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Panthers turning to veteran leaders

Carolina has 24 players with experience in postseason, including 15 who have started a playoff game

Journal File Photo

Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad has Super Bowl experience with both the Panthers and the Bears.

By John Delong

JOURNAL REPORTER

Published: January 8, 2009

CHARLOTTE - The Carolina Panthers have 29 players on their 53-man roster who have never played in a playoff game.

But that means that the Panthers have 24 veterans who know all about the kind of pressure that they will face on Saturday night when they play the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium. And those veterans are doing their best this week to impart their experience and playoff wisdom.

"It's up to the guys who have been there before to let those guys know what this is going to be like when we get out there Saturday night, because this won't be like a regular-season game," safety Chris Harris said. "It'll be unlike any other game they've ever played in their life.

"The tempo's faster. The pressure's different because if you don't win, you're watching the rest of the playoffs at home. This is a three-game tournament for us now, and if we execute the game plan and do what we're supposed to do we've got an excellent chance of coming out on top."

Harris went to the Super Bowl while with the Chicago Bears two seasons ago before coming to the Panthers last season. He's one of 15 Panthers who have started a playoff game.

Sixteen players were with the Panthers when they went to the NFC championship game before losing at Seattle three seasons ago, and just seven -- quarterback Jake Delhomme, running back Nick Goings, tackle Jordan Gross, fullback Brad Hoover, receiver Muhsin Muhammad, receiver Steve Smith and defensive end Julius Peppers -- were part of the Panthers' run to the Super Bowl in the 2003 season.

Muhammad is the lone player who has played in two Super Bowls, one with the Panthers and one with the Bears.

"You have to treasure each game," Delhomme said. "There are guys who have been in the league a long time and have never been to the playoffs, so you have to treasure every opportunity. When you get to the playoffs, you know how close you are and how important it is to do everything you can to get this one and go on to the next. You've got to make the most of it. I mean, you've got to be all in, because if we don't play well Saturday, we'll all be on vacation."

According to defensive tackle Damione Lewis, the process of getting the younger Panthers ready for the playoffs started long ago.

"We had a meeting probably about a month ago just to let them know it's not easy, that it takes luck, chemistry, being in the right place at the right time," Lewis said. "There's so much that goes into that, you have to go out and prepare every day knowing what's at stake."

Lewis is one of the players who have learned not to take anything for granted at playoff time. He was a rookie with the St. Louis Rams in 2001, when the Rams went to Super Bowl XXXVI and lost to the New England Patriots.

He hasn't been back to the Super Bowl since, and has played in just three playoff games over the past seven seasons.

"We were putting up 50, 40 points every game and just putting up points like it was unbelievable," Lewis said. "It just came real easy and it seemed like I didn't understand the work that went into it, and how long it took them to get to that point.

"I just didn't understand the whole thing. That was my rookie year and now here it is my eighth season, and I haven't been back yet. So it's kind of a reality check."

Gross said that one thing that will help is that the Panthers have been in several pressure-packed games down the stretch this season. They beat Tampa Bay 38-23 on a Monday Night Football telecast with the NFC South lead at stake on Dec. 8. They lost to the New York Giants 34-28 in overtime on Dec. 21 in a game that decided the NFC's No. 1 playoff seed. And they won at New Orleans 33-31 on Dec. 28 in a game they needed in order to clinch the NFC South and get a first-round playoff bye.

"We've had so many crucial games in December, there's been some atmospheres that felt like the playoffs -- the Giants game especially," Gross said. "So I think we're used to the pressure around here.

"There's been a lot of guys asking me what it's going to be like and everything. The thing I tell them is, a lot of things on the outside are bigger. Guys will be a little more energetic and the crowd will be louder. But you've just got to remember you're still playing football."

■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.