Gäste Forum » fumbles in the field dissipated the pressur

NEW ORLEANS -- At least Cam Newton looks fine.Unfortunately for the star quarterback and the rest of the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers, their 2016 season is unraveling as they head into their bye week at 1-5 and alone in last place in the NFC South.Its not like we wanted to start the season, but we have a bunch of guys that play hard, Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly said. Were going to work our butts off this week and the rest of the season to try to get some wins.Three of Carolinas losses have come down to field goals in the final seconds. The Panthers missed a potential game-winner in Week 1 at Denver, and now division rivals have hit winning field goals against them in the final seconds the past two weeks.On Sunday, it was New Orleans Wil Lutz connecting from 52 yards with 11 seconds left in a 41-38 Saints victory. The previous Monday night, it was Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo hitting from 38 yards as time expired.Perhaps less encouraging for Carolina is the fact that neither New Orleans (2-3) nor Tampa Bay (2-3) have winning records.Four of the Saints five games this season have come down to the last possession. And after an 0-3 start, New Orleans has won two straight -- although they might be in trouble without quarterback Drew Brees, whose 465 yards and four touchdowns were just enough to overcome a slew of defensive gaffes, not to mention a missed field goal.Still, Brees brimmed with optimism, as he tends to do.Were ascending, the Saints QB said. These are defining wins. These are wins you can draw from as the season goes along and really get a lot of strength from.Some things we learned from the Panthers-Saints shootout in the Big Easy:CAM CANNewton completed 27 of 47 passes for 322 yards and two TDs against New Orleans. He also ran around the right end for a crucial, late fourth-quarter score and added a pass for a 2-point conversion that tied it at 38 with 2:58 to go. One area in which he and the offense struggled was third down; they converted just three of 11. But that might have had something to do with Newtons apparent reluctance in running into too many hits coming off his concussion.I do what Im asked to do, Newton said when asked why he kept scrambles to an apparent minimum.BREES BONANZAAfter becoming the only quarterback in NFL history to eclipse 400 yards passing in a regular-season game 15 times -- moving ahead of Peyton Mannings 14 -- Brees is averaging 346.8 yards passing this season to go with 14 TDs. Brees has said he still feels as if hes in his prime at age 37. His elite numbers back him up.He is one of the best that has ever played, said tight end Coby Fleener, who caught a 50-yard TD from Brees. Its not like its something you see every few weeks. Its every single week.DEFENSIVE DOLDRUMSThe Panthers and Saints defenses each managed one sack and one interception, but those were the few highlights of an otherwise tough day for both struggling units. The Saints were called for three pass interference penalties in or near the end zone, all leading to Panthers TDs. Saints defenders were concerned enough that they balked when coaches told them they could take Monday off.I want the whole defense to meet tomorrow with the coaches and were going to go through this whole tape, Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro said.We won the game but I dont have a good taste in my mouth. I think there are some things out there that I know we didnt do that we need to execute -- little things that are going to cost us in the future.KICKING CONFIDENCESaints coach Sean Payton has maintained faith in rookie kicker Wil Lutz even as he has missed a few field goals. He missed a 53-yarder against Carolina, but Payton banked on Lutz in the final seconds and it paid off.Hes got the moxie. Hes got all those things you look for in a good kicker, Payton said of the former Georgia State kicker. Aside from the physical traits -- leg strength -- hes got that mental toughness.GETTING COOKEDDefensive backs are having a hard time keeping up with Brandin Cooks, whose 87-yard touchdown catch and run against Carolina wasnt even his longest receptions this season. He had a 98-yard TD in Week 1. His seven catches for 173 yards Sunday gives him a team-leading 428 yards through five games.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLLouis King Jersey . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Isiah Thomas Pistons Jersey .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. https://www.pistonsrookiesshop.com/Chauncey-Billups-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Jameer Nelson Pistons Jersey . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Tony Snell Pistons Jersey . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer.Donald Tiripano makes for an unlikely, everyday cricketing hero. Well under six feet tall, he occasionally tops 130kph with the ball and just about holds his own the bat, without getting too bolshy. But against West Indies at Queens Sports Club on Saturday afternoon, he showed his mettle as a cricketer and became just the hero Zimbabwe needed. With six deliveries in the final over Tiripano sparked the unlikeliest of comebacks, taking three wickets and giving away just three runs to help Zimbabwe tie.To me, it was my dream, Tiripano said, holding back welling emotions. I was talking to myself, saying. This is the chance Ive been waiting for since I was a little kid. I grew up playing cricket in the streets. I was just thinking about that. Thinking Just be positive. Nothing to fear. Just express yourself. That positivity and that faith ... I just thank God for this. Its great for me. Its something that many wish for in their lives, to save a match for their country. Its a blessing.He had opened the bowling earlier, trapping Johnson Charles lbw with an inducker before the opener could really get going. His opening spell of 1 for 24 was useful, but not flashy - and certainly gave no indication of the heroics that would come later, when he was called upon by his captain Graeme Cremer to bowl the final over of this match, with just four runs to defend. With his second ball, he had the dangerous, World T20-winning Carlos Brathwaite caught at long on. With his third, he ran Ashley Nurse out by deflecting a firm drive from Jason Holder back onto the non-strikers stumps.Suddenly, hope surged. After a leg bye, he might have had Jonathan Carter caught in the deep, but Chamu Chibhabha couldnt quite get to the chance despite a stupendous effort. The batsmen crossed, levelling the scores. It all came down to the final delivery, and when Tiripano beat Holders drive with a full, wide slower ball and PJ Moor threw down the stumps, the Zimbabweans unleashed their unrestrained joy. This wasnt a win, but it sure felt like one.[Cremer] just said Back yourself, and do what youve been doing before, Tiripano explained after the breathless finish to the game. So I just backed myself to bowl that slower ball, that I usually know is difficult to hit. Keep it simple. I didnt want to use too many variations, just that slower ball because there was assistance from the wicket. So I didnt have to bowl yorkers or anything. Just use the wicket to help me.I tried to bowl that last ball fuller, because there wasnt much pace in the wicket so it would be difficult to hit over the top. I bowled it ffuller, and he didnt hit it.dddddddddddd Im just so happy we managed to pull out a tie, out of nothing.Then there was his batting. Tiripano was the only member of Zimbabwes bottom seven to reach double figures, and he took them past 250 and to their highest ODI score this year with a clean six (his first in ODIs) off Shannon Gabriel, the quickest bowler in this tri-series. I knew before he bowled that the ball would be fuller, because hed bowled a few back-of-a-length deliveries, Tiripano explained with nonchalance. So I just anticipated before the ball was bowled. I was right there to hit it.Tiripanos resistance was emblematic of the spirit shown by the Zimbabwean side today, which left coach Heath Streak a very proud man. Im proud of the fact that they never gave up, Streak said. They managed to claw it back. It was excellent. Those last seven or eight overs were brilliant. The guys took it to the wire. Cricket is funny. If you take it into the last over, its amazing what can happen with that pressure.Probably in the last three overs, I started thinking: We can do this, Streak added. We got a couple of wickets, and I knew Brathwaite and the skipper Holder can hit a long ball, so I was always worried about the damage they can do. But the wicket was pretty tough. It was gripping and I thought Mpofu and Williams bowled really well. And then obviously Donald bowled that last over really well under pressure. He bowled some superb balls. Im very proud of how they fought.Yet Streak was also realistic about the areas in which Zimbabwe fell short today. They missed three chances off centurion Shai Hopes bat, and their fumbles in the field dissipated the pressure being built up on the batsmen.We know that were better than what we showed in the field, Streak said. Thats the only disappointment. We dropped opportunities and we had a lot of fumbles. We know were better than that. Its something I know the guys are going to have to work on, getting those fielding standards up, but the fact that we were able to tie and not have had our best day in the field is probably a good omen for us, because we know weve still got room for improvement.Despite todays tie, weve still got a lot of work to do to get ourselves to the final, Streak added. Monday (against Sri Lanka) is an important game for us. Weve just to make sure we come out with that same positivity. We have a big game on Monday, but weve got to take it one over at a time, one ball at a time. ' ' '