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The Carolina Panthers might be catching the New England Patriots at an opportune time when they play Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
The state of Patriot Nation is somewhat chaotic these days:
New England (7-5) has lost three of four games.
There's been a discipline problem in the locker room, raising the question of whether iron-fisted coach Bill Belichick has lost control of the team.
And quarterback Tom Brady, possibly already distracted by the birth of his second child earlier in the week, has been battling multiple injuries and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game.
But how much of this really might be a problem for the Patriots, who at 7-5, lead the AFC East by one game ahead of the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets?
"We all work together," said Patriots linebacker Junior Seau in a conference call earlier this week. "Everything we do is with a purpose. So we pretty much blind ourselves to any other drama and allow our play to take over."
Seau's focus notwithstanding, it's been a tumultuous week in Foxboro.
On Wednesday, four Patriots players - including star receiver Randy Moss - arrived late to the team's practice complex for an 8 a.m. meeting. The fact that a winter storm had hit the area the previous night made no difference to Belichick, who reportedly had warned his team about potential travel difficulties the day before.
So he sent the players home, which didn't sit well with at least one of them, linebacker Adalius Thomas, who gave one of the season's more memorable interviews to reporters on Thursday.
"There's one thing about Mother Nature - you can't control that," Thomas said. "You can't run people over getting to work. There's nothing to apologize about. I wasn't trying to be late.
"You leave home, there are people there, cars sitting in the road, you're sitting there, what are you going do? It's not the Jetsons. I can't jump up and fly."
Then Thomas took a shot at Belichick.
"Motivation is for kindergartners,"' Thomas said. "I'm not a kindergartner. Sending somebody home, that's like, 'You're expelled until you come back and make good grades.' Get that (expletive) out of here. It's ridiculous."
Although the Patriots remain in first place and are on track for a sixth playoff appearance in the last seven seasons (they missed the postseason in 2008 for the first time since 2002), New England has shown some vulnerability this year.
While the Patriots' passing offense, featuring quarterback Tom Brady and receivers Moss and Wes Welker, continues to be among the league's finest, their running game ranks 17th in the league at 113.0 yards per game.
The defense is no longer what it used to be, with aging standouts such as defensive end Richard Seymour, linebackers Mike Vrabel and Tedi Bruschi and cornerback Rodney Harrison all released or traded.
The Patriots' pass rush has been particularly anemic this season, with just 20 sacks (ranked 28th in the league).
"There's always going to be an adjustment with personnel," said Seau, who is in his 20th season in the NFL and his fourth with the Patriots. "That's something (players) don't control and never will. But if you stay around this league long enough, you'll see different faces and different bodies in different jerseys. That's part of the game."
A constant has been Brady, whose 3,638 passing yards is second in the league to Peyton Manning (3,685) at Indianapolis. But Brady missed two days of practice this week with injuries to his right ring finger, his ribs and shoulder.
But he returned to practice on Friday.
