When WR prospect Michael Floyd works out at the Notre Dame pro day, the football will be launched by a familiar arm — that of former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen.

Jimmy Clausen was among six Panthers players on the inactive list ahead of Sunday’s season opener against the Cardinals.

The countdown to kickoff of the 2011 season is at 29 days. And 29 is where Jets QB Mark Sanchez ranked last season in completion percentage among starting quarterbacks. Sanchez completed 54.8 percent of his passes in 2010.

Mercifully, it appears official. The “what number will Cam Newton wear?” mini-controversy is over.

Can Michael Vick duplicate — or improve — on his immense 2010 numbers? Fantasy owners would be wise not to expect that sort of scenario.

The coach whose team holds the No. 1 overall draft pick always draws a lot of attention at the NFL Scouting Combine. Predictably, reporters open by asking the coach who he’s taking. And, even more predictably, the coach doesn’t bite.

It’s the starting point for most discussions surrounding the 2011 NFL Draft: Who will the Carolina Panthers select No. 1 overall?

The Carolina Panthers have the inside track to the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock says the Panthers, if they end up with the top overall choice, will have to first ask themselves how they feel about QB Jimmy Clausen.

The Panthers have placed RB DeAngelo Williams on the IR, and Mike Goodson is expected to start this week vs. the Ravens.

An injury has forced the Panthers to switch from veteran Matt Moore to rookie Jimmy Clausen at QB.

The Panthers announced that QB Matt Moore will be the team’s starter this week (via Twitter). Moore is obviously not a great fantasy option this week, but he does make the team’s other skill position players like RB DeAngelo Williams, RB Jonathan Stewart and WR Steve Smith much better.

And now for our weekly look around the NFL by the numbers, taking note of most notable numbers and best performances to come out of Week 5.

Steve Smith South is going to be an interesting dilemma going forward, because QB Jimmy Clausen has nearly killed his fantasy value. So you have to appreciate it when the receiver is just ruled out for an upcoming game. Who needs this kind of trouble.

The Cardinals are going with Max Hall at quarterback this week according to the Arizona Republic (via Kent Somers‘ Twitter). And you have to imagine that the Cardinals are kicking themselves for cutting ties with the team’s top quarterback this offseason.

Pat Kirwan was in the middle of his weekly Monday afternoon live chat on NFL.com when word came down that the Buffalo Bills cut QB Trent Edwards. And after Kirwan speculated on what it meant for the Bills, he also was quick to get fan questions about the future of Edwards.