Impressive Win By Carolina, But Let's Not Get Carried Away

as a fan, monday night's game was the most satisfying panther's game i've ever watched(and i've been following carolina for years). this was such a huge game. division rivals with two of the league's best records playing in front of a national audience so late in the season.

i honestly expected them to lose. i was doing what a lot of fans do, i was trying to guard myself against the dissapointment i was bound to feel.  i've enjoyed the panthers success this season, but i've sort of feared they were frauds. i didn't think they were as good as their record indicated. let's face it, they could easily have been 5-7 going into monday night's game. they've lucked out more than once this season. the first two weeks of the season they pulled out wins on the last play of the game. against arizona they were saved by a couple of huge steve smith plays. against green bay they were also saved by a couple of huge plays by steve smith. few of the panthers wins this year have been completely satisfying. they've often been sloppy. they have rarely dominated games. for the first half of the season their defense saved them, while the offense bumbled and stumbled through far too many three and outs. the offense has been inconsistent all year. there has been glimpses of their potential. the two young runningbacks have had solid years, especially deangelo williams. they've had a lot of big spurts. the passing game has been sketchy though, and that's what i haven't been able to understand. how does a team with steve smith, and a solid running game, struggle so much on offense? they just haven't been putting it all together.

monday night they finally put it all together. they looked balanced. they moved the ball down the field consistantly. they didn't just have the occasional big play(although there were a lot of those as well). they converted on 3rd down when they had to. they kept moving the ball and they did it against one of the league's better defense's. they seemed to really have a good game plan and mixed it up the play calling. it looked like jake delhomme was reading the defense and making the necessary adjustments. the running game complimented the passing game and vice versa. they actually utilized mushin muhammed, and used him as they should, for short yardage situations. they found ways to get steve smith the ball. steve smith's deep threat stopped the bucs from stacking the line. the panthers finally dominated and lived up to the potential i've seen. the potential i've not so patiently waitied for for the last three seasons. the panthers seem to be coming together at just the right time, much like the giants did last year.

let's not get carried away though. the panthers haven't suddenly been morphed into a new team. the inconsistency may still be lurking. jake delhomme, though fiery and charasmatic, is still prone to the occasional mistake. the carolina defense has showed definate weakness against the pass. also, the panthers still have a very difficult schedule ahead of them. they are no sure lock for the superbowl let alone the playoffs. they have perhaps the most difficult schedule of any of the playoff hopefuls. the panthers have to play the broncos, the giants, and the saints. the giants and saints being on the road. the saints are undefeated at home this year, and defeating the defending champs at home will not be easy, so the panthers really need to win the denver game at home to assure themselves a place in the playoffs. if they don't win the game against denver they could miss the playoffs altogether.

the panthers are built to run. everything they do is based on the run. they can not turn the ball over and fall behind early. their passing game isn't rounded enough to play from behind. i think that's why they suffered so much against tampa bay in their first match up and also against atlanta recently. but if they don't turn the ball over, and manage to get their running game going early, i think they will be able to play with any team in the league.