Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Arizona 16 at Carolina 13 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Arizona Cardinals: WR David Boston continued his early season funk, with a 3 catch, 43-yard effort. Most disturbing were his 4 dropped passes, all of which should have been caught. RB Damien Anderson did an admirable job filling in for Thomas Jones and Marcel Shipp. He finished with 97 total yards, most of them were tough against a strong Carolina defense. While the run blocking for Arizona was okay, the pass blocking was weak. The Panthers only recorded one sack all day, but it was mostly due to the scrambling ability of Jake Plummer. Arizona at one time had 7 three-and-outs out of 9 possessions, and only had 33 total yards in the second half with 10:00 left on the clock. Much of the offensive production was in "garbage time." Carolina Panthers: RB Lamar Smith lost two huge fumbles. One gave Arizona the ball on the Carolina 30 and the other was in the Redzone as the Panthers were driving. He was ineffective running the ball as well. Keep a close eye on the availability of DeShaun Foster. The coaching staff in Carolina had QB Rodney Peete on a short leash all afternoon, rarely attempting a throw of over 15 yards. Most of his completions were for short gains. WR Muhsin Muhammad did not play once again with a hamstring injury. WR Isaac Byrd filled in nicely, with a 5 catch, 77- yard (8 targets) effort including Carolina's only touchdown of the game. WR Steve Smith was Rodney Peete's go-to guy once again, with 8 targets for the day, hauling in 5 of those passes. The announcers for Fox said during the game that they watched the Carolina offense practice on Friday, and did not see Rodney Peete throw to any other receiver besides Smith. Every day that Muhammad misses practice, Peete gains a better rapport with Steve Smith. TE Wesley Walls played through pain with a broken finger suffered earlier in the week, but did not even have a pass thrown to him until the third quarter. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Arizona Cardinals QB: Jake Plummer looked out of sync with his receiving corps, most noticeably with WR David Boston. He was rushed all day long, but scrambled to safety on all but one play, when he was sacked. Most of his fantasy stats were scored in garbage time at the end of the game. That's not uncommon for him. He seems to do better the less time and protection he has. RB: Damien Anderson got the starting nod as Thomas Jones and Marcel Shipp were both sidelined with injuries. Anderson made tough runs all day, but wasn't impressive enough for Jones or Shipp owners to press the panic button. He finished with 61 yards on 23 carries (2.7 ypc), and also had 3 receptions on the day. He was likely a one week fill in to get them to their bye week in week 6. WR: David Boston had another disappointing day on the field. He only caught 3 balls for 43 yards, but more importantly dropped 4 passes, all of which should have been caught. Boston looked out of sync with Jake Plummer on numerous passing plays. Missing practices every week definitely seems to be affecting his play on Sundays. He is still Plummer's favorite receiver though, with 11 targets. MarTay Jenkins was a non-factor for most of the game. Plummer did not even throw the ball once to him in the first half, and he only ended up with 2 receptions. (3 targets.) Frank Sanders was the leading receiver for the Cardinals with 70 yards on 4 catches, 2 of which came on Arizona's game winning drive late in the game. Sanders continues to not get looks in the red zone. TE: Jake Plummer continues to misuse his new weapon, Freddie Jones. Jones did score the game-tying touchdown on a nice little dump pass, but other than that was overlooked during the rest of the game. Giving him more looks would take some pressure off of David Boston, who is having the same problems as Terrell Owens is in San Francisco. Boston is getting double-teamed because other teams know that Plummer focuses on him to the point that many balls are forced. Rush Defense: The Arizona defense is starting to turn things around this year, after a horrendous start to the season. They held RB Lamar Smith in check, with the longest run of the day against them being but 9 yards. Pass Defense: The Arizona secondary put together their second straight solid effort. Carolina's game plan seemed to target CB Renaldo Hill. He was burned twice for 31 yards each time, but made up for it with 2 key fumble recoveries. DE Wendell Bryant had 1.5 sacks in only his second NFL start. Special Teams: Arizona had great coverage on their kicks, but on the flip side their return game was unspectacular. Bill Gramatica netted a 50-yard field goal with 16 seconds left to win the game. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Carolina Panthers QB: Rodney Peete played solid enough, but could not get the job done in the end. He did not complete a pass longer than 31 yards, and Carolina's average pass completion was 9.8 yards. He did not have any pressure on him at all, and his receivers had 4 dropped balls. Carolina's game plan is ball control, field position, and defense. Not exactly a recipe for fantasy quarterback success. RB: Lamar Smith had a mediocre effort, with 49 yards on just 18 carries (2.7 ypc.) Arizona stuffed the running game early, and in the second half Carolina got away from their game plan. Big news is that Smith had 2 key fumbles, both of which Arizona recovered. One he laid on the ground at Carolina's 30 yard line, giving Arizona excellent field position. The other he fumbled in the red zone, killing a great drive by Carolina that started the second half and had the Cardinal defense on their heels. It may not be long before John Fox's patience wears out and DeShaun Foster gets his chance. Don't forget about him if he's on your waiver wire. WR: With Muhsin Muhammad out, Steve Smith continued to be Rodney Peete's favorite (8) target. He finished with 5 receptions for 79 yards for the day. Once Muhammad comes back, Smith could be even more dangerous when he's not facing the #1 corner on each team. Isaac Byrd was a nice surprise for the Panthers, finishing with 5 catches, 77 yards, and a TD. He had a chance for a second touchdown but was tripped up by Renaldo Hill. No pass interference was called, but the infamous "make-up call" occurred the next time the football came Byrd's way. A breakout game like this should warrant him more playing time in the future. WR Anthony Bright was thrown to 3 times, with 2 drops. He seemed to be Carolina's big play target, and could be a name that comes up later in the year. TE: Wesley Walls was used sparingly, still smarting from his broken finger that he suffered on Thursday. He did not catch a pass until late in the third quarter, and was only targeted 4 times the entire game. Rush Defense: Carolina's front seven played formidable against the massive offensive line of the Cardinals. Dan Morgan led all defenders with 10 tackles. D. Anderson fought for all 61 rushing yards that he accrued. Pass Defense: Jake Plummer was harassed all day by the Panthers, but was only sacked once. Julius Peppers is definitely going to be someone special, as he and Leonard Davis fought all day long. Peppers is playing on raw ability right now, and once he gets technique should be a terror at left end. The secondary bullied David Boston, hitting him hard every time he touched the ball.