This time I came prepared, staying in my seat with a poncho on when the rain came.  Thankfully, it only lasted like 15-20 minutes and that would be it for the rain. 

Overall, I was pleased with how many of our guys have come along, but of course not everyone can give us something positive to feel good about.  With that said, here are my observations from Saturday nights game against Carolina.

Our 1st team D came out playing great.  The D line was pushing Carolina's O line back, and our linebackers were all over the place.  I can remember plays in which Channing Crowder and Akin Ayodele caught guys in the backfield, and actually, so did Joey Porter. 

Unfortunately, the positivity went away after all the missed tackles on DeAngelo Williams ridiculous TD run.  We had him wrapped up for a loss and somehow he got away, breaking around 3-4 tackles en route to a TD.   Tony Sparano let his D on the sideline as they came off the field and game them one hell of a tongue-lashing.

After that, Carolina started running more play action plays that helped their TE's get open.  That was probably the biggest problem for our D (not only the 1st team)...covering the TE's.

Coming back from a not so great performance against Jacksonville, our starting O line sent a message last night.  "We are good".   Justin Smiley and Donald Thomas stood out to me with their pass blocking, and Smiley looked very quick when pulling off the line to block outside. 

Also saw some good blocking from Anthony Fasano.  When he got his hooks into someone, they didn't get away. 

Sparano screaming rant #2:  Davone Bess dropped what would've been a nice gain and Sparano almost came on the field to yell at him. 

We finally broke out the Wildcat and I don't understand why some people we're upset.  We didn't reveal anything new, just ran some base plays that still gave the D issues.  And that flea-flicker pass play from Ronnie to Ricky to Pennington to Cobbs...I think it's the same play we ran against Houston last year.  So if you're worried, don't be.  Supposedly the new wrinkles are going to be insane.

Punt coverage was good.  A little over-aggressive early, but I liked seeing our coverage team getting down field early.  Even punter Brandon Fields was running hard to make a tackle, and was the victim of a pretty obvious holding penalty (no call, of course).

Patrick Turner is looking like a pro.  Seems to always be in the correct position, whether it be through route running or blocking.  Also shows no regard for his body when going after balls.  I love that.

So....how about that kid Vontae?  You can take every negative thing that he did against the Jaguars and turn it into a positive against the Panthers.  His immature decision-making on Monday was morphed into wise aggression last night.  He showed no hesitation going for tackles, and those massive biceps didn't allow anyone to get away.  The excitement he shows is great to watch; his combination of skill and swagger could make him into something really special.

One few poor-to-average returns and a badly botched punt led to Chris Williams demise.  After fumbling a punt deep in Miami territory (on a ball that hit him right in the facemask) he didn't get another opportunity.  Brian Hartline, Anthony Armstrong and Davone Bess did the remainder of the returning. 

Patrick Cobbs is still the quick, explosive playmaker we remember from last season.  I also think his blocking has improved.  He was very quick at stop-gapping, which is good considering Cobbs will get plenty of 2nd and 3rd down reps. 

Patrick Turner is coming along nicely.  He's still running routes well, and last night was using his large body to shield off defenders.  While looking a little unsure at times, his size and soft hands will help him adjust.

Chad Henne looked very poised and accurate.  I have no problem with him running our offense.  He's smart, just like Pennington, in that he won't try to force things when he has a back to dump the ball off to. 

Lex Hilliard is just a beast!  I really hope we can find room for him on our roster.  He shows a great skill set; very explosive and good at hitting holes, he shows no hesitation and gives you that ‘always running downhill' feeling.   Oh yeah, he also has great hands. 

Poor Anthony Armstrong.  Once a shot to making the roster, he has really faded into the backdrop.  His one stand out play was a dropped 3rd down pass on a crossing route that would've gone for a 1st down. 

Another guy who I thought had a great game was Paul Soliai.  He was getting great penetration into the Carolina backfield, disrupting running plays.  There were no ‘taking plays off' for Paul, as he was instead moving guys around quite well. 

Cameron Wake should've had a sack in the 3rd quarter when he wrestled Josh McCown to the ground, but the ref ruled that he wasn't down when throwing the ball away, which was a terrible call.  But the refs were pretty terrible all game.  I've never seen a play where on a fumbled punt, the same guy who initially recovers the ball and then leaves the pile still holding the ball is not given possession.  Can someone explain that to me?  I think it was Courtney Bryan who recovered that punt, but possession was given to Carolina.  Have fun in the CFL you crappy ref crew. 

Oh yeah...does anybody remember Josh McCown?  Pretty sure he was competing to be our starting quarterback just a little more then a year ago.  Funny how much can change in a year.  Think about how we were feeling about our team at that time.  Puts things into perspective, for me anyways. 

Chris Clemens is also slowly coming along.  His positioning always seems to be good, and the effort he shows on punt coverage has to really please the coaches.  He made a nice tackle on a 4th quarter punt and always appears to be giving 110%.

Did anyone else notice how crazy everyone on the team went when Joe Kowalewski caught the final touchdown of the game?  First it was Kowalewski going nuts in the end zone, pumping his fists.  Then he was greeted at the sideline by Jason Ferguson, Jason Taylor, Akin Ayodele who all pummeled him with high fives and friendly shoves.  Then it was Coach Sparano's turn, who hit him in the helmet with his clipboard and also give some playful shoves.  Then Greg Camarillo jumped on Kowalewski's shoulder.  Did anyone else know how big of an impact this guy had on the team?  Everyone really seems to love him!