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January 27, 2004
Strictly Business
Panthers insist they will be on their best behavior, resist inevitable temptations of Super Bowl week
By John Delong | JOURNAL REPORTER
HOUSTON - The Carolina Panthers have arrived, have unpacked - and now have six days to go until Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Between now and then, Coach John Fox wants to make sure that his players stay focused and keep their minds on football.
That's easier said than done with the distractions and temptations that go along with playing in the Super Bowl, but Fox said yesterday he is confident that the Panthers understand their mission.
"Every coach takes precautions," Fox said after the Panthers went through a light practice yesterday morning. "I don't know if you can ever guarantee nothing will happen off the field. But I've visited with my team about this. I think we have good leadership, and they can monitor most of that. So I don't think we'll have any problems."
The Panthers, of course, have been relatively controversy-free off the field this season, outside of a four-week suspension to safety Jarrod Cooper after he was charged with his second DWI.
But crazy things happen during Super Bowl week sometimes.
Last year, Oakland center Barrett Robbins went AWOL the day before Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego and wound up being suspended. The Raiders swore they were not bothered by the controversy, but they wound up getting blasted by the Tampa Bay Bucs 48-21.
In Super Bowl XXXVIII in Miami in 1999, Atlanta safety Eugene Robinson was arrested for solicitation the night before the game. Robinson played the next day, but poorly, and the Falcons were routed by the Denver Broncos 34-19.
In Super Bowl XXIII in Miami in 1989, Cincinnati running back Stanley Wilson was picked up on drug charges early in the week, and wound up not playing. The Bengals lost to the San Francisco 49ers 20-16.
According to defensive end Mike Rucker, Fox's cautions will be heeded this week.
"I think that everybody knows that we are on a mission and how close we are," Rucker said. "We've talked about guys looking out for each other, not being out late, not being in the wrong places. Everyone knows the difference between right and wrong.
"They're doing a lot of things to occupy our time, too. We will not have a lot of free time to do anything this week."
The Panthers are working out at the University of Houston's practice field this week.
They went through what Fox called a "10-10-10" practice yesterday, devoting equal time to offense, defense and special teams.
"We just got them out there, got them in the new environment, and got the trip out of their system," Fox said.
The most significant news was that running back Stephen Davis participated and showed no ill effects of the strained quadriceps suffered more than two weeks ago at St. Louis.
"Stephen will be at full speed," Fox said. "He practiced today, and he's about as full speed as I've seen him."
The Panthers will actually get a day off from practice today, as they'll spend most of the afternoon at Reliant Stadium participating in media day activities. But it'll be back to the film room afterward, then back to practice again on Wednesday morning.
After that, there's only one rule: Stay on your best behavior.
"This is all business," defensive tackle Brentson Buckner said. "You work too hard to get down there and have fun and end up regretting it. So it's all business. We're all down here to play a game. We're down here to get ready to play a game against a great team, for the greatest prize in our profession. That's what we plan to do."
• John Delong can be contacted at jdelong@wsjournal.com/p>