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Patriot games New England drubs Carolina, claims AFC East titlePosted: Sunday January 06, 2002 4:14 PMUpdated: Monday January 07, 2002 7:48 AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- As the New England Patriots danced their way off the field in celebration of winning the AFC East title, the Carolina Panthers hung their heads, embarrassed by their 15th consecutive defeat. Their head coach, George Seifert, showed no emotion as he walked off for likely the final time with the Panthers. Carolina's 38-6 loss to the Patriots on Sunday is not the final memory Seifert wants from his tenure, but it's likely out of his hands. "I plan on coaching this team next year, absolutely," said Seifert, who has two years left on his contract. "I don't plan on resigning the job." But speculation has begun that he'll be fired, with Steve Spurrier's name buzzing around Charlotte since his resignation as head coach at Florida on Friday. Team owner Jerry Richardson declined comment, but he and Seifert are scheduled to meet Monday morning.
The Charlotte Observer posted on its Web site, citing an unidentified source, that Seifert would be forced out Monday. Sports Illustrated's Don Banks, meanwhile, reported that Seifert would be fired. That's what happens when a rebuilding effort goes terribly awry, as it did with the Panthers, the first team in NFL history to lose 15 consecutive games in a season. "It's very depressing to be part of this dubious record," cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock said. "George's future hasn't crossed my mind, honestly, because the only thing I can think about is that we just lost 15 straight." In doing so, they helped the Patriots continue their surprising turnaround. New England (11-5) rolled to its sixth consecutive victory while winning its first division title since 1997. "We worked so hard after winning five games last year and being written off early this year," said defensive back Lawyer Milloy. "We were in the same boat that the Panthers are in today, going home early, and it's a sickening feeling. We put in a lot of hard work to turn it around, and hard work pays off."
And they did so in near privacy. The announced crowd was 21,070, less than half the previous franchise low. Adding insult to Carolina (1-15) were the huge sections of Patriots fans waving red and blue and raucously celebrating every New England score. "I couldn't believe how many Patriots fans there were in the stands," head coach Bill Belichick said. "It was really an impressive number of people that supported us down here. It was a very large, very vocal throng and we were grateful to have them here." The Patriots struck early and didn't stop, using all their resources to assure wrapping up the division title without having to wait for later games. Ty Law returned Chris Weinke's first interception 46 yards for a touchdown and Otis Smith returned Weinke's third interception 76 yards for another score. Troy Brown ran back a punt 68 yards for a TD and Antowain Smith had a 32-yard TD run. "This was just a culmination of everything that's taken place all year," Weinke said. "It's probably good it's over with." Tom Brady, selected to the Pro Bowl earlier this week after taking over the Patriots when they were 0-2 and directing their turnaround, also threw a 5-yarder to Jermaine Wiggins for his 18th TD pass of the season. And it could have been much worse for the Panthers. The Patriots marched downfield on their first drive and scored on a 5-yard run by Antowain Smith. But the touchdown was nullified by Joe Andruzzi's holding penalty, and the Patriots settled for a 19-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri. Law had his interception return on Carolina's first possession and, one play later, Otis Smith returned a pickoff 33 yards for a score. But that touchdown was called back because of holding. The Panthers then forced Antowain Smith's fumble on the goal line when New England went on fourth-and-1 instead of trying a field goal. The Panthers later made it 10-3 on John Kasay's 29-yard field goal. Kasay also kicked a 40-yarder in the third period. Richard Huntley set a Panthers record with 168 yards rushing. Notes: Carolina's previous rushing record was 147 yards, set by Fred Lane. ... Weinke finished with 2,931 yards passing this season, second in NFL history for rookies behind Peyton Manning's 3,739 in 1998. ... Brown finished the year with 101 catches, a New England record. ... After going 0-4 against NFC teams last year, the Patriots improved to 3-1 this season. ... New England's 11-5 record ties the franchise mark for wins in a season, reached five times before, most recently in 1996.
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