Panthers look like Giants of a year ago
by Howie Long
Howie is an NFL Hall of Famer and Emmy-Award winning analyst on the FOX NFL Sunday pregame show. He earned eight Pro Bowl berths in his 13-year career with the Oakland Raiders before joining Fox Sports in 1994.
Updated: December 29, 2008, 2:57 AM EST
I want to touch on the playoff teams and give everyone some observations heading into next weekend's first-round games. The final regular-season Sunday was something else. I mean, who would have thought that the improbable would have happened and that both Tampa Bay and Chicago would lose, thus opening the door for the Philadelphia Eagles? And the Eagles took care of business, just destroying the Dallas Cowboys, the consensus Super Bowl pick among the media faithful.
First off, the Carolina Panthers are looking a lot like the Giants of last season. Yes, they lost in overtime last week to the world champs, but the Panthers have been winning down the stretch and playing tough. DeAngelo Williams looked like an MVP candidate to me against the Saints. He's been a scoring machine for the Panthers. Carolina is built for success with its power running game and its two-back offense. Mushin Muhammad was the perfect pick-up, the ideal addition to game-breaker Steve Smith. Maybe Moose should never have left for Chicago. He brings leadership to the locker room and is a very good possession receiver.
Smith continues to make one circus catch after another. He made the same big catch against the Saints on Sunday as he did weeks ago to beat the Packers in Lambeau Field. Smith has had a remarkable season, considering the way the year started for him with a two-game suspension. For him and the Panthers to recover from what could have been a devastating move like that, well, that says a lot about Smith, the person, and the Panthers as an organization. They did the right thing sitting Smith down and he came back and produced big-time on the field.
Falcons have 2 MVP candidates
Staying in the NFC South, I can't say enough about the Falcons. They hit a home run with GM Tom Dimitroff, coach Mike Smith, drafting quarterback Matt Ryan and the coaching staff that was hired. The Falcons are finding ways to win games at the end now, and they deserve to be in the playoffs.
Voters have to consider both Michael Turner and Ryan for MVP of the league and you can bet that some teams will be looking at offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, who has done an excellent job calling plays. Smith put together one of the best coaching staffs in the league and they are producing. They have holes, but the coaches and the stars of the team are covering them up pretty well. The Falcons play with a lot of energy.
Vikings need Williams
The Vikings have been hard to figure for me this season. I thought coach Brad Childress was on the right track with Gus Frerotte, but he returned to Tarvaris Jackson, the young quarterback he benched in September, and he has been a pleasant surprise down the stretch. The Vikings are really good on defense and I would give them a better chance against the Eagles next Sunday if defensive tackle Pat Williams (shoulder) was healthy.
The guy who makes this team go, though, is running back Adrian Peterson. He is a home-run back. He made the big touchdown run to get them back into the game against the Giants. Also, tight end Visanthe Shiancoe has picked up his game with Jackson running the offense. This team needed another weapon to complement Peterson and deep threat Bernard Berrian and Schiancoe has produced.
Eagles look scary
Let's go back to the Eagles and Dallas. The Eagles rank in the top five in point differential. On defense, they've allowed under 12 points a game and with the exception of the Washington game, since the benching, Donovan looks like Donovan again! McNabb's receivers have gotten healthier. Plus, Brian Westbrook makes all the difference for that offense and against Dallas, Correll Buckhalter also showed up. Right now, they look like a scary team to play in the playoffs because they finally have a semblance of balance on offense. They are also scary when defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is dialing up the right blitzes because they invariably force offenses into mistakes. The Cowboys committed five turnovers and that was basically the game.
Hey, 'Boys, focus!
If I am Tony Romo, Wade Phillips and Jerry Jones, I wouldn't be reading the Dallas newspapers or listening to sports talk radio the next few days. It should be brutal.
I still can't believe that their season ended just like it did last year. With all the talent that this team has, their focus should be on preparing to win a championship. And their road toward that goal shouldn't have started with "Hard Knocks" on HBO in training camp. They are the NFL's biggest brand, and this organization shouldn't be tolerating anything that can be perceived as taking its players and coaches away from the ultimate goal — winning a Super Bowl. They have tolerated that far too much!!
I know Jones has been saying that he plans to stick by Wade and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. But, boy, that was an ugly loss.
Great job by Belichick
Finally, it is a shame that New England, a team that won 11 games, won't be in the playoffs. Bill Belichick did a great job this year after losing superstar Tom Brady in the first game of the season. I realize that few will give Belichick the credit he deserves. And that's a shame, too, because this year's edition of the Patriots wasn't close to last season's team, which pretty much had an injury-free season.
We keep hearing about Scott Pioli, Belichick's right-hand man, maybe on the move, and leaving the Patriots. He would be a big plus for any franchise. And how about quarterback Matt Cassel? He's printing money faster than the Fed. He and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will be hot properties these next couple of weeks as teams go looking for new head coaches and general managers. Cassel has proven to everyone that he should be starting in the league somewhere next year.
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