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Carolina cashes in on NFC mishaps
By MIKE CRANSTON, AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE — Less than a month ago the Carolina Panthers had given up 25 fourth-quarter points in a home loss to Dallas that dropped them to 4-4. They sat in third place in the NFC South, two games behind first-place New Orleans.
Their division title hopes looked bleak, and they had already lost tiebreakers to Minnesota and Dallas in the wild card race.
But in the past three weeks the Panthers have won twice and nearly every other team in their way has lost. Suddenly the Panthers are tied for the division lead with the Saints, and for the second-best record in the NFC.
‘‘You just never know in this league,’’ Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme said. ‘‘We can’t worry about other teams. We have to take care of our business and things will fall into place.’’
So far everything has fallen into place. Since the Dallas loss, the Saints have dropped two in a row, Atlanta has lost three straight, and the New York Giants and Vikings are also mired in losing streaks. Only Chicago (9-1) has a better record than Carolina.
Even the Panthers’ schedule doesn’t look as tough anymore. Sunday’s opponent Washington is struggling with injuries. Philadelphia lost quarterback Donovan McNabb to a season-ending injury and the Giants are injury-plagued.
‘‘We still have a great opportunity to be a high seed in the playoffs, not just getting to the playoffs, but having some type of home-field advantage,’’ cornerback Ken Lucas said.
———
INJURIES:
Lucas, running back DeShaun Foster and guard Mike Wahle all missed practice Thursday with injuries and remain questionable for Sunday’s game.
Foster suffered a hyperextended left elbow in the second quarter of the St. Louis game, while Lucas missed last Sunday’s game with a strained hamstring. Both have missed consecutive days of practice.
Wahle, who has a shoulder injury, was limited to individual drills on the side Thursday after going through a full workout Wednesday.
The Panthers had their normal late-morning Thursday practice, but coach John Fox canceled afternoon meetings so players could be with their families on Thanksgiving. The team will have a longer day Friday to make up for the lost time.
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WASHINGTON WOES:
The Panthers are 1-6 all-time against the Redskins, including 0-4 in Washington. But every time the Panthers play the Redskins, the topic inevitably turns to one of the most bizarre coaching decisions in Panthers’ history.
In 1999, George Seifert’s first season as coach, Tshimanga Biakabutuka rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns — in the first quarter — as the Panthers built a 21-0 lead. But for some reason Seifert replaced Biakabutuka with Fred Lane in the second quarter. The Redskins rallied and won 38-36.
‘‘I was thinking maybe (Seifert) knows something I don’t know,’’ Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker said this week ‘‘But I guess that wasn’t it. That was a surprise.’’
The loss was one of six game decided by four points or less in the series.
———
LEWIS LIKES DAVIS: Panthers defensive tackle Damione Lewis thinks North Carolina made the right choice by hiring Butch Davis as its football coach. Lewis played for Davis at the University of Miami, when the program was recovering from being on probation.
Davis led the Hurricanes to the national championship the year after Lewis left for the NFL.
‘‘He did a great job with us,’’ Lewis said. ‘‘Our program was in bad shape, still trying to recover from what our sanctions were. Within four years we were playing for a national championship.’’
But Lewis said don’t expect a fiery sideline manner from Davis.
He’s cool on the sideline,’’ he said. He’ll stop practice if you’re not doing what he wants to and he will start it over, but you’ll hear more from him during the week than you will during the games. He’s the kind of guy who lets his position coaches do the coaching on Saturday.’’
———
QUICK HITS: Sunday’s shutout win over St. Louis moved the Panthers from 17th to ninth in total defense in the NFL. ... In the Panthers’ six wins they have allowed an average of 61.2 yards rushing. In their four losses, they’ve given up an average 165 yards on the ground.
Their division title hopes looked bleak, and they had already lost tiebreakers to Minnesota and Dallas in the wild card race.
But in the past three weeks the Panthers have won twice and nearly every other team in their way has lost. Suddenly the Panthers are tied for the division lead with the Saints, and for the second-best record in the NFC.
‘‘You just never know in this league,’’ Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme said. ‘‘We can’t worry about other teams. We have to take care of our business and things will fall into place.’’
So far everything has fallen into place. Since the Dallas loss, the Saints have dropped two in a row, Atlanta has lost three straight, and the New York Giants and Vikings are also mired in losing streaks. Only Chicago (9-1) has a better record than Carolina.
Even the Panthers’ schedule doesn’t look as tough anymore. Sunday’s opponent Washington is struggling with injuries. Philadelphia lost quarterback Donovan McNabb to a season-ending injury and the Giants are injury-plagued.
‘‘We still have a great opportunity to be a high seed in the playoffs, not just getting to the playoffs, but having some type of home-field advantage,’’ cornerback Ken Lucas said.
———
INJURIES:
Lucas, running back DeShaun Foster and guard Mike Wahle all missed practice Thursday with injuries and remain questionable for Sunday’s game.
Foster suffered a hyperextended left elbow in the second quarter of the St. Louis game, while Lucas missed last Sunday’s game with a strained hamstring. Both have missed consecutive days of practice.
Wahle, who has a shoulder injury, was limited to individual drills on the side Thursday after going through a full workout Wednesday.
The Panthers had their normal late-morning Thursday practice, but coach John Fox canceled afternoon meetings so players could be with their families on Thanksgiving. The team will have a longer day Friday to make up for the lost time.
———
WASHINGTON WOES:
The Panthers are 1-6 all-time against the Redskins, including 0-4 in Washington. But every time the Panthers play the Redskins, the topic inevitably turns to one of the most bizarre coaching decisions in Panthers’ history.
In 1999, George Seifert’s first season as coach, Tshimanga Biakabutuka rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns — in the first quarter — as the Panthers built a 21-0 lead. But for some reason Seifert replaced Biakabutuka with Fred Lane in the second quarter. The Redskins rallied and won 38-36.
‘‘I was thinking maybe (Seifert) knows something I don’t know,’’ Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker said this week ‘‘But I guess that wasn’t it. That was a surprise.’’
The loss was one of six game decided by four points or less in the series.
———
LEWIS LIKES DAVIS: Panthers defensive tackle Damione Lewis thinks North Carolina made the right choice by hiring Butch Davis as its football coach. Lewis played for Davis at the University of Miami, when the program was recovering from being on probation.
Davis led the Hurricanes to the national championship the year after Lewis left for the NFL.
‘‘He did a great job with us,’’ Lewis said. ‘‘Our program was in bad shape, still trying to recover from what our sanctions were. Within four years we were playing for a national championship.’’
But Lewis said don’t expect a fiery sideline manner from Davis.
He’s cool on the sideline,’’ he said. He’ll stop practice if you’re not doing what he wants to and he will start it over, but you’ll hear more from him during the week than you will during the games. He’s the kind of guy who lets his position coaches do the coaching on Saturday.’’
———
QUICK HITS: Sunday’s shutout win over St. Louis moved the Panthers from 17th to ninth in total defense in the NFL. ... In the Panthers’ six wins they have allowed an average of 61.2 yards rushing. In their four losses, they’ve given up an average 165 yards on the ground.
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