NEW ORLEANS -- This is what it has come to for the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers.Either they beat the Saints in the Superdome on Sunday, or they fall into last place in the NFC South by themselves with 10 games to go.You dont expect to start this way, Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly said. Its a situation we are in now and its all about how youre going to respond from it.On its face, the matchup of the Saints (1-3) and Panthers (1-4) has the look of a game between two struggling teams who very well might be going nowhere this season.On the other hand, it could make for a desperate, high-stakes affair, given both teams are trying to salvage their season and believe it is still early enough to do so.Were not looking at them as a 1-4 team. Were looking at them as the returning NFC champions. We know that and just like when I was on a Super Bowl team, the next year, you get the best of every team, said Saints fullback John Kuhn, who played in the Super Bowl with Green Bay.This is two really good football teams going at each other. Throw the records out. Anybody watching this game is not going to be unsatisfied.Weve only played a quarter of the season, Kuhn added. Youve seen it in years past, especially with this division -- anything can happen. Weve got a lot of football left in front of us. So do they. It starts this week. We both understand whats going on.And its not as if either team has been on the wrong end of many lopsided scores. Both teams have each lost games by three points and one point. Those games came down to the final possession and a play here or there could have tipped the balance.The Panthers also played without star quarterback Cam Newton last Monday night against Tampa Bay and only lost on a last-second field goal.Newton, who had been held out because of a concussion, will play this week as the Panthers try to keep pace with the ever-prolific offense designed by Saints coach Sean Payton and executed by QB Drew Brees.We know the team were playing is a championship-level team that has lost some tough, close games, Payton said. Were going to have to be at our best.Here are some other story lines to watch as the Panthers invade the Superdome:NEWTONS NUMBERS: The Saints might be just what a struggling Newton needs. Newton, whose quarterback rating of 80.2 ranks 32nd in the league, often has played well against New Orleans, whose defense has been rated among the NFLs worst in three of the past four seasons and is again ranked 31st so far this season. Newton threw for 331 yards and five touchdowns last season at the Superdome and has 10 touchdowns and one interception in the past three games against New Orleans.HOPEFUL HISTORY: The Saints can look at their own franchise history for examples of why they still might emerge as playoff contenders -- if they can win this week. Under the current NFL playoff system, the Saints have twice made the playoffs after starting a season 1/3 -- once in 1990 and once in 2000.Were trying to be an ascending team -- a team that is trying to get better each and every week, Brees said. I feel like we have gotten better. We have learned and grown.WHERES THE RUSH?: Panthers starting defensive ends Kony Ealy and Charles Johnson have yet to register a sack this season through five games. Ealy said a major reason for that is opposing quarterbacks are getting the ball out quicker, giving the teams front four less time to get to the quarterback.Obviously quarterbacks are doing it for a reason, offensive coordinators are game-planning that way for a reason, Ealy said. They know what our front can do. It would be crazy for them to just be lax back there and know we are going to pressure with four or sometimes five guys. We see it as a sign of respect.GETTING DEFENSIVE: Although the Saints rank second-to-last in the NFL defensively, there have been signs of hope for the struggling unit. New Orleans ranks 13th in the NFL in red zone defense and tied for seventh in the league in limiting TDs on opposing offenses goal-to-go scenarios. Also, New Orleans much-maligned defense came up with a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception in the fourth quarter of their comeback win in their game at San Diego on Oct. 2. Now theyre rested after a bye last week.STEWARTS RETURN: The Panthers are hoping to get Jonathan Stewart back on the field after the teams starting running back missed the past three games with a hamstring injury. When healthy, Stewart is difficult to bring down and can be among the best running backs in the league. If Stewart cant go, the Panthers will turn to Cameron Artis-Payne, who ran for two TDs in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.---AP NFL website:
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http://twitter.com/AP-NFL . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. HAMMOND, La. -- Hayden Hildebrand accounted for four touchdowns and the Central Arkansas defense allowed just 161 total yards in its 45-10 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday night.Hildebrand completed 21 of 27 passes for 207 yards with three touchdowns and ran for another score.Hildebrands 4-yard TD run early in the second capped a 12-play, 69-yard drive and made it 7-0. After Southeastern Louisiana went three-and-out, Matt Cummins made a 47-yard field goal with 9:54 left in the half and, 58 seconds later, Tyler Williams pick-six made it 17-0.The Lions (44-4, 2-2 Southland Conference) answered with an 11-play, 61-yard drive but had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Jonathon Tatum.ddddddddddddCentral Arkansas (7-1, 6-0 Southland Conference) punted on its next possession, but Tremon Smith intercepted a pass two plays later and Hildebrand threw touchdown passes on each of the Lions next three possessions to make it 38-3 with 1:09 left in the third.Central Arkansas has won six in a row. ' ' '
