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We are seven games into the thirteen game season , the halfway point.Of my four CSR leagues first up is the staff league, CSR1. In the lead is last year’s runner up, Catastropheand his Fan2C Allstars (6-1) followed by Ivan’s FC Carolina (6-1) and Jon DeLong’s DeLong-er DeBetter (4-3). My defending champion team Mr. Totes McCaffrey (3-4) is in 4th but leading the Black Division. Still in the mix for a playoff spot obviously.KeepPounding88 is a miraculous 0-7. It takes some really bad luck to not win at least one week. I mean, Beau-lieve in Bersin got lucky once, if he can do it you can. Congrats on that perfect start though KP88! In CSR 13, we have a lot of parity. Seven of twelve teams are 4-3 or 3-4. My team Gaulden Showers (5-2) is in third place behind only ‘Ol Brass Balls (6-1) and ARMAHgeddon (5-2).This is Spartanburg (1-6) is clearly reflecting one of the more ugly days at Wofford. The Cardiac Cats (2-5) are likewise on life support. A sixth loss all but eliminates them from contention.Easily my worst team is Kuechin that Ass (3-4)in CSR59. I went heavy with WRs early in this draft (AB, Evans, Thielen) and I’m paying the price. My quarterback and running back positions are just too weak. In the lead so far is ShitOuttaLuke (6-1), Luke at it Again (6-1) and Made you Luke (5-2).Bringing up the rear is The Fighting Bookies (1-6), Luuuuuke (1-6) and Gnuke Gnuechly (2-5). They need to pick it up as they are embarrassing their namesake. Finally we have CSR IDP 2 where my team It Makes Gano Sense (5-2) is in second place overall and my division. In first is I Need More Cowbell (5-2), love that name by the way, with Wanted in Two States (4-3) in third. ChrisB Creme (1-6) is stinking it up. Nothing crisp there. Inteus89 (2-5) is a game ahead but 0-4 in their division.Feel free to provide any rebuttals if you dare!Panthers 31 Bengals 21: 3 plays to love, 3 plays to hate from Carolina’s Week 3 win Plays to Love, Plays to Hate (aka “P2L, P2H”) looks at the most significant plays in swinging momentum and impacting the eventual outcome of the game. There is always plenty to hate about NFL officiating, so we will only focus on the plays on the field , not the refs.Three plays to love2nd Quarter 2:56 – Panthers 14, Bengals 14. Carolina ball 2nd-and-4 at CIN 24The Situation: Both teams had put up 14 points late in the second quarter. The Panthers were nearing the red zone as the half wound down.The Play: This “Play to Love” goes to offensive coordinator Norv Turner for designing one of the best misdirections I’ve ever seen. Just watch the play here. Long story short, Christian McCaffrey was split wide left then came in motion behind Cam Newton who was in shotgun. Cam faked a handoff to C.J. Anderson (going left) then sold a fake swing pass to CMC (still going right with his pre-snap motion). The defense bit hard on the McCaffrey decoy allowing Cam to pivot and throw back to Anderson who now had a convoy of pulling blockers - Tyler Larsen, Ryan Kalil, and Chris Clark. All three linemen were blocking 20-plus yards downfield and rumbled into the end zone alongside C.J. What a beautiful play design!3rd Quarter 9:35 – Panthers 21, Bengals 14. Cincinnati ball 1st-and-10 at CIN 24The Situation: The Bengals had just ripped off an 18-yard reception to get out of the shadows of their own end zone. It looked like the Panthers D might have to now defend against a long drive in a seven-point game. .The Play: James Bradberry jumped a route on a pass intended for Josh Malone and the deflected pass bounced upward and toward the line of scrimmage. Efe Obada - making his NFL debut - came from nowhere to make an incredibly athletic diving interception, giving the Panthers possession at the Cincinnati 26. Carolina scored on the subsequent possession to go up 28-14. Yes, Obada should get tons of love for the incredible interception, but the play never happens without James Bradberry’s deflection. 4th Quarter 4:21 – Panthers 28, Bengals 21. Cincinnati ball 1st-and-10 at CIN 17The Situation: The Bengals took possession with just over four minutes remaining and trailing by seven points. These back-to-back “Plays to Love” killed any chance of a game-tying drive.The Play: On the first play of the series, Efe Obada went right through a pulling tight end blocker to immediately sack Andy Dalton for a seven-yard loss at the Cincy 7 yard line. On the next play, a desperate Dalton heaved an ill-advised bomb from his end zone which Donte Jackson easily picked off, effectively killing the Bengals last chance at a scoring drive. Great consecutive plays by two young defenders. Three plays to hate2nd Quarter 9:57 – Panthers 14, Bengals 7. Cincinnati ball 3rd-and-10 at CAR 49The Situation: On the previous play, Efe Obada appeared to strip-sack Andy Dalton and the Panthers recovered, but the call on the field was overturned as an incomplete pass. With Cincy facing 3rd-and-10 near midfield , the Panthers D was in prime position to force a punt. The Play: The Panthers secondary dropped into zone and Captain Munnerlyn had Tyler Boyd in coverage. But Captain released Boyd with no other Panthers defender nearby and instead covered empty space. A now wide-open Boyd picked up an easy 23-yards. The drive was extended and ended with a Bengals touchdown to tie the score at 21-21. It was a gut punch to go from thinking the Panthers had pulled off a strip-sack to giving up 23 yards on 3rd-and-10.3rd Quarter 4:08 – Panthers 28, Bengals 14. Bengals ball 2nd-and-6 at CAR 49The Situation: Call this the “Colin Jones Implosion Sequence.” The Play: On 2nd-and-6 Tyler Eifert went up and over Colin Jones for a 20-yard gain. While Eifert is six inches taller than Jones, it looked more like three feet on this reception. Two plays later Andy Dalton scrambled to buy time as Tyler Boyd simply ran away from Colin in the end zone for an easy 27-yard touchdown catch. Jones needs to be much better than this. 4th Quarter 4:42 – Panthers 28, Bengals 21. Panthers ball 3rd-and-11 at CIN 39The Situation: Carolina had the ball on the fringe of field goal range, hoping to increase their lead to two scores late in the game. The Play: Cam felt pressure then deftly scrambled for a seven-yard gain down to the Cincinnati 32, appearing to set up Graham Gano for a makeable 49-yard field goal and a 10-point lead. But as Cam emerged from the pack of tacklers, he either flipped the football at a Bengals player or said something (or both) and was flagged for an absolutely stupid, inexcusable 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Instead of attempting a field goal for a two-score lead, the Panthers were forced to punt. Look, Cam, we love you. You’re our guy. We appreciate you and defend you from your haters, but this boneheaded penalty nearly cost your team a win. Plus, it gives additional ammunition to your critics who wrongfully label you as immature and arrogant. Please don’t ever do that again, okay?Closing it out and summing it upWhat a great win against a solid 2-0 Bengals team. All the credit in the world goes to the makeshift offensive line of Chris Clark, Greg Van Roten, Ryan Kalil , Tyler Larsen, and Taylor Moton. They opened holes for Christian McCaffrey’s career-high 184 rushing yards and kept Cam pretty clean (one sack on 24 attempts). It’s stunning what these guys are doing. On defense, Donte Jackson and James Bradberry continue their solid play in coverage. But best of all, this entire game was an Efe Obada Disney movie. As far as improvements go, Torrey Smith continues to be a huge disappointment with ill-timed drops and limited productivity. On defense, losing Da’Norris Searcy at safety is a huge problem. Colin Jones is okay in spots, but he’s out of his depth as an every down player. At 2-1 the Panthers enter the bye week on a high note. The team’s play has been inspiring considering they are missing Greg Olsen, Daryl Williams, Matt Kalil, Trai Turner, and Curtis Samuel on offense and Searcy, Ross Cockrell, and Thomas Davis on defense. That’s eight of 22 projected starters (or contributors) missing, and yet the Panthers continue to keep pounding.Plays to love season leaders2 - Efe Obada1 - Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore , Donte Jackson, James Bradberry, Kawann Short, Mario Addison, Norv Turner, Wes HortonPlays to hate season leaders1 - Amini Silatolu, C.J. Anderson, Cam Newton, Captain Munnerlyn, Christian McCaffrey, Colin Jones, Devin Funchess, Donte Jackson, Mike Adams
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