Each week here at PITP we will be recapping all of the games that Panther Alumns took part in. Let’s get moving on week one after the jump
New England Patriots 38
New York Jets 14
Darrelle Revis got the start at cornerback and played very well, as we reviewed yesterday. He officially finished up with 7 tackles, 5 solo. Hank Poteat also got some playing time at defensive back for the Jets, but didn’t record any tackles or passes defensed.
Miami Dolphins 13
Washington Redskins 16
HB Blades played special teams in his first NFL game, recording two tackles on punt coverage.
Kansas City Chiefs 3
Houston Texans 20
Kris Wilson got his first NFL start at fullback, though in KC’s offense it is more like Chris Cooley in Washington is an H-Back. Things did not go well to say the least. Wilson had one official catch for -4 yards. That would have been enough, but Wilson actually caught one other pass in the game…and promptly fumbled it which led to Mario Williams recovering it and returning it for his first NFL touchdown. Wilson was only thrown to one more time for an incompletion, but he did also pick up a holding penalty in the second half. Hopefully things get better from here for Kris.
Carolina Panthers 27
St Louis Rams 13
Nick Goings played sparingly for the Panthers Sunday and only recorded one special teams tackle, no rushes or receptions.
Chicago Bears 3
San Diego Chargers 14
Ruben Brown started his 174 regular season game, but Chicago’s offense never got going behind him. Lousaka Polite was inactive for the game.
Arizona Cardinals 17
SanFrancisco 49ers 20
This game was full of Panthers, including announcer Mike Ditka (please…let’s go easy on Ditka…last night was embarrassing enough for anyone actually listening to that mess in the broadcast booth).
We’ll start with the Cardinals. Obviously Larry Fitzgerald and Gerald Hayes got the starts at WR and MLB respectively. Larry finished with just 3 catches for 20 yards as the Cards’ offense was pretty pathetic all night. The first pass of the night for Arizona was intended for Fitz and was intercepted…and the last pass of the night was intended for Fitz and was intercepted by Pitt’s own Shawntae Spencer, more on that later. That did allow Larry to pick up his 3rd tackle of his career. There were 4 other pass attempts Larry’s way but they fell incomplete. Speaking of tackles, Hayes finished with only 3 on the night, 2 solo. That’s a poor performance for a MLBgoing up against a running back that gets the ball as much as Frank Gore. Hayes was quiet mostof the night for those who watched, although he did chase down Alex Smith on a play late that I thought was going to be a big play in helping Arizona get the win. Not to be.
As for the 49ers, they have Andy Lee punting and Shawntae Spencer playing nickel back. This was a busy night for punters on both teams, and Lee had 6 punts for a 41.7 average but put none inside the 20. Lee also is the holder on placekicks. Spencer contributed 3 tackles, 2 solo, but as mentioned above he ended the game with a very nice interception over Fitzgerald where he had excellent downfield coverage. He also had an illegal contact penalty, but it didn’t do any damage.
Update…found this pic of Spencer celebrating after his game-ending interception:
