Panthers LB Kuechly doubtful vs. Texans

According to ESPN, the Texans have informed Mallett that he will take over the starting job for this week’s matchup against Carolina. It’s possible they have their opponent to thank just as much their play last Sunday.

That was not the case last Sunday, however. Bryan Hoyer completed 18 of 34 passes for 236 yards, one touchdown against one interception. The only completion of the three attempts came after Newton maneuvered his way out of what appeared to be a sure sack and hit Jerricho Cotchery for a 24-yard gain.

Eight times the Panthers reached Jacksonville territory this past Sunday, but came away with only 13 points. After all that, three subpar but not disastrous quarters are enough to swap quarterbacks? “We can’t start off like we did last week or it’s going to hurt us”.

“Luke doesn’t need to practice, I’ll promise you that much right now. This guy is a hell of a football player”. He understands and knows the game.

Kuechly suffered the concussion late in the first half at Jacksonville when he collided awkwardly with running back T.J.

If Kuechly doesn’t play, A.J.

“Another thing, you’ve got to look at who we’ve got coming up”, he said, citing the defending NFC South champions’ two divisional games after Houston against New Orleans and Tampa Bay. “To guess or assume would be unfair”. There’s never a health risk resting a player an extra week. He missed practice Wednesday after suffering a concussion against the Jaguars. When Benjamin went down, the media quickly dubbed Funchess his replacement, but even quicker, Ron Rivera and the Panthers shut that idea down.

“Can we capitalize better?” [Jerricho Cotchery] scored a touchdown on that. Because of that history, though, it’s likely Olsen will be more of a factor in the game plan going forward instead of an ancillary piece. That’s not our offense. He was named the starting quarterback his rookie season and was named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. Those two are wonderful athletes, but I still like seeing Thompson in coverage and not hunting ball carriers.

The Carolina Panthers always want to run the ball and that will be most important against the Texans. Still, there’s nothing to be overly concerned about after one quiet week from Olsen, especially in a win.