Midseason Underachievers On the Comeback Trail

In a season when parity, that NFL buzz word, reigns throughout the NFC, no team has emerged as the clear favorite to represent the conference in the Super Bowl. But the Carolina Panthers made a good case for themselves yesterday with a 34-14 trouncing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Carolina’s best defensive player, end Julius Peppers,helped the Panthers improve to 6-2 by dominating Tampa Bay tackle Kenyatta Walker. Peppers had two sacks while Walker, looking jittery at the prospect of blocking one of the NFL’s best defensive ends, committed three false start penalties.As well as Peppers has played, no one has done more for Carolina than wide receiver Steve Smith. A broken leg ended Smith’s 2004 season in Week 1, but he has arguably been the NFL’s best receiver in the first half of 2005. Smith had five catches for 106 yards and a touchdown yesterday, but even when the play calls didn’t go in his direction, he had a tangible impact on the game. Because Tampa Bay’s defensive backs were forced to focus on Smith all day, Carolina’s offense was able to create mismatches elsewhere. In the second quarter, Tampa Bay’s double coverage of Smith left linebacker Shelton Quarles covering slot receiver Ricky Proehl, who caught a big 62-yard pass.Carolina now shares the NFC South lead with Atlanta, which beat Miami 17-10 yesterday. At 5-3,Tampa Bay is a game behind and going in the wrong direction. Following their 4-0 start, the Bucs have lost three of four games. Rookie running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, extensively hyped after gaining 434 yards in his first three NFL games, managed 29 yards yesterday and has only 62 yards on 35 carries since that phenomenal start.Without Williams providing a running threat, quarterback Chris Simms has struggled. The third-year signal caller, who became the starter when Brian Griese was lost for the year with a torn ACL in Week 6, completed 25 of 42 passes for 259 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions yesterday. Simms made a terrible decision on the first interception, telegraphing a wobbler across the field, giving Carolina’s Chris Gamble an easy 61-yard interception return for a touchdown.The Panthers might now be the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, but they still have work to do. To truly contend, the offense needs to establish another weapon besides Smith. The Carolina running backs – Stephen Davis, DeShaun Foster and Nick Goings – combined for 31 carries and 77 yards yesterday.If the running game can be effectively developed, Carolina could return to the Super Bowl.***The Kansas City Chiefs were without two offensive starters – left tackle Willie Roaf and running back Priest Holmes – yesterday against the Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs missed Roaf, their best pass-protector, as Oakland defensive end Tommy Kelly sacked quarterback Trent Green three times. But the absence of Holmes made room for Larry Johnson, who carried the Chiefs to a last-second 27-23 win.With 19 seconds remaining, Johnson caught a short pass from Green and ran 36 yards to the 1-yard line. On the next play, he ran into the end zone for the game-winning score as time expired. Johnson finished the day with 22 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns, plus three catches for 48 yards.Raiders coach Norv Turner loves long passes, which is why owner Al Davis hired him and why Oakland traded for speedy receiver Randy Moss. But yesterday Kerry Collins threw to Moss seven times with six incompletions and an interception before they finally hooked up on a seven-yard touchdown with 1:50 left in the game. Although that pass would have won the game for Oakland if its defense had stopped Johnson on the last play, the Raiders’ offense is clearly not functioning as it should when it averages less than one yard per throw to Moss.Kansas City’s secondary, which has struggled most of the season, deserves credit for holding Oakland’s passing attack in check.The 5-3 Chiefs still face an uphill battle to the playoffs, but if their pass defense can transform itself from a weakness to a strength, the Chiefs will be contenders.***When Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper was lost for the season with a knee injury last week, it looked like the death knell for an already disappointing season. But it might not be time to bury Minnesota just yet. Backup Brad Johnson played well in Culpepper’s place against the Detroit Lions and might have opened the door to Minnesota winning the NFC North.After leading the Vikings to a 24-0 first-half lead, Johnson managed the game like the veteran he is, doing everything he needed to do to hold the lead as the Vikings won 27-14. Johnson finished 15-for-22 for 136 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, completing passes to nine receivers.If Johnson can continue to play with poise and smarts, Minnesota could be a threat to division-leading Chicago, which improved to 5-3 with a 20-17 win over New Orleans.Running back Michael Bennett had by far his best game of the year, carrying 18 times for 106 yards against a solid Detroit run defense. Minnesota’s offense certainly won’t be as imposing as it was last season, but it really only needs to play competently to win the pedestrian NFC North.To contend in their division, the 3-5 Vikings probably need to finish 8-8, which is entirely possible given a schedule that includes only two more games against teams with winning records.For most of this season, it has just been assumed that head coach Mike Tice would be fired at the end of the year. If Minnesota manages to make the playoffs, could Tice’s job be spared? That would be the biggest upset of the year.Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.

Midseason Underachievers On the Comeback Trail

Midseason Underachievers On the Comeback Trail

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