| Matthew Gordon. 11th January, 2009 - 3:32 pm
 The Carolina Panthers were the only team in the NFL to go 8-0 at home this season. The Arizona Cardinals were 3-5 on the road. The Panthers had emerged from what many would say was the NFL’s toughest division this season with a sparkling 12-4 record, good for a first-round bye. The Cardinals finished at only 9-7, including an abysmal 3-7 outside of their astronomically weak division. The Panthers had one of the best defenses in the league to go with one of the best running games in the league. The Cardinals collapsed miserably the last time they saw a good defense (the 47-7 thrashing they received from New England) and have been notoriously bad at stopping the run. It was Jake Delhomme’s 34th birthday. Anquan Boldin wasn’t playing. If that’s not enough, the Panthers were favored by double digits in some betting circles, which is nearly unheard of for a playoff game.
The Panthers couldn’t lose… right?
The Panthers went into these playoffs with high hopes and rightfully so. They were arguably the best team in the NFL in the regular season and would’ve had the record to show for it had they not choked in New York a few weeks ago. Time after time, they put together outstanding performances, like their division-commanding 38-23 victory over Tampa Bay when both teams were 9-3. Sure, they’d had their bad days, like the 45-28 loss in Atlanta, but those were rare, and they occurred exclusively on the road.
For the Panthers to play this carelessly and poorly at home in the playoffs is beyond reproach. Setting aside the first drive for each team, in which the Panthers scored an emphatic touchdown and then forced a Cardinals punt, they looked awful. Those seven points from their first drive were over half of what they scored for the game. The Cardinals apparently still had a 33-point outburst remaining. Delhomme wasn’t making good choices with the ball, the normally stalwart offensive line crumbled at every turn, and pass coverage was virtually non-existent despite it presumably being the main item on the defense’s scouting reports.
That’s not to take anything away from the Cardinals. I picked against them two weeks in a row only to be proven wrong. I’ll pick against them again this coming week in the NFC Final, so at this rate, does that make them a safe bet? What they’re doing is what no one thought they could do. They’re finding ways to score without Boldin in the lineup. Their defense is playing the best it ever has. Instead of being the team that makes costly mental mistakes, they’re the one capitalizing when the opponent does. That’s the kind of team that understands the challenges it’s facing and has all the necessary confidence without the arrogance.
A play-by-play review of the 33-13 massacre in Carolina is unnecessary and would probably cause nausea in any reader who rooted for the Panthers. There were a couple of key moments that expanded into trends, though, and that decided the game.
Fitzgerald’s (first) big catch: Having watched the Cardinals' offense this year, my views on them mirrored the popular ones. They had a good vertical passing game and a good short-yardage rushing game with Tim Hightower but not enough ways to generate those opportunities.
I knew Fitzgerald was a top-notch receiver, but I didn’t know he was this good. Making a catch is one thing. Rising well above two defenders to somehow cradle a ball against your helmet while falling backwards, the whole time keeping your eye directly on the ball as you clutch it perfectly in place, is another entirely. There have been many great catches this year, but this one might be the best, not only because of its difficulty but also because it was a turning point in the game. Before the play, the Cardinals were at midfield; after it, they were within ten yards of the endzone, and they reached it three plays later.
It also set a trend. It proved that the Cardinals could use the deep ball to their advantage against the Panthers’ secondary, which had looked shaky all season in that respect. A secondary featuring players like Ken Lucas, Chris Harris, and Chris Gamble is solid, enough to support the fearsome front seven, but unspectacular by itself. That was made painfully clear, as Fitzgerald caught a touchdown pass later in the game, and Kurt Warner completed almost two-thirds of his passes.
Through spacing out the Panthers on defense, the Cardinals were able to establish that mixed offense the Panthers didn’t want to see. Edgerrin James, not long ago a willing outcast, took Hightower’s role as the short-yardage option, pounding home another first-quarter touchdown. Hightower ran for 76 yards on only 17 carries, respectable at almost 4.5 yards per carry (up from his NFL-low season average of 2.8) and caught Warner’s first touchdown pass. Whether it was throwing deep, throwing short, or (shocking as it may be for Arizona) running the ball, the Cardinals forced the Panthers to keep guessing on defense. The end result was 33 points.
Delhomme’s first pick:Going into the second quarter, the Panthers didn’t have it that bad. Down 14-7 with a decent-looking drive going, another quick touchdown would mean a tied ballgame. On the first play of the second quarter, throwing for the endzone was a good idea; throwing directly in the path of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie most likely wasn’t. Delhomme’s five picks on the day, plus a fumble, were atrocious.
Of course, John Fox’s forced insertion of pass plays didn’t help, and Delhomme has seen much better blocking. When Delhomme managed to barely avoid a sack early in the game, the Panthers’ interior linemen were doing wonderful matador impersonations. This disturbing trend goes a long way in explaining the lackluster ground game and Delhomme’s continuing woes. Even so, the Cardinals kept playing aggressively, and Delhomme kept slipping. Five different Cardinals had interceptions, making it a true team effort.
Where Now?
For the Cardinals, it’s either off to play New York or a surprising second game at home against the Eagles. The much-maligned defensive unit is looking star-studded after stifling two hot quarterbacks, to the point that Karlos Dansby, Antrel Rolle, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (who has intercepted a pass in every game he’s played) are suddenly looking like household names. All they need to do is not think about whom they’re playing because any team that can dominate in Carolina has a shot against anyone. Whatever motivated the team to play this well, especially the defense, needs to be reiterated and reinforced.
Carolina has a tougher situation. The team clearly has as much talent as any. The team clearly has no ceiling except the one they set for themselves. Take away the 23 points Arizona scored off (Delhomme’s) turnovers, as crude as that is, and Carolina’s up 13-10. It’s a frustrating way to lose, not to mention a frustrating time of year to lose. All the team can do is keep working hard, remember that this season was still a success overall, and come back in the fall even more bloodthirsty than before.
I can’t call Arizona the better team, because I truly believe that Carolina was. That is what’s magical about the NFL’s playoff format, though. In the three biggest pro sports leagues in North America other than the NFL, the Panthers would’ve had a chance at revenge. Here, it’ll have to wait if it arrives at all.
The Cardinals can’t help but feel good about themselves – they earned this win. One win earlier in the season against San Francisco was all that separated them from missing the playoffs. One win last week against Atlanta was the only reason they were allowed into Carolina. One win this week propelled them to a place I never thought I’d see them go.
The team that made the plays won. Beneath all the analysis and all the squabbling, that’s what happened. No doubt Jake Delhomme will reflect upon a soured birthday party with that in mind. |
