Jarell Dawson is an avid Panthers fan who blogs about his team at the Eye of the Panther. Be sure to check his stuff out! Here are five questions I asked him after the game, along with his responses.

Rookie Jonathon Stewart forms a good duo with the speedy DeAngelo Williams. Together they only managed 42 yards against the Vikings. While Minnesota is obviously a tough team to run against, when, if ever, do you think this duo will really emerge? How much will the Carolina offense hinge on their play? Will they stay with a two-back approach, or will one emerge as a feature back and the other take a lesser role?

JD: I honestly think the duo will emerge as they continue to play together. They are both young and have a lot to learn. At the same time, the coaches are trying figure out how to make the rotation work best.

John Fox

John Fox wants this team to run first. That is no secret. This is the reason why he drafted a RB and an Offensive Tackle in the 1st Round of the draft. He does not want to pass on 1st and 2nd downs, so having the two be effective is very important. However, the team worked hard in the offseason to help out Steve Smith in the receiving game by bringing back Mushin Muhammed and signing WR DJ Hackett. But the way this offense is built, if they can’t run effectively, they can’t win.

The Panthers will continue rotating these guys throughout the game…for now. The problem right now is that DeAngelo Williams can not break tackles the way Stewart can. Williams ran for his most yardage this season against San Diego (86 yards). The Chargers are smaller up front and with a hurt Shawn Merriman,  he was able to be more effective. But against Chicago and Minnesota, he could not find ways to break that first tackle. And though Stewart is very young, he runs with much more power and the Panthers trust him with the ball around the goal line. I expect Stewart to emerge as the starter by the end of the season, and at the start of next season.

Both Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor took the majority of their runs either up the middle or to the left, which they had success doing. How would you rate end Julius Peppers’ and tackle Damione Lewis’ play in this game?   

JD: On a scale of 1-10, I would rate these two at about a 3. Lewis has been a solid player for the team, but you don’t expect a whole lot from him. Peppers is the highest paid player on this team, and I expect much more. I expect this guy to be Superman, and he has not been that this year. To his defense, he does get held a lot, but he’s not getting held any more than he was a few years ago when he dominated everybody he faced. Against the run, he is STILL not finishing  plays. He’ll get a hand on the jersey, and the guy will just go right by him. These are plays that he always made. He was the only D-lineman I had ever seen who could legitimately keep Michael Vick contained. We are all scratching our heads about what is going on with him.
 

Jake Delhomme fumbled the football three times on Sunday, giving it up twice. Is he solidified in his starting spot, or could there be a quarterback contraversy in the future?
 

JD: Andrew, I can assure you, if Jake had have fumbled 5 times, and threw 6 Interceptions, his job wouldn’t be any more in jeopardy than it is now. There is nobody on this team that is even close to bringing what he brings the table. We all know he doens’t have the talent of Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but the passion, leadership, and excitement he brings to this team is second to none. The coaches love him, the fans love him, and after David Carr came in last year and showed us just how bad a QB can be, we appreciated Jake even more. And more importantly, no other QB in franchise history has led the team to a Superbowl. His job is solidified.
 

The Panthers had success returning kickoffs and punts against the Vikings on Sunday. Do you really have that great of a return game, or is Minnesota more to thank/blame for your success?    

Ryne Robinson

JD: PR Mark Jones was signed to the team on September 1st, and I’m not sure yet just how good he is…mainly because I never heard of the guy before he came here. And after the injury of our main return man Ryne Robinson, Jonathan Stewart was cast into the return game as well. Stewart returned balls in college and he possesses the speed to do well in that. Together this season, they have been good at returning but nothing spectaclar. So for this question I would have to say a combination of both.

The Panthers are now 2-1. They beat two good teams in the first two weeks, but lost to the Vikings. Are the Vikings playoff contenders in your opinion? Where do you expect the Panthers to go from here?   

JD: Andrew, the Vikings were the fastest most physical defense the Panthers have played so far this year. It not only showed in the stats, but I can see it in the players. Jordan Gross is our best lineman, and the last time I saw him get abused the way he did on Sunday was the 2nd or 3rd game of his rookie year in 2003. In my opinion they are better than the Chicago Bears. Offensively and defensively. They are without a doubt in the upper tier of the NFC. The only reason they would not make the playoffs is if there simply was not enough room. 8-8 will not sneak you into the playoffs in the NFC anymore. The competition has stepped greatly.  

I expect the Panthers to bounce back from this. Sometimes teams need to get thrashed for them to wake up and realize that they are not as good as they are. They have the Falcons this week, followed by the Chiefs. They are not riding cloud 9 anymore, and they can’t possibly play any worse than they did on Sunday, so they have nowhere to go but up.