I
I I
Ji
CAROLINA PANTHERS VS N I W ENCLAND PARTIOTS
SUNDAY, F I B . I , 6:25
P.M. - HOUSTON, TEXAS
A SHOWDOWN IN TEXAS
Super Bowl tofeature football's version of the Odd Couple
By SETH POLANSKY
NFI^com
HOUSTON Whoever
picked New England and
Carolina to go to the Super Bow!
back in the preseason, please
raise your hand.
Not many hands in the air. are
there? But that's no problem.
Surprises like this make the NFL
so much fun.
So who to root for in Super
Bowl XXXVIII from Houston.
Texas, on Feb. 1? It's a tough
call because everyone likes to go
for the underdog.
However, in this situation,
both teams really aren't underdogs. They might have been at
one time, but it's hard to deny
their late-season success. So go
ahead and root for the stronger
team. Wait, that'll create the
same problem.
"1 don't really know what the
rest of the country thinks."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick
said.
Lady Luck smiles
Yes,
the New England
Patriots are that good.
The test of a truly good team
is how it gets past adversity, and
the Patriots have done that time
and time again this season. It all
comes from the top - head
coach Bill Belichick
It was Belichick who turned a
2-2 start into a 14-2 finish It
was Belichick who moved
around his personnel and came
up with schemes during the early
part of the season to get around
his abundance of defensive
injuries.
But what goes through the
mind of a football genius? No
one knows for sure, as the master planner never tips his hat.
Hey. whatever works - we're
just along for the nde.
Fourteen straight wins: 11
straight at Gillette Stadium
going back to last season. New
England hasn't los; since the
temperature was still in the 70s.
Eight teams haven't even
won 14 games in the last two
seasons combined. Your opponents need fire extinguishers
when you are on this kind of hot
streak
The latest victims were the
Indianapolis Colts in a game that
wasn't as close as the 24-14
score and weren't able to utilize
all-world quarterback Peyton
Manning due to a stifling
defense.
"We were really ticked off
because no one gave us credit."
comerback Tv Law said. "It was
all about Peyton Manning. To go
out and pick. pick, pick a guy
that everybody was building up
... it was huge for us."
After Ty Law's third rater
ception, the Patriots suited making plans for Houston. For every
Law interception when he was in
the right place at the right time.
Colts defenders dropped potential interceptions of their own.
The incomparable Marvin
Harrison fumbled the ball on the
New England 16-yard hoe late
in the second quarter, and quarterback Tom Brady didn't fumble the ball on the Indianapolis
16 late in the fourth quarter.
For every action there was an
equal and opposite reaction. as
Sir Isaac Newton theorized.
It shows that you really do
make your own luck. As seen
many times during the game, the
Patriots practically caught every
break.
They got even tip, just like
the one on the first play of the
fourth quarter when Brady
zipped a pass intended for
Dednc Ward but was tipped at
the line. Before the ball hit tbe
ground, an alert Troy Brown
snagged it out of the air and set
up first-and-goal. Belichick's tip
drills are sure paying off.
Has the cold weather had
something to do with the winning? Yes and no.
Bad weather affect* both
teams. Snow and rain makes it
hard for anyone to catch the ball
or any defender to gee a good
grasp. But the Patriots got used
to iL They know what the conditions could do. By playing in the
Northeast, extra preparation
needs to be put in for exactly
that
So the weather did beat the
Colts, only because there's not
much snow inside tbe RCA
Dome to get used to.
*The home-field advantage
we have here at Foxboro is
unlike anywhere else in the
league." Brady said. "This team
hasn't finished its job yet We
plan to go down (to Houston)
and bring back the Lombardi
trophy because we earned it."
Tbe Super Bowl will now be
played in much warmer weather,
something the Patriots are going
to ha v * to get used to.
The most unlikely
of them all
Carolina was so dominating
in beating Philadelphia 14-3 in
the NFC Championship Game.
INTERCEPTION
- Patriots'
daring the AFC
IS.
picks off s Paytoa Mantag
(Continued on Page B-3>
Perseverance pays off for Davis Brady rates with top NFL QBs
By U S A ZIMMERMAN
Special to NFL.com
CHARLOTTE - It's a word
that has been bandied about with
great frequency over the past
several weeks. So. is there a
team of destiny?
That has yet to be determined. But what is for certain
right now is that the next destination for the Carolina Panthers
is Super Bowl XXXVIII in
Houston, where they will face
the AFC Champion New
England Patriots.
What a road it has been.
One of the key players on that
road for the Panthers has been
running back Stephen Davis.
After seven years with the
Washington Redskins, who
drafted him in the fourth round
in 1996. Davis joined the
Panthers this past offseason. The
Panthers were coming off a 7-9
season, and Davis was coming
off a productive season but one
that was cut short by injuries
In spite of the fact that his
2003 season was also shortened
due to injuries — Davis was
inactive for two games — he
still finished the year with 1.444
yards, third overall m rushing in
the NFC and seventh in the NFL
Now. after beating tbe
Philadelphia Eagles 14 3 in the
NFC Championship Game, the
Panthers and Davis have earned
their first conference title.
Davis was questionable for
the entire week leading up to the
NFC Championship Game with
a quadriceps injury sustained in
the Panthers' divisional playoff
win over the St. Louis Rams.
However, it was Davis who
carried the ball on not just the
opening play, but for six of the
10 plays on Carolina's opening
drive.
Stephen Davis has been a
huge factor in Carolina's surprising run to the Super Bowl.
"1 always want to set the tone
for the offense." Davis asserted.
"Coach gave me the opportunity
to go out there and make some
plays. Whenever my number is
called. I try to do the best I can.
The guys up front did a great
job Everybody contributed."
Making it all the more
poignant and meaningful for
Davis is the fact that he is a
South Carolina native and will
now get to represent his home
region in the biggest game of his
life
"1 thought being with
Carolina, there was going to be
an opportunity for me." he said.
"Being back home This is huge,
very huge. It's great for me. the
community and the organization"
Davis gave it everything he
had.
With his quadriceps
encased in a homemade device
ngged by one of the trainers rubber bands were a key component - not only to keep his leg
warm, but to keep it from going
back too far or too high, be
rushed for 76 yards and caught a
21-yard pass from quarterback
Jake Dclbomme
Since day one of the 2003
regular season, few people
acknowledged the Panthers as
being a true contender. But one
game at a time, with Davis
among those leadin? the way.
they showed what they were
made of. Against tbe Eagles'
defense which has fought
through its own injuries, they
silenced many of their naysayers.
"We proved a lot of people
wrong." Davis said, in the controlled pandemonium of the
Panthers' postgame locker
room. "But it isn't for everybody
to buy into i t it's for everybody
m here to buy into it"
Davis, his injury and his team
will remain in the spotlight until
there is a final score for Super
Bowl XXXVIII However, in
spite of knowing the next two
weeks would be much-needed
for has healing process. Davis is
keeping his eye on the prize.
By VIC CARUCCI
National Editor. NFLxom
FOXBORO. Mass. - Star
power evades tbe New England
Patriots, just as it does the
Carolina Panthers.
We see the opponents of
Super Bowl XXXVm as great
teams that don't necessarily
boast great talent.
Some people still can't say
the last name of Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme without
the help of a pronunciation
guide. But the greater insult is
the way Tom Brady, his Patriots
counterpart is routinely overlooked in discussions about the
best quarterback in the NFL
today.
It should stop. Immediately.
With Brady starting his second Super Bow] in three seasons
- and perhaps on his way to
receiving his second Super Bowl
MVP award in the same stretch
bow could he not merit
strong consideration as the current top player at his position?
IH even go as far as to saythat he is m place to be regarded
among the better quarterback* to
ever play the game This is when
the all-time greats separate
themselves from the rest and
two Super Bowl rings m three
seasons would definitely create
some separation.
Two Super Bowl MVP* in
Chat span would create a kit
more.
For most of the season.
Peyton Manning and Steve
McNair set the league's quarterbacking standard on the way to
becoming the NFL's co-MVPs.
For the first two weeks of the
playoffs. Manning chmbed to a
level all bis own. He piled up
gaudy numbers in leading the
Indianapolis Colts to victories
over Denver and Kansas City.
He achieved near perfection in
all aspects of his perf on
But while it all unraveled for
Manning
in
the
AFC
Championship Game. Brady did
what he does better than the
majority of players at tes position. He did what he always
seems to do. He foand a way to
win-
As a dearly fostered
Manning threw his first four
ate throws.
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Patriots CB Ty
y Law
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hit the dart on four of his five
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Brady nethodtcairy picked
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The road to the Super Bowl
WikS-card round
Divisional
playoffs
Conference
championship
Conference
championship
Divisional
playoffs
Tennessee 20
Sunday, Feb. 1,6:25 p.m. (CBS)
At Houston
Tennessee 14
InrJanapois 14
Baltimore 17
Carolina 14
[ Denver 10
Green Bay 17
New England 24
| Kansas City 31
SOURCE:
Dates 10
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Caroina 29 OT j -
Louts 23 J
( New England 17
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