THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 23, 1996 TAG: 9609230140
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE - LENGTH: 84 lines
The Carolina Panthers have a problem no second-year expansion club has faced before.
``Now we've got to deal with success,'' tight end Wesley Walls said Sunday, after the Panthers improved to 3-0 by stunning the San Francisco 49ers 23-7 at Ericsson Stadium.
Some problem.
But this is some expansion team, one that continues to break new ground, surprising everyone but themselves.
``I brought cigars today before the game,'' tackle Blake Brockermeyer said. ``Because I knew we were going to win.''
Few outside the Panthers locker room agreed with him. Oddsmakers made the Panthers a 9 1/2-point underdog. And although the Panthers beat the 49ers 13-7 last year, many dismissed that game as a fluke.
There was nothing flukey about Sunday's win, however. The Panthers jumped up 17-0 and never let San Francisco back in the game. They shredded the NFL's top-rated defense for 389 yards, and held the 49ers to 48 yards rushing.
``They have our respect now,'' 49ers coach George Seifert said. ``There's no other way to get respect than to go out and beat somebody's butt like they did to our football team.''
Carolina did it without starting quarterback Kerry Collins, who is out with a sprained knee. Backup Steve Beuerlein, starting for Collins, threw for 290 yards as Carolina picked apart the 49ers secondary.
``It's a real good feeling,'' Beuerlein said. ``I haven't been this excited in years.''
It was a game that had some sweet ironies for the Panthers, who improved to 3-0, grabbing first place in the NFC West. San Francisco fell to 2-1.
Walls spent five years in San Francisco but could never break into the starting lineup. He had a career day Sunday, catching six passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
Cornerback Eric Davis spent six years with the 49ers. But San Francisco let him get away, and Davis signed with Carolina as an unrestricted free agent. His replacement, Tyronne Drakeford, was victimized several times Sunday.
Beuerlein set the tone early by going 4 for 5 on Carolina's opening drive, which ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Walls. After a 28-yard field goal by John Kasay, Beuerlein found Walls again early in the second quarter, to put Carolina up 17-0.
``He was in total control, like the veteran he is,'' receiver Mark Carrier said. ``With Kerry out, we got somebody in who didn't miss a beat.''
Not only did Beuerlein not miss a beat, he added some notes to a Panther offense that had been ordinary through two games. By the end of the first quarter, the Panthers had piled up 171 yards against a defense that was allowing an average of 168 through two games.
``We were patient,'' Carolina coach Dom Capers said. ``We took what they gave us.''
The 49ers gave up plenty early. Carolina scored the first three times it had the ball, and made it look easy.
``We were all a little suprised,'' Drakeford said. ``We just didn't wrap up on the tackling. They were getting some extra yardage. That shouldn't have happened.''
The 49ers responded early in the second half, when quarterback Steve Young found Derek Loville for a 44-yard touchdown pass with 8:19 left in the third quarter.
But San Francisco got no closer. The Panthers came back with a Kasay field goal, then stopped the 49ers on fourth and 7 from the Carolina 22, when Davis broke up a pass intended for J.J. Stokes.
An interception by Brett Maxie with five minutes left in the game put San Francisco away for good. It was the end of a frustrating day for Young, who was sacked three times and pressured on several throws.
``We really didn't give them much to think about,'' Young said.
Carolina now has plenty to think about. Before the game, the Panthers took pains to stress that a win would not mean they've ``arrived.'' But since starting 0-5 last year, the Panthers have won 10 of 14 and have taken two of three from the 49ers.
``We're going to get some respect now, which we've never gotten before,'' Brockermeyer said. ``We showed we're no fluke, and we can play ball.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by HUY NGUYEN, The Virginian-Pilot
Backup quarterback Steve Beuerlein stepped in Sunday and shredded
the 49ers defense for 290 yards and two TDs.
Photo by HUY NGUYEN, The Virginian-Pilot
The Panthers' 23-7 dismantling of the 49ers Sunday made for a happy
trip past the Ericsson Stadium fans back to the lockers. by CNB