdown and a 17-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers, who couldn't stop the Pro Bowl receiver on the play that mattered most.

"That was the actual play call," Johnson said, noting that offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski made him the first choice. "Bratkowski - I love you! Thank you! That was a great call.

"In my mind, I was going to come down with it."

He did, of course. Two plays later, the Bengals (4-2) finished a length-of-the-field drive that gave them a welcomed win. They'd lost their last two games and endured a bye week loaded with questions about their tottering offense and their off-target quarterback.

When they needed him most on Sunday, Carson Palmer finally connected.

Wearing a glove on his passing hand, Palmer struggled with the gusting, swirling wind until the fourth quarter. He went 8-of-9 for 93 yards in the go-ahead drive, culminating in his 1-yard throw to T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

"In this stadium, the wind is different than most places we play in," said Palmer, who was 23-of-39 overall for 240 yards. "At times, it's nice and calm. Perfect. Then a huge gust comes in. It can catch you off-guard."

The decision to throw on fourth-and-1 at the Panthers' 35 midway through the fourth quarter caught everyone off guard.

"You just want to barrel out and get the first down, but I guess the coaches felt that a little play action might work there," guard Eric Steinbach said. "Once we heard the play called, we were thinking, 'We might get them on this.' It was a great call."

One very bad decision then sealed it.

Carolina (4-3) had won its last four games by playing very well at the end - three of the victories were by a field goal or less. Jake Delhomme had the Panthers in position to pull off another one on Sunday.

He completed passes of 18 and 23 yards to Steve Smith, helping Carolina reach the 10-yard line. Facing third-and-goal, he saw Keyshawn Johnson in the back of the end zone and decided to go for the touchdown rather than throw it away and take a tying field goal.

Safety Kevin Kaesviharn reacted and intercepted the floating pass with 3:50 to play, essentially deciding it.

"I said, 'OK, it's a touchdown,"' Keyshawn Johnson said. "I don't even know where the guy came from. Had I known he was going to be there, I would've tackled him."

Delhomme didn't see Kaesviharn, either. When he let go of the ball, Delhomme was ready to celebrate. Instead, he wound up smacking his hands on the side of his helmet in disbelief.

"It's a play we've had the last couple of weeks," said Delhomme, who was 20-of-34 for 238 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns. "When I let it go, I thought it was going to be a touchdown. It was a bad throw on my part."

Both defenses slanted their coverages to stop two of the NFL's elite receivers - Chad Johnson and Smith, who were junior college teammates seven years ago.

Chad Johnson's fourth-down catch gave him bragging rights over Smith, who dominated their only previous NFL matchup. Smith returned two punts for touchdowns and caught a pass for another score during Carolina's 52-31 win in 2002.

Smith finished with eight catches for 126 yards, but Johnson got the win along with his seven-catch, 61-yard performance. His only disappointment: a gag order from coach Marvin Lewis now prevents him from celebrating or gloating.

"I was asked to change by the head man," he said, clearly disappointed. "So therefore, what you see from me is what he wants - just make your plays and go back to the huddle. So that's what I'm going to do. Going to be no more talking, no nothing. Just go out there and play, go home. If that's what it takes to make us a better team, so be it."

Asked if that means no more touchdown celebrations, Johnson nodded.

"Very lame, isn't it?" he said. ^

Notes:

Rudi Johnson ran for 101 yards, ending the Panthers' streak of holding their last four opponents under 100 yards on the ground. ... DE Julius Peppers wasn't involved in the Panthers' two sacks, ending his streak of five straight games with a sack. ... Cincinnati had only 99 yards in the first half, when it failed to get a first down on five of its six possessions. In the second half, the Bengals had 243 yards and 15 first downs. ... Carolina was 0-for-5 on third downs in the second half.