Cameron Jones

DCPanthersfans.com

Apologies all around for not getting a preview column up this week, but it has been a hectic time for me and it couldn’t be helped. So as a bonus, my week in review is actually happening right after the game! I do what I can.

Unfortunately, we came up short this week against the other Queen City (more on that in a minute). I guess the win streak had to end sometime. The story of the game really seemed to be missed opportunities. We had the ball a good many times but never seemed to drive down the field to get in position for a score when we needed to. All of us as Panther fans know this team is capable of putting up way more than just the 14 points today especially against a banged up Bengals defense. Credit them for hanging in there after each of our scores but it was a game that Carolina will look back and on and say it let slip away.

I really thought when we got the ball late in the fourth quarter that we were going to win. Just seeing the confidence in Jake’s eyes when he’s out there puts hope in the eyes of any one backing him and the team. A lot of people will question just kicking for overtime but I believe the end zone was the correct call and would never second guess it. You have to go for the win on the road late in the game if you get the opportunity plus I’ve never believed in the “Mike Martz” philosophy of playing for overtime. I single out Martz due to his mind boggling decision with over a minute to play against us in the 2004 NFC Divisional game to just sit on the ball even though he had an offense that consisted of Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Marshall Faulk. Of course, the Panthers beat the Rams in OT and go on to the Super Bowl eventually. But today was one of the few times that Jake couldn’t pull through and he’ll bounce back from it.

Something I randomly thought about during the game today: Cincinnati calls itself the “Queen City.” Funny because that’s what we call our city. Everybody knows Queen Charlotte (wife of King George III) but I haven’t read up on Queen Cincinnati. Since it is historical fact that Charlotte was founded in the 1750’s and Cincinnati in 1788, I think there should be a petition drawn up to disallow the nickname usage for them. Apparently they have a few nicknames for their city so use one of them. Also, their stadium outlines with the Bengal tiger’s eyes peering menacingly at the field is an exact replica of the Panther drawing on our field outline and since their stadium is newer than ours, change that while you’re at it. Is Cincinnati trying to model itself after us? The question should be asked and it’s odd if you ask me.

This will be a big lead up week for us as we get our first national television appearance on NBC for a Sunday night showdown against the ‘boys from Dallas. At least we’ll have massive support from this area right? Every bit helps. More to come in the preview later this week.