Dan Connor News

Here are five things to watch this Sunday when the Panthers visit the Jets. 1. Can the Panthers keep up with Jones? Thomas Jones leads New York's second-ranked rushing attack, which is averaging 163.5 yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry.

It's a new week, so it only makes sense that Panthers middle linebacker Jon Beason is getting used to new faces on either side of him.

It's been obvious for months that the Carolina Panthers would face a brutal closing schedule, but it turns out theirs is the most difficult schedule among seven teams vying for two NFC wild-card playoff berths.

NOVEMBER 22: Mark Sanchez #6 of the New York Jets throws before a game with the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on November 22, 2009 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Seven out of the last ten super bowl winners employ the 3-4 defense. That's right, seven, and if that wasn't enough, six out of the eight teams leading their respective divisions this year also use the 3-4. Only two of the top 10 defenses in the NFL right now utilize the 4-3, and of the 14 teams that have over 20 sacks thus far this year, only four ...

As we wait for Thursday night's game between the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins , here are some thoughts to ponder.

If you're still playing in leagues that use a team defense and special teams unit , you're a sissy.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas The Panthers just announced that linebacker Thomas Davis as a torn anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season.

It's so easy to sit back and criticize, to second-guess, to say that Penn State linebacker Sean Lee made a costly mistake by not leaving for the NFL after his terrific junior season in 2007.

If you came to the Carolina Panthers practice Wednesday looking for fullbacks, you were out of luck - there weren't any.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas Time for a checkup on the most important injuries in the NFC South.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas ATLANTA -- Carolina linebacker Na'il Diggs has left the game with a rib injury.

Rookie cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said he expects to be the Panthers' punt returner in Sunday's season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dan Connor was that fine blend of everything on a football field. Speed. Power. Grace. Raw determination, mixed in with that uncanny prescience that all special players possess, reacting to things before they occur.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas Biggest surprise: Jeremy Leman was an instant hit with fans in the preseason.

Sean Lee is like a pitcher going for a perfect game. "I'm not speaking for him, but it looks like he's trying to play a perfect game.

A 2004 graduate of Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, Delaware County, Dan Connor went 56-3 and started in 59 straight games as a running back/linebacker. He went on to star as a middle linebacker at Penn State, and in his senior year was an All-American selection in 2007 and recipient of the Bednarik Award for the nation's top defensive ...

Dan Connor was Carolina's most surprising draft pick in 2008, seemingly destined to end up at the bottom of the depth chart at the Panthers' deepest position.

Jon Beason's knee injury is not serious and he won't need surgery, according to two sources close to the All-Pro middle linebacker.

You take away a couple of freestyle skampers by DeAngelo Williams and Mike Goodson, for 25 and 11 yards respectively, the Panthers rushed 26 times for 62 yards against the Dolphins' speedy 3-4 defense.