Panthers' Clausen benched in favor of Moore - Ok, whatever

Carolina Panthers coach John Fox released a statement today saying that Matt Moore will return to replace Danny Clausen as quarterback.

This "quarterback controversy" isn't exactly Montana vs. Young or Jurgensen vs. Kilmer. Whatever Fox' gut tells him to do is ok I guess. Whomever practices better probably should start. But the franchise needs to decide if Clausen is the future or Moore is the future.

"We have struggled on offense since the beginning of the season and sometimes it helps to step back and watch and Matt has had a chance to do that," Fox said today.

Somehow I think the Panthers intended to stick with Clausen when he took over, not merely give Moore a break to observe. Perhaps both quarterbacks have a future in the NFL but it doesn't appear that this season will be good for either. It probably doesn't matter which guy is quarterbacking as far as wins but it might as far as developing the future.

The Panthers, who play 1-5 San Francisco Sunday, stand at 0-5 and are one of two teams who are winless - the Bills are the other.

NFL Note: At FedEx Field Sunday night, about 50 Washington Redskins alumni were introduced including former Duke and Wilmington product Sonny Jurgensen. When the new HD television screen showed Jurgensen, his name was misspelled as "Jurgenson." You'd think that a five-time all-pro who threw for more than 32,000 yards and was proclaimed by legendary coach Vince Lombardi as the best quarterback he'd ever seen, could have his name spelled correctly by his own team.

Pressure now on young Carolina receivers

North Carolina senior Zack Pianalto is one of the best tight ends the Tar Heels have ever had - Alge Crumpler and Charles Waddell come to mind as two of the school's best ever - and the fact that he fractured his right fibula in Saturday's win at Virginia puts renewed pressure on Carolina's offense.

Pianalto is one of the team leaders, a tough kid who doesn't complain and a senior who committed early to Butch Davis. His loss will put pressure on offensive coordinator John Shoop, who has used him creatively, and T.J. Yates, who has gone to Pianalto in clutch situations. There's a reason why Pianalto leads the Tar Heels with 30 receptions for 311 yards and one touchdown. He already has the school record for career receptions by a tight end at 94.

Carolina's receivers, though young, have been strong, and continue to find ways to make plays. Dwight Jones went nuts at Virginia, and Erik Highsmith and Jheranie Boyd give the Heels a talented threesome there. The challenge for Yates, and Shoop, will be finding the confidence in a receiver to match what they had in Pianalto.

Pianalto was out five games last year, suffering an injury at Connecticut and missing the next five contests. The receiver who flourished in that span was Greg Little, who had 23 catches over those five games .Of course, Little is not an option this season. Erik Highsmith snatched six balls per game in the first two after Pianalto went down, but only three total in the three games following. Boyd (seven catches) and Jones (two) were no factors with Pianalto out.

Of course, those receivers are all more experienced this season, and UNC will need them in a tough stretch ahead.

Carolina's 4-2 record is remarkable under the circumstances

North Carolina started this season 0-2 on the field and a heavy underdog to the NCAA investigators, but you have to give credit to Butch Davis, his staff and players for the way they have turned around this season.

First of all, the Tar Heels have played with fire and emotion in every game. They lost to LSU when Zack Pianalto couldn't hold an endzone pass because he was fouled, but Pianalto had the grace to refuse to blame the officials. Looking back, that was a remarkable effort by UNC, which went on television facing national humilation but nearly rallied to beat a team that is now undefeated and ranked No. 7 in the BCS.

Carolina really should have beaten Georgia Tech after that, but an inexperienced secondary let it down. That left the Tar Heels 0-2, with the future of many of its best players uncertain.

Four straight wins have followed, all of them impressive. The Heels won at Rutgers, beat East Carolina and Clemson at home and then crushed Virginia on the road for the first time since 1981. There are a number of reasons for the record. T.J. Yates has had a steady hand, Johnny White is sixth in the ACC in rushing at 77.3 yards per game, the offenisve line is improved with a true freshman at left tackle, the receivers have grown up and the depth on defense has minimized the exceptional losses there.

The stretch ahead is brutal, except for a home game with William & Mary Oct. 30. But regardless of how this plays out, Carolina has righted itself, at least on the field, despite tough circumstances.

Bad defense costly for Duke, Wake

You can't hide a poor defense, and that's the problem now for Duke and Wake Forest.The Deacons have had their moments under Jim Grobe, and the Devils have new hopes under David Cutcliffe, but the 2010 season, despite the ACC's mediocrity, has underscored how difficult it is to win at those schools.

Duke is 0-3 and 1-5 and Wake 1-3 and 2-5, but the reason for those numbers is they are both dead last in the ACC in scoring defense. The Devils are at the bottom at 37.8 and Wake is No. 11 at 37.7. To put that in perspective, no other ACC team is giving up 26 points per game.

Duke is now 1-9 over its last 10 games and Wake is 3-10 over its last 13.

ACC's reputation takes another hit as N.C. State falls at ECU

The ACC’s dreadful season in football took another hit Saturday with East Carolina’s overtime victory over N.C. State. The league has only one team – No. 16 Florida State – ranked in the AP Top 25 anyway and seems to take another blow to its dwindling football reputation each week.

 You have to give the Pirates credit. Skip Holtz took a program that had collapsed under John Thompson and turned it into a Conference USA power. With Holtz gone, bringing in ECU graduate Ruffin McNeill seemed like a stretch, at best.

But McNeill’s creative offense and passion for the school has led to a 4-2 record for the first time since 2000. The defense has still held only one opponent under 27 points, but the Pirates were stout enough when they had to be against NCSU.

The loss for State is probably more annoying – given how the fan bases are interwoven – than devastating. The Wolfpack is still 5-2 and, at 2-1 in league play, on course for a critical game with Florida State in Raleigh on Thursday, Oct. 28. The winner of that could well wind up in Charlotte for the ACC title game.

State made great adjustments Saturday, reducing its number of defensive linemen to counter ECU’s passing attack. The Wolfpack's comeback, given the circumstances, was impressive. Mustafa Greene (16 carries, 75 yards) continued to emerge as threat at running back and Russell Wilson strafed ECU for 322 yards and a score, although his interception count continued to be high as he threw three more on Saturday.

But for the ACC, this was yet another smack in the gut. The dominant conferences continue to produce riveting games, like South Carolina’s upset of Alabama last week and Wisconsin’s stunner overOhio State Saturday, while the ACC bumbled along like the JV. Regionally, fans know that ECU beating a rival like N.C. State or North Carolina is no huge surprise, but nationally, it looks terrible for the ACC.