|
|
February 2, 2004
A Super Meltdown
Panthers' defense, which got them to Super Bowl XXXVIII, failed dramatically, this time with the whole planet watching
BY LENOX RAWLINGS
HOUSTON - Defensive tackle Brentson Buckner shuffled across the concrete floor in the Reliant Stadium basement, his tired legs incapable of stepping over a crack and his weary heart intolerant of consoling pats.
The Carolina Panthers, a Super Bowl contender built on defense, lost the Super Bowl 32-29 because the defense melted.
New England torched the Panthers for 481 yards and, most important, drove 37 yards in the last minute to set up Adam Vinatieri's winning 41-yard field goal with four seconds left.
"All year long our defense always found that way to make that one stop and get the other offense off the field," Buckner said. "Today, we just couldn't do it."
They failed dramatically, with the planet watching. They failed strangely, with John Kasay kicking the ball out of bounds and putting New England on its 40-yard line at the outset of the tie-breaking drive. They failed consistently. Quarterback Tom Brady, facing first-and-20 after a penalty, whipped three straight completions for 34 total yards, putting the final arrow in Vinatieri's bow.
The staccato sledgehammer pounded the Panthers' overtime visions into silver confetti. While fans cherished the game's undeniable thrills, while witnesses toasted the wild offensive swings, Buckner pursed his usually active lips and shook his normally cheerful head.
"We're happy about the success we've had," he said, "but no way are we happy about finishing second in this game. Nobody remembers second, so it's all a bust. Right now, we're losers. We're one of the 31 losers in the NFL. These guys know you can take something out of being here, but if you don't win, it don't mean nothing."
Not one sack
The Panthers' vaunted Front Four - which Buckner had promoted loudly as the league's best, hands down - never sacked Brady, seldom smothered runner Antowain Smith (83 yards on 26 carries) and crumbled under Brady's dink-and-fling assortment of passes. Brady connected 32 times in 48 attempts for 354 yards and three touchdowns. His worst throw, which Carolina intercepted, wound up as a mere footnote on the bottom of his MVP trophy.
Safety Mike Minter, another Panther burned on play-action touchdown passes, saw considerable magic in how the Patriots camouflaged runs with pass-blocking techniques and ran when Carolina expected passes.
"So now, all of a sudden, they go bam-bam-bam and they get 10, 15, 12 yards," Minter said. "Now, all of a sudden, you're like: 'OK, I've got to get up here.' And now they've got you with the pass. It's a chess game, man, and all you can do is hope you guess right. That's what it comes down to. They disguise it that well that it comes down to a guessing game."
Minter praised New England's runners, pole-vaulting receivers and shrewd coaches, but vital matters hinged on the quarterback.
"This guy is good," Minter said. "He's won a Super Bowl before. It's not like he was chopped liver and just came off the street."
Brady disarmed Kris Jenkins, Julius Peppers and other pass rushers. Brady's primary secondary victims were Minter, nickel back Terry Cousin and cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., the rookie who picked off three Philadelphia passes in the NFC championship game.
Troy Brown, who caught eight Brady passes, ragged on Manning. "Those guys couldn't touch us all game," Brown said. "They talk about him being better than Ty Law, but we have the real No. 24 on our team. He didn't lay a hand on us all game."
The Panthers wrapped paws all over the Patriots in the early skirmishing. Neither team scored until about three minutes before halftime, the longest 0-0 opening act in 38 Super Bowls. Once the dam leaked, however, the floodgates opened. New England led 14-10 at the half. Carolina outscored the Patriots 19-18 in the fourth quarter.
Coach John Fox deferred judgment until he watches the videotapes, but he conceded that constant exposure probably wore down the Panthers. New England controlled the ball nearly two-thirds of the time.
"Both offenses did a great job of figuring the other defense out," Buckner said. "It just turned into a fest."
Only New England walked away in a festive mood. Defensive end Mike Rucker talked softly as he analyzed Carolina's deficiencies. "It just seems like the whole day we were just one step behind," Rucker said.
Kasay's bad kick
One such misstep belonged to Kasay, the usually reliable kicker. Trying to make the perfect kick right after Ricky Proehl's 12-yard touchdown catch tied the game at 29, Kasay struck the ball a bit late and jerked it out of bounds.
"We needed a really good kick, and I didn't get it done," he said.
Teammates circled the wagons around Kasay, whose winning field goals played a major role in the NFC South title.
"If it wasn't for John Kasay," Buckner said, "we wouldn't be doing this interview right now. It's just one of those things. They've still got to go 60 yards to score points. What you do as a defense is line up there and if they don't move the ball no more, they don't score no more points."
Rucker dismissed hints that the kick was a critical flaw. "That gave them 20 yards," he said, "but if we stop them, they can't kick that field goal. Eventually, it comes back on our shoulders."
In the last minute of the last game, those broad shoulders couldn't hold up.