Share
At some point during the losses to Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas and Buffalo, and the unnecessarily close victories against Washington and Tampa Bay, I asked myself if the Carolina Panthers were as bad as they looked.
And they were, obviously they were.
At some point during Carolina's 34-21 victory against Arizona Sunday I asked myself if the Panthers were as good as they looked.
For an afternoon they were.
I have no idea what comes next, other than that it will come Sunday in New Orleans in a building in which Jake Delhomme has never lost as a starter.
But I know that what applies in the NFL in September and October does not necessarily apply in January. Arizona was a middling team throughout 2008, got hot at the right time and almost won the Super Bowl.
I'm not predicting a Super Bowl for Carolina. There's not enough tequila in Arizona to get me to even think that.
The victory against the Cardinals might be nothing but a one-game break from reality. Or maybe it is reality. The NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. And if what we saw two days ago continues, Carolina is pretty good.
We saw the team we expected before the season. The offensive line was outstanding. It didn't merely hold off pass-rushers or open holes. It crushed its Cardinal counterparts. It knocked them backward.
That 50-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to Steve Smith doesn't happen unless the line gives Smith time to waste Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie with a slick give-and-go move.
The offensive line gave Delhomme so much time that he could have stood in the pocket and slowly pronounced every syllable in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
Not that Delhomme's teammates would have understood any of them. Asked if Delhomme sounded dazed in the huddle after taking a hard third-quarter hit, Smith wondered how he was supposed to tell. He said Delhomme is tough to understand. He said Delhomme can't even pronounce oyster.
If so what does Delhomme do when he's back in the Bayou, point at the menu?
The defense can finally pronounce the terminology in the playbook of defensive coordinator Ron Meeks. Players have adjusted to Meeks, in his first season with Carolina, and Meeks to them.
Julius Peppers has become the force that in the past we have merely glimpsed. Instead of being a special occasion star, he has consistently imposed himself on a defense. When 316-pound tackle Mike Gandy hit him low Sunday, Peppers kept his balance, reached up, plucked Kurt Warner's pass from the air and returned it for a touchdown.
The four-game streak since Carolina's bye is the best four-game streak of Peppers' career.
For the first time since Carolina's playoff loss to Arizona 10 months ago, you can think about what comes next and smile instead of cringe.
Confidence is essential. Not the fake stuff, the loud stuff, the look-how-good-I-am stuff, but the simple belief that, if you're smart, you will succeed.
For at least one Sunday, the Panthers played as if they believe.
