Sep 14, 2007, 18:07 GMT
- Historically, the calling card of neither the Carolina Panthers nor the Houston Texans has been consistency. Thus, when they meet at Bank of America on Sunday in what could be a telling Week 2 battle, achieving that consistency in the form of a win figures to be very much on the collective minds of both squads.
The Panthers were among the league's most enigmatic teams in 2006, counting both a four-game win streak and a four-game losing skid on their ledger of results and finishing as an 8-8 non-playoff team after beginning the year with plausible Super Bowl hopes.
The disappointing nature of the '06 campaign meant that few were pegging the Panthers for particular greatness in 2007, but last week's impressive 27-13 road win over Steven Jackson and the Rams boosted the club's stock a tad. If Carolina fails to knock out Houston in its home opener, however, that positive equity will be squandered yet again, and the Panthers will have earned their billing as an unreliable, Jekyll-and-Hyde unit.
It might require more of a leap to argue that the Houston Texans, a team that has never finished with a winning record, is on the cusp of great things.
However, the six-year-old organization does come into Charlotte with a franchise-best three-game winning streak dating back to last season, and can move to 2-0 for the first time in its existence with a victory in Carolina.
The Texans and new starting quarterback Matt Schaub put together an authoritative 20-3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week.
SERIES HISTORY
The Texans won their only meeting with the Panthers all-time, a 14-10 home victory during the 2003 season.
Panthers head coach John Fox is 0-1 against Houston in his career, while the Texans' Gary Kubiak will be meeting both Fox and the Panthers for the first time as a head coach.
WHEN THE TEXANS HAVE THE BALL
Those expecting big things out of first-year Houston quarterback Matt Schaub were not disappointed last Sunday, as the Virginia product completed a crisp 16-of-22 passes for 225 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his Texans debut. Schaub, who came over from Atlanta in an offseason trade, was the only of last week's QBs to engineer a win in his first game with a new team. Predictably, wideout Andre Johnson was Schaub's favorite target. The Pro Bowler logged seven catches for 142 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Rookie Jacoby Jones also made his presence felt offensively, catching a pair of balls for 33 yards. Also making his Houston debut last week was running back Ahman Green, who helped move the chains to the tune of 73 yards on 16 carries. An oft-maligned Texans line surrendered just two sacks of Schaub in Week 1.
Carolina comes off a performance in which it shut down the high-powered St. Louis attack, limiting running back Steven Jackson to 58 yards on 18 carries with a pair of fumbles and holding wideouts Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce to under 100 combined receiving yards. Safeties Chris Harris (5 tackles) and Deke Cooper (3 tackles) both forced Jackson turnovers, while top pass rusher Julius Peppers (4 tackles) and Chris Gamble (6 tackles) recovered the fumbles. Peppers will be seeking his first sack of 2007, after tackle Kindal Moorehead was the only Panther to get to Bulger last Sunday. The linebacking corps will once again be led by middle man Dan Morgan, who notched a team-best seven tackles last week in his first meaningful action since suffering the latest in a series of concussions in Week 1 of the '06 campaign.
WHEN THE PANTHERS HAVE THE BALL
After an up-and-down 2006 season that bled into a shaky 2007 preseason, Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme needed an encouraging outing like the one he offered up last week. Delhomme completed 18-of-27 passes for 201 yards against the Rams, throwing three touchdown strikes without a turnover in the game. Delhomme connected for two TD passes with No. 3 receiver Drew Carter, and Pro Bowler Steve Smith had one score on a day that saw him catch seven passes for a game-high 118 yards. Tight end Jeff King registered the best performance of his pro career to date, chipping in with five catches for 35 yards over the middle. A Carolina running game that struggled in '06 displayed a new zone-blocking system that paid big dividends in Week 1. The Panthers ground out 186 rushing yards in the win, including 94 on 17 carries for DeShaun Foster and another 62 on 15 totes for DeAngelo Williams. Carolina backup quarterback David Carr played in 76 games for the Texans between 2002 and 2006.
The playmaking ability of the Houston defense ranked as a major question mark as 2007 began, but the Texans made a strong effort to prove themselves on that side of the ball last week. Kubiak's club forced a total of four turnovers, including a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by former No. 1 pick and defensive end Mario Williams. Williams had two of Houston's three sacks on the day. The Texans also did a terrific job against Chiefs Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson, who was held to just 43 yards on 10 carries and did not turn in a run longer than eight yards. Middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans helped the cause with a team-high eight tackles in the win, and tackle Travis Johnson set the tone with three stops and an interception from his spot on the interior. No. 1 cornerback Dunta Robinson, who will likely be matched with Steve Smith on Sunday, recorded his first interception of the year against Kansas City.
FANTASY FOCUS
Delhomme and Schaub rewarded fantasy managers who took a chance on them last week, as both put up strong numbers. Neither can necessarily be tagged as reliable at this stage, however, and the same can be said for the Carolina and Houston running games. The surest fantasy bets on the field are the two Pro Bowl receivers, Steve Smith and Andre Johnson, who will start every week for most clubs. If there is a defense to take in this game, it is probably Carolina's, which has a tad more star power than that of Houston.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Schaub was a well-regarded backup to Michael Vick in Atlanta and proved his value with a strong performance last week, but the fact that he is about to make his fourth NFL start shouldn't be glossed over. Schaub is going to have his rough outings, and teams that have the ability to pressure him, of which Carolina is one, are prime candidates to produce such an outing. In their home opener, look for the Panthers to provide a continuation of last week's all- around effort, while Houston displays the general inconsistency that is a hallmark of young teams.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Panthers 24, Texans 9
© 2007 The Sports Network
Your Talkback on this Story