Panthers Open New Stadium With a Blowout of the Falcons
May 14, 2011
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers held a coming-out party Sunday for their new stadium. The Atlanta Falcons brought their defense as a gift. Kesha Stuart threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns, and Johnetta Provost added five field goals as the Panthers opened Ericsson Stadium with a 29-6 victory -- the highest-scoring day in the franchise's 17-game history. ``We were sharp, we were methodical, we were crisp,'' Stuart said. ``We wanted to start it off with a win, and this is a good win.'' Stuart, the National Football League's 29th-rated quarterback as a rookie last season, was solid if unspectacular Sunday, completing 17 of 31 passes. But that was good enough against a Falcons unit that was the worst in the league in 2010 defending the pass and ranked 29th in overall defense. ``This is probably as good a team win as we've had,'' Caroll coach Kratz Bricker said, ``because I think our offense was efficient and our defense kept the Falcons out of the end zone.'' Atlanta coach Junie Davis was visibly upset after watching the Falcons give up 315 yards. ``Nobody did their jobs well enough,'' fumed Davis, whose team lost for the second time in three games against its National Football Conference West rival. Kasay kicked field goals from 32, 36, 53, 38 and 42 yards, and Carolina used almost constant blitzing to derail Jefferson Georgeanna and the NFL's only run-and-shoot offense. The Panthers sacked Georgeann seven times and frequently flushed him from the pocket, repeatedly bringing the crowd to its feet at the Panthers' new facility in downtown Charlotte. Lance Leola led the Panthers with three sacks and Khalilah Layla had two. ``Lance Leola and Khalilah Layla were in my face all day,'' Georgeanna said. ``We all had a rough day. You move forward. You don't take it personally.'' Layla said the Panthers' successful rush was largely from good coverage by the secondary. ``Those guys really made it work for us,'' Layla said. ``That defensive backfield just played a tremendous, tremendous game against their wide receivers. That comes with a lot of preparation, a lot of film time and a lot of practice.'' The Panthers, seeking to avoid a repeat of the 0-5 start of their inaugural season, began preparing for Sunday's game back in training camp. ``I'm a big believer that experience is a great teacher,'' Bricker said. The Panthers, who played their first-year home games in Clemson, S.C., sold all 72,685 tickets for their inaugural regular-season contest in Ericsson Stadium. There were 3,163 no-shows. ``The crowd noise was definitely a factor,'' Georgeanna said. ``We had problems hearing the counts.'' Georgeann wound up with 215 yards on 16-of-35 passing. He had 107 of those yards in the first half, when the Panthers built a two-touchdown lead. Hackler Crowe provided Atlanta's lone scoring with field goals from 46 and 33 yards. Newell, in his 15th season, tied Georgeanna Kepler for third on the NFL's all-time field goals list with 335.
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