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January 27, 2004
Panthers Notebook
Ties to Houston are strong for Donnalley
By John Delong | JOURNAL REPORTER
• All of the Panthers are thrilled to be playing in the Super Bowl, naturally.
But perhaps none is more appreciative than guard Kevin Donnalley.
Donnalley, a 13-year veteran, is making his first trip to the Super Bowl - and he's doing it in the city where he started his NFL career. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the third round in 1991 and spent his first six NFL seasons in Houston before the franchise moved to Tennessee.
"I've been with a lot of good teams," Donnalley said yesterday, "and I have been in a lot of playoff situations, but I have just never gotten to that next level until now. I don't think some of the young guys understand how rare this could be. You think you go one year, and you'll just go back every year, and it's not that way."
Donnalley said that the only regret about returning to Houston this week is that the game won't be played in the Astrodome, the old home of the Oilers.
"I kind of miss the Astrodome," he said. "I wish the game was being played there. I know that these stadiums need to be a certain way now with the luxury suites and things like that, but it was a great place to play. I played my first six years indoors, so anytime I go back into a domed stadium, it feels natural."
• Several members of the national media have been suggesting that the 2-week break between the conference-championship games and the Super Bowl will work to the New England Patriots' advantage, not the Panthers.
There's a notion that Coach Bill Belichick is the best in the business at making adjustments, and that he will come up with a great game plan with two weeks to prepare.
But it was clear yesterday that the Panthers are tired of hearing such talk.
"We got two weeks to prepare, too," defensive end Mike Rucker said. "That works both ways. We feel our coaching staff is pretty good, too. And it comes down to the players on the field, anyway. All the schemes around the league are good. On offense, every play is designed to score. On defense, every scheme is designed to stop that play. So it's all in how the players execute, and what they do on the field."
• The Panthers have played once before in Reliant Stadium, and it was not a good day.
They lost to the Houston Texans 14-10 here on Nov. 2, dropping to 6-2.
The defeat was perhaps the Panthers' most-lackluster performance of the season, especially in terms of effort. They squandered several opportunities in the first half and led just 7-0 at halftime, then were outplayed thoroughly in the second half.
Linebacker Will Witherspoon called the game one of the turning points of the season, because the Panthers quickly realized they couldn't come out flat and expect to win, especially on the road.
They bounced back by beating Tampa Bay and Washington at home in the following two weeks.
"I think we relaxed a little too much," Witherspoon said. "The way the game was going at the start, it was like, 'Wow, here we go.' It was just another lesson learned for us this season. Don't ever get comfortable. Don't be satisfied where you are. Just keep pushing, keep going. We have to keep pounding no matter what is going on. If we're ahead 20 points or behind 20, we have to keep fighting."
• Coach John Fox plans to pipe in loud noise for practices later this week, to get the team accustomed for the buzz at Reliant Stadium on Sunday night.
But Fox admitted yesterday he was just doing it out of force of habit anymore. "We do it just to keep their focus," Fox said. "But my experience is, it's not very loud at the Super Bowl. We don't expect the noise to be anywhere close to what it was in St. Louis and Philadelphia."
• Running back Stephen Davis was courted by the Houston Texans as a free agent during the off-season before signing a 5-year deal with the Panthers.
He has been diplomatic in explaining to the Houston-area media why he chose the Panthers, saying he strongly considered coming to Houston.
"It was close," Davis said. "But the things I looked at were the opportunity to play close to home and getting the opportunity to have fun, run the ball and use my talents. They told me they were going to give me the opportunity to run the ball, and I went for it."
Obviously, there are no regrets now. "I felt that I made the right choice," he said. "I'm with an organization that believes in me, believes in what I can do on the field, and like I said, I'm having fun."
• John Delong can be contacted at jdelong@wsjournal.com