Unqualified Offerings

Panthers @ Seahawks. Trying to care.

1. Brief opening remarks. Carolina is using Nick Goings as their running back because of injuries to Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster. I thought, watching Carolina’s game against Chicago last week, that Goings was too hesitant with the ball. Instead of making a cut he thinks about making a cut. There’s “patience” as a runner and then there’s get on with it already. Goings has had one carry so far and he was in get on with it mode.

2. End of the first quarter, Seattle 10 Carolina 0. Carolina looks awful, Seattle like a champion. 1st and goal, Seattle, at the One. Two questions remain: how much embarrassment can Carolina avoid; what will Pittsburgh do about the Seattle offense, which looks impressive.

3. 9:00 to go in the first half and a – controversial, I suppose – Steve Smith punt return for a TD. Refs make an initial call of Illegal Block in the Back because there’s an illegal block in the back call on almost every good punt return. Then they pick up the flag and let the TD stand. Carolina guy certainly gave the Seahawk defender a push from behind – supposedly the refs decided he was out of the play. Anyway, 17-7, but it’s not going to matter if Carolina can’t play some offense. Nick Goings is out of the game, so the argument between me and Troy Aikman about whether Goings is any good will not be settled. (Aikman: “I think Goings is a very effective player.” Me: “Twaddle!”)

UPDATE: Promo for 24 says the plot “hits the ground like a bullet train.” I believe that a bullet train hitting the ground constitutes a crash. So, good call, Promo!

Back to the game: Matt Hasselbeck is very good. His scrambles killed the Redskins and they’re keeping the Panthers from rising out of the grave.

4. Halftime. Carolina’s got nothin’. Seattle’s defense is impressive, especially it’s pass rush.

5. 9:35, Q3. That concludes the educational portion of this game. Seattle comes out on their first drive of the second half and rips off a touchdown drive, going up 20. Carolina then goes sack, ineffectual draw play, incompletion, crappy punt. Carolina has disintegrated. Nothing that happens from here on out will tell you anything beyond how much fun Seattle can have toying with crippled prey. The line has broken; all that remains is for the hussars to chase down the stragglers.

6. 2:00 to go in the third and the Carolina offense twitches with life. Troy Aikman says, “Carolina is really playing against the clock now.” Nonsense. Carolina is trying to prove they can move the ball at all. Score on this drive and it’s a two-possession game with a quarter to go.

So Jake Delhomme throws a pick. Because they were as panicky as Aikman? Can’t say that – they’ve been bad most of the game. But that lack of patience does infect teams and it’s deadly.

7. Now they belongs to the ages. The Panthers, I mean. Seattle goes to the Super Bowl.

The football lesson of the day is, don’t be so quick to fire coaches! Particularly coaches that have had success in the past. There are a lot of teams out there that would have fired Bill Cowher and Mike Holmgren a couple years ago after each of their teams had a couple of soft years. But these were Super Bowl coaches, a Super Bowl-winning coach in Holmgren’s case. And Cowher has averaged ten wins a year over his career: phenomenal.