Oct 24 2004
Halftime: Panthers 6, Chargers 0
Well, now, I didn’t expect this.
John Fox made no excuses for his team’s performance, and his players have responded with an excellent first half in which San Diego RB LaDanian Tomlinson was neutralized by a Carolina front seven that has muscled up and a Carolina offense that has kept the ball out of LT’s hands. The Panthers dominated the time of possession, 20:51 to 9:09.
A lot of credit for that goes to Brad Hoover, filling in for all of Carolina’s injured running backs with a Mike Alstott-like smash mouth performance. Hoover has 78 yards on 19 carries. A Charger defender rolled over Hoover’s left arm in the 1st quarter, but the fullback from Western Carolina put a protective sleeve on his elbow and went back into the game.
Carolina also caught a break at the end of the first half when Chargers rookie kicker Nick Kaeding hooked a 28 yard field goal attempt and bounced it off the upright. Kaeding never should have had that opportunity, though. A highly questionable pass interference call against Panthers CB Ricky Manning put the Chargers in position to get that field goal attempt.
The Chargers defense has managed to hold the Panthers to two field goals — one of which was set up by Tomlinson fumbling on his first carry of the game — but after spending so much time on the field in the first half, they may tire a bit in the second half. Expect to see Hoover get the ball more in the second half…
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