| Authored by Christopher Reina - 3rd January, 2007 - 10:57 am
 Bill Cowher is already in Raleigh, North Carolina and he will return to Pittsburgh on Tuesday to likely tell the Steelers that he wants to remain down in the Tar Heel state.
If this does indeed play out as everyone expects it to, John Fox will be firmly on the hot seat as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. With a contract that expires after the 2008 season and the most attractive available replacement in your backyard, a long run in the playoffs next season will be the only thing that will save him.
The Panthers came into the 2006 season as the sexy pick to reach the Super Bowl. Why wouldn’t they be? They were coming off dominating playoff victories on the road against the Giants and Bears before running out of steam at Seattle in the NFC Championship.
In the NFC Championship, Seattle’s defense was able to take Steve Smith out of the game. They held him to just 33 yards receiving, his only damage coming on a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter.
With their running back corps depleted due to injury, they rushed for only 36 yards. Jamal Robertson and Nick Goings were completely ineffective and their shot to return to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years was doomed.
But in the off-season, Carolina addressed their two most glaring needs on offense: A possession receiver and depth at running back.
GM Marty Hurney quickly signed Keyshawn Johnson after Dallas cut the receiver to clear room for Terrell Owens.
"I thought this was the best place for me to get back to the Super Bowl," Johnson said when he signed the deal.
Nearly a month later, DeAngelo Williams was selected with their late first round pick in the draft. In a terrific draft for running backs, some thought the senior Williams might become the most productive back in his rookie season.
Steve Smith suffered a hamstring injury in practice just before the season and was forced to sit their first two games, both defeats where the combined to score just 19 points.
When he returned in Week 3, the Panthers found their offensive swagger (at least in the initial 30:00 when they scored 20 first half points). They held on for a 26-24 victory over Tampa Bay and then rattled off three more wins, coincidentally scoring at least 20 points in each of them.
Carolina would go on to score in the twenties in just two more meaningful games, 24 points against both Tampa Bay and Philadelphia (they scored 31 points against a New Orleans team who had clinched a first round bye in Week 17).
Converting on third down was the Panthers Achilles’ heel all season. They had a conversion rate of just 31.1%, dead last in the NFL. When you are punting and settling for field goals, with a frequency like that, it should be no surprise to average a measly 16.9 points per game. That was down from the 24.4 PPG they averaged in 2005.
Injuries to Jake Delhomme, DeAngelo Williams, Steve Smith talked about the most, but their offensive line lost three starters to season-ending injuries, which took its toll as much anything.
Many people have called for the job of offensive coordinator Dan Henning, saying that he calls a too conservative game, but it appears he will return. Fox and most players have been vocal in their support of Henning.
“I can only tell you that it's the same plays that almost won us a Super Bowl and took us to an NFC Championship game (last season),” said Fox. “So I don't think (the coaching staff) became village idiots overnight. I understand those frustrations, but we all share them."
Share they will, because if the Panthers underachieve again in 2007, Cowher will be too tempting to pursue and Fox won’t see his lame duck 2008 chance. |
