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Panthers Notebook: Beason makes big stop on draw
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Published: November 17, 2008
■ Linebacker Jon Beason finished with a season-low five tackles, but he had one of the game's most-important stops in the Panthers' 31-22 victory against Detroit.
Beason stopped quarterback Daunte Culpepper inches short of the goal line on a potential tying 2-point conversion attempt with 6:05 left, after the Lions scored to cut the Panthers' lead to 24-22.
Culpepper ran a quarterback draw but Beason snuffed it out, hitting Culpepper high with defensive tackle Damione Lewis helping out.
Beason, listed at 6-0, 237, smiled afterward about taking on Culpepper, who is listed at 6-4, 260.
"It was a good call," Beason said. "It was a little counter play, they faked to both backs and Culpepper kept it. You've got a guy 265 and he's probably more than that right now, coming off the couch. I was able to get him before he crossed the line, and it was a big play. I thought it was a good call on their part, though."
Culpepper said he thought he was going to score.
"It converged right there," Culpepper said. "I thought I got in. My head was right there but I didn't get the ball across, so that's a tough break. Wish we could have had that one."
■ Linebacker Na'il Diggs got his first interception in three seasons as a Panther and his first since 2000, when he was with Green Bay.
He made a nice running catch of a Culpepper pass intended for tight end John Owens down the middle at the Carolina 40 late in the first quarter with the Lions leading 7-0.
"We were in a cover-2, play-action, and the tight end ran a seam route and I just stayed on him," Diggs said. "I didn't think he was going to throw it because I felt like I had pretty good coverage. But he threw it up there and fortunately he threw it right to me."
It was the fifth interception of Diggs' nine-year career.
"It brings back memories," he said. "I should have had more that I've dropped, but I'm glad I got that one and hopefully I'll get more."
■ Quarterback Jake Delhomme threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeff King early in the second quarter, but most of his day was spent handing off to running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, who combined to rush for 250 yards.
That was fine with Delhomme.
"That is the formula to win in this league," Delhomme said. "When you can run it, you give your team a chance. It wears down defenses. It's very good when you can run it."
Delhomme finished 10 of 19 for 98 yards, with no interceptions.
"There are certain points of the game where you have to play smart," Delhomme said. "I totally understand that. Certainly we didn't have to throw it a ton today because we were running so effectively. They were telling us to run and we did. You love to get in a rhythm, and we never had that today because we'd run it and run it and we were getting big runs. But I'll take that, without a doubt."
■ The Panthers were missing two of their offensive linemen, center Ryan Kalil and tackle Jeremy Bridges.
Kalil continues to battle an ankle injury that forced him to miss three games earlier this season. He returned to the starting lineup last week at Oakland, but played less than a half and then did not practice this week.
Bridges, who started four games while Jeff Otah was injured, was held out as a precaution after experiencing an irregular heartbeat yesterday morning.
Among the other inactives was receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who has fallen behind D.J. Hackett as the team's third receiver.
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