Cameron Jones

DCPanthersfans.com

Well this is it folks.

Now or never.

Our slim chances of playing in January rely on us somehow getting enough energy up to face a Pittsburgh team that has won four of five.

If I don’t sound like I’m oozing with confidence, it’s because I’m not. Anyone who saw last week’s game would agree. Now it looks as if we have to ride the Chris Weinke wagon once again. Forgive me for not leaping into the air in a fit of joy.

I know Weinke threw for 423 yards but he attempted 61 passes and threw three costly interceptions. Our key to winning has always been if we could pound the ball on the ground and we just gave up on that last week. I don’t like giving advice because I’m not a coach and they are more qualified than me to run a team but this is my two cents for the year: bench Foster and start DeAngelo the rest of the year. No one would argue that Williams has looked much better with the ball than DeShaun has. He’s quicker on the first step, he hits the hole harder and he has better open field speed. Keep in mind this is coming from a guy who was the biggest Foster fan up until this year. I remember always favoring him over Stephen Davis and secretly getting excited whenever Davis went down with an injury so that number 20 (now 26) could show off.

I attended Foster’s first game as a pro in 2002, a preseason game against the Jets if I’m correct and he didn’t disappoint. His first ever run, he took it on the left side and bolted 60 yards for a touchdown. It absolutely floored the crowd there mostly because in their history, Carolina has never had an explosive running back and Foster was showing signs he could be the guy. But ever since 02, Foster has been injury plagued and inconsistent. Every time we think he’s ready for his breakout year, something happens (injury, other guys fill the role).

This year, much was expected of DeShaun. Stephen Davis was let go in the off-season so now the starting job was all his. And in a move, partially I believe because the coaching staff wanted to keep pressure on him, the Panthers drafted DeAngelo Williams as a reminder that Foster would have to be sharp to keep the job. But this year, Foster has looked sluggish. In the St. Louis game where the Panthers racked up 250 yards of rushing, Foster only managed 63 of them while 138 went to Williams. It’s looking more and more like Foster’s career in Carolina might be over before it ever really got started. Running backs have the shortest shelf life of any position on the field and at 27, Foster isn’t getting any younger. I hope that I’m wrong about him because I, along with everyone else, want to see him succeed.

Hopefully, he can get jumpstarted this weekend against the Steelers. If he doesn’t, our season, like his career, will be going nowhere fast.