Living in Charlotte, I watch the Panthers. As you may have seen Monday night, the Panthers have a great defense...........the previous week, they went to San Fran and held the 49ers to 3 first half field goals, despite two costly Panther turnovers, and shut them out the 2nd half....... It appears the Panthers leading pass rusher Charles Johnson will be out Sunday with a sprained MCL, on our end.........Pouncey returned to practice today and will hopefully play.

Keys to the game for the Phins: Stop the Panthers' running game..........this includes stopping Cam who is their 2nd leading rusher. The Panthers' receivers are average and I believe we can shut them down man to man and have Jordan blanket their TE Olsen. When Cam is pressured, he has a tendency to throw off his back foot, leading to some very bad throws. Load the Box and get after Cam!

We're going to have a tough day running the ball..........the offense will be on Tanny's arm and the WR's. Even without Charles Johnson, the Panthers will provide a strong rush. The Panthers MLB, Luke Kuechly is one of the best LB's in the game............you'll see him on almost every play. Don't look for Clay to have another big receiving day.

Takeaway.............this should be a very close game..........if the Phins can get 20+ points, they should win. We'll need Mike Wallace in this one.

On the contrary, after seeing Kuechly against Gronkowski, I would attack him with Clay. He should have been called for pass interference on that last play and I saw him face guarding Gronk a ton.

Containing Cam in the run game will be key and our LB play has been suspect to say the least. This team has played to the level of the competition, and I think they have a solid chance to win this game.

They will have to play well and Tannehill will HAVE to hit the big plays when they are available.

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No turnovers on offense and the defense will have to hold Carolina to 17 pts or less.

As I said in another thread, I just have this strange feeling that this is the week Tannehill and Wallace connect for multiple TDs. It would just make sense because it is the opposite of what should happen...which seems to have been the norm for every game this year.

They are due to lose.


Ok... That's all I got.

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I feel the same way. They're a good team, but they aren't a team that can win out. 7 games in a row shows you that they have a dominating defense and a well balanced offense. I watch the Pathers from time to time here in Raleigh, so, I wouldn't listen to those who try to dismiss Cam Newton. His head is in the game and he can beat you with the pass or by running it. Our linebackers had better play better than they have or we'll be in trouble. They are the key.

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If our run defense plays well, including stopping him from scrambling, Miami should win...I don't think he has the accuracy to beat them throwing the ball

Lets hope Grimes can ball hawk another interception off of Newton. He got one in 2011, I think he'll get another this weekend

Charles Johnson for the Panthers is on crutches...........Rivera said today, that he's most likely out Sunday...............that will take a lot of pressure off the line and Tanny.

Yea thats the thing that is concerning me.... if he was so hurt, how did he come back and play the last series in the Monday Night game? I can understand trying to get back on the field and work through pain..... but from attempting to play through pain to crutches seems a bit exaggerated. It looks like a similar injury to what Wake was dealing with a few weeks ago..... and our coaches never ruled him out this soon from the game nor released information about him walking with crutches. Something just smells fishy

I think his returning on the final series shows how important he is to the team. He obviously communicated he could work through the pain for one last series. They need him going forward........Rivera wont risk his season for this game..........they still have two big games against the Saints for the Division.

I definitely agree with you. The eyebrow raise is over the crutches part.... a sprained MCL is what Rotoworld is calling it right now. Ive torn my MCL from a wrestling injury and I never had crutches for it (granted I was 159 lbs and not a 300 lb monster). I doubt he plays Sunday and thats all I really care about... but it sounds like a decoy for the following week against a division rival

Don't hear the cheaters crying about that non call...What a cheap shot Cannon took on him....

There was also a trip on the sideline of a would beTD..No call

These are the types of games the Dolphins usually win, then they lose to a team like the bucs or jags.

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Don't give up. Don't ever give up." - Jim Valvano

Dolphins 31
Panthers 17
WE are the best team that they have faced in the last 3 weeks.

We're going to put up our highest scoring output of the season vs. one of the best D's in the league AND we're going to have our most lopsided victory vs. one of the league's hottest teams?

Yeaaaaaaaah ok.

This is going to be another close physical game, just not sure who I'm picking yet.

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Realistically, I think our defense has the ability to put pressure on Cam, forcing him to either A. Run all over us, or B. Make bad throws. The longer our offense is on the field the more tired their "godly" defense gets. We need a solid outing from Lamar Miller and DT if we want that to happen. Starting the drive with an 8 yard run is a HUGE boost. Not to mention, that will being the threat of confusing the D. It's all about momentum against the Panthers. We start hot and kick them down bad, Cam will get discouraged, and with a discouraged Cam the Panthers offense struggles, so their D pretty much keeps them in the game.

Wallace and Tannehill finally have a big game together.

This is going to be one of those where MIA keeps pace with the Panthers and then we lose it in the 4th.....21-17 Panthers.

No question Miami will have to play their best all around game in order to beat the Panthers.

Make no mistake about it though as the Panthers certainly CAN be beat. Same winning concept, don't turn the ball over, but force turnovers, stop the run, but run the ball on offense, don't let Ted Ginn or Steve Smith loose down the field, but get Mike Wallace and Hartline loose down the field.

This would be a great game to send Wilson in on nickel blitzes off the edges. They seem to do really well finding an edge in the running game. And when Newton steps up in the pocket he tends to take more sacks and not escape as well. I would love to see Wilson/Jones take him down from the edge

write it down...Ted Ginn sets an all purpose yardage record on Sunday....

It only makes sense given this is the last game you would have guessed for it to happen.

From what I've read (and saw on MNF with short, quick passes) this sounds like the perfect game for Matthews, Hartline and Clay to do a lot of damage over the middle.

I worry about the running backs providing any help.

No Charles Johnson and possibly no Hardy will be huge.

Tannehill is good for a couple of TD drives and a couple of FG drives per game. If the defense can stop the run and put it on Newton to throw down field under pressure (not clean pocket) then I could see Miami winning this 20 - 16...just like the SD game.

their front 7 is strong but the secondary is vulnerable

I've been chatting on the Panthers' Fan Site Carolina Huddle. Almost to a T, they're predicting a 2+ touchdown win by the Panthers. For a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2008, they're a cocky bunch. It's kind of funny to read some of their posts........apparently Cam Wake isn't very good............he's going downhill.

I love to see us give these guys a smack-down.



http://www.carolinahuddle.com/boards/forum/7-carolina-panthers/

The sad part is those are bold, yet realistic predictions. Unfortunately, we all know Miami has the ability to go out there and stink the place up. We also have the ability to go out there and punch them in the mouth. The same team up 17-0 on NE was down 15-0 on TB. Enough Said there. I hope Miami goes out there and takes a nice 14 point lead, holds on to it, and then lock up the W with a 23-17 win. It's gonna be tough, and may require another defensive stand during the final Panthers drive, but we CAN do this. They are good but they aren't INSANE.

Trolling other fans sites in search of balanced football discussion?

That sounds productive.

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HA.........I originally went there to try get the status on Charles Johnson and found myself getting involved in a few discussion topics. To your point........it wasn't very productive........they're talking SuperBowl and convinced they're going to blow us out.

A lot of their members really hate us..........not sure where all that passion comes from.

Welp, it's almost halftime and your prediction looks in tact (at least at this rate).

We've made them completely one-dimensional on offense so far.

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That one second left field goal was a killer, may have cost Miami the game.

yup

Time to step up now. Carolina has come out on the opening drive and scored a TD. Got to answer.

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Nolan Carroll has really improved this season. I've disliked his play for a long time, and he still occasionally makes mistakes, but he is proving me wrong by playing very well against quality WRs.

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Don't give up. Don't ever give up." - Jim Valvano

That was not a catch. How could the officials not get that right with instant replay? I bet panther fans are furious!

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Don't give up. Don't ever give up." - Jim Valvano