The Patriots end their bye week hiatus tonight as they take on the suddenly surging Carolina Panthers in Charlotte.

The Panthers are 6-3 and coming off a win last week over the San Francisco 49ers. The Patriots will be without defensive backs Alfonzo Dennard and Steve Gregory and the status of Aqib Talib is still unknown, though it seems like he has a decent chance to play.

There are two schools of thought on this game – one says the Panthers are actually being a bit overrated and that the Patriots can spread them out and throw at them. The others says that this is the type of team that has traditionally given the Patriots fits – a team with a big strong defensive line that can get pressure on the QB by just rushing four.

It’s a big week for the Patriots as after tonight they face Peyton Manning and the Broncos next Sunday night. The Broncos beat the Chiefs last night, but Wes Welker suffered a concussion, which raises some questions about his availability this week. I’d guess if at all possible, he plays this week. But wouldn’t it be ironic if Danny Amendola plays but Welker doesn’t?

Further, the Broncos put Welker back into the game last night even after he suffered a concussion. Can you even imagine the national outrage if Bill Belichick put Welker back into the game after a concussion?

Catch all of the coverage for tonight over at PatriotsLinks.com.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football kicks off around 8:40 pm. Locally, the game will be broadcast on WCVB Channel 5. Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden are on the call, and Tirico had a sit-down with Tom Brady on Sportscenter last night:

http://player.espn.com/player.js?playerBrandingId=4ef8000cbaf34c1687a7d9a26fe0e89e&adSetCode=91cDU6NuXTGKz3OdjOxFdAgJVtQcKJnI&pcode=1kNG061cgaoolOncv54OAO1ceO-I&width=525&height=295&externalId=espn:9994748&thruParam_espn-ui%5BautoPlay%5D=false&thruParam_espn-ui%5BplayRelatedExternally%5D=true

The Bruins are also in action tonight, and they too are in North Carolina, taking on the Hurricanes. That game is on NESN at 7:00 pm.  Check all the Bruins news at BruinsLinks.com.

There have been some that have insisted that Rajon Rondo was not long for Boston, and that Danny Ainge would trade him as soon as he could. Apparently though, the Knicks have called, and Ainge said no thanks. The two teams might discuss other swaps though – check all the chatter at CelticsLinks.com.

Glenn Ordway’s debut on Sirius XM this weekend was delayed by technical issues.

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Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

3 thoughts on “Patriots/Panthers Set For Monday Night Tilt”

  1. Bruce did a nice job batting down Salk’s “wondering” whether the Pats beat up on the AFC East only. The winning % vs AFC is .744 and is .717 vs rest of league. You could make the case that the record vs rest of league is more impressive since by winning the AFC East (virtually) every year they play two other winners from other AFC divisions. And, taking it one step further, since they never have to play the best team from the AFC East (the Patriots) they have somewhat underperformed expectations against the division. Or maybe the AFC East is a better division than people think.

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  2. “due to tech issues on my end” ???

    Is Ordway broadcasting from his “mother’s basement” or something?

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    1. Yes, well, sort of. A lot of SXM’s talent broadcast from their homes or other place with somewhat minimal equipment. Many of their shows are co-hosted by people in very different parts of the country.

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