UP
WR Brenton Bersin
The 3rd-year wideout led all receivers with 69 yards, and his five receptions were three more than any of his teammates. With the Panthers looking for someone to fill Jerricho Cotchery’s former role in the slot, Bersin raised his hand high. But this ‘up’ comes with a catch, specifically, his final one of the night. After taking a shot to the ribs from Ravens’ safety Terrence Brooks late in the second quarter, Bersin appeared less than comfortable in the locker room afterward and uncharacteristically declined a reporter’s interview request.
WR Damiere Byrd
He caught just one of his five targets, but that one was the Panthers’ offensive highlight of the night. Byrd used his right hand to hold off Ravens’ CB Sheldon Price and his left hand to tip the ball to himself for a 35-yard gain. Byrd also flashed his speed on 30- and 48-yard kickoff returns. His final touch didn’t go as well. Byrd's muffed punt return late in the fourth quarter cost the Panthers their final drive, but coach Ron Rivera saw it as positive aggression. “He got a little carried away trying to make a play,” Rivera said, “but I’m not going to fault him for it.”
DT Eric Crume
Second-heaviest on the defensive line behind only Paul Soliai, the 6-foot, 330-pound Crume was in the Ravens’ backfield on multiple occasions. He wasn't credited with a defensive statistic on the final box score, but it’s apparently the preseason for the official scorer, too. DE Ryan Delaire was credited with a strip-sack of quarterback Josh Johnson late in the third quarter, but replays showed Crume making the play. The former Jacksonville and Green Bay practice squader is worth keeping an eye on next week in Tennessee.
DOWN
Backup Offensive Line
Poor Derek Anderson. He was sacked just once, but he seemed to take the bulk of Baltimore’s eight QB hits. His first snap wound up on the turf when OLB Za’Darius Smith beat LT Daryl Williams with a speed rush. Then, when Williams shifted to the right side, David Foucault struggled in his longest look since last preseason. The problems weren’t only on the edge, though. “There was a lot of pressure up the middle,” Rivera said. “We just have to look at it and make sure the right guys are in the right positions.”
DE Ryan Delaire
Take away the strip-sack mistakenly credited to Delaire, and he finished with just one tackle despite playing a good amount of snaps. He talked this week about adding moves to his pass rush, but those didn’t produce much pressure. Delaire was pushed out of the way on more than one run play, and he didn’t protect the edge when his former Towson teammate Terrance West reversed field on a 2-yard score. “I was peeking to the left, and I saw my old teammate, and I said, 'If he comes flat, I’m going to outrun him.' He came down flat and slow, so I outran him and cut him back,” West said.
CB Zack Sanchez
While fellow rookies James Bradberry and Daryl Worley started and played through the first half, Sanchez didn’t appear on defense until late in the third quarter. It’s not like he did much wrong, but it shows where the fifth-round pick stands compared to the other “Three Amigos.” Because the Ravens are a run-first time, the Panthers began with Shaq Thompson and Colin Jones in their nickel packages. Then, when Sanchez finally checked in, he was at outside corner and “a little tentative at first,” according to Rivera.