 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Growling Panthers Carolina focused on making playoffs
Posted: Tuesday December 21, 1999 07:53 PM
CHARLOTTE (AP) -- Now that they're getting some help in their late-season playoff bid, the Carolina Panthers want to make sure they keep helping themselves. Five victories in seven games have rallied Carolina (7-7) into contention for an NFC wild-card berth. The Panthers got some help Sunday with losses by six teams that could also figure into the competition for wild-card spots: Arizona, Dallas, Detroit, the New York Giants, Tampa Bay and Washington. But Carolina's players know that even with other teams struggling, if the playoffs started now, the Panthers wouldn't qualify. As a result, Carolina has no margin for error over the remaining two weeks of the regular season. "What happened Sunday was great," wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad said Monday. "That shows that if you concentrate on what you have to do, you never know what scenario is going to play itself out. But the most important thing is if we don't win our last two games, we have no chance." The final two games on Carolina's schedule are against teams that have a combined record of 7-21. The Panthers play at Pittsburgh (5-9) this week before coming home for a Jan. 2 contest against New Orleans (2-12). "What we've done here lately really is nice, but it doesn't mean much if we don't finish it off right," quarterback Steve Beuerlein said. "The attitude is really just to take care of business at Pittsburgh." The Panthers' latest step in their recovery from a 2-5 start was Saturday's 41-24 victory over San Francisco. The game allowed the Panthers a rarity this late in the season: taking a day off Sunday and watching their peers work. Not surprisingly, the main focus was the fate of Carolina's NFC wild-card competitors. "I was glued to the TV all day," fullback William Floyd said. "It's hard to stop watching once you start." Tight end Wesley Walls offered a similar sentiment. "I found out it's going to take a little adjusting to be a fan," Walls said, adding that it became confusing trying to keep track of which teams he should root against and which he should support. To coach George Seifert, the solution is simple. "You can distract yourself with all of that," he said. "It was a good day for us, but as we all know, none of it makes any difference if we don't take care of our side of it." That begins Sunday against a Pittsburgh team that has lost six in a row. Seifert said tailback Tshimanga Biakabutuka is unlikely to be available against the Steelers unless he improves in the coming days. Biakabutuka sat out last week while continuing to battle the lingering effects of an ankle sprain from late October. The only other players Seifert said are likely to miss practice time this week are defensive backs Mike Scurlock and Roderick Mullen -- Scurlock with a sore back and Mullen with a bruised shoulder. The Panthers are favored to win their third consecutive game, something Carolina hasn't done since the middle of the 1997 season. "We're a long way away from where we want to be," Seifert said. "But there's some light there."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
