Published Sun, Oct 25, 2009 02:00 AM
Modified Sun, Oct 25, 2009 03:28 PM

Kyle, McCoy land with unbeaten teams

Article
Comments (0)

tool goes here

While Carolina continues to try to recover from a slow start, two long-time members of the Panthers organization are flourishing in new settings with unbeaten teams.

Jason Kyle, who was Carolina's long snapper the previous eight years, is now hiking the ball for the 5-0 New Orleans Saints, who just might be the best team in the NFC.

Kyle, 37, wanted to return to the Panthers, but their limited salary-cap room influenced the decision to go young at the position with J.J. Jansen.

Out West, 6-0 Denver's offensive coordinator is Mike McCoy, who was on Carolina's staff the previous nine seasons, most as quarterbacks coach.

McCoy, a close friend and valued mentor of Jake Delhomme, was passed over for the Panthers' coordinator job in 2007 when Jeff Davidson was hired. McCoy has helped develop quarterback Kyle Orton into a solid starter after the Broncos made the controversial decision to trade star Jay Cutler to Chicago in April.

Orton is the league's No.8 passer.

Perhaps it's just coincidence, but without McCoy by his side, Delhomme (10 interceptions in five games and No.33 passer ranking) is off to by far his slowest start in seven seasons with the Panthers.

Word is Redskins' management is obsessed with wanting to score 30 points in a game, something the team hasn't done in head coach Jim Zorn's 11/2 seasons. Only Detroit has failed to hit 30 in the same time span. While that's certainly not preferable, the notion of upper management being fixated on a certain point total is bizarre, to say the least.

Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, in only his third season, continues to show why he's one of the most amazing talents ever to play the position. He rushed for 143 yards last week against the Baltimore Ravens, the most a Ray Lewis-led defense has allowed in 11 years.

Peterson's blend of power, explosiveness and instantaneous cutting ability combines some of the best attributes of past greats like Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson and Eric Dickerson.

EMail Print Order Reprint

Share: Yahoo! Buzz

Text

tool goes here

Latest Comment View all comments

Sports Top Stories

Heels' five interceptions seal the win
Carolina's fourth and fifth interceptions of the game in the 4th quarter give the Heels a 31-13 win.
Miami's win knocks Duke out of bowl contention
With a 34-16 victory over Duke at Land Shark Stadium on Saturday, the Hurricanes ended any hope of the Blue Devils making a bowl game this season.
In-game: N.C. State at Virginia Tech
The Hokies have taken a 17-7 lead in the second quarter.
In-game: Radford @ Duke
Radford's got the zone part down but not the defense. Duke's shredding the Highlanders' ill-advised zone with 13 3-pointers for a 59-34 halftime lead at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
College Football Roundup
Get recaps from all of Saturday's games
Tudor: UNC will learn from loss
While Friday’s 87-71 loss to Syracuse was both staggering and humiliating for North Carolina’s basketball team, the experience should provide the Tar Heels with a valuable measuring stick.
Hahn misses broadcast after surgery
N.C. State play-by-play broadcaster Gary Hahn isn't working today's game at Virginia Tech because he is recovering from prostate cancer surgery.
Bible doesn't make trip with N.C. State
N.C. State offensive coordinator Dana Bible did not make the trip to Virginia Tech for today's 3:30 p.m. game, school sports information director Annabelle Myers said this afternoon.
Orange crushes Heels
The chants of "over-rated!" began with about three minutes left Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Frankly, they could have begun a whole lot sooner.
Mustangs oust Hornets
Middle Creek used a big second quarter Friday night on its home field to edge out Durham Hillside 24-19 and advance to the third round of the NCHSAA 4-A state playoffs.