Carolina has to find swagger quickly

Carolina has to find swagger quickly
Loss brings out lurking faults
By Scott Fowler
sfowler@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008


http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/gameday/story/373104.html

For most of the season, the Panthers have been the NFL team that knew how to win even when they weren't playing well. Not Sunday.

Atlanta pounded the Panthers into submission, 45-28, pushing Carolina's vaunted defense around like the Falcons were the school yard bullies and the Panthers were wearing pocket protectors.

It was the sort of whipping that calls a lot of the Panthers' supposed qualities into question. Where was the heart in this performance? Where was the clutch play? It was hard to see any of either.

The Panthers better hope this was just a one-week embarrassment and not the start of a six-week swoon. Now 8-3 and still tied for first in the NFC South, the Panthers have two alternatives left: They can collapse or come together.

My bet is they will survive to make the playoffs because they have several locker-room leaders who won't let the good work prior to this game slip away.

But Sunday was a jolt to the system, especially to a proud Carolina defense gashed for four touchdowns by Falcons running back Michael Turner.

“A very humbling experience,” cornerback Ken Lucas called it.

“Offense scored 28 ... and we should win the game,” angry Panthers middle linebacker Jon Beason said. “Twenty-eight points is sufficient.”

Speaking of 28, that's how many points Atlanta scored Sunday – in the fourth quarter! Do you know how awful that is? It's so awful that Carolina hadn't given up 28 points in any of its previous 10 games this season.

This was a weird one. The Panthers played well in the second and third quarters but got hammered in the first and fourth.

Carolina was outgained, 162-0, in the first quarter and trailed 17-0 before you could say: “Who is Harry Douglas?”

Douglas turned out to be the game's breakout star, a rookie Falcons receiver who did a Steve Smith impression better than Smith himself Sunday. Douglas scored his first two NFL touchdowns on a reverse and a 61-yard punt return and set up another score with a 69-yard catch that was the game's most important play.

At that point, Carolina trailed only 24-21 and still had nine minutes left in the fourth quarter to complete a comeback. Atlanta had a third-and-11 from its own 25.

Then Douglas made a great adjustment on a throw from Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, beating Carolina cornerback Richard Marshall. Douglas said that Carolina safety Charles Godfrey “tried to come out with the kill shot” following his catch, but Douglas made him miss with a spin move.

Within seconds, Douglas was sprinting down the sideline, finally hauled down by Chris Harris after a 69-yard gain. Turner would soon score on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 (great call there to go for it by Falcons' coach Mike Smith). A few minutes later, it was over.

The Panthers limped off the field, looking forlorn. But there's no time for sorrow. The beastly part of the schedule is upon them.

As Beason said Sunday, Carolina played down to the level of its competition the previous two weeks. Wins against Detroit and Oakland could easily have been losses if not for the fact that the Lions and Raiders are so flawed.

The Panthers problems that surfaced Sunday had been bubbling under the surface for the past three weeks. Carolina has been playing average football for awhile now – it just took the Falcons to make us all understand that.