Empty the Bench

- That right there is an official NFL football, tumbling away on the green grass of Bank of America Stadium from sacked, hit, battered, flustered, aging, and rattled quarterback Jake Delhomme, who turned the ball over five times (4 INTs, 1 fumble) for the Carolina Panthers on his way to a miserable 14.7 QB Rating and a 38-10 trouncing at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.

A perfect 8-0 at home last season, the Panthers were one of many teams who just didn’t bother to show up on Sunday—and the dismal performance from Delhomme has to already be a huge area of concern for the Panthers. Yes, the Iggles traditionally employ an attacking, blitzing, aggressive defensive scheme, but that unit has suffered a number of significant injuries and went into Week 1 as a largely unproven commodity; don’t forget, the all-knowing oddsmakers in Vegas had this one pegged with just a ½ point spread in favor of Philly. In other words, this one was a toss-up.

A toss-up, that is, until the walls came tumbling down around Delhomme and the Panthers in the second quarter, which included a Delhomme fumble, above, returned for a touchdown, a punt-return touchdown by DeSean “My Fantasy Team Savior” Jackson, two Donovan McNabb touchdown passes, and a whole lots of groans from the home crowd.

It’s only one game, and Carolina still has one of the best running back tandems in the NFL to lean on. Still, that quarterback situation—Josh McCown is the backup, Matt Moore is the third-stringer—is a serious threat to this team’s postseason ambitions.

- As ugly as Carolina’s performance was, it wasn’t much prettier in Cincinnati. Carson Palmer stunk (21-33, 247 yards, 2 INTs), Kyle Orton wasn’t much better in his Denver Broncos debut, and a game that many thought would end up somewhere in the 35-31 range instead revealed itself as an unwatchable 12-7 slug-a-thon. The day’s worst game did yield the day’s best play—that game-ending 87-yard miracle to Brandon Stokley—but something tells me Bronco fans were just as thrilled with Jay Cutler’s tank job in Green Bay as they were with their team’s last-minute win.

- Drew Brees still commands the league’s most dynamic offense. The Detroit Lions still can’t rush the passer, check elite wide receivers, or win games. Some things never change.

- I started second-year Chicago Bears WR Earl Bennett in one league this week as my WR3, and though his numbers weren’t huge (7 catches, 66 yards), it was enough to help me eek out a narrow head-to-head win … and I may have just lucked onto my semi-regular WR3 play. Though Bennett didn’t catch a single pass during his rookie season, the second-year wideout played with Cutler at Vanderbilt, and that rapport was obvious on Sunday night.

Of Cutler’s 36 pass attempts, I’m guessing Bennett was targeted with 13 of those — he won’t necessarily get that many every week, but this is one trend that’s not going away. Get Bennett on your radar, especially with matchups against Detroit, Seattle, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Arizona, and San Francisco looming after their tough matchup in Week 2 at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

- Last weekend I named Indianapolis Colts RB Donald Brown as one of 10 players to watch with a fantasy slant on Sunday. His debut went about as expected: 11 carries for 33 yards, 2 catches for 16 yards in his team’s ho-hum 14-12 win at Jacksonville. It’s worth noting, however, that starter Joseph Addai wasn’t exactly spectacular in the featured role either, rushing 17 times for 42 yards, 1 TD, and 1 fumble lost; he also caught 5 passes for 35 yards.

That’s actually a closer split in touches than I was expecting this early in the season, and it bodes well for Brown. I said it Saturday and I’ll say it again: Brown is the back of the (near) future in Indianapolis.

Possibly Related Content:

1. Week 2 Monday Morning Hangover, Starring an Old Man and a Stupid Kicker


2. Week 1 Monday Morning NFL Hangover, Where the Cincinnati Bungles Get Creative


3. Week 5 Monday Morning Hangover, Where Miles Austin Goes Apeshit on the Chiefs


4. Week 4 Monday Morning Hangover, Where It’s Time to Call It a Day on JaMarcus Russell


5. Week 3 Monday Morning Hangover, Where the Lions Get King Kong Off Their Back