We're almost ready to go here in sunny Charlotte for the Bucs-Panthers game. There's a noticable buzz around the place. You can tell this is a big game. I'm noticing a lot of Bucs fans, too.

A couple newsy notes before we begin. Cornerback Brian Kelly is out today, presumably because of the groin strain he aggravated last week when he returned from missing Week 2. That puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the secondary to respond with Steve Smith roaming around out there. Good news is that Phillip Buchanon played his best game as a member of the Bucs last week against St. Louis, so the Bucs feel good about him.

The other inactives today are Chris Simms, Luke McCown (emergency quarterback), Jeremiah Trotter, Adam Hayward, Anthony Davis, Dan Buenning, Ryan Sims.

For the Panthers, Jake Delhomme is a no-go. He's inactive despite saying as recently as Friday that he was unsure whether his elbow injury would prevent him from lining up.

We'll be back later with analysis and news throughout the afternoon, so check the comments below for more.

(Pictured: Phillip Buchanon. Times photo - Brendan Fitterer. Click to enlarge.)