Seahawks 34- Panthers 14

The Superbowl is set: Pittsburgh v. Seattle.  I had already predicted the outcome of this week’s play and the winner of the Superbowl to be played in Detroit in two weeks.  I was correct then and I am correct now.  At least the Bronco’s stayed in the game when compared to the Panthers, but neither team played up to their potential.  Jake Plummer may be the Bronco’s main offensive asset but he is also one of the team’s biggest weaknesses.  The Steelers handled the Bronco’s in the same way they handled the Patriots: they simply dominated them.  Still the Bronco’s had a chance to pull the victory off.  The Panthers on the other hand didn’t even put up a fight.

Admittedly Carolina was lacking offensive weapons due to injury, but as usual the Panther’s early game performance reveals which team has shown up for the game.  In last night’s case it was the losing team.  Their timing was off; penalties hurt them and definitely helped the Seahawks.  The Panther’s are a very nervous team and they are not able to control their collective anxiety.  I never expected Carolina to win in their depleted state, but they should have been able to make it a contest.  It was obvious from the first set of downs that they game was already over, at least to the keen observer of Carolina Panther behavior it was clear.

The future is not clear for Carolina much depends on the off season and physical conditioning.  Steve Smith will be back and so will most of the team, but John Fox must acquire a better running back to support DeShaun Foster and perhaps replace him.  Last night the team rushed for 34 yards while Shaun Alexander rushed for 132 yards an absolute disgrace for Carolina. Had they advanced the Panthers still would have lost to Pittsburgh as will the Seahawks.