Notes, observations from Philadelphia

By David Scott

PHILADELPHIA -– Jonathan Stewart’s first carry as an NFL running back didn’t last long.

Stewart, drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of last spring’s draft, took a handoff from Matt Moore and bulled for 1 yard before being met squarely by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Kyle Arrington.

Nothing spectacular or very productive, but it was a start.

Stewart, who didn’t play in last week’s preseason exhibition opener against the Indianapolis Colts, started the second half of Thursday’s game against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Offseason toe surgery had kept Stewart out of mini-camp and organized team activities earlier this summer. Then, his workload was limited at training camp in Spartanburg.

The Panthers hope Stewart (5-foot-10, 235 pounds) will provide the bruising running attack coach John Fox craves. Running behind the second-team offensive line, Stewart was dropped for a 1-yard loss on his second carry. He ended his night with 3 yards on four carries.

Notes

-- The Panthers’ two starting cornerbacks – Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble – missed the game with injuries. The Eagles took advantage of that in the first half, with quarterback Donovan McNabb throwing wide to his receivers, who usually were wide open. But the Panthers’ secondary wasn’t getting much help from the defensive line, which got little pressure on McNabb. The Eagles also made it a point of staying away from Julius Peppers on the right side of the Carolina defensive line.

-- That said, had reserve cornerback Ricardo Colclough held on to a certain interception late in the half after stepping in front of Greg Lewis, he would have scored an easy touchdown.

-- The Panthers got a break in the second quarter after an apparent 27-yard completion from a scrambling McNabb to Lorenzo Booker. Fox challenged the play, though, saying McNabb had crossed the line of scrimmage when he threw. Replays proved Fox correct.

-- The Panthers will have today off, returning to practice in Charlotte on Saturday.

-- Panthers Gameday, the team’s postgame show, has moved to WCNC (ch. 36) and makes its debut Aug. 24. Former Panthers safety Mike Minter will be one of the show’s hosts.

Observations

-- It will be interesting to see if the Eagles’ Brian Dawkins is fined by the NFL for his helmet-to-helmet hit on the Panthers’ Muhsin Muhammad in the end zone in the second quarter. The Panthers have already been victimized by that kind of hit – last week when Steve Smith suffered a concussion after getting whacked head-first by Indianapolis’s Antoine Bethea. Muhammad returned to the game and caught two passes for 12 yards. Muhammad said after the game his ribs were sore and he was "buzzing" from the hit.

-- The look on Eagles’ coach Andy Reid’s face after the Panthers scored on Philadelphia’s botched field-goal attempt was priceless. Here he’d spent nearly an hour in the locker room waiting out a weather delay, only to have something like that happen.

-- Of course, Fox was probably scratching his head later in the half when offensive tackle Jordan Gross was whistled for two consecutive false-start penalties.

-- Although the video screens in the scoreboards at Lincoln Financial Field are bigger than the Panthers’ new ones, the quality of the picture in Bank Of America Stadium is superior. But splicing scenes from “Rocky” into Eagles highlights before the opening kickoff is a great way to start a game. It sure pumps up the crowd. 

-- One of the nicer aspects of Lincoln Financial Field – referred to as the Linc in Philadelphia -– is the beautiful view of the city’s skyline up Broad Street through one end of the stadium.

-- Stadium officials urged fans to evacuate their seats for cover in the concourses during the lengthy weather delay, but many remained under overhangs in the lower and upper decks. They might have stayed dry there, but the threat of lightning still remained.

-- When the game resumed 59 minutes later, the stadium looked to be about half full.

-- The turf that became so slippery during the rain claimed at least one victim: A fan participating in a field-goal kicking contest at halftime. He slipped while taking his turn and hurt his leg. He was carted off the field in a wheel chair.