Sports Betting..... Carolina Panthers - NFL Teams Page...

So half way through the season who is the current MVP? You have Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson, Carson Palmer, Shaun Alexander amongst others to consider. Maybe we should look at Steve Smith.

Smith has made an great comeback from the broken leg that sidelined him for most of last season - incidentally he is probably the leading choice for Comeback Player of the Year as well. Smith is the ultimate 'go-to guy' for QB Delhomme and the reason that the Panthers are one of the top teams in the league.

At 5-foot-9 and 189 pounds, Smith isn't the biggest receiver around. Yet he excels at a number of 'tricks' that give hime the edge over other players. He appears to bounce off defenders by using his hands cleverly, is strong enough to stop cornerbacks from disrupting his routes, he has the speed to burst into the open before the pressure really gets to him and once he's gone, he's really gone - being almost impossible to take down from behind.

The numbers alone make his case for him: 55 catches, over 900 yards, with nine touchdown catches. His team are 6-2, and are tied for first place in the NFC South.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms was sacked five times in this game, intercepted twice, flushed repeatedly and hammered at least ten other times by a Carolina Panthers defense played with a hunger that was a little unnerving at times.

The Panthers (6-2) dismantled the Buccaneers to maintain a share of the NFC South lead. Led by the massive Julius Peppers, who had a massive performance the domination was only partly reflected by the two sacks and five tackles on the statistics sheet.

When Peppers 'took a break', it was Mike Rucker, who did the damage, causing jitters in the Bucs ranks.

Rucker recovered a Williams fumble at the Tampa thirty-two in the first quarter that set up Davis to score and a gave them a 10-0 gift of a start. In the third quarter, Rucker sacked Simms and forced another turnover, recovered by Buckner at the Bucs 19, which resulted in Kasay's second field goal - this after Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble took advantage of an interception and charged 61 yards for a touchdown.

Some say Carolina Panthers are starting to look like Super Bowl contenders, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the other hand are hoping to get back following a disappointing loss. The Panthers and Bucs meet on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

The Panthers reeled off four straight wins and appear to have rediscovered their form after a 1-2 start. Led by rookie Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and their defence, the Bucs got off to a surprising 5-1 start. But Williams has been slowed by a foot injury and starting quarterback Brian Griese is out for the season with torn knee ligaments. The loss of Griese was all too apparent last week as Chris Simms was intercepted twice in a 15-10 defeat by San Francisco.

Gruden will want Williams at his best. After rushing for a rookie-record 434 yards in his first three games, Williams has gained just 33 yards on 24 attempts in his last two contests.

Tampa defensive end Simeon Rice (deactivated for last week's game and sent home for missing a team meeting) is expected to start. Rice leads the Buccaneers with five sacks.