The unfairly maligned Jordan Gross

So last week when the Pro Bowl rosters were announced, I texted my Mom and youngest sister (aka Lizard) to do a post mortem. Several Panthers are either primary or alternate selections...far fewer than I would like, of course, but I'm a little biased. (It can't help but escape my notice that, once again, the teams with the greatest national exposure get the most players selected, regardless of performance. HELLO, Washington Redskins, I'm talking to you.)

Anyway, the Panthers left tackle Jordan Gross is a primary selection for the NFC. I voted for Gross and Travelle Wharton not because they're Panthers, but because they anchor an offensive line that's vastly improved as a unit this year. Mom and Lizard, however, disagreed, citing Gross' numerous false start penalties. I argued that false starts are just part of being an offensive lineman*...but I wondered - Is Gross really worse at counting than his counterparts in the rest of the NFL?

Lucky for me, Doug Farrar (a contributor to FootballOutsiders.com, the best Web site in the history of the Internet) looked at this just a few weeks ago. It turns out that, while the Panthers lead the league in false starts, the biggest individual offender is tight end Dante Rosario. Gross is tied with rookie right tackle Jeff Otah at four calls each, the same as the Chicago Bears' Josh Beekman. All are behind the Cowboys' Flozell Adams (six) and the Colts' Ryan Diem (five).

If memory serves, the Panthers ditched the zone blocking schemes they used last year, and now frequently bring up everybody but the ball boy to help clear the way for DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart. For every big running play, there's a kick-ass block from fullback Brad Hoover or tight end Jeff King or prodigal wide receiver Muhsin Muhammed. (At least two of Williams' TDs against the Giants last night are good examples of King blocks. I probably missed more, but I tend to watch King because I'm madly in love with him.)

Interestingly, earlier this season center Ryan Kalil took the blame for the penalties, saying he had trouble with the snaps. May or may not be true, but it's something to think about other than the reasoning that the guy who gets called is always the one who messed up.

*This is completely different from when I bitch about Chris Gamble, and someone inevitably points out that getting burned is just part of playing in the secondary, because I have an irrational dislike for Chris Gamble.