Posted by Will Brinson

Cam Newton is the guy for the Panthers throwing for insane yardage and drawing all the headlines these days. He's going to have to keep doing that, too, as an already bad  Panthers defense is getting worse, and quickly. Just last week, Carolina lost All-Pro linebacker Jon Beason for the year with a torn Achilles. This time, it's Thomas Davis' turn.

The linebacker announced on Twitter (via Brian McIntyre) that he's out for the season with a torn ACL ... for the third-straight season.

"I would like 2 take the time and thank every1 that has supported me over my career," Davis tweeted. "Unfortunately, I have re torn my acl. Thx 4 da prayers!!"

This is a huge blow for the Panthers, of course, and a shame, because Davis appeared to have reclaimed the explosiveness that he flashed in previous years (particularly when he hawked Aaron Rodgers down from behind on Sunday).

But now he's done for the year and it's a particularly awkward injury because the Panthers inexplicably gave Davis a $7 million signing bonus when they inexplicably offered him a five-year contract as he came off his second-straight shortened year thanks to a torn ACL. (In fairness, just one of the years was guaranteed, but Davis was under team control for 2011 and barring an absolute explosion this year, probably wasn't going anywhere else.)

Davis is a great player when healthy, but there's just no reason to believe he can stay on the field after three consecutive seasons of bowing out early with a serious knee injury.

In terms of how this effects the Panthers right now, it's pretty devastating -- James Anderson is a sneaky stud at linebacker and Dan Connor's good at stopping the run, but one of the best linebacking corps in the NFL is suddenly one of the thinnest.

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Posted by Will Brinson

The Carolina Panthers continued their offseason spending spree on Friday, giving strong safety Charles Godfrey a five-year, $27.5 million extension that includes $12.4 million in guaranteed money.

That's according to our Panthers Rapid Reporter Steve Reed, who also earlier reported that Godfrey was named one of the team's captains for 2011, along with tackle Jordan Gross, wide receiver Steve Smith, linebacker Jon Beason, punter Jason Baker and linebacker Thomas Davis.

“He’s on top of the world and he’s thrilled because this is what he wanted," Godfrey's agent Doug Hendrickson told Reed. "He really loves the new defense and the staff and everything about the organization. They stepped up big time."

He should be. Godfrey's one of several Panthers -- including Beason, Davis, defensive end Charles Johnson, running back DeAngelo Williams and linebacker James Anderson -- to pick up a big-time financial commitment from Carolina this offseason.

In 43 starts since being drafted in the third round of 2008, Godfrey's racked up 157 tackles, seven interceptions (including five in 2010) and six forced fumbles.

And though some folks might wonder why a 2-14 team would be slinging around so much cash for a group of players that didn't produce all that much in 2010, aside from Williams, the Panthers have made their significant investments into a defense that was much better than the team's record would indicate.

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Posted by Andy Benoit

The Cardinals managed a paltry 124 yards of total offense against the Chargers. And 124 is also only three times the number of points Arizona gave up.

Antonio Gates was targeted seven times. He finished with seven catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Those are the type of numbers a player puts up when going up against thin air.

The Chargers defense had nine sacks.

Peyton Manning and Jeff Saturday started their NFL-record 158th game together. (The previous record of 157 was held by Jim Kelly and Kent Hull.)

Donovan McNabb completed just 8/19 passes in his return to Philly. That’s his lowest completion total in a win since his NFL starting debut (which, coincidentally, came against the Redskins).

Santana Moss had zero catches and was targeted just one time.

Quintin Mikell led the Eagles with seven tackles, though none were dynamic enough to make us forget the one he missed (you know, when Ryan Torain plowed over him for a touchdown run).

Arian Foster sat out the first quarter against the Raiders for disciplinary reasons. That allowed Derrick Ward to rise from the dead and finish the day with 12 carries for 80 yards. (Interesting that Steve Slaton wouldn’t get more carries in this instance.) Foster still got his, too. He gained 131 yards on 16 carries, including a sensational 74-yard touchdown.

Raiders tight end Zach Miller caught 11 passes for 122 yards and a score. On the other side, Texans backup tight end Joel Dreessen led the team with five catches for 73 yards and a score. (Perhaps the bigger news is that Owen Daniels, in a contract year and coming off a serious knee injury, seems to be assuming a backseat role).

Haloti Ngata had 11 tackles, one sack, two tackles for a loss and two quarterback hits against the Steelers. And yes, in just watching the down-to-down action, Ngata was indeed THAT dominant.

The Saints ran 79 plays Sunday. The Panthers ran 47. The Saints had 27 first downs. The Panthers had 10. (The game was close because the Saints were just 1/5 in the red zone and lost two fumbles.)

Panthers linebacker James Anderson had 16 tackles and a sack.

Saints safety Usama Young played well filling in for an injured Roman Harper. Young led the team with six tackles and recorded a sack and a tackle for a loss.

Seahawks running back Justin Forsett looked much better against the Rams than his 19-carry, 65-yards stat line suggests. Forsett showed great initial quickness and lateral agility between the tackles. Credit the Rams linebackers and defensive backs for keeping him in check.

Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons had two sacks for the second straight week.

Kyle Orton threw for 341 yards against the Titans. He also attempted 50 passes for the third time this season (the Broncos are 1-2 when he does).

Brandon Lloyd and Eddie Royal both went over 100 receiving yards. It was Lloyd’s third 100-yard game of the season. Denver also had two 100-yard receivers against the Colts (Lloyd and Jabar Gaffney).

Chris Johnson’s longest run against the Broncos went for just eight yards. His backup, Javon Ringer, ripped off a 54-yarder. (To be fair, Ringer was ultimately chased down on that run; Johnson would have taken it to the house.)

Dave Ball had 2.5 of Tennessee’s six sacks of Kyle Orton.

The Lions ran 78 total plays; the Packers ran 40. A week after setting a franchise record with penalties 18 penalties for 152 yards, Green Bay benefitted from 13 Detroit penalties totaling 102 yards.

Charles Woodson recorded his 10th interception return for a touchdown, third most in NFL history. (Rod Woodson holds the record with 12; Sharper is next with 11. Deion Sanders had 9.)

Jordy Nelson lost two fumbles for the Packers. (And the lost fumbles never turned up…we think someone from the Lions may have found them.)

Brandon Pettigrew had a career day, catching eight passes for 91 yards. He’s another guy who has successfully bounced back from a late ’09 ACL injury.

Taylor Mays did not just have a spectacular blocked punt touchdown for the 49ers, he also led the team with 11 tackles. Looks like Michael Lewis won’t be getting his starting job back any time soon.

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Posted by Andy Benoit

A story that hasn’t received nearly enough attention is how the Panthers moved Jon Beason from middle linebacker to the weak side. Beason played weakside linebacker at the University of Miami; he’s only filling the spot because of the season-ending injury to Thomas Davis. But we’re talking about arguably the best 4-3 Mike ‘backer in football changing positions. How often does that happen?

The Charlotte Observer recently took a look at Carolina’s new middle linebacker, Dan Connor.

A lot of people forget that Connor was expected to be an instant starter coming out of Penn State in 2008 (of course, people expect every Penn State linebacker to be an instant starter in the NFL). But he fell to the third round and was drafted by a Carolina team that was already loaded at linebacker. Thus, his first two seasons in the league have been spent on special teams.

Now Connor has the opportunity of a lifetime. And, wisely, he’s leaning heavily on Beason’s guidance.

"I talk to him multiple times each day," Connor said. "Doesn't matter where, and he doesn't care. He's great. He's always there for me. That's what a great leader does. He's been priceless, just unbelievable."

Connor can play all three linebacker positions, but he’s most comfortable inside. It’s surprising the Panthers didn’t try him on the strong side though. Not only would that have kept Beason in the middle, it would have also meant the D would not have to rely on undersized James Anderson (235 pounds) to play in traffic.

It will be interesting to see if the Panthers stick with this linebacking personnel throughout the entire season.

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A story that has flown under the radar is the position change of Panthers linebacker Jon Beason. The best 4-3 middle linebacker in football could be moving to the weak side to fill the void left created by Thomas Davis’s injury (Davis is out for a second-straight year after tearing his ACL again).

Recall that Beason was drafted out of Miami to play weakside linebacker; he only moved inside because of injuries to Dan Morgan. But since taking over at Mike, he’s become nothing short of a superstar. Beason’s football IQ and sideline-to-sideline speed are fantastic. He’s also adroit in coverage and a fierce hitter. It’s odd to see a top echelon player get relocated.

But Carolina wants to get third-year pro Dan Connor in the starting lineup. The Panthers don’t believe Connor has enough speed to play in space on the weak side and, for whatever reason, they don’t seem inclined to move James Anderson out of the strongside spot. Anderson, however, is a tad undersized and not ideal for lining up over the tight end.

Thus, Connor will man the middle, relegating Beason to the weak side. The weakside ‘backer is a prominent run-defender in Ron Meeks’s Cover 2 scheme, but not as prominent as the Mike (regardless of what Carolina says). Instead of forcing Connor into the lineup (by the way, he was very average as a spot starter last season), the Panthers should consider replacing Davis with former Bear Jamar Williams. They’de compromising strength for speed there, but at least they wouldn’t be reshuffling the strongest part of their D.

--Andy Benoit

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