Game 11: Panthers 23, Colts 20 (OT)

Apparently this game and the Broncos-Texans game were both bumped back three hours. No worries; this is my last game for the day.

In the pregame, the carefully-coiffed Panthers announcer, the one that's not Steve Beuerlein, instructs us listeners that the Colts have "never played a preseason game without Peyton Manning".

So what was that I watched LAST WEEK, product-boy?

Roaring start for the Panther defense: they stuff Joe Addai for a large 2nd down loss, then when Jim Sorgi drops back on third down, Julius Peppers completely whips Tony Ugoh and pounces on Sorgi as though he's an actual panther and forces a fumble.

Panthers start the game in the Colts red zone. DeAngelo Williams runs for almost 10, about 1, then about 10 again, down to the 1-yard line. Jake Delhomme can't hit Muhsin Muhammed on the fade route on 2nd down, so it's Williams again to plunge in on 3rd down. Panthers take a 7-0 lead.

What a miserable start for Sorgi and Ugoh. Peppers eats Ugoh alive again, forcing a rushed pass from Sorgi that is deflected by a lineman and intercepted by Adam Seward. Wow.

What a miserable start for the Colts D, too, as Williams charges 10 yards for a TD the very next play. Panthers 14, Colts 0.

Yeah, the Colts may want to figure something out as far as getting Peppers blocked. They have moved him from LDE to RDE; we're already witnessing the benefits of that move.

Rhys Lloyd's third straight touchback starts the Colts at the 20 again. Peppers is a heartbeat late killing Sorgi the next play. Sorgi hits (welcome back!) Marvin Harrison for 8, then 4. Addai weaves for 4 more. On 3rd and 6, Sorgi rolls away from Peppers and hits Harrison on the sideline for 10. Screen to Dallas Clark for 26. They gave up 2 TDs getting there, but the Colts look very sharp now. Sorgi fires to Reggie Wayne a couple of times to get to the Panther 11. Now the left side of the Panther defense flares up. The LDE gets major heat on Sorgi to force a 1st down throwaway, then they try to run right on 2nd down, but Terrence Holt drops Addai for a loss. On third down, Seward, Godfrey and Peppers all get to Sorgi & the LBs split a sack. Adam Vinatieri, who can't be any more popular around Charlotte than he is around here, gets the Colts on the board. 14-3.

Let's see what the Panther offense does when it has to drive more than ten yards for a score. For starters, Ricardo Colclough doesn't even return the kickoff across the 20. Delhomme has already been replaced by Matt Moore, who hits Muhammed for 14 to start this drive. Moore rolls out of trouble and just barely gets one away to Brad Hoover for 11. Williams spins for no gain. On third and 9, a high pass for Steve Smith goes off his hands. He doesn't beat anybody up, and the Panthers punt.

Colts start from their 12. Hefty Lefty at QB. Thomas Davis blitzes in and smacks Kenton Keith for a loss. It's clear the Panthers are a LOT more ready and jacked-up for tonight's game than the Colts. The Colts come up just short on third down, and Dungy appears to bluff going for it before calling a timeout and then punting. Interesting way for Dungy to try to change the momentum of the game some.

Moore hits Smith for 19 out to midfield and Williams gains 10 as the Panthers are flying again. 15 more for Williams, who is getting such big running lanes I'm not sure the Panthers aren't playing the Rams. Nick Goings plunges to the 21 as a quick first quarter comes to an end.

Panthers outrushed Colts 58 to -4 in the first quarter. Moore throws incomplete for Dwayne Jarrett in the end zone on third and like a yard, and Carolina takes a Kasay FG. 17-3. AWFUL call on the third down play. You're getting almost ten yards a rush!

TJ Rushing brings the kickoff back to the 35. Hefty guns one to Anthony Gonzalez on the sideline for 16. Hefty converts a third down with a 25-yard scramble - seriously, don't opponents prepare for his scrambling ability? - and a penalty on Carolina tacks on additional yardage. Colts are now at the 12 yard line. Hefty overthrows everything on 2nd down. 3rd-7 from the 9, Hefty stabs fellow Wildcat alum Jacob Tamme with a TD pass. 17-10. Houston, we have a shootout.

From his 20, Goings loses a yard. Moore hits Jarrett with a nice pass for 20. They were trying to cover him with a LB. Goings for 6. So he's ahead of Jonathan Stewart on the depth chart? No, not according to Hair Product Guy. Moore and Goings work the Panthers down to the Colt 20 before they have to settle for a FG. Panthers 20, Colts 10.

I thought this game was moving a little too fast! NFLN skips ahead FIVE MINUTES to the 2:00 warning, and we come in at the tail end of the Colts' next drive, which ends with another TD connection between Hefty and Tamme. 20-17, 1:55 till halftime.

Panthers open shop at their 20. Moore hits Jarrett for 22. That's about all they get before they have to punt, though. Into the end zone.

Colts from their 20. Hefty hits Gonzalez for 20 but that's it for the half.
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This game changed a lot after Carolina lost the element of surprise, but Julius Peppers and DeAngelo Williams certainly weigh in as their key players of the first half. LB Adam Seward also stood out with an INT and a half-sack. I liked Matt Moore's QB work for Carolina and Lorenzen's for Indy. Hefty looked a lot more controlled than he did last week against the Redskins, and showed me good leadership by bringing the Colts back into the game after Carolina's red-hot start. Anthony Gonzalez stood out as a favorite target of Hefty's. He's certainly developing as a productive #3 for the Colts now and as Marvin Harrison's eventual replacement down the line. Tamme also stands out as the second half of what Colts announcers later call the Kentucky Connection.


The third quarter ushers in a new Panther backfield: Brent Basanez and LaBrandon Toefield. This drive is mostly handoffs to Toefield till they cross the Colt 40 and start handing off to DeCori Birmingham. The drive gets down to the Colts 20 before Troy Fleming fumbles and Ramon Guzman returns the loose ball out to midfield. Damon Hughes put his hat on the ball to force the original fumble.

Colts can't cash in the turnover, though, turning in a 3-and-out.

That's OK, they get a new turnover to try to cash in. Basanez throws deep on first down but Keiwan Ratliffe picks it off for the Colts with an acrobatic play. Quinn Gray comes in as Colts QB. He starts things by hitting Gijon Robinson for 17. Courtney Roby comes down with a 16-yard catch after muffing the pass off his own shoulderpad. Chad Simpson sprints around left end for 16, down to the Carolina 11. Gray can't connect with anybody for three tries, though, and former Mizzou kicker Adam Crossett ties the game at 20.

Basanez fires to Travis Taylor to get the Panthers an initial first down, then scrambles across midfield as the third quarter ends.

The Colts D stuffs a Birmingham run on third-and-short and forces a punt. Colts take over at their 12. Mike Hart in at RB, and he takes a screen upfield for 12. Super run by Hart breaks several tackles and gains 18 to midfield. The former Wolverine continues to serve notice. Gray sprints for 26 on what appears to be a QB draw. If he was intending to throw on that play, he sure didn't spend much time reading the field. Gray puts the Colts at the Carolina 17. Indy bizarrely decides to go for it on 4th down from the 10 instead of kicking a FG to take the lead, and Gray's picked off by Joe Fields at the 5. That's just dumb decision-making on the Colt sideline; why not take the lead?

New Panther QB Lester Richard hits former Ram Dominique Thompson for 16, but the Panthers get stumped by 2nd-and-1 and 3rd-and-3 a couple of plays later and are forced to punt.

Bad pass by Gray off his back foot is picked off up the sideline by Quinton Teal. Not a smart throw by Gray, whose less-than-impressive outing this week is re-leveling the field between him and Hefty Lefty.

Birmingham fires up the middle for 14 behind a good block by Frank Omiyale. The drive peeks across midfield before Mackenzy Bernadeau actually shoves Colt DT Eric Foster into Richard for a big sack.

Colts ball with about 4:00 left in the game. Good thing Dungy passed on that FG earlier, huh? We come back to see Casper Brinkley planting Gray for a sack. Leads to a 3-and-out for the Colts.

Long punt return by Jason Carter comes back due to a penalty, and with about 2:00 left, the Panthers start from their 26. Ricard and Thompson connect for 16 again. 17 to William Buchanon on the sideline, a nice throw. Buchanon draws DPI the next play to set Carolina up at the Indy 20 with 1:11? left. Birmingham speeds around left end for 9. Panthers let the clock run down to 0:01 for a game-winning chippie by Kasay.

UNLESS THE CENTER BLOWS THE SNAP, THAT IS. WE ARE GOING TO FUCKING OVERTIME.

TONY DUNGY NOW DESTINED TO ROAST IN HELL FOR BYPASSING THAT FG ATTEMPT EARLIER IN THE 4TH.

Carolina wins the OT coin toss, so unless Dungy rolls out the stupid onside kick again, they'll get the ball right back. Ricard takes charge at the 20 and throws a 7-yarder to Troy Fleming. Chris Hannon next takes a quick hitch, fakes Rushing out of his jock and sprints up the sideline for 37. Carolina's only problem here is that they don't get any closer, and Kasay has to try a 50-yarder for the win.

KASAY MISSES IT. It hooks right right at the end.

Good field position for Indy at their 41. Simpson around left end again for 9. He's stopped short 3 plays later on 3rd-and-8. Indy passes on a 51-yard FG attempt and goes for it on 4th-and-2. THEY FAIL. 51 yards isn't in Vinatieri's range? A SECOND blown chance by Dungy to WIN THE GAME with a FG.

THE GAME THAT WILL NOT END is back in Carolina's court. They slop their way to 3rd-and-9 before the officials seem to give Chad Upshaw a very friendly spot and a first down. So friendly a spot it's not overruled on replay, either. Birmingham rolls around right end for 14 into Colt territory. He gets 7 up the middle to the 35 and a huge 10 around left end that converts a 3rd-and-3 and puts the Panthers in reasonable FG range for Kasay. If the players are as tired of this game as I am, they'll just let Birmingham score already. Why did they KNEEL on third down? Kasay's in to try a not-automatic 47-yarder, but he strokes it right down the middle for a 23-20 Carolina win.
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The decision to move Peppers to RDE could be paying off in spades for the Panthers, though you know future opponents will mount efforts to prepare for it. Seward at LB and Moore at QB are the other Panthers I'd single out a having had a good night. The Colts backup QB picture has gotten interestingly cloudy. Sorgi surely took a step backwards, while Lorenzen stepped forward and is at least back even with Gray, who lost ground this week. The receiving corps looks well stocked for the future with Gonzalez and Tamme. Lastly, I'm still impressed with Mike Hart's motor and drive; he's a guy somebody in the NFL has got to find a job for if the Colts don't.

11 down, 54 to go.
Whether I can get a game in Monday night is up in the air. It'll be Cowboys-Chargers if I do.