Day at a Glance John Donovan says the Panthers can go deep on the Patriots with play-action passing. • Click here for full story. Head2Head Don Banks and Peter King argue the keys to success for the Patriots and Panthers. • Click here for full story. John Donovan Even the Panthers don't know how they keep pulling out victories in close games. • Click here for full story. Don Banks Antowain Smith's biggest fan might just be his quarterback, Tom Brady. • Click here for full story.

HOUSTON -- Much to my surprise, the New England Patriots have decided to keep cornerback Ty Law next year. Good idea. Maybe a great idea. But, to me, a fairly stunning idea.

This is because the Patriots, to this point, have drawn a line in the sand against high salaries, and Law, who turns 30 on Feb. 10, will count $9.46 million against their salary cap in 2004. A cornerback counting for 12 percent of your salary cap (supposedly about $78.5 million in 2004 next season) is borderline insanity, but the Pats have to pay it if they want to keep Law. And they almost certainly will. Law has said twice since the start of the season that he won't play for a penny less than he's scheduled to make in 2004, so even if the Pats re-do his contract, it won't be for less than Law is scheduled to make next year.

I'd assumed all along that because New England whacked Lawyer Milloy five days before the season (he wouldn't take a major salary cut) that there was no way -- particularly after drafting corners in the second (Eugene Wilson) and fourth (Asante Samuel) rounds last April and signing starter Tyrone Poole as a free agent last offseason -- the team would have Law on the roster in 2004. But he has just played too well this year. This has probably been his best season, and he's done it while helping break in the two rookies. Law may have played his best game in the Pats' biggest game. Three interceptions of Peyton Manning, including a classic one-armed nab, in the AFC Championship are the stuff of Hall of Fameness.

The Patriots are smart enough to know that cutting Law because of salary-cap issues would be viewed differently by the rank-and-file in their locker room than the cutting of Milloy in September was. Players were angry about Milloy's firing, but I've always gotten the feeling that a good chunk of the locker room didn't think he was irreplaceable. And in retrospect, Milloy heir, Rodney Harrison, had a far greater impact than Milloy did either last year in New England or this year in Buffalo. Now, if the Patriots had announced this offseason that Law would be on the street if he didn't take a 50 percent cut, I think the players would be spitting mad at Bill Belichick and VP for football operations Scott Pioli. It's hard to retain credibility when you cut one of the best corners in the NFL while he's at the top of his game.

Paying Law big bucks will fly in the face of the Patriots' recent trend of being financially cautious. In the end, I'm surprised, but I agree with New England's move. I don't see how, if you've watched the Patriots this year, you wouldn't upset your salary apple cart a bit in order to keep Law.

Weird Media Note of the Day

Do you think I'm kidding when I tell you about the meaningless, weirdness and utter non sequiturness of what goes on the week of the Super Bowl? Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News, one of the greats among us, and a longtime scribe at these affairs, informs me of this sight: "I saw a German TV crew ask a Japanese media group: 'Would you please say something in English?' Then they asked, 'Would you please say something in German?'"

Quote of the Day

"I'm going to make one comment and we can close the book on it. I can't think of anybody in professional sports -- and certainly in my 30 years of professional football -- who has said more and won less than [ex-Jets team president] Steve Gutman."

--New England coach Bill Belichick on his former boss with the New York Jets, as quoted in the New York Post.

Houston Note of the Day

Traffic. Traffic. Aaarrrgggghhh! Traffic everywhere! I am really liking this town, except when I have to go out.

Five Things I Think I Think

	MAILBAG Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

1. I think I have been surprised by the growing sentiment that the Panthers will win this game. At a Thursday afternoon news conference held to promote the Pro Bowl, three participating players -- Takeo Spikes, Jamal Lewis and La'Roi Glover -- all said they thought Carolina would prevail. Said Glover: "The Panthers have the ability the run the football, and they have the best front four in the league."

2. I think one of the great scenes of this Super Bowl week was Thursday morning's arrival by Panthers linebackers coach Sam Mills, who is battling intestinal cancer. In one of his first public appearances since it was announced in August that he had the disease, Mills talked bravely about his illness in front of the press ... and then installed a section of the Panthers' Super Bowl game plan that afternoon at practice.

3. I think, as you know if you read my stuff fairly regularly, I'm not a very big basketball fan. But I saw Mike Bibby in action Wednesday night at the Toyota Center, and my rudimentary knowledge of the game tells me this: The man can play. What an awesome, quick, sharpshooting, cool-as-ice, clutch player. He and Steve Nash might actually make me watch the NBA a little bit. I doubt it, but maybe.

4. I think winding down from the craziness of this week will be fun. The cell phone vibrated (I keep it on vibrate most of the time) 57 times between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday.

5. I think it's looking more and more likely that it will rain on Sunday, which would mean a closed roof at Reliant Stadium for the game.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space every week.