Cardiac (All-In-One)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Two years ago, this team lost fifteen in a row
and they were the worst team in the NFL. But
just two years later, after John Fox was hired as
head coach and instilled his system and his belief that
this team could win. Here they are in Super Bowl
thirty eight. So a huge play here for the Carolina offense.

(00:24):
And it's this type of play in the fourth quarter
with their team down. Jack Colom has been making all
year long.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
We were backed up a couple of plays. Got stuff.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Foster is coming as the running back, Muhammad and crawler
out white near side left, Steve Smith wide right.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Day one install.

Speaker 4 (00:39):
It's a go by by Moose, It's a dig by Steve,
and it's an under by Riki.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
Here's the third and ten call play action the lone
back to throw.

Speaker 4 (00:47):
They played coverage and I get flushed a little bit
to the left and next thing you know.

Speaker 5 (00:51):
I had a go route. I said double move Ty
low because he's sitting on this out every time I
run an outright, Ty Law is like sitting on my
out routes. Take off the line image and I hit
the out route. I just gave him a little dead
leg and a step to the out and he bid
all over it.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Moose never stopped running.

Speaker 4 (01:07):
He just keeps running and he throws his hand up
in the air because he knows that they just let
him go.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Nobody open now sets off, well, dip down Phil for Mohammed.

Speaker 4 (01:16):
And I'll let it go, and knowing, oh gosh, we're
gonna catch you for first down.

Speaker 5 (01:20):
I'm so far down the field at this point, he
just heaves the ball up in the air and it's
up into the rafters.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
He's got it at the thirty, he's still at twenty.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
And it moves the sides.

Speaker 4 (01:28):
Yeah, no, we're gonna score, and he just stiff arms
stiff un touts dun touts, dun darlin.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
D all off to the sideline.

Speaker 5 (01:36):
Obviously we took the lead at that point in the game,
and I'm thinking to myself, can.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
The clock run out any faster?

Speaker 6 (01:43):
We have the defense that we can, we can hold him.
And you just felt like you were step closer to
your end goal, that goal that you have been dreaming
of since you were a little kid.

Speaker 7 (01:51):
We lived this all throughout the season.

Speaker 8 (01:53):
So when when Moose scored that touchdown in the way
he did, We're like, yeah, this this is how it's
supposed to be reading anyway.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Cardiac cast We're gonna win this game.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
Fires for throwing the ends on. Hey God, touch down,
big hole down the sideline. He's gone, and the Panthers
are gonna pull another one out of their head. That's
Tortianzo touchdown. Fires over the middle. Is that intercepting? Yes,
it is up, it is gone. Panthers have won in
it over times man head the forty five to the
forty and though that's right, is the honey ten mine touchdown? Yes, Charlotte,

(02:29):
there is a Super Bowl and.

Speaker 9 (02:31):
We're in it.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Cardiac, here's the third and ten call play action along
back to throw. Nobody opened now sets out. We'll keep
downfield from Muhamn. He's got it at the thirty. He's
to the twenty. Stefens a tackler touchdown, touchdown, Carolina holding

(02:55):
goodness eighty five.

Speaker 10 (03:01):
Moussin Mohammad's eighty five yard touchdown catch gave the Panthers
their first and only lead in a Super Bowl, but
Carolina's championship fire was forged two seasons earlier, from the
embers of futility. Entering at two thousand and three, the
Panthers were less than a decade into their existence. Former

(03:25):
Panthers play by play announcer Bill Razinski remembers a team
that could not sustain its initial success.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Well, obviously ninety five. They began in the beginning. They
brought in, you know, a lot of vets, you know,
Sam Mills, Willie Green, Brett Maxie. You go down the
list of guys they brought in who had a lot
of experience and were competitive. You know, lost their first
five and ninety five and then went on a four
game winning streak, beat the forty nine ers on the road.
It was, you know, just a good start for the team,

(03:54):
and that set up ninety six and you know, go
to the NFC Championship game before losing at Green Bay.
So those are the first two years and then we
kind of fall into the abyss.

Speaker 10 (04:03):
Six straight seasons without a winning record. Followed intercepted Eric Allen.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
He's gonna take it to the half back to pass
Winkie Clotes and oh who's he throwing it to. It's
picked off. All the ball felt loose. It's picked up.
Arizona's gonna run at Vats, caught by Owen's ricks a
tackle at the fifteen high stemps it at the five
touchdown forty nine or fires over the metal and it's
picked off. Ricky, however, looks left and throws and it's
picked off. It's over and the pain finally comes to

(04:32):
an end. And it's been just a terrible season in
the win loss column for the Panthers. A lot of
close games throughout the course of the year, but the
Panthers could never win any of them.

Speaker 10 (04:43):
Rock Bottom hit in two thousand and one. Wide receiver
Steve Smith was in his rookie season.

Speaker 11 (04:49):
It wasn't the one in fifteen that was tough. It
was all the things that transpired into one and fifteen.
You talking about ninety eleven.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
We're back with dramatic pictures.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
You're looking at the World Trade Center in Lower man
and where just a few minutes ago we're told that
a plane crashed into the upper floors of one of
the twin towers.

Speaker 11 (05:06):
September fifth, my daughter was born. So you're talking about
a swing of emotions.

Speaker 10 (05:11):
It was.

Speaker 11 (05:12):
It was very interesting personally for me and then let
alone just professionally. As you had another bye week, you
had the towers going down, people unsure what to do.
I remember two thousand and one. A lot of the games,
no one was there. It was it was nothing to
come to the game too. It was it was tough.

(05:32):
Let was extremely tough.

Speaker 10 (05:34):
Fellow wide receiver Musen mohammadd.

Speaker 5 (05:36):
It was a Tuesday morning and we were looking at
TV and and my wife says, hey, something's going on
up in New York. Some planes just ran into the
Twin Towers and we're sitting there and all of a sudden,
you know, it was nine to eleven, right, it was.
It was the Twin Towers. It was, you know, destruction
in New York. It was the worst terrorist attack on

(05:58):
our country. And I remember that, you know, NFL was
contemplating canceling a bunch of games and all this stuff,
and so it was totally disruptive. And so we came
back after that game. We won the first game, and
we were lost fifteen straight games, and you want to
talk about one of the most miserable seasons you just
all the way around.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
It was just just a horrible year.

Speaker 5 (06:18):
And it was hard to leave your house and felt
like you were a prisoner in your own home. It
was just one of the toughest things we ever went through.
And so I went from you know, seeing the highest
of highs in ninety six and coming out to the
lowest of low's of two thousand and one, and needless
to say, you know, we endured it, and we got
through it, and we and we moved on.

Speaker 10 (06:39):
A lost season still served up some hope Panthers team
history in David Monroe.

Speaker 12 (06:46):
Two thousand and one, despite finishing one in fifteen on
that team, we had signed but ended up being the
foundation for our offensive line. During the two thousand and
one offseason, we signed left tackle Todd Stusey an unrestricted
free agency EUIE Sun, center Jeff Mitchell, and guard Kevin Donnelly.

Speaker 13 (07:03):
The reason they didn't really do well the year before
was because they had all these sacks. The offensive line
wasn't very good. But they bring in myself, Jeff Mitchell
and Todd Stusey the bolster of the offensive line in
two thousand and one. They let the quarterback go, so
it's you know, you try to solve parts of it
by bringing in the offensive line to help set up
Steve Berlin in the offense that George Seffert wanted to run.

(07:23):
And then the quarterback's gone.

Speaker 10 (07:26):
Quarterback Steve Berline departed after the two thousand season. Carolina
fired its head coach George Seffert after two thousand and one.
Enter the forty seven year old son of a Navy seal,
John Fox.

Speaker 14 (07:41):
Kind of a tight ship around the house. You know,
there's a lot of carryover. I'm not going to say
the stain, but you know, kind of how a football
team structured and organized, and some of the same cultural
things they're involved, you know, are involved in the military.
You know, all man created equal. You know, every guy's

(08:03):
you know, a teammate, you know, I think so a
lot of those concepts that relate to a locker room,
you know, relate to a locker room in.

Speaker 15 (08:14):
The military as well.

Speaker 10 (08:16):
Former Panther defensive back turned radio analyst Eugene Robinson saw
a change right away.

Speaker 16 (08:23):
The difference between coach Fox and coach Seffert. It was
night and day when I played here in two thousand,
a little bit more superstitious, very pensive, and you never
knew what he was thinking. You never got an idea
of what was going on.

Speaker 10 (08:38):
You know, you didn't know where you stood. Tackle Jordan
Gross entered the league as a rookie in two thousand
and three. John Fox was his first NFL head coach.

Speaker 17 (08:48):
Foxy, real approachable guy, not a maybe not a player's coach,
but like not a you know, he didn't have a
wall up. He was always wanting game with the guys,
always had a cup of coffee almost all the time
whenever we were at practice, and a chew in as like.
I just remember thinking, like, that's a lot of stimulants

(09:08):
at once, right there, Bud.

Speaker 14 (09:10):
You know, basically I explained, nobody's that bad. Nobody's one
and fifteen in the NFL either. You know, you stop
trying word, quit whatever you want to say. We're not
that bad and we're not going to be that bad
moving forward. And I think they kind of understood and

(09:30):
kind of believe me to be honest with you.

Speaker 8 (09:32):
He said, anybody who lose fifteen games in a row
don't have nothing to say.

Speaker 7 (09:37):
They'll just shut up and just listen.

Speaker 8 (09:40):
And I'll promise you if you do what I tell
you to do and you stay here, you'll be a champion.

Speaker 2 (09:47):
Man.

Speaker 7 (09:47):
That's all I needed to hear.

Speaker 10 (09:48):
The message resonated not only would veteran dB Mike Minter,
but also third year defensive end Mike Rucker.

Speaker 6 (09:55):
I remember vividly, he said, him saying, I want guys
that are smart and tough, Smart and tough. The bell
went off. Was like, man, that's me. You know I'm
gonna be where you asked me to be, and I
would be tough. That group of guys that was held over,
I felt like that was kind of the beginning as
they started to bring in their pieces.

Speaker 10 (10:14):
The culture change was evident to guard to Kevin Donnelley, from.

Speaker 13 (10:19):
That moment on, everything's evaluated. How you walk around the building,
how you interact with people, how you work in the
weight room, how you do on the field, Attitude, the
energy you bring, every single little thing. And he was
going to keep the guys that really did well. You know,
when you have a one in fifteen season, there probably
means too. It's the culture. I think he used the words.
He's like, you know, there's gonna be some guys on
the team that are just a holes that we got

(10:41):
to get rid of, Guys that are turns that just
don't need to be here. And it worked that first year.
Weren't a whole lot of roster changes.

Speaker 14 (10:50):
Great bunch of guys didn't give up, didn't quit. They
took it and Spartanburg, South Carolina's not an easy place
to go through too bad practices.

Speaker 15 (10:58):
A day and survive.

Speaker 14 (11:00):
But I will say this, I thought, you know, we
were much tougher football team leaving that camp than we
were going in.

Speaker 13 (11:06):
A remarkable turnerund one to fifteen to seven and nine
was a huge jump in two thousand and two.

Speaker 15 (11:11):
You know, I could see we were making progress.

Speaker 14 (11:13):
We weren't there yet, you know, but we had the
right mindset and the right grittiness to go and win.

Speaker 15 (11:22):
In the National Football League.

Speaker 10 (11:23):
John Fox had been the defensive coordinator for the Giants.
His philosophy was firmly rooted in ball control and the defense.
It meant star wideout Musu Muhammad would have to adjust.

Speaker 5 (11:37):
I'm going from a West Coast offense where we're throwing
the ball. I mean, I'm catching a bunch of balls.
And I remember Foxy comes in and we sit down
and he goes he said, man, you know, Moosa is
a big difference between blue chip players and blue chip
playing And I said, what do you mean. He said, well,
this team's got a lot of blue chip players on it,
but you guys aren't playing like blue chip players. Got

(12:00):
blue chip play and I said, well, you know what's
the significance of that? But I mean, why are you
telling me all it is? Foxing? He goes, well, here's
one thing you can respect me for. He said, I
will always tell you the truth. You might not like
what you're gonna hear, but at least you know how
to deal with it. And I said, well, okay, so
tell me the truth. What's gonna happen here? He said, well,
we're gonna run the football here. We're gonna play a
great defense. We're gonna run the football. He said, You're

(12:22):
not gonna catch one hundred balls a year, but you
might catch seventy or eighty. But we're gonna win football games.
And I said, Foxy, let me just tell you something.

Speaker 13 (12:29):
Man.

Speaker 5 (12:30):
I came here to help the team win. You might
not believe this, right, but I could care less about
how many balls I catch if we're gonna win football games.
He said, well, we're gonna have a good marriage here.
And I said, well, I do.

Speaker 14 (12:43):
Well, you want a shorted the game, and do that
God be able to run the ball and play defense.

Speaker 2 (12:48):
Well, he used to tell us.

Speaker 5 (12:49):
He's like, you know, hey, punt is a good thing.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
I'm like, in what book?

Speaker 5 (12:52):
I mean were trying to me in Smedie and I
used to give him such a hard time about you know,
run run past punt. Is that the game plan this week?
Foxy was runner up bass put and but you know,
you know, I think it just it spoke to like,
you know, how much we wanted to win, and like,
you know, guys that caught balls and you know, play receiver,
we want to win. We want to make big plays,

(13:12):
we want to win, and so we always would rag
Foxy and tell him like, man, you know, Foxy, we
got to throw the ball more.

Speaker 2 (13:18):
Man, We just got through the ball more.

Speaker 10 (13:24):
For the past component, John Fox turned to veteran NFL
quarterback Rodney Pete in two thousand and two. Pete authored
the best season of his fifteen year career. Team historian
David Monroe.

Speaker 12 (13:38):
Rodney had the best season of his career in two
thousand and two. He was a good fit in Dan
Henning's offense.

Speaker 1 (13:44):
Second and eight Carolina from the New Orleans fifteen yard line,
Pete back to throw, watch the rush, steps up, fires
in the end zone, Hoomer touchdown Carolina Well.

Speaker 10 (13:53):
Pete capped his career year in the regular season finale
at the Superdome, the Panthers brass scouted his future backup.

Speaker 12 (14:02):
Generally for your final regular season game, your pro scouts
are not on the road anymore scouting an upcoming opponent,
or our pro scouts went to New Orleans scout a
particular player who wasn't even gonna play in the game.

Speaker 10 (14:15):
Jim Zochi has been covering the Panthers for almost three decades.

Speaker 18 (14:18):
They scouted him so much that they watched how he
interacted with his teammates, not playing, while being on the sidelines,
being on the bench, and how active he was and
how involved he was, and they really valued the leadership abilities.

Speaker 19 (14:31):
Of what they scouted in him before they brought him in.

Speaker 10 (14:34):
Here, the Panthers were scouting a former undrafted free agent
quarterback from Louisiana with a thick Cajun accent. His name
Jake Delone.

Speaker 4 (14:44):
When I tell you, I'd never laced up my shoes
so tight for a warm up in my life, I
mean it was this was.

Speaker 3 (14:50):
Game time for me.

Speaker 10 (14:51):
No one knew it at the time, but from the
abyss of one in fifteen daylight come.

Speaker 19 (15:02):
I think we all thought it was Dell home for sure.
I'm not sure I heard the name jack Dell home.

Speaker 7 (15:08):
I didn't know anything about Jake Delane.

Speaker 20 (15:10):
I'd never heard of him. Nice guy.

Speaker 10 (15:12):
I didn't know if he was an athlete. I looked
at him.

Speaker 21 (15:15):
He didn't have the physique of a guy that was
an NFL athlete.

Speaker 10 (15:19):
Jake just looked like a regular guy right, could have
been a banker.

Speaker 1 (15:22):
Here in Charlotte, we did these Panther caravans and we
would go down into a community in either North or
South Carolina and spend the day. We would meet with
the school kids at the school. Players would sit at
different tables to sign autographs, and I'll never forget Jake
is sitting by himself. There isn't anybody walking up to
Jake Delone. When I kind of looked over and I

(15:42):
kind of felt sorry for him and thinking, well, you know,
we don't know anything about Jake Cowan.

Speaker 10 (15:48):
Jake Delone entered the two thousand and three season as
an afterthought. Carolina brought him in from New Orleans to
add depth to the quarterback room. Longtime Panthers broadcaster Jim
zochie He says at the time there was little to
no talk of any quarterback controversy.

Speaker 18 (16:05):
Rodney Pete was viewed as the veteran guy who would
be the starter, so that was the focus. Chris Winky
had been brought in prior to that with George Steffert
and the disaster that was one in fifteen, so he
knew that Winky probably wasn't the next guy in the
pecking order, that Jake would be the first guy off
the bench if something were to happen there, and then
for Jacob would be just kind of having this younger
veteran guy that we'll have to see what we've got here.

(16:27):
And so really not a lot stands out as far
as that preseason training camp.

Speaker 10 (16:30):
Panthers historian David Monroe.

Speaker 12 (16:33):
I felt like that there is a clear pecking order.
Pete had worn the job follow the two thousand and
two season and that he was going to be the
man going into the season. And as I remember the
beginning of that season, Rodney Pete was on the cover
of the game time program for the season opener against
the Jaguars.

Speaker 10 (16:48):
Rodney Pete was coming off the best season of his
NFL career. Externally, he was viewed as the starting quarterback,
but as John Fox explains, internally, things were a bit
more fluid Jake for being a.

Speaker 14 (17:02):
New guy and you know, learning the new offense. Dan
Henning was the coordinator then, and you know we brought
Rodney in because he knew Dan system of the year before.
In the first year, and you know, there was there
was a feeling we were kind of split on who's
going to start that game.

Speaker 10 (17:17):
Carolina opened the two thousand and three campaign at home
against Jacksonville. Rodney Pete started at quarterback. Former Panthers play
by play announcer Bill Razinski.

Speaker 1 (17:28):
You know, I go back to that first game and Rodney,
of course married to Holly Robinson, Olly Robinson Pete. I
remember she sang the national anthem before that game. Rodney
peat comes in and we based, I mean, we stunk
the joint out. Nothing went on offensively in that first half.
It was awful. Taylor and Edwards in the backfield behind Brunell.

(17:49):
It's the fullback Edwards straight ahead, Ferrel's his way into
the end zone. Touchdown Jacksonville. Third down. Brunell again rolls
to the air, sideline, looks pumps closed down field. Hatch
it's open, caught it, end zone, touchdown. Oh, they burned
the defense thirty three yard strike head it's thirteen to nothing.

Speaker 12 (18:09):
I know, it's a sixteen game season, so you're not
ready to throw in the towel after we're in half,
but I'm thinking to myself, here we go again.

Speaker 10 (18:18):
The Panthers trailed the Jaguars fourteen to nothing at halftime.
To further muddy the optics, Jacksonville's head coach was former
Panthers decordinator Jack del Rio. With the team down, John
Fox felt he had no choice. So we made a
game changing and season altering change at quarterback.

Speaker 15 (18:39):
We kind of needed a little bit of a boost
on offense, you know.

Speaker 14 (18:43):
We put Jake in. He's already run the respect of
his teammates fall through camp in the off season, you know,
and it was kind of a fifty to fifty, you know, on.

Speaker 15 (18:50):
The decision to start rob But so it.

Speaker 14 (18:53):
Was it was really kind of a pretty easy adjustment,
even in the middle of the game.

Speaker 13 (18:57):
Seven and nine year I think Rodney he brought so
much stability and leadership. This guy knows football. He's won
a ton of games. But I think, like so many
of us, you kind of get to a point where
those diminishing skills just catch up with you and the
thing where the quarterback, it can happen really quick, and
Coach Fox, you know, it's got nothing to lose in

(19:17):
that situation. We got to get a win. We're favored
to beat the Jaguars, you know, new coach, with del
Rio being there, and it was a home game for us,
and coming off that seven nine season, we really thought
this is We're going to go out there and roll
over him in a halftime he got zero points and
he had not really done a thing.

Speaker 10 (19:32):
Defensive back Mike Mintor recognized Dolom's energy right away.

Speaker 8 (19:37):
We wasn't really looking to Jake to be the guy
until he came into the game.

Speaker 7 (19:42):
And he came in and the juice that he brought,
That's when I knew the gamer.

Speaker 10 (19:48):
Offensive lineman Kevin Donnelley saw the energy too, even if
some of it was lost in translation.

Speaker 13 (19:54):
It was hard to hear him speak the thick Cajun accent.
He's talking a mile of and it's like he's got
a handful of quarters in his mouth.

Speaker 14 (20:02):
You fire, You know, Yeah, I'm.

Speaker 13 (20:05):
Telling Jordan Gross, he's a rookie, first game ever in
the NFL, and I'm looking at him trying to decipher
like I think he called it past protection.

Speaker 17 (20:13):
I know you've seen the video when he came in
and Jake gave everybody a high five or a low
five or whatever went around the hudle.

Speaker 20 (20:19):
I was like, oh man, this is gonna be fun.

Speaker 13 (20:21):
It's all chaotic, but the one thing that resonated was
that energy and that positivity, and you're like, you got
to keep up with Jake. Jake's going one hundred miles
an hour.

Speaker 17 (20:29):
For me, I love that as a young guy who
was like, there was my first start ever in the NFL,
and I loved having some of that energy and that
confidence because I sure was looking for any of it
I could acquire through osmosis because I could use it as.

Speaker 10 (20:41):
Well for Jake Dilom. The journey to that Panther's huddle
was nothing short of an odyssey.

Speaker 4 (20:51):
My pro career would be described as a suitcase. It
was constantly packed. You never know where it was going
to spend the night. It was a wild journey. It
was six long, tiring, great years to finally get to Carolina.

Speaker 10 (21:09):
After a decorated college career at Louisiana, Delone was unsure
about his next opportunity.

Speaker 3 (21:16):
When I tell you it's crickets. It is crickets.

Speaker 4 (21:18):
I have no teams contacted me, didn't get invited to
the Senior Bowl, wasn't invited to the Combine, so obviously
not thinking a great deal about my prospects for the NFL.
Did have a couple of teams Miami wanted to work
me out. I went to a local workout in New
Orleans for the Saints. At that time, it was like
a fifty mile radius where guys could come from. Well,
I lived about one hundred and twenty miles away, so

(21:40):
we used my aunt and uncle's address in Metai and
that's how I went to that workout. And I did
very well at that workout. I really truly did really well.
I was the only quarterback, which helped.

Speaker 3 (21:50):
But it was good.

Speaker 4 (21:51):
And the draft came and went, and there was no
preconceived ideas that I'd be drafted.

Speaker 3 (21:55):
It was just hopeful you get a free agent call.

Speaker 10 (21:58):
After going undrafted. Lom's prospects to play stateside were slim.

Speaker 3 (22:03):
At that time. I had a local agent, real good guy, but.

Speaker 4 (22:05):
Really not well connected, and I was probably gonna head
to the Canadian Football League and then lo and behold
I get a call from Bruce Limmerman with the New
Orleans Saints. He was like director of pro personnel and whatnot,
and they were going to invite me for a weekend
mini camp on a tryout basis.

Speaker 10 (22:22):
The Saints invite kept Dolom close to home, but not
for long.

Speaker 4 (22:27):
I was with the Saints for six total years, but
my first year was with Mike Ditka and staff. So
go to training camp, get cut. They bring me back
the last six weeks of the season on practice squad,
and then I got allocated in that following spring.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
So that was the fall of ninety seven.

Speaker 4 (22:44):
Spring of ninety eight, I get allocated to go to
the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, which they would send
young players there that they either thought they had a
chance to play and give them growth opportunity.

Speaker 10 (22:56):
I guess you could say training camp for the Amsterdam
Admirals took place in Sewanee, Georgia.

Speaker 4 (23:03):
You're there for a month when you developed a team,
and there was only two quarterbacks myself and another guy.
I found it odd that he had the playbook before
we got there, before we ever had a practice. You know,
it is what it is, So we go to camp.
I guess you can say battle it out in camp.
And I did well, and I would call home knight Lee,
and I talked to my girlfriend who's not my wife,

(23:23):
or talk to my parents and everything was, well, how
did he go?

Speaker 3 (23:27):
I did pretty well?

Speaker 20 (23:28):
Well.

Speaker 3 (23:28):
How'd the other guy do?

Speaker 1 (23:29):
Well?

Speaker 3 (23:29):
He did pretty well too. And he's a good.

Speaker 4 (23:31):
Guy, and he's a quick release and he's accurate, and
so it just kind of went from there and we
went to Amsterdam.

Speaker 3 (23:37):
We didn't know who the starter was. We practiced the
whole week.

Speaker 4 (23:40):
We are in the stadium in Dusseldorf, we're playing the
Rhyane Fire and we find out an hour before the
game who's gonna be the starting quarterback.

Speaker 10 (23:48):
Amsterdam head coach Al Luganbill broke the news to Delome
and the other.

Speaker 4 (23:54):
Guy, sat me and the other quarterback down and he said, Hey,
we're gonna go with Kurt Kurt Warner.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
We're going to start you, Jake.

Speaker 4 (24:01):
You're going to play a good bit and I'm not
asking either one of you to win the game for us.

Speaker 3 (24:05):
Just make sure y'all don't lose it.

Speaker 4 (24:07):
I was shocked. I heard that, and I said, man,
did I hear that correctly. And then I have a
twenty six year old Kurt Warner sitting next to me
who looks at me and said, there's nothing like some confidence, Jake.
And I mean I was like, I was still in shock.
I said, I can't believe he just said that, and
I was it. So I backed up future Hall of
Famer Kurt Warner for that season.

Speaker 10 (24:25):
Delom struggled to process the news.

Speaker 4 (24:28):
My confidence was shocked because I lost out to Arena
league quarterback.

Speaker 3 (24:32):
I mean, that's who I lost out to.

Speaker 4 (24:34):
I didn't know it was the guy at the time,
but I knew this guy was pretty darn good. And
I just left New Orleans obviously a few months prior
and said, man, he's better than the quarterbacks in New Orleans.

Speaker 3 (24:45):
But you're not thinking that because the stigma of NFL Europe.
You're not good enough.

Speaker 10 (24:49):
After NFL Europe, Dilone returned to New Orleans as the
team's third string quarterback. He won his first NFL start
against Dallas in nineteen ninety nine. A Louisiana native, Jake
quickly became a fan favorite, but opportunities remained limited.

Speaker 4 (25:05):
I wasn't given a chance. Very simple listen the three
years of Mike Dick. That was just kind of we
weren't a good football team. It was just it wasn't right.
And then when Jim Haslett came in, he hired Mike
McCarthy as offensive coordinator, and that's when my football eyes
open to the NFL. I truly learned what it was
like to study and prepare and be ready to play
week in and week out. And so at that point

(25:26):
just really and truly didn't get an opportunity. Jeff Blake
was brought in to be the starter and did extremely well.
It was having the best statistical year of his career.
Gets Alist Frank injury and Aaron Brooks they traded for
him in training camp, gave up a second round pick,
so I knew I was going to be you know,
I was the third guy, and Aaron came.

Speaker 3 (25:42):
In and did well.

Speaker 10 (25:43):
With Brooks entrenched as the starter in New Orleans, the
loam had to go elsewhere to get a chance. He
hit free agency following the two thousand and two season.

Speaker 4 (25:53):
My options to possibly compete were Carolina and Dallas.

Speaker 3 (25:57):
Very simple.

Speaker 4 (25:57):
There was multiple teams that contacted my age to be
a backup one GM at the time, he was in
Chicago and my agents were out of Chicago, and basically
he said, yeah, he'll never be more than a backup.
So when we went up there in two thousand and
six and beat them with the other number one seed,
that was pretty That was pretty gratifying on my part.

Speaker 3 (26:17):
That's the backup. Just since you pack it.

Speaker 10 (26:21):
Delane grew up rooting for the Cowboys, but being wanted mattered.

Speaker 3 (26:26):
I knew Carolina had some interest.

Speaker 4 (26:29):
We had a pro personnel guy in the Saints that
in essence, he didn't have any legs what I mean
by that, he wasn't giving up voice pretty much anymore.
And it was the Friday after Thanksgiving and it's I'm
eating lunch, and it was a little later. Everybody kind
of left and he was there and we were sitting
down talking and he said, hey, I'm really proud of
you the way you've handled yourself. He said, you're going

(26:51):
to get an opportunity next year. No, I'll put the
word out you'll get an opportunity. And I truly believe
Carolina is gonna be one of those teams.

Speaker 10 (26:58):
The Panthers brass scouted Dolom during warm ups when the
Panthers played the Saints in the two thousand and two
regular season finale.

Speaker 4 (27:07):
I go out there to warm up, and I swear
I'm floating on air running out there, and I'm watching
you just you kind of see things, and I never forget.
John Fox was on the fifty yard line standing there
talking to Jim Haslet and Wesley Walls. Now Wesley was
member of the Panthers prior Saint but Wesley wasn't dressed.

Speaker 3 (27:24):
He was hurt.

Speaker 4 (27:25):
So Jim has It and Wesley had a relationship and
they're watching, Well, Foxy is staring a hole through me.
I can just feel it and I can see it.
I'm making sure every drop is perfect and I'm humming.
And so as that go goes on, they watch we
warm up and everything, and the game we lose ten
to six, and it's a frustrating game. The whole crowd,
the whole second half basically is channing, we want Jake.

Speaker 3 (27:47):
We won Jake.

Speaker 10 (27:48):
Delom's decision ultimately came down to Carolina and to Dallas.
It was close, to be honest, it was very close.

Speaker 4 (27:56):
I will say this, I wholeheartedly listen to my agents
because Dallas was intriguing to me. Bill Parcells, head coach
six hours from home Dallas Cowboys. But Sean Payton was
a quarterback coach and there was something about him.

Speaker 3 (28:09):
I spent most of my time with him. There was
just you just knew.

Speaker 4 (28:12):
And he loved John Fox as they were both coordinators
with the Giants together, so there was a big mutual respect.
I love my time here in Carolina. On my visit
and my agent just said, hey, listen, if you're ever
gonna trust me, you gotta Carolina is ready. They're ready
to go now, said Dallas is not. They're not, said Carolina.
They Marty Herney has built this team, he said, and

(28:33):
I'm just telling you this is your best opportunity.

Speaker 10 (28:36):
That opportunity came midway through the third quarter of the
season opener, with Carolina trailing Jacksonville seventeen nothing.

Speaker 1 (28:46):
Jake dellone in a quarterback for Carolina and the Panthers
are trailing Jacksonville eight and a half minutes to go,
third quarter, seventeen to nothing, first ten for the long
play action back to throw fires over the metal most
touch down.

Speaker 10 (29:00):
Every magic trick has three acts, the pledge, the turn,
and the prestige. The prestige made Steve Smith a believer.

Speaker 11 (29:11):
What's funny is I didn't think it was anything special
about Jake in the beginning, but then when we got
in a game, when Jake replaced Rodney Pete, it clicked.
It's like, oh, he is different, something is different. He
was very confident in what he knew, and if he
didn't know, he would tell you.

Speaker 1 (29:29):
Floats it up for Steve Smith, up for grabs it.
He's in the end. I got a touchdown.

Speaker 10 (29:34):
Delan provided a second half spark, but the game still
hung in the balance. Carolina trailed by five with three
and a half minutes to go. Panther's historian David Monroe
recalls the birth of the Cardiac Cats.

Speaker 12 (29:50):
Jake came in and put together some scoring drives for us,
and we got the ball at the end of the game,
and Jake drives us down the field.

Speaker 1 (30:00):
Shotgun first and ten from the Jacksonville twenty two. He's
back to throw, steps up over the middle, caught, it's
mangam at the eleven to the ten. It'll be first
and goal. He got twelve forty seconds to go. The
Loman the shotgun back to throw pumps the fires caught
goings at the five, you'll step out of bound. So
it's come down to this. From the twelve yard line,

(30:21):
fourth down, Carolina one time out, twenty two seconds on
the clock. They trailed Jackson go by five. Do Loom
has his team at the line of scrimmage. Ricky Froll
goes in motion far side left. Here's the loan back
to throw. Looks, looks fires for Prolling the end zone.
He got it, touch down, touch down, Rickey Proll. I

(30:45):
don't believe it.

Speaker 12 (30:47):
We worn and it was amazing finish. He kind of
set the stage for the Cardiac Cats. This last minute
wins different people making big plays at big tomes.

Speaker 1 (31:00):
The way this Panther team is built, it's gonna be
like this every week. We're not gonna blow people out,
and we got the defense to keep us in a
lot of games. And I know one of the big
questions after this game is what's your quarterback situation, coach,
because Jake Dolom has come in and lit the fire here.

Speaker 10 (31:16):
Delone threw three second half touchdown passes and in the
eyes of his head coach, he was the clear number
one quarterback.

Speaker 14 (31:24):
I mean he did a tremendous job. I mean, it's
not easy to come in as a new player, you know,
especially a quarterback, and be able to gather.

Speaker 15 (31:32):
Everything that you need to know to go into a game.

Speaker 14 (31:36):
And Jake had really done that. I thought it was
a pretty smooth transition, and really the way the game finished,
it was a pretty easy nod going forward.

Speaker 4 (31:43):
One it's confidence because I mean, like, in my mind,
I always thought I know I belonged.

Speaker 3 (31:49):
Even my first practice as a rookie with the.

Speaker 4 (31:51):
Saints, I'm like, Okay, I'm just as tall, if not taller,
way more than these guys.

Speaker 3 (31:55):
I think I got a stronger arm than these guys.
I think I'm just.

Speaker 4 (31:58):
As accurate, if not more in my mind, but I
just didn't have the repetition, so I always believed I
could do it.

Speaker 3 (32:03):
And then yet you have the bump in the road
with NFL Europe, and then the.

Speaker 4 (32:06):
Confidence comes back because the guy you battled with till
the end is now a former MVP of the league
and Super Bowl champs. So it's just it's a great feeling.
We won the game, but it's a great feeling that
when your team they believe in you, there's nothing like it.
And I remember running off the field and my wife
was in the stands, no one else. We had no
family because I was the backup Lauren, who's our nine

(32:29):
month old at the time.

Speaker 3 (32:30):
She's at home in the apartment with a babysitter.

Speaker 4 (32:32):
And it was just it was awesome, you know, Carrie
and I we left and we moved here by oursel,
you know, with a child in tow, and it was
just fitting our first game by ourself, you know, and
driving home like, Okay, we did it, and now is
the start of something.

Speaker 3 (32:48):
That's kind of what it felt like.

Speaker 4 (32:50):
And I got a phone call the next morning by
Dan Henning driving in and it was like, hey, okay,
things have changed.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
You're the starter, and he was just preparing me like
things are for now.

Speaker 4 (33:00):
And that was it because they had made of their mind,
the staff, everybody had made their mind. I was the
guy going forward, and so it wasn't like I was
gonna have a bad series get pulled. It was like, okay,
things are, things are gonna change. It's big bar time.

Speaker 10 (33:13):
When Jake DeLoone came to the Panthers, his teammates knew
little about him, no one wanted his autograph, and no
one expected much. One game into the two thousand and
three season.

Speaker 16 (33:25):
All that changed the Jaguar game changed everything because you
needed a spark.

Speaker 10 (33:32):
We was like something was missing.

Speaker 17 (33:34):
I mean, I felt like we probably have to go
in that direction the way a way that you know,
everybody was so pumped up, and I don't I didn't you.
I don't even remember there even being any thought about
a quarterback controversy at that point. It seemed like Rodney
stepped aside willingly and was happy to be the backup guy,
and Jake just got rolling.

Speaker 13 (33:52):
I think personally everybody inside thought this this this is the.

Speaker 11 (33:56):
Guy got interesting real quick. We knew we had some
special but we just we didn't know exactly.

Speaker 18 (34:02):
When you've got a quarterback come off the bench and
lead a dramatic rally in the last sixteen seconds for
a fourth down touchdown to Ricky Prol, there's no question
who's going to start Week two at that point to
any of us.

Speaker 1 (34:13):
I always credit Jake the loan for saving this franchise
and saving John Fox, because if he doesn't play the
way he plays over that time stretch, I don't know
where anybody is after the two or three years of
the John Fox run. It was his ability to somehow
make plays and his rapport with Steve Smith that carried
this team. But that first game, you know, and then

(34:34):
Jake comes in and lights a fire under this offense,
and that fire continued for the rest of the season.

Speaker 10 (34:41):
The Panthers now had a difference maker at the most
important position. But for Dilm and the Cats, a flag
of piracy hung on the horizon. Before the two thousand

(35:01):
and three season even began, Panthers defensive tackle Brentson Buckner
boasted that Carolina had a better defensive line than Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers had just won a Super Bowl and did
so with a dominating defense anchored by future Hall of
Famer Warren SAPs.

Speaker 1 (35:20):
Yes, pecked off better, Derek Away pecked top dlight Smith
twenty five, twenty fIF take ten, five touchdown Tampa Bay.

Speaker 8 (35:31):
Tire's the dagger.

Speaker 21 (35:32):
He wrote a check that all of us had to
pay for, and we knew that game was gonna be award.

Speaker 1 (35:37):
That's the ball game. Buccing Hair's Web, buccing airs wb
bucing Airs win in San Diego, Wait on me, the
Kangs of the world.

Speaker 10 (35:47):
The Panthers' greatest strength in two thousand and three was
its vaunted defensive line. The unit featured depth, talent, speed, power,
and experience. Defensive end. Mike Rutgers says, the ringleader was
ten year vet and potster Brinson Buckner. He was kind
of our og. He was our vet, So he was

(36:09):
kind of the guy with all the knowledge.

Speaker 6 (36:10):
I mean, he's a D line coach now in the NFL,
so that kind of tells you what kind of knowledge
that he had, and he had been around, so buck
kind of helped us kind of understand.

Speaker 10 (36:19):
The game plan and the scheming part of things. Lining
up next to Buckner was a six foot four, three
hundred and sixty pound colossus, Chris Jenkins.

Speaker 16 (36:29):
And I'm telling you what at that three technique and
at the one technique he held it down. It was
double team. He he just was a monster down in
that jinks.

Speaker 6 (36:38):
He was just this massive guy that very athletic, but
there was no stopping him, especially when he would go
straight ahead. And so when you look at that defensive
line and you know you had speed, you had power.

Speaker 10 (36:49):
He had guys that would play the run, and in
Julius Peppers, the Panthers had a cold effusion of finesse
and the fury Peppers came to the Panthers as the
number two pick out of North Carolina in the two
thousand and two draft, a reward if there ever was one,
for going one in fifteen. In two thousand and one
as a rookie, Peppers registered a dozen sacks and route

(37:13):
to defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

Speaker 6 (37:16):
Well, obviously, you really get to see it when you
get one on one. You had thought that the world
stopped turning when you look at Pap and his big body,
But then he's got the speed like a wide receiver,
so you don't really know what you're gonna do against him.
And so really if when he just turns it on,
there's really no stopping him on one on ones. I mean,

(37:36):
he'll bull rush you right back to the quarterbacks, So
you lose that, he'll run right by on the outside,
you lose that he'll fake you, like with the crossover,
like he's on the basketball court and he has you
looking silly. So I just remember, like it was really
like he could really do anything that he wanted to do.

Speaker 10 (37:50):
Rookie tackle Jordan Gross remembers facing Peppers during Gross's first
training camp.

Speaker 20 (37:57):
That was just a type of human that I didn't
really know.

Speaker 17 (38:00):
He inundated me with speed and strength and all the
stuff that gave him Defensive Rookie of the Year and
just really trial by fire right off the bat.

Speaker 16 (38:10):
Who's stopping Pep? Pepper is a first ballot Hall of Famer.
This is not a dude other than Reggie White, Lawrence
Taylor who's changed the defensive end. That that spot, that
spot up there where you close up on that left
tackle or the right tackle. Pep changed the game. He's
a deepensive end that gets interceptions more so than linebackers do.

Speaker 10 (38:30):
That's the dude. We had happen the mix. You couldn't
block this cat. While Julius Peppers worked as a silent hunter,
he saw a different approach from fellow d n to
Mike Rutcker.

Speaker 22 (38:42):
I was a young guy with just that was just play.
I wouldn't say much. Ruck was the veteran that would
try to get under God's skin. He was a great
guy to be around. He would get fired up. Maybe
you can't tell from knowing him off the field, but
on the field he would really get fired up and
excited about playing.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
He was like a talker.

Speaker 10 (39:01):
But Jordan Gross found out that Rutgers trash talk had
a unique twist.

Speaker 17 (39:07):
Rutger was a young guy up and comer, you know,
just kind of finding his group, and he really motivated
himself by talking trash. And it was always like funny
because it was super clean, like g rated trash talk,
like man, you stink you're nothing but a sucker, you know,
Like there was never a cuss word that. So it's
just like it was funny because it was family friendly

(39:27):
trash talk, not the same as what Chris Jenkins would say.

Speaker 6 (39:31):
I chose, you know, coming out of college in late
in year, that I would stop swearing it was bad.
I listened to a voicemail this is back when we
had answer machines, and I called a roommate and when
I heard it, because I got home, it just wasn't
appealing when I heard that, And so from that point on,
I said, I need to this needs to change.

Speaker 10 (39:51):
This isn't good.

Speaker 6 (39:52):
And so I just went cold turkey. So I haven't
had a cuss word since nineteen ninety.

Speaker 2 (39:59):
Seven.

Speaker 10 (39:59):
I think, So, how did you talk trash? Then? I mean,
it's it's corny stuff.

Speaker 6 (40:05):
But in the moment though, I mean, it could be
like playing like a divisional rival like the Falcons. I mean,
we did a lot of trash tack talking there or
the Bucks, and it just might be like, you know,
I'm getting up in somebody's face and it might be like, hey,
this is the same soup is just reheated, you know,
just letting them know, like, hey, they've seen this before,
we're just reheating it and they're gonna get the same flavor.

Speaker 10 (40:26):
So it'd be more of that kind of stuff. It
wasn't crazy.

Speaker 6 (40:30):
It's probably more goofy than anything, but in the moment
it sounded like it was all right.

Speaker 10 (40:35):
Beyond the starting four, the Panthers D line also had
quality depth.

Speaker 6 (40:40):
Yeah, you had al Wallace and Shane Burton that would
come in. We called ourselves the six pack, and you
have people that could come in off the bench. Two things. One,
they have to have the right attitude, right, So if
they don't have the right attitude, then that's going to
mess up the chemistry. But al and and Shane had
a great attitude. They knew where what they're was. They

(41:00):
came in they were basically starters at times, and so
when they would come in, there wasn't you wouldn't miss
a beat. And so that was something that was special
about Al and Shane is that they were selfless. They
came in, they did their job, and they got better.

Speaker 10 (41:16):
For Al Wallace, the Panthers represented his last lifeline as
an NFL player. An undrafted free agent out of Maryland,
he spent the early part of his career with the Eagles.
He signed with the Bears in two thousand and one,
but never made it to the regular season.

Speaker 21 (41:32):
While I started the fall on the roster with the
Chicago Bears except for the knee injury, was waved injured,
found myself at home and decided I wanted to coach.

Speaker 10 (41:40):
I wanted to teach.

Speaker 21 (41:41):
All the guys that were influential in my life were
teachers and coaches. Ended up getting a job as an
assistant principal of a high school down in South Florida,
and got a call in December on a futures contract
with the Miami Dolphins, and was really struggling with that.
I had a year old daughter, had just settled in
back at home in Florida, and thought my career in
the NFL.

Speaker 10 (42:01):
Was just over.

Speaker 21 (42:02):
And I had had a good four or five year run,
and I was satisfied with that got that call, made
that decision to go with the Dolphins.

Speaker 10 (42:09):
In two thousand and two, a week before training camp,
Wallace got a call.

Speaker 21 (42:14):
Well, my agent call. He said, I got some good
news and some bad news. Right The bad news is
you got traded. I'm thinking me traded for what, like,
you know, a bag of chips or something like that.
So I get traded, and the good news is you're
going to Carolina. They trade away Jay Williams, They're gonna
you know, they just drafted a rookie, Julius Peppers, and
they have Mike Rutger.

Speaker 2 (42:34):
That's it.

Speaker 10 (42:35):
It's all the guys we know got a good chance
of going in here.

Speaker 21 (42:38):
And the best news is that Mike Turgervak, my coach
with my best run in with the Philadelphia Eagles, was
now the defensive line coach. So I got here and
right away Jack del Rio, John Fox, Mike Turgervak said,
we don't care when you were drafted, We don't care
what you were doing three months ago. If you can play,
you're gonna play, and you're gonna be on the team.
And I decided that I was gonna give it another shot.

Speaker 10 (42:59):
Wallace didn't care about any Panthers prologue only that Carolina
could prolong his NFL career.

Speaker 21 (43:08):
I didn't care, didn't matter to me. I don't even
know if I knew the team was one and fifteen
the year before. I was laser focused on fulfilling that dream.
I know I was a good player. I had a
contract on the table. I break my ankle in nineteen
ninety nine. In the final preseason game, Andy reached the
new coach, Well, he has no ties to me. I'm
not one of his guys. So they ended up cutting me.
So I had something left. I felt that the journey

(43:30):
was still you had to be written, and I went
in with that laser focus that I was gonna fight
and scrap and do everything I could, and if I
was cut, if that was the final straw, then that
was it. So I did not know anything about the team.
I didn't know where Spartan Bird's South Carolina was. I
just came in here to see if Al Wallace could
make an NFL roster and be one of the guys.

Speaker 10 (43:51):
For Wallace and the Panthers defensive line. The Week two
tilt against the Bucks had the build up of a
boxing fight. The Panthers were the challenger, the Bucks held
the title belt. Mike Rucker remembers the noise.

Speaker 6 (44:06):
I would rather have my play show than me to
go out in the papers or the media and say it. Well,
That's the thing I love about Buck is that he
that's his role. That was his role is to be
able to do those things, you know, and they they
they were the measure stick when you when you win
the Super Bowl, you become the standard. And when you

(44:28):
look at their defense, that was a good standard to
look at to measure yourself with. But if you've been
around like like say like a Prinson Buckner and he's
seen talent and he's like, no, I'll put Jinx up
against Sap, you know. For us, you know, it was
that initially like oh okay, and they took the bait
and then it was on. So then we had to
go down there and back it up.

Speaker 10 (44:49):
On the game's opening possession, the Bucks drove inside the
Panthers forty, but Carolina's d line flashed its depth and
held Tampa scoreless.

Speaker 1 (44:59):
First and short dropped by Johnson and I you have
to sprint out to his right, cuts back left, Shane
Burkin cut him off. That would be a sack for Carolina.
I believe Johnson under center, and he drops back to throw,
has a lot of time and fires and it's caught
at the thirty yard line, and then pubbled on the
play picked up. No, they're gonna call it him incomplete pass.
It wouldn't have been a first down anyway. And now

(45:19):
the Bucks are gonna send the Tom tupa on and
he's their punter. So Carolina's defense out there for ten plays,
but they make the stop.

Speaker 10 (45:28):
The Panthers led three to nothing midway through the second quarter.
When the Bucks looked to get even.

Speaker 1 (45:34):
Romanica will try a twenty nine yard field goal from
the left ash Mark step kick a block that's flocked
by the Panthers.

Speaker 10 (45:44):
Jenkins block kept the Bucks off the board, but Tampa
threatened again late in the first half.

Speaker 1 (45:50):
First down in ten Tampa at the Carolina thirty nine
yard line, one of the three to go first half.
Johnson fakes the swing. It's a screen over the middle
of dinner. Sceptify Al Wallace back for Carolina down the
middle of the field forty it's a sport. Can he
get away twenty? He's down to the ten yard line
and finally caught they're running back. Pittman finally chased him

(46:12):
down and that Carolina defense comes up with a huge play.

Speaker 10 (46:17):
Al Wallace's first career interception led to another John Casey
field goal. Panthers took a six to nothing halftime lead.
After both teams traded field goals in the third, Tampa
tried to inch closer in the fourth.

Speaker 1 (46:32):
Waiting for the snap from forty seventy yards out. A
little high kick.

Speaker 10 (46:35):
At Julius Pepper's blocked field goal kept Tampa at bay
once again, but the Panthers offense failed to gain any
traction or provide a cushion, and the Bucks took advantage.
In the waning seconds of regulation.

Speaker 1 (46:51):
Second and ten, Tampa from the eighteen they stunt up
the middle. Johnson pumps fires on the sideline, caught, but
he found an opening down along the Panther sideline, out
of bounds at the Carolina thirty nine yard line. It's
third down in fifteen nineteen seconds on the clock again,

(47:11):
Johnson back to pass, pumps fires over the middle. Johnson's
got it, this time to the six yard line. Thirteen
seconds eleven ten, nine eight seven. Johnson spikes the ball
with five seconds it'll be first down. They'll have time
for probably one play. Johnson ready to go for the Bucks.

(47:32):
He's back to pass, looks clutching an hand.

Speaker 13 (47:35):
Town.

Speaker 1 (47:35):
No, you're staying ho.

Speaker 13 (47:38):
No.

Speaker 1 (47:38):
If they go on a touchdown to Keenan mccardelle, I
don't believe it. The game is tied.

Speaker 10 (47:46):
Brad Johnson's touchdown pass to Keenan McCardell tied the game
at nine. There was no time left. All Tampa needed
was an extra point to effectively seal the win. Prior
to the kick, Panther's head coach John f called a
time out.

Speaker 14 (48:01):
It was critical that they didn't get that extra point,
and we had a pretty explosive tackle and Chris Jenkins
and special teams. We we talked about, you know, getting penetration.

Speaker 10 (48:14):
We're going to be able to do that, Panthers play
by play announcer Bill Razinski.

Speaker 1 (48:18):
And I remember saying to uh, Jim Zochie and Eugene Robinson.
I said, I said, we've already blocked two field goes.
Can we block an extra point?

Speaker 10 (48:26):
At the time, the Bucks Martine Automatica Grammatica was considered
one of the NFL's most reliable kickers and had never
missed an extra points.

Speaker 1 (48:37):
Well, they blocked two field goals, so can they block
an extra point because we're tied at knives dramatic already
two was a holder snapicks that locked? Gun't run it counts?
Is gonna ladder on the ball and I don't know.
Oh my goodness, we're still alive and we had done yet, Phil,

(49:01):
we ain't done. They block two field goals in an extra.

Speaker 16 (49:04):
Point go ahead, deefens, don't die, baby, baby don't die?

Speaker 1 (49:08):
An extra point?

Speaker 13 (49:10):
Now?

Speaker 1 (49:10):
What about it?

Speaker 10 (49:11):
Jenkins' second blocked kig sent the game to overtime, and
in ot special teams delivered again.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
Good snap busy hit five tupu angles at farside. HiT's
at the ten. Smith will take it there at the tenth,
fifteen Smith to the twenty twenty five down the sideline,
thirty cuts left, he's at the forty. Smith is still
going to midfield and he's cut from behind at the
Tampa forty yard line. What a big play? Would you
need it? Go hit smitty head of headle it young man,

(49:42):
no flag nude. We're tied at nine and overtime in
a dramatic ballgame here in Tampa. Sour bron ready he's
got it. Casey into it with the leg It is up.
It is up, It is up, It is gone. Panthers
have wonted it over time. The Panthers have woned it overtime.

(50:06):
John Casey pounds a throw. What a marvelous, incredible win.

Speaker 10 (50:11):
For the Panthers. If a road win against the defending
Super Bowl champion didn't send the shock babes through the NFL,
it certainly did so. In the visiting locker room offensive
lineman Kevin Donnelly, that locker room.

Speaker 13 (50:24):
After just a week two win, you would have thought
we won the Super Bowl. I mean, Marty hart Herney's
hugging folks, and John Fox is jumping up and down,
guys are dancing, and even guys like John Casey's the
most unemotional, steady as you go guys. I mean seen
him laugh and smile and get all the hugs for
kicking that last minute field goal to give us the win.

(50:45):
Was it was fun. I mean that was fun, and
I think that's when people started to realize, hey, we
might not be a great team. We don't know if
we'll ever get to be a great team. But dag gum, like,
don't ever count us out. We're that team this year.
That's who we are. And you take us lightly where
we're going to smack you in the face, beat you down,
and go find another win.

Speaker 10 (51:03):
The next week, offensive lineman Jordan Groves, I.

Speaker 17 (51:07):
Thought we'd lost because all they had to do is
kick a pat to win the game. You know, just
there's a short amount of time left and Chris Jenkins
blocks a pat. I mean, like that never happens, you
know what I mean, Like so unlikely went in the
locker room.

Speaker 20 (51:21):
And now it was like two weeks in a row.

Speaker 17 (51:23):
Man, we came back and won at home, and now
we beat defending Super Bowl champs, And I just remember
the belief in ourselves was through the roof at that point,
because we're thinking, man, we can beat the Bucks, we
can beat anybody.

Speaker 1 (51:34):
Just one of those games. It was a typical I
would say, Panther game from the few years before, where there,
you know, nothing seemed to be going right, but somehow
we were ahead.

Speaker 10 (51:44):
In the fourth quarter.

Speaker 1 (51:45):
Now if this is two years before that, we lose
the game.

Speaker 10 (51:48):
While the game was marred by penalties and sloppiness, the
Panthers found a way into the win column and for
Jake Deloam. That's all that mattered.

Speaker 4 (51:57):
It was a rough game, and thank goodness for John
Casey and our defense and Steve Smith because I didn't
have anything any hand and winning that game, I can
promise you, but.

Speaker 3 (52:06):
We were able to win.

Speaker 4 (52:07):
And I'll never forget in that locker room. It's a
small old locker room in Tampa, and we were elating.
And that's the way John Fox was.

Speaker 3 (52:14):
He didn't care how it was done, as long as
you won. And Dan Henning was the same way.

Speaker 4 (52:18):
You've got so many coordinators that they so worried about
stats and what's the completion percentage and.

Speaker 20 (52:24):
What is this and what is that?

Speaker 3 (52:25):
And I remember sitting in my locker and I was excited,
don't get me wrong.

Speaker 4 (52:28):
And Dan came by and I remember looking at him
and I was like, hey, I know I need to
play better.

Speaker 3 (52:33):
And it was like f that we just won.

Speaker 4 (52:37):
It doesn't matter. And that was Dan's appro he didn't
care we won the game, and so that was just
kind of like, Wow, that's a confidence.

Speaker 3 (52:45):
Builder for me.

Speaker 10 (52:46):
The Cardiac Cats were two and oh. They had beaten
the defending champs on the road and made good on
Brentson Buckner's preseason boast.

Speaker 21 (52:56):
Buck thought he was a prophet, but we just thought
he had a big mouth and he got us all
in trouble. They're kind of spurring on Warren's South. Who
needed none of that. By the way, everybody had counted
us out. We had taken down the world champs and
defending champs on their field, and at that point we
felt like we weren't now the best defensive line, maybe
the best defense in the NFL.

Speaker 10 (53:16):
A bye week awaited, but the Panthers had already bottled
up their signature cocktail, a concoction of resilience, perseverance, and
a belief. Two seasons removed from a one to fifteen campaign,
the Panthers opened the year with two heart pulsing wins.

(53:39):
Jake Delane came off the bench to spark a fourth
quarter come back in Week one.

Speaker 1 (53:42):
Fires for prowling the ends one he got it touch
down ducks down rocket pro.

Speaker 10 (53:49):
In Week two, Carolina blocked three kicks in an overtime
road win against defending champion Tampa Bay, while.

Speaker 1 (53:57):
They blocked two field gol so can they block an
ex point romatic?

Speaker 2 (54:02):
Already?

Speaker 1 (54:02):
Twop was a holder snap kick.

Speaker 10 (54:06):
Fourth quarter comebacks and bone crushing defense would become hallmarks
of the season. But there was a storm brewing in
the backfield. Stephen Davis is the thunder part of it.

Speaker 1 (54:19):
David Stretchers for the end zone touchdown.

Speaker 10 (54:22):
Smoke we call smoke. De Sean Foster was the light
pitch to.

Speaker 1 (54:25):
Foster trying to turn the fireside gets over Hoover bounce
us off the tackle, still keeps the legs turning at
times towards the ends touchdown.

Speaker 17 (54:33):
Such different dudes. You know that DeShawn was really young.
He was in his second year.

Speaker 21 (54:38):
Foster was a guy out of UCLA that was a taller, slimmer,
built back and we didn't know what he was gonna be.
But once we saw him carry the ball in training
camp in O three, we knew he was physical, he
was tough.

Speaker 10 (54:49):
We knew a California guy. He brought that type of edge.

Speaker 1 (54:52):
I just could never figure.

Speaker 20 (54:53):
Stephen like I don't think I ever saw him with waits.

Speaker 17 (54:55):
You take his shirt off and it was I mean,
he didn't look bad, but it was not impressive and
he didn't see real fast. But he would set you
up as a blocker like nobody I ever blocked.

Speaker 3 (55:05):
For ending it off to Stephen Davis is a great play.
Why Washington let him go? I'll never have any idea.

Speaker 10 (55:13):
Stephen Davis had spent the first seven years of his
NFL career with Washington. From nineteen ninety nine to two
thousand and one, he was one of the most productive
running backs in the NFL, but in two thousand and two,
Steve Spurrier took over his Washington's head coach. Spurrier's pass
happy approach turned Davis into an afterthought. Panthers radio analyst

(55:38):
Eugene Robinson.

Speaker 16 (55:39):
Everybody knew how good a running he was. Everybody knew
he's a big man. It was a track guy, and
everybody knew that this dude could run the rock. Illah,
like if you've got Adrian Peterson or this guy was
the guy. And he was also a guy that was
looking for that team to go ahead and shine, because
I think there was maybe a little bad blood, like, hey,

(56:00):
I'm a proved to you that I'm the real real deal,
and boy did he ever do that.

Speaker 10 (56:04):
Washington released the two time All Pro in February of
two thousand and three. Less than three weeks later, Davis,
a spartanburg is South Carolina native signed with Carolina. It
gave head coach John Fox the makings of a championship backfield.

Speaker 14 (56:23):
Well, I'd seen him a bunch when he was in
Washington because I came as a defensive coordinator into the
New York.

Speaker 15 (56:29):
Giants, so I kind of knew what he wrought.

Speaker 14 (56:32):
He was a big, physical back, a good teammate, and
I think he brought a whole heck of a lot,
you know, in that locker room.

Speaker 10 (56:39):
Davis flourished in his first season as a Panther. He
opened the two thousand and three campaign with four straight
one hundred yard games.

Speaker 1 (56:48):
Text to Stephen Davis running right. Hep back left to
the forty Davis still going to Davis running right again.
Nice turn fifteen, Davis going to forty five at Jacksonville.
Stephen Davis. Who else trying to turn it out? And
he's got room to watch Stephen Davis. Big hole left
file to the thirty to the thirty five. Drop play
to Stephen Davis finds a hole on the left side
of the forty five and pulls his way forward first

(57:09):
down at midfield. It's the line of scrim at bricks outside.
Davis still turning the legs and out of bounds at
the Tampa Bay thirty one yard line, and I like it.

Speaker 10 (57:20):
Carolina hosted Atlanta in the panthers third game of the season.
The Falcons were without their star quarterback Michael Vick, and
in this one, the Panthers didn't need to be cardiac.
Handing off to Stephen Davis was enough.

Speaker 1 (57:34):
Davis outside depteam to the twenty, down the near sideline,
Stephen Davis thirty and finally puts out of bounds with
the forty yard line. Stephen Davis back to the ball game.
He's got the ball up the middle, big hole forty
still turning hand off Davis looking for a hole up
the middle past forty thirty five. It's a squint down
the sideline twenty Davis to the ten and it'll be

(57:54):
Ferston goal at the eight yard line. Tavis with the football.
Hey Waltz is into the AFG. No how many touchdown touchdown.

Speaker 10 (58:02):
Carolina a twenty point home win against the Falcons also
gave the Panthers their first extended look at rookie running
back to Shaun Foster.

Speaker 1 (58:14):
Here's Deshaun Foster cover up the ball. Breck's a tackle
at the forty down, That air sideline goes to Shaun
Foster and out of bounds at the twenty six yard
line of Atlanta.

Speaker 10 (58:24):
They better read a scot of reports.

Speaker 23 (58:25):
Deshaun Foster exceptionally fast, exceptionally fast.

Speaker 10 (58:29):
Head coach John Fox.

Speaker 14 (58:31):
We drafted Deshaun Foster in the second round, so we
had a good one two punch at running back, which
I felt like you needed, you know, to sustain a
good running game, you know, through a full NFL season.

Speaker 10 (58:42):
Panthers radio analyst Eugene Robinson.

Speaker 16 (58:46):
Dashaun Foster has this ability to stay on his feet.
You can hit him boom boom, but he stays on
his feet. He has incredible ballots. If they let this
cat he I'm seeing the air parent of Stephen Davis
right now is to Shawn Foster.

Speaker 10 (59:02):
A three and oh Carolina team would host the New
Orleans in Week five. For quarterback Jake Delome, facing his
old team brought emotions to the surface. It was awful.

Speaker 4 (59:14):
I always slept well the night before a game, even
the night before the Super Bowl, just I've always slept great.
I didn't sleep a wink that night. I wanted to
beat them so bad and emotion just everything about it.
One is a division game, but two is just like,
you know, screw y'all. Y'all didn't give me a chance.
We're gonna beat and that was just and that's not healthy,

(59:36):
that's not good. But yeah, it was an very emotional game,
I know for me and a couple of times during
the game, you know, calling plays in the huddle Stephen Davis,
who's a country boy from Spartanburg, South Carolina, and they
used to tease Stephen and I about our accents, but
he understood me fine.

Speaker 13 (59:54):
Well.

Speaker 3 (59:55):
When Stephen Davis looked at me in the huddle and said,
hey boy, shut up and slow down.

Speaker 10 (59:59):
I can't canaa stay what you're saying.

Speaker 3 (01:00:02):
That's an unknew man.

Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
I might be.

Speaker 4 (01:00:05):
I might be a little too hyped up, but yeah,
that was It was great to win at home. Rod
Smart of the infamous He Hated Me, had a kickoff return.

Speaker 1 (01:00:12):
He hate me. Rod Smart at the goal line, he's
coming out with a ten twenty big hole thirty Can
he get by Burger Dawes down this tideline. He's gone
forty berdy, No, it's gonna catch him. He hate me?
Who in love you? Touchdown.

Speaker 10 (01:00:27):
Panther Delane didn't have to do much against the Saints.
The Panthers ran it forty times. Thirty of those carries
went to Stephen Davis.

Speaker 1 (01:00:38):
Davis cut back, move, got the first down. Take some lights,
turning hand of Stephen Davis up the middle forty, big hole,
forty five and Davis to midfield. You're Stephen Davis again.
Up the middle, big hole, forty, Davis to the thirty five.
Is it Stephen Davis time again? I formation Davis the tailback.
He's got the ball right side, curls his way in touchdown. Panthers.

(01:01:00):
Now that drive was all Steven Davis.

Speaker 10 (01:01:05):
Carolina cruised to a nineteen thirteen win. The Panthers were
four and oh and headed for a heavyweight showdown former
Panthers play by play announcer Bill Razinski.

Speaker 1 (01:01:18):
The game that stood out to me that proved that
this team wasn't a bluke was Indianapolis.

Speaker 10 (01:01:26):
The Colts were five to ohero Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning
was twenty seven years old, in his prime and in
the midst of his first MVP season. For Mike Rucker
and the Panthers defense, a daunting challenge awaited in India.

Speaker 6 (01:01:45):
That team was a very good team as you start
to see them just peel off their Hall of Famers
and so going up there, I mean it was one
of the louder places to play at and so being
on their home turf. Man Peyton Manning himself is hard
to especially as a defensive lineman, because he'll come up
to the line and take his time, use up all

(01:02:06):
that play clock, and so you don't want to be
on your you know, in your three point stance for
like the whole play clock. So you'll come out and
kind of be lack a daisical, maybe get on the
knee and just kind of get ready. And as soon
as you do that band quick count, right, and then
as soon as you get down there and then you
start hanging out because you think it's quick count, he
takes the whole play clock, and so he just mentally

(01:02:29):
messing with you physically and mentally.

Speaker 10 (01:02:32):
The whole time.

Speaker 1 (01:02:33):
Once again, with twenty on the play clock, the Cults
are at the line of scrimmage, and this will be
the way Peyton Manning runs things all afternoon.

Speaker 10 (01:02:41):
Carolina fell into an early hole, trailing thirteen to three
at halftime.

Speaker 1 (01:02:46):
Williams are running back. Play action factor Williams back to
throw us Manning down the middle of the field. Harrison's
whine offen oh dounded by Mike Minner at the one
yard line. Manning hands off mung grow ride after the
metal touchdown.

Speaker 10 (01:03:01):
But the game turned when Peyton Manning was bested by
his namesake.

Speaker 1 (01:03:08):
Pump fake a little scran picked off that's intercepted by
Ricky Manning.

Speaker 10 (01:03:13):
Rookie Ricky Manning's interception of Peyton Manning swung the pendulum
to the Panthers. Carolina reeled off seventeen unanswered to take
the lead.

Speaker 1 (01:03:24):
Here Stephen Davis trying to turn the right side cut
back left Davis twenty still going fifteen ten sideline five
to the pylon. Did he get it in touchdown? Panthers.
Here's the lung setting up to throw floats it down.
Failed for Steve Smith. He's open at the thirty near
sideline twenty. That's by a tackler takes it to the
eng zone. Touchdown, Go Carolina lead. Entering the fourth quarter,

(01:03:47):
running back Stephen Davis had left the game with an injury,
and in the final minute, Indy had a chance to
time the Colts have gone from deep in their own
territory to the caroline. It's twenty five inside a minute
to go, Panthers by seven. Bill. All we need is
one plate.

Speaker 10 (01:04:05):
All we need is one plate.

Speaker 1 (01:04:06):
Well, let's get at Manny pumps fires all wide open, caught,
cuts down, cuts down to Reggie Wayne. There wasn't anybody
coast to him.

Speaker 10 (01:04:17):
With Stephen Davis sidelined, rookie de Sean Foster shouldered the burden.
In overtime, Foster and Hoover in the backfield.

Speaker 1 (01:04:27):
Pitches. Foster trying to turn it outside right, cuts back
to the left, has the first down to the forty,
still going, keeps the legs. He's up to the forty
four yard line. What a great second and third effort. Bye,
Deshaun Foster. And if you have Panthers can't get five,
six seven more yards, they can be in John Casey range.

(01:04:48):
Hand off. Foster looking for a hole outside in big trouble,
but does turn the corner to the forty down the
sideline and then he skipped out of bounds.

Speaker 16 (01:04:56):
Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness, good that man is
absolutely a There was definitely no way to go.

Speaker 10 (01:05:02):
You should have lost five yards on that one in
the biggest game of his young pro career, Foster delivered,
rushing for eighty five yards and giving kicker John Casey
a chance to win it.

Speaker 1 (01:05:16):
And John Casey's gonna try and win this one in overtime.
This will be uh, We'll call it forty eight yards.
Forty eight yard field goal right in the middle between
the hash marks. Saler front will hold. The crowd will
tell you whether it's good or not. Jason Kyle will
snap for the win. Good snap kicked by Casey's on

(01:05:37):
the way. Oh up, up and God, it's God. And
the Panthers are pulling out and overtime John Casey from
forty eight yards out and the Panthers are still undefeated.
I remember coming back from that game thinking to myself, Man,
we're five and zero. Are you kidding me? That was
the game where I think I'll even the team and said,

(01:06:00):
you know, we might have something special.

Speaker 13 (01:06:02):
Here inside the locker room, we were starting to believe
we really were. It's just people want to paint the
narrative and use of what that team's going to be.
And when you're not dominating, we get a week out.
They don't really respect your record, You got to prove
it each and every week. If you're going to win
close games, you better string together some wins.

Speaker 20 (01:06:20):
In a row.

Speaker 13 (01:06:20):
And a lot of people five is good, but that
wasn't enough to show that the Panthers were a team
to be reckoned with. In two thousand and thirty.

Speaker 20 (01:06:27):
We kept knocking off these juggernauts, you know what I mean.

Speaker 17 (01:06:30):
It was the Bucks, it was Peyton Manny, it was overtime,
and like, well, let's get it to overtime.

Speaker 20 (01:06:34):
We'll win this one and head on out of here.
We had a super early buy too.

Speaker 17 (01:06:38):
That year is like week three, I think, so at
that point we were six weeks into the season already.

Speaker 20 (01:06:44):
It was kind of like, man, this thing's a piece
of k.

Speaker 18 (01:06:46):
The history lesson was John Fox and mech group inherited
a one in fifteen team, drafted Julius Pepper's got to
seven and nine again, a lot of that led by defense.
So when they start five and zero, even though it's
close games, you're thinking, this is the progression or on
the speed rout here of improvement from being the worst
team in the league to where you thought, okay, this

(01:07:07):
this could be something special brewing here.

Speaker 10 (01:07:10):
The Panthers had come through the tempest of one in fifteen.
Their quarterback was a testament to perseverance. They were unfazed
by any fourth quarter deficit and had beaten Tampa Bay
and Indianapolis on the road. This was a team that
could handle adversity. But for John Fox's squad, now came
the hard part in life.

Speaker 14 (01:07:31):
You're either dealing with adversity. You know, a lot of
people deal with adversity and now you deal with It's important,
but sometimes dealing with prosperity is more difficult. You know,
you start, you know, getting a little relax You're starting
to listen to what people are saying on the outside.
So you know, part of being a championship football team
is dealing with prosperity, and sometimes that can be harder

(01:07:52):
than university.

Speaker 10 (01:07:54):
A lesson the Panthers would soon learn. The upstart Panthers
were the talk of the NFL. Coming off in overtime
win against previously unbeaten Indianapolis, Carolina was five and zero

(01:08:15):
and tied for the best record in the NFC. Two
of the wins came in overtime. Another came in the
final minute of regulation. The Panthers showed they could stiff
arm adversity, but now they had to handle success.

Speaker 21 (01:08:30):
We started reading the press clippings, we started watching Sports Center,
we started hearing those things.

Speaker 3 (01:08:36):
He's right, I mean, and that's and that's human nature.

Speaker 6 (01:08:39):
When you see a team just reel off and they're
going undefeated, just like man, that is it's just hard
to hold on to that just because of the outside pressure.

Speaker 13 (01:08:48):
The next week, after playing Indianapolis, getting to go back
home and play in Bank of America Stadium against the
Tennessee Titans. I remember it was an absolutely gorgeous, glorious.

Speaker 1 (01:09:02):
Hello everybody, and welcome to Carolina Panthers football. And this
is game number six for the Panthers. One hundred to
thirty three. Teams have started five to oh sixty made
it to six and oh. So the odds are against
the Panthers today, but they've been fighting the odds most
of these last few weeks, going down the road to
Tampa and winning in overtime, going to Indianapolis last week,

(01:09:23):
winning in overtime. And despite the fact that the Titans
are four and two, most people, the experts picking Tennessee
to win this football game. Today, we'll see if the
Panthers have an answer for their critics in about three
hours from now.

Speaker 20 (01:09:37):
We got our butts kicked.

Speaker 3 (01:09:39):
We had a special team's blunder on the opening kickoff.

Speaker 1 (01:09:41):
Here's the kick, high, very short, Brad Hoover. Let's hit
it the twenty five. Pick it up, Brad loose ball
around the twenty nine yard line, and the Titans say
they have it. The Titans say they have it. There's
a big pile up there, but we don't know who's
got it. No signal from anybody, and they're still trying
to figure who's got it. The titles say they do,

(01:10:02):
and I believe yesterday do.

Speaker 19 (01:10:04):
Now you're thinking, uh oh.

Speaker 1 (01:10:05):
Here's the snapper of mcmair's hands. He's back to throw.
He's gonna try and put it under his arm and run.
He's parts to two. The one dives in the end zone. Touchdown. Tennessee.

Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
They beat up.

Speaker 10 (01:10:16):
But that's what happened.

Speaker 1 (01:10:17):
Oh, don't fumble the ball, and Tennessee's got it at
the twenty nine yard line.

Speaker 3 (01:10:21):
They just whipped us like you wouldn't believe.

Speaker 1 (01:10:23):
And they're gonna throw the football and it's a catch.
They break it down the sideline. This is gonna be
ten five touchdown Tennessee they fake the punt.

Speaker 15 (01:10:33):
You know you need that during the season.

Speaker 14 (01:10:34):
You know, I don't think there's too many teams that
have you know, gone on to have success that you
don't have those spots in your season. But you know,
you try to stay the same.

Speaker 15 (01:10:44):
You don't want to get too high, you don't want
to get too low. And that was a good wake
up call for us.

Speaker 4 (01:10:48):
No doubt, you're five and one, you still you still
feel good about yourself. I guess you can say until
the next morning you go to the team meeting and
John Fox let you have it like you wouldn't believe.
We didn't see that side of John at least I'd
never seen it. And he just berated us and he
just he let us have it. And basically at the
end it was like, hey, I'm gonna protect you to

(01:11:10):
the media. I won't throw you under the bus. But
it was like I remember we walked out and some
of the guys were like, my gosh, we're five and one,
We're not one and five. But that was he knew
we were a good football team, and that was just
to let him know, Hey, that standard wasn't there.

Speaker 10 (01:11:25):
Yesterday.

Speaker 3 (01:11:25):
I don't know what it was, the whole week or everything,
and that was that was the John five.

Speaker 10 (01:11:30):
He pounded us.

Speaker 21 (01:11:31):
We got back to the fundamentals that he established when
he first got here in two thousand and two, when
he said that we're a little bit soft, when he
challenged everybody, we're gonna be smart and tough.

Speaker 10 (01:11:40):
And we got back to it. And that week, that practice,
after the Tennessee game, that was just brutal. The Panthers
record stood at five and one after a humbling loss
to the Titans. The following week, the Cardiac Cats founded
their putting on the road and.

Speaker 1 (01:12:01):
That should do it. That will be the last play
of regulation, and for the third time this year on
the road, the Carolina Panthers will go into overtime. And
you've got to certainly like the odds because they've won
in Tampa, they have won at Indianapolis in overtime, and
now we're here in the Superdome in New Orleans and

(01:12:22):
we've come to the end of regulation. Four quarters in
the books, John Casey trying to end this one snap
kick us up by Casey and it is God and
the Panthers have done it again for the third time
this season, going on the road and winning it overtime.

(01:12:42):
John Casey's won all three with field goals, this one
from thirty and the Panthers are now six and one
and still ride and high in the NFC South.

Speaker 10 (01:12:54):
The next week, Carolina went to Houston for the first time.
That's team historian David.

Speaker 12 (01:13:02):
Monroe went into my hotel room and there was a
bottle of Super Bowl thirty eight one on my bed
from the City Houston super Bowl Host Committee. I still
have that bottle one. It hasn't been opened, but hey,
maybe that was an omen that we'd be going back in.

Speaker 10 (01:13:18):
Week nine against the Texans, the Panthers offense hardly resembled
a championship contender.

Speaker 1 (01:13:24):
AHI one second ago, the Panthers at their twenty nine
yard line, the Lome under center, and he is back
to pass all over the middle of Nick goings lateral
to Steve Smith. Smith up to the fifty yard line,
looking for some help breaks of tackle. He's still going
at the thirty five, says to the thirty, trying to
pitch it to somebody. It was a bumble down around

(01:13:45):
the thirty, big pile up, and this one is over.
That was our best play of the game.

Speaker 12 (01:13:50):
Yeah, Panthers dominated the first quarter, maybe even the first half,
but we just couldn't convert our offense into points.

Speaker 13 (01:13:58):
Game.

Speaker 12 (01:13:59):
When you give up fourteen points in the NFL, you
expect to win. We didn't win that day.

Speaker 10 (01:14:03):
Having lost two of three, Carolina returned home for a
rematch with defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay in Week two.
The Panthers clipped the Bucks twelve nine in overtime thanks
to three blocked kicks and a sterling effort from the
defensive line. This time, Mike Minter ended the secondary set

(01:14:24):
the tone early.

Speaker 1 (01:14:25):
On all right, third down and five Tampa from They're
twenty one Ray receivers and a little group triangle the
left for Grad Johnson, Panthers.

Speaker 7 (01:14:35):
Rushed for he was looking for a ki and already
all the.

Speaker 1 (01:14:40):
Way Johnson feeling some het throws that's picked off. Mike
Bender gans it.

Speaker 8 (01:14:44):
When I caught it and was able to get up
and get to my feet, I knew I would go
score a test now.

Speaker 1 (01:14:50):
Tother twenty five under the ten five better's done touchdown
Panthers twenty nine yards.

Speaker 7 (01:14:57):
And then from that moment, man and it just is
next you find.

Speaker 10 (01:15:02):
The Panthers dominated the Bucks through three quarters.

Speaker 1 (01:15:05):
Back to throw the log a lot of time, steps
up deep downfield for Rickey prol got it twenty fifteen,
ten five touchdown Carolina. Oh my goodness, what a bomb
by the loam. Johnson back to throw again. Pepper's in
his face, he avoids the rush. Now he's brought down
for behind its sack at the forty five yard line

(01:15:25):
by Al Wallace.

Speaker 10 (01:15:27):
Carolina led to twenty to seven heading into the fourth quarter.
The Bucks first offensive touchdown of the game came with
ten to twenty nine to go in regulation.

Speaker 1 (01:15:38):
Johnson watched to throw back to pass, feels, oh, we
got pounded as he threw the football, but it's caught
by Keyshawn Johnson right corner. And is that a touchdown?

Speaker 10 (01:15:47):
Yes, but that wasn't the play that swung the pendulum
offensive lineman Kevin Donnelly.

Speaker 13 (01:15:55):
This game is going really well until they do this
thing in the stands used to do and it was
ended this very game. They go around and let fans
get on the microphone and say like, hey guy, let's
keep going. Go Panthers, you guys are doing great. Time
score or go, you know, get everybody get fired up.

Speaker 10 (01:16:13):
Jake Delane and the Panthers couldn't believe what they just heard.

Speaker 3 (01:16:18):
We were on the field and it's in between because
it's a TV time out.

Speaker 4 (01:16:22):
We're on the field and and I'll never forget because
you just kind of you're in the huddle just killing time.

Speaker 3 (01:16:27):
And they interview this guy and basically he says, and
where you at?

Speaker 4 (01:16:31):
Simme and Rice and Todd Stucey the left tackles like,
you have got to be kidding me right now.

Speaker 1 (01:16:37):
They have this little interview thing they do in the
stadium during breaks, and they talked to a Panther fan
who was all dressed up with different clothes and hats,
and he basically called out the Bucks on the PA system.
He called out at the SAP and Simeon Rice. He
got the crowd all jacked up.

Speaker 13 (01:16:53):
This is one I'm an have to say. Look, I
blame this on the fans.

Speaker 1 (01:16:56):
The Bucks were listening to this too.

Speaker 18 (01:16:58):
Out of there, Simon anymore like bringing a great dude
come out his desk?

Speaker 1 (01:17:03):
Great do it when we when we're on defense. Well,
that'll be the last time we run that promotion. See you,
you're gonna give a fan of microphone.

Speaker 3 (01:17:11):
Sure enough, Simeon makes a play. Not long after.

Speaker 1 (01:17:14):
Golong back to pass, Big Russ sacked send me on
Rice back at the twenty bad promotional idea. Belong back
to pass has time not anymore. Another sack and the
ball came loose did and the Panthers have it.

Speaker 19 (01:17:30):
I was simeon Rice again from the blind side.

Speaker 1 (01:17:32):
The two sacks on that series.

Speaker 12 (01:17:34):
For Rice.

Speaker 13 (01:17:35):
As offensive linemen, there's a fine line between we want
to have confidence. We want to go out there and
just kick a man's butt every single play, but at
the same time, we want to help him up and say, man,
you just slipped. Man, you just fell. I didn't pancake.
It's all good because you want to. You know, there's
a wrath, there's a there's an anger and a vitriol
that just it's waiting to come out if provoked enough.

Speaker 10 (01:17:56):
Well, the Tampa defense was plenty provoked for the game
that wrath, anger and vitriol started brewing in the stands.

Speaker 24 (01:18:07):
We were watching them before and uh, Simme and Rice
and Warren Sapp were like spitting on our logo and
and just you know, disrespecting us and disrespecting the team.

Speaker 1 (01:18:20):
I was getting enraged that they.

Speaker 24 (01:18:22):
Just disrespected us on there and thought they could just
walk all over us. My name is Joseph Muscarello, aka
the Carolina Prowler, and I was the fan. Basically, my
outfit was like if I was in the in the
wild and I played a panther and put it on

(01:18:44):
my head and my body. I had the panther feet,
the panther claws, and the and the panther mass. So
the lady comes over and she says, you're one fan
of the game. Can you tell us about yourself? I
said I was the Carolina Prowler, and also that I
was not gonna sit here and take it them disrespecting this,
and we weren't gonna that the Panthers were gonna kick

(01:19:06):
their butt all the way back.

Speaker 21 (01:19:08):
To Tampa Bay.

Speaker 1 (01:19:09):
Well, the next play Jake got.

Speaker 24 (01:19:11):
Back, and the next play after that, Jake got sack,
and then everybody started looking at me. A little after that,
I got out and I went and stood to where
I could watch the game, and I just was like
worried over I'm gonna get jumped getting out of here.

Speaker 25 (01:19:25):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:19:26):
Jotson back to throw pumps, pumps, clings it up field,
and it is got Oh it's a touchdown for Vocardo.

Speaker 24 (01:19:35):
I got real worries there for a little bit. I said, Ope,
I'm gonna be like the guy in Chicago to corta ball.

Speaker 10 (01:19:44):
While the Carolina prowler was sweating. The Carolina Panthers were
on the prowl down four in the final minutes, it
was time for another cardiac finish in.

Speaker 1 (01:19:56):
The pockets along the throw with time down the middle
of the field, trolls open at the third and pounded
on the turf at the twenty seven yard line. Perston
ten Panthers.

Speaker 18 (01:20:05):
Ricky Polls made three catches today and all three have
been big gainers.

Speaker 1 (01:20:09):
From the twenty seven Dolome out of the shotgun Flitz
is coming, throws it up field. He's got Muhammed caught
down around the five yard line. Oh moose with a
great catch. All right, now, let's not score too soon.

Speaker 3 (01:20:21):
No, let's just score it.

Speaker 1 (01:20:22):
Ricky.

Speaker 3 (01:20:23):
You know what, Bill, I'll tell you what, do not
just throw that ball up.

Speaker 10 (01:20:26):
To have hazzardly young man talking about it.

Speaker 1 (01:20:29):
The Panthers are at the five of Tampa. First down,
gold Dolom out of the shotgun has it again. Fire
Smith caught it touch down. Steve Smith caught it with
one O six to go, Oh, are you kidding me?

(01:20:49):
This is incredible.

Speaker 24 (01:20:50):
I was just like, well, that lets me a little
bit off the hook. And about that time, as we
were leaving, I got a call from the Channel thirty
six was at my house waiting to interview, and my
wife was not happy. She says, I'm Channel thirty six
is sitting here in my living room.

Speaker 17 (01:21:07):
Why, she said, you in trouble now, mister said, I
didn't tell you to go out there and get no trouble.

Speaker 1 (01:21:13):
You went to a game you know you're about to get.
You and my son jump.

Speaker 10 (01:21:22):
Another week and another dramatic Carolina win that went.

Speaker 1 (01:21:26):
Over Tampa was big, I think mentally for this team
to sweep those guys.

Speaker 7 (01:21:32):
Man, it's so fulfilling when when you make people shut
up on the field.

Speaker 13 (01:21:37):
Even though we ended up winning that game, for me
and for Todd Stucy, we were pissed off and angry
in the locker room and to care less than everybody
else was celebrating it. It was kind of to us that, yeah,
the fan can be blamed for this, but the offensive
line is the one that looked bad. Through all this stuff,
and I like, I got so angry. I was in
the bathroom and to a paper cow dispenser off the

(01:21:59):
wall and through it against the showers, and Chris Mangham
actually had to come in there and calm me down.
Just reporters are starting to look in there, like what's
going on with you know, you guys just won a game.
Everybody's celebrating out here, and somebody's going to town in
the shower area. But a niche. That's just the way
it was, and that's the brand of ball that we played,
and that's that's who we were.

Speaker 4 (01:22:17):
I'm glad we wanted because I promise you John Fox
would have said it straight about we didn't lose the
game because of a fan with as the game because
we didn't execute correctly. So that would have been another
butcheting that we probably would have had to listen to.

Speaker 10 (01:22:30):
Carolina followed up the Tampa win with another close win
against Washington. The Panthers were eight and two. Six of
the wins were by three points or less.

Speaker 12 (01:22:40):
We felt like an eight and two team. You know,
in the NFL, a win is a win, and you
go back and look at it. Look the number of
games in the NFL that are decided by seven points
or less or three points or less. In the NFL,
there are usually, out of the thirty two teams each season,
there's usually one team that is head and shoulders above
everybody else. There's one team that's just awful, and then

(01:23:05):
the other thirty teams are pretty much even. But the
thing that separates those thirty teams from one another during
the course of the season are injuries. If you go
back and look at the Panthers roster there in a
two thousand and three season, and the number of players
that we ended up on that ended up on injury
reserve that season one of the lowest numbers in team history.
When you have injuries, do you have the depth to

(01:23:27):
overcome them?

Speaker 3 (01:23:27):
We had good depth that season.

Speaker 12 (01:23:29):
Turnovers a lot of times the NFL, the teams are
so even. A team that wins the game is a
team that doesn't beat itself turnovers and penalties. Go back
and look at our turnover margin that year, and the
other thing is luck. You gotta have luck with the
shape of a ball, the football that bounces in crazy ways.
If all bounced our way that year, and whyn't you
start winning and you get some luck, you start believing

(01:23:51):
in yourself.

Speaker 10 (01:23:52):
A team that was one and fifteen just two years
prior boasted the NFC's best record after Week eleven. The
Panthers entered the home stretch of the season eyeing the
number one seed in the NFC. At eight and two,

(01:24:13):
Carolina boasted the best record in the conference. But for
Jake Delom and the Panthers, a late season swoon doomed
any designs of home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (01:24:26):
The bitter taste in their mouth again as they leave
Texas Stadium Final score Dallas Cowboys twenty four, Carolina Panthers twenty. Well,
it's over the Panthers for the first time in a
long time. Blew a football game. Final score for americsmon Stadium,
Philadelphia Eagles twenty five, the Carolina Panthers sixteen.

Speaker 3 (01:24:44):
We just can't get that win, just incluse the division and.

Speaker 1 (01:24:47):
The Falcons mastery over the Panthers continues as our offense
makes the worst defense in the league look like the
seventy Steelers. Unbelievable. It's over and over time. Final score
from the Georgia Dolby Atlanta Falcons twenty The Carolina Panthers fourteen.

Speaker 4 (01:25:08):
We knew he was there at some point because we
still had three more games left, but we just that
elusive win.

Speaker 10 (01:25:14):
As December descended, the Cardiac Cats found themselves tongue tied,
and for rookie offensive lineman Jordan Gross, the metaphor was
all too real.

Speaker 17 (01:25:27):
Bruce Nelson, who was another O lineman, we were doing
his rookie dinner. I was there just enjoying it as
a rookie. My dinner had yet to come, and we
get these butterfly shrimp like these a coconut butterfly shrimp.
And when food comes, when you're part of an O
line eating together, like if appetizers come, you gotta move
quick or else they're gone. Right, So I grab a
big old coconut shrimp and bite down into it, and

(01:25:48):
all of a sudden, I'm like, oh my gosh, what happened?
Something stabbed me in the tongue. So I'm trying to
play it cool because I'm a rookie. I'm with all
these old guys, and I'm feeling like with my turning
my head down into my arm pit, you know, trying
to hide and feel in it. And as near as
I can tell there was a fishbone in this shrimp,
and it now impaled my tongue. Think of a fin

(01:26:09):
on a fish, like the top fin, the dorsal fin.
I guess it has a little bone that kind of
provides a rigidity at the nose end of the fin.
Well that somehow, through processing got inside this shrimp. So
when I took a giant three hundred five pound od
Lineman bite and it perfectly like my teeth shoved down

(01:26:30):
and this thing came through the shrimp flesh and went
into my tongue, but it was barbed. So I'm trying
to figure out what to do, try to pull this
thing out. Well, sure enough, Todd Steucy catches me Messrind's
like gross, what's going on?

Speaker 20 (01:26:44):
And oh my god, it grows a fishbone in my tongue.

Speaker 17 (01:26:46):
Well this everybody had been having wine and drinks and
so this became like, oh my god, the coolest thing ever.
So now next thing you know, I've got Matt Willig
and Steucie and Jeff Mitchell with a leatherman someone had
in their pocket trying to pull this bone out of
my tonge.

Speaker 20 (01:27:01):
We can't get it to go, and I'm like bleeding everywhere.

Speaker 17 (01:27:04):
And somehow Pat Connor, who was our team doctor at
the time, happens to be dining at this same establishment.

Speaker 20 (01:27:09):
So he stops his dinner.

Speaker 17 (01:27:11):
He takes me to his office, numbs up my tongue,
cuts it out, and sends me back to dinner.

Speaker 20 (01:27:15):
My tongue was all swollen.

Speaker 17 (01:27:17):
You don't do stitches on a tongue, evidently, So I
just sat there and they, you know, they were laughing
at me. By the time I got back, it was
like almost over. But I just remembered thinking, like, what
a what a loser? What happened here? You know, this
is such a rookie move. That was the rookie dinner
experience for me.

Speaker 20 (01:27:32):
By Welcome to the NFL moment.

Speaker 10 (01:27:37):
The Panthers were reeling. They had lost three straight games,
They had missed multiple chances to clinch the division. Longtime
Panthers broadcaster Jim Zokie.

Speaker 18 (01:27:49):
That's the reality of the NFL. It's a long season.
Even then when it was sixteen games, I mean, they
went eleven and five, even with a three game losing
streak late in that season. The good thing for them
was it wasn't competitive of a divisional race. You know,
they had built enough of a buffer where they had
space to do that. But you want to be playing
your best football late in the season. I mean, football
really is about who's playing their best football heading into

(01:28:10):
the playoffs, and this was a team that clearly started
heading the other direction, kind of like ooh, has the
magic worn off at the wrong time? Here in December,
there's certainly with some trepidation and maybe some concern about
this team maybe playing their best football already and maybe
they're starting to wear down as the season goes on.

Speaker 10 (01:28:25):
For a team that had won so many close games,
it was fair to wonder if a regression was inevitable.
Offensive lineman Kevin Donnelly.

Speaker 13 (01:28:36):
There's a lot of pressure because you start counting games,
you start seeing where everyone else in the division is,
can you clinch this week? If we didn't clinch, well
we can clinch the next week.

Speaker 19 (01:28:44):
We've seen teams lose out.

Speaker 18 (01:28:46):
I mean we've seen teams that are like running away
with their divisions and having the best record in football
that completely flatten out.

Speaker 10 (01:28:52):
Defensive lineman Al Wallace, I think that it's it's not
a done deal at eight and two.

Speaker 21 (01:28:58):
It goes back to what I said in the Tennessee game. Right,
you're feeling good, You're feeling you're at the top of
the NFC South. How can we get this done? You're
thinking now, teams are maybe afraid that you're the Carolina Panthers.
You're gonna come out there, Steven Davis is gonna run
for one hundred and fifty yards, and you know, Steve
Smith's gonna have nine catches for one hundred plus yards.

(01:29:19):
And we got the best defense in the league, right,
we got the best defensive front in the league. And
people put a target on us, and we didn't respect that.
We didn't respect the game enough, and that's a I
think that was a lesson that we all kind of
learned through the process that no one was gonna lay
down for us because we were eight and two. I
think a lesson learned for us was to just go
out there and get back to the basics. It really

(01:29:40):
is a cliche thing. Or we weren a fancy team.
We didn't have the fancy quarterback. We had a budding
superstar wide receiver. We had some old and young guys.
Look at Ricky Manning Junior and what he was able
to do in his rookie season for US. We just
went out there and got back to the basics and
decided we're gonna fly out to Arizona.

Speaker 10 (01:29:58):
We weren't coming back without some mat As the Panthers
boarded their cross country flight for a week fifteen tilt
with Arizona, a team that had shown so much poise
under pressure now started to feel the weight of expectations.
Quarterback Jake Delone everybody feeling the pressure. There's no doubt.

Speaker 4 (01:30:17):
You're trying not to say it, but you can sense it.
You can feel it because two years removed, this team
is one in fifteen.

Speaker 10 (01:30:23):
Defensive back Mike Minter, it was.

Speaker 8 (01:30:26):
Tough because we knew all we had to do it
with one game, right, and I think the pressure of
one game and we champs, right. I think that, you know,
became a thing, and I think coach did a great
job of alleviating the pressure during that week with Arizona.

Speaker 14 (01:30:47):
You know, I always used to fill them we were
two games away from disaster even at that point, and
it happens, it comes. I've just been through it too
many times, and so we want to have three game slide.

Speaker 13 (01:30:57):
You know.

Speaker 14 (01:30:57):
We just had to get him out of that funk
and you know, keep them positive, loosen up the mood
a little bit.

Speaker 8 (01:31:04):
He told us to relax. Practices became fun, it became light.
He was more relaxed throughout the week, you know, doing practice,
doing meetings, having fun.

Speaker 2 (01:31:16):
But that's how you do it.

Speaker 15 (01:31:17):
It's the only way you do it.

Speaker 8 (01:31:18):
Is got to get people mind on other things other
than trying to clinch the division championship. Because it was tough, man,
I swear, because we're losing gang, We're like, man, you
know the demons are coming back.

Speaker 7 (01:31:34):
We're like, no, we're not gonna let the demons come back.
We're going to get this done. So for three weeks,
you valing yourself.

Speaker 10 (01:31:43):
When the game started, a relaxed and ready Mike Minterter
got the Panthers off to a roaring start.

Speaker 1 (01:31:50):
Back to thrown account, swings it high and that's picked top.
That comes Mike Munner for Carolina far sideline twenty ten
to five touchdown.

Speaker 8 (01:31:58):
After that moment, like still got some football to play.
But after that moment, it was it was like, we're
gonna win this game. Everybody on our sideline knew we
were gonna win win the game. And that was the
play to break break the tension that we've been filling
for the last three weeks.

Speaker 10 (01:32:18):
While Mintor gave the Panthers an early lead, the game
was far from over. Jake Deloman. The offense struggled in
the first half.

Speaker 3 (01:32:28):
And give Arizona credit.

Speaker 4 (01:32:29):
They were throwing the football all over the are playing
hard because they had a little snotty nose second year
quarterback Josh McCown who's now a quarterback coach, and they
had a rookie wide receiver named and Kwan Bolden, so
give him credit.

Speaker 1 (01:32:41):
And McCown's gonna bootleg it out near side right being
chased down there by Terry Cousin. He's at the ten,
he's at the five, towards the right pylon. Touchdown, Arizona,
Josh McCown making like Michael Vick.

Speaker 10 (01:32:54):
The panthers lone first half score was Mintor's pick six. Meanwhile,
Arizon took a halftime lead thanks to an NFL legendary
first single.

Speaker 1 (01:33:04):
Arizona from the four hand off to Smith cuts it
out to the left, nice stutter stuff. He'll take it
in touchdown Emitt Smith.

Speaker 3 (01:33:11):
At halftime, we're in the locker room and you could
just feel the tension. Richard Williamson, a receiver.

Speaker 4 (01:33:17):
Coach Richard may rest in peace played at Alabama, you know,
and everybody says the same thing. Coach Richardson, even Mussin
Muhammad and Steve Smith, you know, just crusty and kept
him on their toes. He chewed us out as a
football team before we went out, and he just let
us know, like enough's enough, grow up and go finish it.

Speaker 3 (01:33:36):
And everybody was like, you know, Richard's right.

Speaker 10 (01:33:41):
In the third quarter, a John Casey field goal cut
the Panthers deficit to four. Early in the fourth, a
dynamic running back put the Cardiac Cats in front.

Speaker 1 (01:33:53):
Back to throw again to Loone. Pumps, pumps, pumps again.
Now throws it up top. Foster got it two to one.
There's the end, no down inside the one yard line.
The Seawan Foster caught the ball down the near sideline.
Good throw by Dolom and now the Panthers have thrown
the red flag. They think the Sean Foster got in

(01:34:13):
the end zone.

Speaker 9 (01:34:14):
After reviewing the play, the receiver but hit the pylon
and the ball was over the plane.

Speaker 17 (01:34:21):
Therefore it hit a touchdown.

Speaker 10 (01:34:23):
Lose, But Arizona looked poised to play spoiler. The Cardinals
tied to the game at seventeen with a little more
than a minute left. It set the stage for a
cardiac finish.

Speaker 4 (01:34:34):
Game went back and forth, back and forth, and then
we had a two minute drive. And why they tried
to play Steve smith Man the man I'll never understand.

Speaker 10 (01:34:43):
The chemistry between Jake Delom and Steve smith had been
building all season long, or perhaps bubbling all season long.

Speaker 4 (01:34:54):
I think we were both young, still wet behind the ears,
not a lot of experience.

Speaker 11 (01:34:59):
Truth or love. All right, here's the lie man. He
was just dynamic, the truth. We would bicker like two
sisters about everything. He would get mad at me on depth.
I would get mad at him on velocity. And it
was to the point that if we weren't arguing, something

(01:35:22):
was wrong. I give you an example of our normal.
We'd be in a huddle they call a play and
he would say something like, are you gonna get your depth?

Speaker 10 (01:35:32):
Can you get the ball there?

Speaker 11 (01:35:34):
Stuff like that. Then as we became really really good,
it was what route do you want? What route do
you believe you can throw?

Speaker 3 (01:35:43):
We just kind of grew together.

Speaker 4 (01:35:44):
I know how talented he was and I'm gonna throw
in the football, and I think he knew that I
wasn't afraid to throw them the football, and it just
kind of one of those.

Speaker 3 (01:35:51):
It was the perfect storm.

Speaker 1 (01:35:53):
Jake Delom would never hesitate. There could be four guys
covering Steve Smith, and Jake would put it up there
and expect him to make a play.

Speaker 11 (01:36:01):
And then it became where it wasn't we were vickery.
It was the expectation from each other.

Speaker 1 (01:36:07):
And Steve Smith in turn, would expect the ball to
be coming his way no matter how many guys were
on him, and he would make the play. I think
that's the chemistry they had.

Speaker 4 (01:36:18):
You know, as much as you know he might have talked,
and Steve didn't talk much in the huddle. Steve did
not talk much in the huddle. He never came back
and said hey, I'm wide open, or he never did
anything like that. And I think it's probably surprised as people.
But it was more so if I missed him or something.
The only thing he would would have gotten the huddle

(01:36:38):
and he would have just said hey, It would have
gave me a look and I said I missed you.

Speaker 3 (01:36:41):
I didn't see you, and he and he would, he
would have nod and I was all right, I'll get you.
And if he dropped the pass, he wouldn't look at me.

Speaker 4 (01:36:49):
I one, I wasn't gonna berat him, but he wouldn't
look at me because he was just so devastated.

Speaker 1 (01:36:53):
I think they did a bowt Jangles something.

Speaker 18 (01:36:58):
Steve just one of those players that really feeds off
the fans.

Speaker 1 (01:37:03):
Literally, so they were even building on this off the field,
the fact that they were. They were close, not only
in the locker room but in real life as well. Uh,
maybe you should work the counter for a while, Jake.

Speaker 14 (01:37:19):
Okay, Boss got a mood needing it and.

Speaker 1 (01:37:23):
Have a games.

Speaker 3 (01:37:26):
We just hit it off.

Speaker 10 (01:37:28):
On that final drive, the Panthers had the answer for
Arizona's defense. It was Delom throwing to Smith.

Speaker 1 (01:37:36):
So Diloman company moving left to right, hoping to get
John Casey on the field to try to win this game.

Speaker 4 (01:37:43):
I just remember they started playing Steve one on one
and I was like, this is not right, and I
called all the too many plays at the line.

Speaker 3 (01:37:50):
I'm like, no, they're not doing am I seeing things?
So I would just take the ball throwing.

Speaker 1 (01:37:55):
Steve and here's Delon well if what's coming and he
goes near sidelines. Smit makes the catch and out of.

Speaker 3 (01:37:59):
My taking ball, throws to Steve Glom.

Speaker 1 (01:38:02):
Short drop flings it over fireside Smith.

Speaker 10 (01:38:04):
Again, Man, we have figured out we were pretty darn good.

Speaker 11 (01:38:07):
They were outmatched, and the Arizona Cardinals at the time,
they were setting their ways that they had believed at
some point, even though the first three quarters would indicate
that that wasn't the case, that they were gonna play
man coverage, and we took advantage of it.

Speaker 1 (01:38:22):
Fifty two seconds to go in regulation, we're tired at seventeen. Again,
Delom in the pocket swings it out far side to Smith,
makes the catch it and it is just driven back
into the turf.

Speaker 11 (01:38:33):
Earlier in the game, we tried to establish the run
and that's what really got us behind a little bit bit.
We're running up against a brick wall, and we switched
even though they didn't switch, and we went to the
pass game, and that's what really.

Speaker 1 (01:38:47):
Helped Flix is coming back to throw DeLong fires fireside
Smith has it goes out of bounds at the thirty
seven yard line.

Speaker 4 (01:38:54):
Steve's just difficult to guard and they're scared of it,
so they're gonna playoff.

Speaker 3 (01:39:00):
It just you know, I actually use my brain for
once and just kind of take who took what they
gave me.

Speaker 1 (01:39:04):
Another quick out, the Smith makes the catch out of
bounds with the thirty one yard line, and with eight
seconds to go, it's time for John Casey.

Speaker 4 (01:39:12):
And we just methodically went down the field till we
got in field goal range and John was gonna come
out to kick, and there was no doubt John was
gonna make the kick and we're gonna win the division.

Speaker 1 (01:39:23):
So John Casey comes on for a field goal try
of forty nine yards from the left hash Mark sour
Brunn will hold. If it's good, the Panthers would be
just seconds away from a division title. We're ready to
go snap placement. Casey's kick is up, It is on

(01:39:45):
the way, it is God. John Casey drills it from
forty nine yards out, four seconds to go, four seconds
to a division title. Have the Panthers have taking the
late twenty to seventeen over Arizona.

Speaker 10 (01:40:04):
John Casey's forty nine yard field goal was his fourth
game winning kick of the season.

Speaker 18 (01:40:10):
I mean, you think about all those games we talk
about going overtime and on the road, they were decided
by threes, not sixes and seven. So this is that's
John Casey being clutched too. We talk about Jake Delumbing clutched.
Not only was John Casey a prolific scorer, accurate, strong leg,
all the things you need from a great kicker. I
mean he was when the chips were down. He was
that guy that came through for you that needs to

(01:40:31):
be remembered as much as anything was. To get to
that point where you could even reach a Super Bowl,
it took a guy like John Casey being reliable and
just being that that constant.

Speaker 3 (01:40:39):
No John Casey was, we were so confident, just hey,
you get to overtime.

Speaker 4 (01:40:44):
The first thing I did was I'd look at Mike
McCoy and Jim Skipper, like, hey, what do we need
to get? Skippy would always give me the timeouts, and
Mike was like, hey, thirty six.

Speaker 3 (01:40:53):
Yard line, thirty five, just getting just getting near it.
John's kicking the field goal.

Speaker 21 (01:40:57):
I just don't know if the guy's heartbeat got over
sixty speak for a minute. That's how he's built His
faith and what he believes in and his confidence in
himself is what I believe made him the best kicker
in this franchise's history to go out there and make
all those He is the Cardiac Cats. That's how they
coined that phrase, is on the foot of John Casey.

Speaker 13 (01:41:18):
Man.

Speaker 21 (01:41:18):
He got us out of a lot of terrible situations
and he won a lot of football games for US.

Speaker 10 (01:41:24):
Mighty. Casey's kick delivered more than a win. It gave
the Panthers the NFC South title and a huge sense
of relief going down a locker room.

Speaker 13 (01:41:34):
To celebrate when they ever been to get the first
division title. It was fantastic. We had a good time,
but a lot of that was, you know, we checked
that off. The next thing now is build momentum and
try and do something in the playoffs.

Speaker 21 (01:41:47):
It was sense of relief, you know, thinking about what
we poured into it in the summer, thinking about all
the work, all the battles, the Cardiac Cats, the fan
base that had been so good to us. That man,
we cannot believe we are here after a seven and
nine season following up a one in fifteen season, and
now we have an opportunity to make some noise in
the playoffs.

Speaker 14 (01:42:06):
That was a big win. To go out there.

Speaker 15 (01:42:07):
It's a long trip and that can wear on teams
as well.

Speaker 14 (01:42:10):
So late in the season, the season wears on the team,
and you know, that was a big canibult, you know,
late in the season, it's kind of a second win,
so to speak.

Speaker 8 (01:42:19):
What I remember about going into the locker room, man,
I mean, we had the hats, the T shirts, the champagne.

Speaker 7 (01:42:27):
We excited about the fact that we did and we
hugging each other. We cry because think about all the
years that we've been there.

Speaker 8 (01:42:35):
I'm talking about the guys that's been there from any
of the struggle, and man, it was a joyous moment
to be a part of because it's nothing like pressure
being released.

Speaker 20 (01:42:48):
I didn't know. We got cool hats and T shirts.
That was the best part with me. When we went
into the locker room. We had NFC South champions hats,
and I was thinking, oh, how did they make these already?

Speaker 17 (01:42:58):
You know what I mean, Like, I was just everything
was so and I was so ignorant to how anything
worked that that was pretty funny that I was just
so happy that we got free hats.

Speaker 12 (01:43:06):
See Jackie Miles and Don Tone are passing out the
division championship hats and T shirts.

Speaker 3 (01:43:11):
That's something that this team earned.

Speaker 12 (01:43:13):
It wasn't given, and it started back for the players
in training camp, but for the front office and the
drafts and free agency leading up to that. There are
key moments throughout the season by all three phases, offense, defense,
special teams.

Speaker 3 (01:43:27):
But I think that team knew we weren't done.

Speaker 12 (01:43:29):
There's still more work to accomplish.

Speaker 10 (01:43:31):
What in that game right there?

Speaker 22 (01:43:32):
Now?

Speaker 16 (01:43:32):
Make it tangible and it kind of what's your appetite
to goal? Like this, I could win a super Bowl,
you know, and every player in that locker room wants
to win the Super Bowl, every every player.

Speaker 10 (01:43:41):
That's what you play for.

Speaker 16 (01:43:42):
You play for money, and you play for super Bowls.
That's what you play for. And now you're like, and
let's not mess us up. Everybody do the job. Let's
not mess us up. That's the chatter in the locker
room because now you realize that this is tangible.

Speaker 10 (01:43:53):
With the division title secured, the Panthers polished off in
eleven win season with easy victories against the Lion and
the Giants. To win against New York was especially sweet
for John Fox, the former Giants defensive coordinator.

Speaker 14 (01:44:09):
Whether you're a player or coach and you're competing against
an old team. You know, the people in the organization,
you know some of the players. You know, everybody knows
that's a big thing in the NFL, you know, Mike
Strahan h I was very close to it, still there
the ownership. You know, you're part of their family after
five years and you give me it.

Speaker 15 (01:44:29):
Close to people, but you know, when you compete against
your friends, you know you can beat a little bit harder.

Speaker 10 (01:44:34):
The Cardiac Cats were postseason bound for just the second
time in franchise history. Carolina would host Dallas in the
wild Card round, a game that would give the Panthers
franchise it's beating heart. After multiple missed chances to clinch

(01:44:57):
the division, Carolina secured a division title with a road
win at Arizona. The Panthers would claim the number three
seed in the NFC and host the Cowboys in a
first round game. At that point, Carolina's only playoff win
in franchise history came against Dallas back in nineteen ninety six.

Speaker 18 (01:45:18):
I can't remember the pregame. You know, the teams lined
up on different sides of the fifty. You go through
their stretches and all this, and one of the Cowboys
Helmets had rolled across the fifty out of the Panthers
side of the fifty pre game, and Bill Polly in
the GM picks the helmet up and flings it back
across the other side like he was set in the
tone for the day. And it was such a physical,
surprising beating.

Speaker 1 (01:45:36):
They went back to pass with his own seven puts
it up down the middle of the fail intercepted by
Sam Mill. Fittingly, Sam Mills with the interception at the
end of the game which sealed the win. And I'll
never forget Sam talking to Jim Zochi in the locker room.

Speaker 18 (01:45:50):
Sam Mills had never won a playoff game and what
that meant to him to have that big interception at
the end, to take it all the way down to
the one, and to get his first playoff win on
top of that.

Speaker 19 (01:45:59):
He was tearing up, emotional about that.

Speaker 1 (01:46:01):
Literally choking up. And he's the guy that sealed the deal.

Speaker 2 (01:46:04):
And they went over Dallas.

Speaker 10 (01:46:11):
For the Panthers. The playoffs began with a home date
against the Cowboys on wild Card weekend. In its ninth
season of existence. It was Carolina's second playoff appearance. It
was also the second meeting of the season with the Cowboys.
Carolina went to Dallas in week twelve. Rookie left tackle

(01:46:32):
Jordan Gross.

Speaker 17 (01:46:33):
I remember that Leroy Glover is a grown man that
I couldn't move an inch off the ball.

Speaker 20 (01:46:37):
He was a defensive tackle for them that just incredibly talented.

Speaker 17 (01:46:41):
That was a hostile environment in the old stadium there
with that you know, open partially open dome and the
astro turf.

Speaker 1 (01:46:48):
It was fast.

Speaker 17 (01:46:50):
They had a good game plan for us, and at
that point in time, we were just a kind of
a team to watch, a team that whenever you're on
a team that has a good record going or good streak,
you can tell that the other team is we're a
little bit more geared up to play you.

Speaker 20 (01:47:02):
And that's definitely how that Dallas game was. The first time.

Speaker 1 (01:47:05):
Quincy Carter in the shotgun stunt coming, Carter fakes punks
down the middle of the Fiord Heath touchdown back to
throw below hastime. All the ball floats in the air
and it's peck off bootleg by Carter back to pass
byers into the end zone. It's caught o the marvelous
catch touchdown Dallas. And who knows these teams may meet

(01:47:26):
again in the postseason, and this one is over, but
a bitter taste in their mouth again as they leave
Texas Stadium. Final score Dallas Cowboys twenty four, Carolina Panthers.

Speaker 10 (01:47:37):
Twenty Although Dallas got the best of Carolina in the
regular season, these weren't of the Cowboys of the nineties.
The Halcyon days of Aikman, Emmett and Irvin had passed.
Jake DeLoone knew the Panthers were the better team.

Speaker 3 (01:47:56):
They were losing.

Speaker 4 (01:47:57):
There's no doubt, like we lost to them in November,
like they were losing this playoff game.

Speaker 10 (01:48:03):
There was no doubt we was gonna beat them like
a drum. They didn't have a shot. It wasn't just
Steve Smith and Delome who had confidence and conviction. Started
with John Fox and the coaching staff.

Speaker 14 (01:48:17):
You know, we assumed they were gonna, you know, use
you know, pretty much the same game plan, and uh,
you know, we just had a way better answer for
what they did to us in the regular season in
that playoff game, and you know, they blenched us a lot.
And you know, you lived by the blench, you die
by the blinz And that game we executed really well,

(01:48:37):
both in protection and in the passing game, because you
got to be precision. You got to be precise in
how you do things. When they're pressure, you're like that.
And our guys handled it really, really well.

Speaker 11 (01:48:48):
It was what we experienced with what we went through
the first time playing against Dallas and we walked in
and we got hit in the mouth.

Speaker 10 (01:48:54):
So we knew we were gonna get hitting them out.

Speaker 11 (01:48:56):
So it was he letting up your chinnis, drap, put
your mouth card in, you know, get your rest. We
were not expecting a dog fight. We were looking for
a dog fight. They want to hit us in the mouth,
and the first time we played, we took it. The
second time at home in the playoffs, we ducked, but
then we counterpunched.

Speaker 10 (01:49:16):
Punching back was something Sam Mills knew all about. The
hero of the ninety six playoff win against the Dallas
was now Carolina's linebackers coach. Defensive back Mike Minter played
with and for Sam Mills.

Speaker 8 (01:49:34):
Let me tell you, man, I'm a hitter and people
stop and watch me hit people right, and I'm on
the field with Sam.

Speaker 7 (01:49:43):
Now this first time my life to just din't happened.

Speaker 8 (01:49:46):
We playing New Orleans and he hit the running back
so hard like I'm coming in to get the tackle,
and then he comes from some Oh it was like
a cannon when he hit the dude, and I felt
the dude and he was he was like, I know,
you know, like made a noise and I stopped in

(01:50:08):
my track and I said, Man, I have never ever
I'm saying this in my seen somebody did somebody that
art and I will remember that like it was yesterday
because the impact at which he came was, Man, I
was in ode and I've never been in hone with

(01:50:28):
somebody on the football field now in the minute of
the game. Boy, that right there, to me exemplifies who
he was as a person because his spirit was all
in what he did.

Speaker 7 (01:50:41):
He gave everything he had to every game.

Speaker 1 (01:50:47):
For Mills.

Speaker 10 (01:50:49):
His fight began before the two thousand and three season
even started. Team historian David Monroe.

Speaker 12 (01:50:57):
It's crazy. We had a preseason game at Green Bay
and O three. I remember riding on a golf cart
from the locker room to the press box with Sam
no idea anything is wrong with him. And then right
before the final preseason game against the Steelers, here put
out a press release.

Speaker 3 (01:51:14):
Seeing that Sam has cancer and you're just in complete shock.

Speaker 12 (01:51:17):
Just a few weeks earlier, you announced it when you're
starting linebackers has cancer, and here, just a couple weeks later,
your linebacker's coach has cancer, and you're thinking, holy cow,
they're things more important than football.

Speaker 10 (01:51:29):
Mills had intestinal cancer. Panthers linebacker Mark Fields was diagnosed
with Hodgkins lymphoma. Fields would miss the entire two thousand
and three season, but did return to play for the
Panthers in two thousand and four. As for Mills, while
his cancer revelation was public, not everyone knew the severity

(01:51:52):
of the diagnosis. Head coach John Fox.

Speaker 15 (01:51:56):
I knew early on.

Speaker 14 (01:51:57):
Again, you know, I need with the trainers every day.
The trainers would update me. Uh, you know, I knew
the doctors, you know. I think he even went up
to the big hospital in New York for treatment, and
I knew the people there, So I was aware. And
I think for the most part, the coaching staff.

Speaker 15 (01:52:14):
Was you know, you know, and those were things that
were personal.

Speaker 14 (01:52:18):
So you know, a lot a lot of people didn't
share it with the team, you know, because it's private.
But you know, I think at the end I think
it started to show, and I think most of the
kind of team knew the severity of it as the
season went on.

Speaker 6 (01:52:33):
Defensive end, Mike Rucker, we played the sport because we
love it, and it's a game, end of the day,
it's a game that we get paid to do. We
played the game for free longer than we've been paid
for and so a lot of times that's the way
that we look at it, right, even though it's a job.
But then there's times and situations like Sam, like Mark Fields.

(01:52:54):
Mark Fields was our linebacker who who had had a
form of cancer. So all this is going on, so
now all of a sudden, it's not necessarily the game.
It's more personal and this is life, you know, And
so Sam humanized that whole situation, and it made us
one be thankful for where we were at, but two
play for a different reason and to think about life differently.

Speaker 10 (01:53:17):
Despite chemotherapy treatments ended side effects, Mills continued in his
role as linebackers coach.

Speaker 14 (01:53:25):
Well, if you knew Sam Mills, you would never expected
anything different. You know, the fact that he got cancer
was you know, just ironic to me, because a guy
could never have lived a life help there than Sam Mills.
I mean, he took care of himself, he trained, he
you know, wasn't a drinker, wasn't a smoker. I mean

(01:53:46):
he took exceptional care of himself. And then you know,
for something like that to you know, take over his
body and watch how he handled that strength he showed
and positive energy he brought to the people around him.

Speaker 15 (01:54:01):
You know, it just speaks volumes volume to the man
he was and was at that moment.

Speaker 6 (01:54:07):
The way that he was conducting himself looked like he
was battling and he was beating it and he was
pushing it back. And so for me personally, that's where
I was at. Now, obviously we don't know what's going
on inside and what the doctors were saying, but at
the time, it looked like he was doing it and
he was beating it and he was going to beat it.

Speaker 10 (01:54:29):
Carolina was set to host Dallas on Saturday, January third,
two thousand and four offensive lineman Kevin Donnelly.

Speaker 13 (01:54:38):
This was something that coach Fox instituted during the season
where he would have a player speak to the team
late in the week before you're going to play that
next opponent.

Speaker 15 (01:54:48):
You know, give him a day to prepare.

Speaker 14 (01:54:50):
I think I used to tell him on Fridays, you know,
and it didn't matter whether we're on the road or
at home.

Speaker 15 (01:54:54):
And I never coached him up on what to say.

Speaker 14 (01:54:56):
Part of the concept of letting you know somebody's be is,
you know, to let them speak from their heart.

Speaker 10 (01:55:02):
As for what took place on January second, two thousand
and four, here's team historian David Monroe.

Speaker 12 (01:55:11):
There's a lot of different stories about that. There were
no cameras there. Pretty much every recollection as a is
off of someone's memory.

Speaker 10 (01:55:19):
Panthers quarterback Jake Delome recalls the eve of the big game.

Speaker 4 (01:55:25):
We stayed in the hotel the night before the game
in the Weston and the game wasn't until like eight
that evening, and so that's long, just staying all day long.

Speaker 3 (01:55:33):
So what John did.

Speaker 4 (01:55:34):
We ended up getting the buses, which and the bus
just put us and it drove us around to Cedar Street,
the other side of the practice field, and we just
got out and we kind of walked on the practice
field and just kind of just fresh aired.

Speaker 14 (01:55:46):
I just knew Sam had a lot, you know, going
on in his life. I had no idea what exactly
he would say.

Speaker 10 (01:55:54):
What Sam Mills said still echoes today. Kevin Donnelly.

Speaker 13 (01:56:00):
I remember having taken a knee and seeing his silhouette
in front of me, but the backdrop of the Charlotte
City skyline and hearing this man quietly talk about the
battle that he's gone through. All you can do with
adversity and obstacles and difficulties is just to keep going
along do what you do. And just organically said, you know,

(01:56:23):
you just you got to keep going. You've got to
keep fighting. It's like you just got to keep pounding,
you know, and you do it long enough, you're going
to break through. And we can do that. We've been
doing all season. Just keep pounding. This is the first
playoff game we've had at home. This is the team
that beat us during the regular season. But we've done
great all week. We just keep pounding. You start the

(01:56:46):
game out great, keep pounding through it, keep working, keep grinding,
and to have success.

Speaker 10 (01:56:51):
Defensive lineman Al Wallace to hear the words, we knew,
you know, keep pounding, ment to keep topping.

Speaker 21 (01:56:57):
W We hear those things all the time, but I
think at that moment we knew that that was something
that he was leaving.

Speaker 10 (01:57:03):
Us with wide receiver Steve Smith.

Speaker 11 (01:57:06):
I was watching a man with an illness that you
didn't know the outcome, and yet he was talking to
us as if he knew the outcome.

Speaker 4 (01:57:13):
I don't know if we truly knew how sick he was.
We knew he wasn't well, but he didn't show it.
He coached every day, and so it wasn't until you
start getting I mean, this is the first time we
ever heard of Keith Pout. You know, it wasn't like
but it was just like wow, you know what I mean,
just and it just they weren't winning. I know, we
keep saying that, like we were beating that football team.

(01:57:34):
There was no doubt we were going to beat that
football team. And then as it went on, you live
in the moment. I think that's the biggest thing, and
then after when you take a step back, you're like, Okay,
wait a minute, that was big. What just happened, that speech,
the play, you know, just everything about it. That's this
is gonna be big one day. But I just think
we were so doubt in and focused that it maybe God,
I don't know, it didn't get lost because everybody remembers it,

(01:57:56):
but it was just it was just part of the process.

Speaker 12 (01:57:58):
That's not the first time Sam had ever talked about
keep pounding. Go back to nineteen ninety five. The team
had started out zero to five and Sam, just as
he was as a leader as a coach, was a
leader in that locker room, and he told his teammates
to keep pounding, to keep pounding. That is a phrase
that Sam or a motto, a mantra that Sam used

(01:58:19):
throughout his life.

Speaker 3 (01:58:20):
So it just didn't have it.

Speaker 12 (01:58:21):
It just didn't resonate for when he had cancer, and
on that particular day, that is something that Sam lived
by and he shared that with the team.

Speaker 5 (01:58:29):
Wide receiver Mussin Mohammadan, all the teammates, you know, the
entire team there, you know, felt the pain that he
was going through. And for Sam to show up every
day the way he was and he was battling what
he was baling was an amazing testament what kind of
man he was, the kind of teammate he was, and
you know, sitting out on that field that day, going

(01:58:50):
through that walkthrough and then hearing that speech, we were
all lifted. I think we were all lifted. I think
we were all emotionally lifted, and it guided us through
the next few games.

Speaker 10 (01:59:02):
Defensive end Julius Peppers.

Speaker 22 (01:59:05):
It was a special moment that turned into the foundation
for this organization.

Speaker 10 (01:59:22):
When the Panthers opened the postseason against the Cowboys, the
national narrative centered predictably around Dallas. The Cowboys were back
in the playoffs for the first time in five years,
and under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells. Dallas
boasted the NFL's number one defense, but on that day

(01:59:44):
they stood no chance.

Speaker 1 (01:59:46):
Smith goes up and catches the fuck's attack of Burnie
down the field fifteen Can anybody catch him? He's to
the Bernie, He's to the twenty ten five of the
one yard line. Davis up the middle, twenty turns outside
fifteen ten five. This touchdown along back in the pocket downfield.
It goes for Steve Smith with Tupper's deck. He up, touchdown.

(02:00:09):
You want to catch what's just coming by Terry Cousin.
Carter throws over the medaln of dinner stuff that Julius
Tuffer's coming back the other way. Thirty twenty Peppers fifteen
at down on the eleven yard line. What an effort tonight,
fight Carolina twenty nine to ten to the final.

Speaker 21 (02:00:25):
For us, it meant the world that a guy would
give his time sacrifice, maybe being with his own family
and his kids, that he felt a part of this team,
and that we were gonna fight and do everything we
could to take him as long as possible. At some
point during that year, I know we had the conversation, Hey,
maybe this is why he's fighting so hard every single
game we win every playoff opportunity. Maybe that's gonna pull

(02:00:46):
him along even further.

Speaker 10 (02:00:51):
Despite a terminal diagnosis, Sam Mills would make it through
the entirety of the two thousand and three season end
the two thousand and four calendar year. Mills passed away
on April eighteenth, two thousand and five, but Sam's spirit
lives on in two eternal words, heep, heep, keep pounding.

(02:01:19):
It has become the soul stone and the beating heart
of the Carolina Panthers.

Speaker 26 (02:01:25):
The Panther celebrating their annual Keep Pounding Day by serving
the community.

Speaker 1 (02:01:29):
I appreciate a lot of practice plans under what up
got a big homeway? Know of that not the next week,
keep prom the baby, Let's go.

Speaker 27 (02:01:45):
I'd never waiver you know in my belief in what
we're doing and how we're doing it and what it
takes to win, I know what the answer is. It's
not easy. Who are we going to be and are
we going to keep fighting? And are we going to
keep pounding? And I believe it will.

Speaker 6 (02:02:00):
Been able to see this organization grow and the guys
that have come in the coaching staff, and there's been
some highlight moments, right, and there's been some some history moments,
but as far as a groundbreaking DNA moment, that was it.

Speaker 10 (02:02:15):
That was it, hands down.

Speaker 13 (02:02:17):
That kind of culture resonated throughout that building, the fans
and everyone. It just resonated with me because it felt
like we were every man's team. Keep pounding really at
its roots with mister Richardson acquiring the franchise, because there
was no step in the process where he wasn't met
with obstacles, doubt, people saying it wouldn't work. There weren't

(02:02:39):
big enough of market, any wrong turn here or there
that this franchise could have ended up in another city.

Speaker 10 (02:02:45):
This is part of this building and this team's DNA, right,
that doesn't go away.

Speaker 26 (02:02:49):
Right.

Speaker 6 (02:02:50):
You don't take your your blood cells out of your
blood like. It doesn't work that way. Keep pounding is
part of us, and anybody that puts on this uniform,
puts on a T shirt or the hat, or is
employed with this organization. It should be someone's duty inside
the building, or outside the building, or in the community
to tell the story of keep pounding.

Speaker 11 (02:03:09):
The channel of key pounding may seem small, but for
the men that who experienced it, it is who we are.
You take that away from us, you take away every
legend every person in this city. But Keith pounding was
given to us by a man who was thinking about
other people. So understand, keep Pounding is not a mantra,

(02:03:33):
it's not words, it's exactly who we are.

Speaker 10 (02:03:47):
The Cardiac Cats carried their heartbeat into January. Carolina won
the NFC South and returned to the postseason for the
first time in seven years. Panthers opened the playoffs by
smashing through Dallas's top ranked defense in a twenty nine
to ten home win. For the divisional round, Carolina hit

(02:04:09):
the road to face Saint Louis, the NFC's top scoring offense.

Speaker 3 (02:04:14):
Greatest Show on.

Speaker 2 (02:04:15):
Turf, Greatest show on Turf, Greatest show on turf.

Speaker 3 (02:04:17):
Greatest show on turf.

Speaker 10 (02:04:19):
The Rams had played in two of the previous four
Super Bowls inside the Edward Jones Doome, Saint Louis had
been invincible. The Rams entered the divisional round on a
fourteen game home win streak in two thousand and three.
Saint Louis averaged almost thirty four points per game at home.

Speaker 11 (02:04:41):
We knew they had some really good players, but we
also I think the team was shaped a little bit differently.

Speaker 1 (02:04:47):
Warner's not the quarterback anymore. Bulger Is Marx is the
head coach, not for Meal, but still a lot of talent,
including Marshall Paul. It was still the greatest show on turn.

Speaker 10 (02:04:58):
Still the greatest show on turf. It was scary.

Speaker 21 (02:05:00):
How do we stop Marshall Falk, Tory Holt, Isaac Bruce.
We didn't know if we could do it.

Speaker 10 (02:05:05):
The last time Carolina played in Saint Louis was during
the Miserable one in fifteen campaign. Two seasons prior. The
Rams smashed the Panthers forty eight to fourteen, totaling almost
five hundred yards of offense, including three hundred and thirty
seven on the ground.

Speaker 1 (02:05:24):
Faulk trying to turn the corner and the look out
how Man near sideline. He's gone forty thirty twenty and
the ramps star opening drive, Marshall Hawk seventy one yard
hitch around the left corner, the Fauk turning outside right
Cola roll one miou thirty Marshall Fawk could have forty
cuts back left at pay up back to throw slant

(02:05:45):
over the middle pick top intercepted touchdown Saint Louis. So
it was all Saint Louis today. The spread was nineteen
coming in and there could have been thirty and they
had a government.

Speaker 10 (02:06:00):
The divisional round A showdown with Saint Louis was a
collision of finesse and power rams burst against the Panthers
Braun head coach John Fox.

Speaker 14 (02:06:13):
They had great skill and they executed very well, and
you know we were gonna have to have a good
plan and execute that plan, and you know, both on
offense and defense, because they weren't slouches on defense either.

Speaker 15 (02:06:25):
And you get in that dome, it gets loud. You
know they can cheat the snap gown. You know, our
players handled it really really well because that that was
a tough environment.

Speaker 21 (02:06:35):
Defensive end Al Wallace. We know the receivers are going
down right, they don't want any hits. We know, uh
some short yard as Marshall faulks, he's pulling up right.
We got Britson Buckner in there. He's making some big hits.
Deon Grants, they're coming up. They're dialing up the blitz is.
We're attacking them now, right, So now we're not sitting
back and saying, hey, can we contain the greatest show

(02:06:55):
on turf. We're being more aggressive. We're bringing blitzes and
we're daring Bulger to make plays down the field.

Speaker 10 (02:07:01):
The Rams were able to get inside the Panthers ten
yard line three times in the first half. Former Panthers
play by play announcer Bill Razinski.

Speaker 1 (02:07:11):
That was a defense that could lay the lumber on you.
You know, when that field shrinks, it's harder to execute
your razzle dazzle plays and finesse plays and whatever else
that the Rams liked to do when they had eighty
yards to go instead of ten.

Speaker 10 (02:07:24):
But each time Carolina forced Saint Louis into a field goal,
Jeff Wilkins on.

Speaker 1 (02:07:30):
For a twenty yard field goal. Try left, hash mark
snap placement. Kick us up man, it is good right,
hash mark kick us up alight, it is good placement.
Kick us up man, it is good.

Speaker 10 (02:07:44):
Al Wallace new the value of holding the Rams to three.
It's big, it's huge, and we're doing that.

Speaker 13 (02:07:50):
I can.

Speaker 21 (02:07:50):
I can just remember Dan Morgan just frothing at the mouth.
He's got to keep doing that. Don't worry about anything else.
Just get off the field. Everybody found a way to
get off the field, walking up and down from the
defensive line into the defensive bats. He's just screaming. Just
keep getting off the field, Just keep making plays.

Speaker 10 (02:08:09):
Stephen Davis gave Carolina its best scoring chance of the
first half, but at a great cost.

Speaker 1 (02:08:16):
Panthers will move left or right. They start at their
thirty two yard line. They trailed Saint Luil six and
I think thirteen eighteen to go first half. The lone
under center dropped lay Stephen Davis big hole up side
to the forty How rush is a tackler to the fifty,
down the sideline thirty twenty and finally cut from behind
down at the four yard line.

Speaker 13 (02:08:39):
Wow.

Speaker 10 (02:08:39):
Davis, a fourteen hundred yard rusher, would leave the game
with a strained quad.

Speaker 1 (02:08:45):
Back to the Panthers sideline. Another Stephen Davis update from
Greg Brannon. Greg, Bill, you look at Steven.

Speaker 28 (02:08:51):
The face says yes. The body language says I don't know.
He's trying to loosen that left puot up. Right now,
he's sitting on the bench with a heating pad on
his upper quad. You know, he's telling everybody, I'm okay,
I'm okay, but I just he's not moving very well.

Speaker 21 (02:09:05):
Our confidence as a defense was rocked when we see
our big guy, Stephen Davis pull up on a long run,
and now we're thinking, how are we gonna win this?
I mean, I told you we believe this smoke. We
believe in Foster, we believe in his ability to carry
the low. But we need both of those guys in
this game.

Speaker 10 (02:09:23):
But Carolina is still capitalized on the drive thanks to
a four to two of his spouce.

Speaker 1 (02:09:28):
Thelon barks out of his call, Oh, it's a shovel pass.
Is it a fumble? Loose ball around the two yard
line that goes into the end zone and there's a
big pile up. Panthers have it, They say they have it.
Dom says they have it. Is it in the end zone?
Is it a touchdown? We have no signal from the officials.
It's a touchdown for the Panthers, just the way you

(02:09:51):
draw it up.

Speaker 10 (02:09:52):
Mohammed's touchdown was the only touchdown of the game through
three quarters. In the fourth, Brad Hoover had Carolina dreaming
of the NFC championship.

Speaker 1 (02:10:05):
The Panthers, who lead by four with nine ten to
go here in the fourth quarter, have an opportunity get
a double digit lead.

Speaker 20 (02:10:14):
Yeah, this drive can't be about three points.

Speaker 2 (02:10:16):
They can't.

Speaker 10 (02:10:17):
No, we gotta go ahead. We need to come up
to come up big.

Speaker 1 (02:10:20):
And Kevin Dyson is in the ballgame for Carolina wide left.
Foster is in the backfield. First and goal from the
seven yard line. Belong quick hitter, Hoover up the middle,
five two one touchdown, Brad Hoover, quick hitter from the
full back spot, and everyone enough blue jersey to touch them.
It's seventy yard touchdown run.

Speaker 10 (02:10:40):
The Panthers led twenty three to twelve with less than
three minutes to play, but it wasn't quite Curtains for
the Greatest Show on Turf.

Speaker 14 (02:10:51):
We really kind of screwed up a couple of things
on defense that kind of let them back in the game.

Speaker 1 (02:10:56):
Rams break the huddle, bruce out to the right hole
to the left, down to Saint Louis from the Carolina
thirty eight yard line. Bulger as Morgan comes on a blitz,
votes it down field and it's caught at the twenty.
Funk Oh come on out of bounce at the sixteen
yard line. Bulger under center, third down to ten from
the Carolina sixteen. He's back to pass again. Throws over

(02:11:19):
the middle. There's falking the fifteen at the ten of
the five. He's got a first down. Vulger hands off
the Falk looking to turn it outside, cuts left. He's
in the touchdown. Ram all right, Rams going for two.
Falk's the lone running back. Two receivers right, one to
the left for Vulger, bootleg right by Bulger.

Speaker 24 (02:11:40):
He drows.

Speaker 1 (02:11:41):
It's Cocke's good for two. They got it to Dane
Looker and it's a three point Carolina leave a huge
play coming up in this fourth quarter. Here's the kick
and it bounces. It's free. It's a free ball forty
yard line. I think Saint Louis has it. They do.

Speaker 10 (02:12:06):
The on side kick recovery. Told Panthers defensive back Mike
Minter that Carolina missed its chance to slam the door.

Speaker 7 (02:12:15):
We know we have them.

Speaker 8 (02:12:16):
We kind of relaxed a little bit because we did
think the game was over and and for them food
to you know, come back and sending it to overtime now.

Speaker 7 (02:12:26):
Became a game again. We haven't We got to get
back out of here.

Speaker 10 (02:12:29):
The Rams had a chance to tie on the final
play of regulation.

Speaker 1 (02:12:34):
All right, here we go from the right hash park
thirty three yard field goal to tie, snapped, kicked by Wilkins,
says up man, it is good. We're tied. We're going
overtime in the playoffs. Have we ever had any overtime
games on the road this season?

Speaker 4 (02:12:50):
Yes, we have have we had some of the Hey
we used to this bass got them right where.

Speaker 1 (02:12:55):
We want them. Yeah, well, we're time on the road.

Speaker 10 (02:12:57):
The Cardiac Cats were stretched to overtime for the fifth
time that season. They had won three of the previous four.
In this one, the Panthers would win the coin toss
and would receive the overtime kickoff. Under the rules of
the day, the first team to score one and Carolina

(02:13:19):
had its chance.

Speaker 1 (02:13:20):
Along with the Blick's coming avoids, the rush rolls right,
looks down field, cross Mohammed's got it and he's in
the Ram territory in the forty two yard line. By action,
fake along to throw, lets it go wide open wickets
far side of the field. He's to the thirty, hold
on to the football to the twenty yard line. Casey's
kick is up, bit is on the way, and the
Panthers are gone. Tell the NF sixpense first time, the

(02:13:49):
fly came in before the kick even took place. The referee,
Oh my goodness.

Speaker 10 (02:13:53):
For head coach John Fox, jubilation was short lived.

Speaker 14 (02:13:59):
We won the game, sure enough. There was a flag
out there. I thought they had to be all sides.
But what happened was is they didn't reset the clock.

Speaker 15 (02:14:07):
And they called us for delay a game, you know, So.

Speaker 14 (02:14:10):
That one's really the first time we thought we won
the game and then had to recruit from that, you know,
to continue the game.

Speaker 1 (02:14:17):
And then obviously I was at a forty yarder and
then I think Casey had to kick a forty five
yard or and he miss. Casey ready, snap is good,
placement's good. Casey's kick us up on the way, and
this time the no missed it.

Speaker 10 (02:14:32):
The miss by Casey left the door. Ajar for the Rams.

Speaker 1 (02:14:36):
Second and nine bolts deep dropped this time fires down
the middle of the field, that's caught at the forty
five for the thirty nine yard line. Isaac Cross all right,
Wilkins the balls on the left, Ash Mark kicking right
to the left fifty three yarder to win it. In overtime,
snap placement, kick us up and it is short, short,

(02:14:58):
short from fifty three. It was on the money, but short.
We're still alive. We're still playing. I'm normal. Oh, I
don't feel anything.

Speaker 10 (02:15:08):
I don't feel a thing. The Cardiac Cats got a
second chance in overtime, but squandered it.

Speaker 1 (02:15:15):
From the Ram thirty five first down. Oh, Doloma's hit
gets up runs and they go back to the thirty
eight yard line.

Speaker 2 (02:15:22):
They're gonna mark.

Speaker 1 (02:15:23):
Him down at the forty one. If somebody broke on
through Glom play action sacked back at the forty five.
They all blew through and Dollm slams the fall in
discussed on the Rams.

Speaker 10 (02:15:35):
Ensuing possession, they picked up a first down at the
Carolina thirty eight. Saint Louis stood on the verge of victory.

Speaker 1 (02:15:44):
Balger again, Here comes everybody on the blenz and we
still can't get to Bulger throws it down, failed put
it up. Brickey man it picked it off at the
thirty five yard line.

Speaker 3 (02:15:55):
It's a game, sable.

Speaker 15 (02:15:57):
You get that laid into a game, you know, you
see things over again.

Speaker 14 (02:16:00):
And so Ricky was very smart for a rookie corner
and he had a tremendous playoff run there, but huge
play that he had seen, and.

Speaker 15 (02:16:10):
You know, he was fun to like a tenure of that.

Speaker 10 (02:16:12):
The Panthers got the ball back at their own thirty five,
but could not move forward, fell.

Speaker 1 (02:16:18):
On under center draw play, Foster trying to turn it outside.
Nowhere to go Along, they pick up the blitz, know
they don't. He avoids it. Along's still going down. At
the thirty one.

Speaker 10 (02:16:28):
It was third and fourteen, and the game had now
moved into his second overtime and the Panthers season was
once again on the brink. But this is where Jake
Delom and Steve Smith had thrived. Even when going off script,
some of our best players were mistakes.

Speaker 11 (02:16:49):
There would be times where I had a seam Rey
and I just told him, hey, just hit me up
top and I'll protect myself. And so there were things
where certain angles or certain things that happened that there
was a understanding between us. I would try my best
to protect the throw and he would try his best
to protect my faith.

Speaker 4 (02:17:09):
He was the best punt returner and kick off return
in the league, and it wasn't even close. And then
he started playing more receiver and saying Steve was just
just give him the football.

Speaker 3 (02:17:18):
I mean it's not hard, like he is just different
with the football in the team.

Speaker 10 (02:17:22):
Steve Smith had emerged as Carolina's go to wide receiver.
In his third season with the Panthers, Smith had blossomed
into his star. He had come a long way from
his early days in southern California. People say this, Oh,
he's the Napoleon complex.

Speaker 11 (02:17:40):
Sometimes air quotes Napoleon, his mind and his business, not
bothering anybody. And I'm one of those stranger danger guys.
So I really don't do the whole walk around look
at me. I'm like, walk around, I don't talk. But
that's always been me like that that demean I grew
up in Los Angeles, right I grew I grew up
in a time where there was gangs, there was drugs,

(02:18:04):
car jackets. So I'm just telling you like when people
see me and sometimes they.

Speaker 10 (02:18:08):
Go, you know, I know who he is. You have
no idea who I am. Smith played his college ball
at Utah, where he was first teammates with Jordan Gross.

Speaker 20 (02:18:19):
Same did, just younger and fierier.

Speaker 17 (02:18:22):
And I was probably the most scared of him I
ever was was when he was in college, because he
was intense man. That's like the word probably that I
should use intense and on the field off the field,
and that was something that was really good for me
to be around because I wasn't that way as much.

Speaker 20 (02:18:38):
And I learned a lot from him.

Speaker 10 (02:18:44):
The Panthers selected Smith in the third round of the
two thousand and one draft. His five foot nine frame
had some questioning whether he would ever be anything more
than a return man.

Speaker 11 (02:18:57):
When I was drafted by the Carolina Panthers, I spent
a whole five six months not allowed to practice wide
receiver with the first team because I was not deemed
a wide receiver.

Speaker 10 (02:19:09):
I was deemed a specialist. But in his very first
game against the Vikings in two thousand and one, on
his very first touch of the very opening kickoff, Smith
delivered an exclamation and a message for his doubters there
was a special teams a's from San Diego State.

Speaker 11 (02:19:29):
I don't remember the guy's name, but he had just
told me, hey, this isn't Utah anymore.

Speaker 10 (02:19:36):
It really triggered me. It just hit me in a way.

Speaker 11 (02:19:38):
He kind of made me feel like I wasn't good
enough and I wasn't the It was one of those
things that just wasn't the appropriate time, and so it
just hit me as like, you know, shazam.

Speaker 1 (02:19:50):
We're ready to go. Season number seven, the two thousand
and one NFL regular season is underway. Here's the kickoff
and over d the rookie Smith from his seven yard
line to their twenty cutting outside. Thirty thirty goes Smith
is gone forty thirty. The rookie on his first touch

(02:20:11):
is a professional all the way for a touchdown.

Speaker 10 (02:20:14):
Still, opportunities at wide receiver were rare, but Smith found
someone who understood his frustration, the Panthers five foot nine
linebackers coach.

Speaker 11 (02:20:26):
That's where my connection with Sam Miles came in because
Sam was always encouraging to me. Sam had saw one
day after practice, I did not get one rep with
an offense in practice after being you so much in
training camp. Then the regular season goes and I'm like, yeah,
let's go, let's get going. Didn't get one rep. It
was extremely discouraging, to the point where Sam saw me,

(02:20:49):
Jimmy Jimmy Hitchcock at the time, and they saw me
after practice. I was I was in tears because I
was a third round draft pick and I never experienced,
never being allowed in one practice to play wide receiver.

Speaker 10 (02:21:03):
Smith only caught ten passes as a rookie, but he
dazzled on special teams. Smith returned two kicks and a
punt for a touchdown in two thousand and one. It
earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl.

Speaker 11 (02:21:17):
Tory Holt Isaac Bruce were alternates for the Pro Bowl,
and Isaac was the first Toy was the alternate and
Joe Horn was the second alternate. Isaac doesn't come because
they lose to the New England Patriots. Tory says, no,
Joe Horn didn't want to get on the flight. So
John Harball says, listen, Jermaine Lewis is a returner for

(02:21:41):
the Baltimore Ravens, and I know he is going to
play a little bit of wide receiver because he wants
to show his team. And John Hopball's Philadelphia Eagle special
teams coach. He says he wants to show that he
could play wide receiver. So they're missing a guy you
know how to catch punks here at the Pro Bowl.
Go over there with the wide receivers. They're down one, okay,
so I'll go over Joe Cully is the wide receivers coach,

(02:22:06):
and he tells me, hey, going over with the specialists,
and again disappointed, not good enough.

Speaker 10 (02:22:12):
What he said was go with the specialists.

Speaker 11 (02:22:15):
But what my heart and my ears and what I
experienced was you're not good enough, So get out of here.

Speaker 10 (02:22:21):
These are for the real receivers. And so I left.
And I held onto that because he could have explained
it to me, or he could have even actually interacted
with me and asked me why I was here, but
he dismissed me. After Smith's first season, the Panthers made
a coaching change. John Fox replaced George Seffert, and when

(02:22:46):
it came to Steve Smith, Fox had an open mind.

Speaker 14 (02:22:50):
He did make the pole ball as a return man,
so I think he proved his skill set, you know,
to do that. I both as a kicking bumb returner.

Speaker 11 (02:22:58):
When I met with coach Fox said, hey, I want
to play wide receiver. I am a wide receiver. He said, okay.

Speaker 14 (02:23:04):
Early when I got there, it was you know, Steve
can't do this, Steve can't do that, Steve doesn't do this,
Steve doesn't do that. And we kind of said, we're
gonna put them at one position X.

Speaker 10 (02:23:14):
They moved me to X, which is what I played
in college, and we're not going to give him, you know.

Speaker 14 (02:23:20):
The whole Ralph Tree. I mean, he's gonna do that's
and this, and he was too skilled and too athletic,
and you know, we weren't rolling in talent at that point.

Speaker 15 (02:23:30):
You'd have him sitting on the sideline with me.

Speaker 10 (02:23:32):
Smith took a giant leap in two thousand and two,
playing wide receiver while still returning kicks. The following season,
he broke out teammate Al Wallace. He was right.

Speaker 21 (02:23:46):
He was the best wide receiver we had. And that's
with all due respect to Moose. Was absolute beasts like
he was the best wide receiver out there. The way
the guy could jump, his hands were probably as big
as mine. The plays that he made in practice, and
the explosion from the time he caught the ball to
sixty miles an hour going down the field was incredible.

(02:24:06):
Don't make him a gadget guy, Like, don't look at
the size. If you look past that and look what
this guy is doing, there's not a defensive back in
the NFL that wanted to see number eighty nine lined
up across him, because he's going to be a nightmare
for sixty minutes.

Speaker 10 (02:24:19):
In two thousand and three, Smith caught eighty eight passes
for more than eleven hundred yards and supplanted Musin Mohammad
as the team's top wide receiver.

Speaker 5 (02:24:30):
It was somewhat humbling experience, you know, but I was
ready to do whatever took the win at that point
in my career. And Steve was a special talent. He
was a guy that was talented enough that would warrant
that right. I would I would be less receptive to
the concept if he wasn't capable of fulfilling those shoes.

(02:24:56):
But he was ready for it. I mean, he'd been
groomed and he was ready for it. And he embraced that,
and I embraced it. I embraced that number two spot.
I said, I'm gonna be the best number two the
team needs. And I think when you have guys that
take that approach on the team, say hey, it's not
about me, it's about winning, then that's when you really
start doing something special.

Speaker 10 (02:25:15):
Despite the on field accomplishments, controversy trail the Smith, a
public grievance over his contract, and an altercation with a
teammate during film session gave Smith a certain public persona.

Speaker 11 (02:25:31):
I had really embraced and kind of was the villain, right,
really didn't. I really did not enjoy the media really,
you know, as some people say, you know, I was
I woke up angry at the media, but I didn't.
I just felt that the media had a certain perspective

(02:25:51):
of me, and so I was I was lazy, and
I played to that perspective. They felt that I was pompous,
and so that's how I presented myself to them because
alread he felt that the article was gonna be bad.
So I was just kind of like, you know, it's like,
you know, I presented myself to the media the way
vegetables are like Brussels sprouts. Some people don't like him,

(02:26:13):
but you need you need what brussell Sprout's brain, right,
you know, looking back, that helped me.

Speaker 10 (02:26:19):
But then it hurt me at times, but it.

Speaker 1 (02:26:22):
Is what it is.

Speaker 2 (02:26:23):
I'll be all right.

Speaker 10 (02:26:24):
But during the magical two thousand and three season, the
self proclaimed villain wore the hero's cape on multiple occasions.

Speaker 1 (02:26:34):
Dolone takes the snap and this is over the Carolina
Panthers with a stunning loads it Downpire for Smith of
the tent got it to the five step Fox two
one touchdown Steve Smith, touchdown Panthers. What a great move
by Steve Smith. Such down Steve Smith. The out of
the shotgun has it again? Fire Smith caught it, touchdown

(02:26:59):
Steve fifth call it with what O six to Gow
Are you kidding me? This is incredible?

Speaker 10 (02:27:11):
Now the Panthers again needed a hero. It was third
and fourteen to begin double overtime. A trip to the
NFC Championship was at stake. The Rams defensive front had
been dominating. Carolina needed a playmaker and a play head

(02:27:31):
coach John Fox.

Speaker 14 (02:27:33):
Yeah, well, part of it was because they were so
much covered. Two that means deep madobs two deep safeties
and you know, you try to it looks like it's
going to be a short route by the widest receiver
and then the inside guy goes up and it looks
like he's gonna go to the corner where you call
it a seventh route, and so you get the guy
to think that and then he broke to the post
and you try to make the safety look like a clown.

Speaker 10 (02:27:56):
The play was called X clown quarterback Jake Delane.

Speaker 4 (02:28:02):
We put it in because we watched Cincinnati, dude, and
Cincinnati had Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer.

Speaker 3 (02:28:08):
Well, Chad and Steve.

Speaker 4 (02:28:09):
Steve were juke O Buddies teammates, and the play was
faked the corner, and you know if fake go into
the corner, the safety opens his hips and you go
right on the inside of him down the field. Well,
I was thinking it was all the way down the field,
Steve would kind of cut it flat. We could not
complete it in practice. We tried and we tried, and

(02:28:32):
to Dan Hennings credit, he was like, we're.

Speaker 3 (02:28:34):
Running it in the game.

Speaker 10 (02:28:36):
How many times did it work in practice?

Speaker 1 (02:28:38):
None?

Speaker 3 (02:28:38):
It never worked in practice.

Speaker 4 (02:28:39):
I couldn't throw it to him because I was I
was under the anticipation that he was gonna go deep
and he would come flat.

Speaker 11 (02:28:46):
Everybody always makes it. Oh, we couldn't get it. That
was That's what practice. Practice is to improve, is not
to be perfect. I was running beautiful routes like usual,
and Jake, just Jake.

Speaker 10 (02:28:58):
Was in La La land. I'm not sure what was
going on with Jake, what he was on. You know,
he was on.

Speaker 11 (02:29:05):
He was feeling himself. You know, he he had already
signed three or four a marketing deal. So I mean,
I just think Jake, he just you know, he would
just own one that day.

Speaker 3 (02:29:15):
I think we knew it covers they were gonna be in,
because anything third.

Speaker 4 (02:29:18):
And nine plus or eleven plus, he felt pretty certain
they would play this coverage.

Speaker 3 (02:29:22):
And you just hope they didn't get home. Do you
hope they didn't get to the quarterback?

Speaker 1 (02:29:27):
The Panthers did have, as they look back on this
game in the fourth quarter, eleven point league, but they're
not hold on. And now they're faced with the third
and fourteen for their own thirty one yard line. They're
now moving right to the lap. As we start in
overtime quarter number two, what's again coming to lone pumps?
He's got time throws down fifth Smith and the forty

(02:29:47):
five to the forty I thought it's rights the money,
then five touchdown touchdown Steve Smith sixty nine yards and
we are going to the NFC Championship game.

Speaker 10 (02:30:01):
X Clown had the Panthers and Steve Smith basking in
the national spotlight. Panthers radio analyst Eugene Robinson.

Speaker 16 (02:30:12):
That became the coming out party for Steve Smith. National spotlight.
When you make his difference making plays down here in
Becca America Stadium, when nobody sees it, you're on that
stage where everybody is waiting for this game, and everybody's
tuned in.

Speaker 10 (02:30:29):
The rest of the NFL now knew what Steve Smith
had long known. Panthers defensive back Mike Minter well, that
he could.

Speaker 8 (02:30:39):
Play football, that he was tough, and that's really what
he was just trying to show everybody is that that
he's a guy that can make plays.

Speaker 7 (02:30:48):
He's a guy that was gonna be one of the
greatest Panthers that ever played. I'm telling me that.

Speaker 8 (02:30:53):
He said, Man, my goal, Mike is one day you
know have my name in the state. And man, you
know when people talk that way, you know that they
are different guy. Right, They not just talking about making
the team, whether they're just talking about being a.

Speaker 7 (02:31:12):
Good receiver on the Panther. He talking about putting his
name in the.

Speaker 10 (02:31:16):
Ring longtime Panthers broadcaster Jim Zoki.

Speaker 3 (02:31:20):
He was right.

Speaker 18 (02:31:21):
I mean, he backed up everything he said as far
as what he's going to be, and he'll be in
the Hall of Fame, so he's more than backed it up.
But yeah, you got to start somewhere, and for him,
he had to come in and tell people first because
he wasn't getting the opportunity to show them. People look
at stature, they look at size, they look at what
is a cookie cutter and what is normal as far
as what dimensions fit a football player.

Speaker 19 (02:31:41):
But yes, Steve Smith, I.

Speaker 18 (02:31:42):
Think because of his upbringing in La having to earn
things the way that he did, knew in his soul
that he would be good enough to do what he
did in the NFL.

Speaker 10 (02:31:49):
And a rookie offensive tackle Jordan Gross knew in his
soul that the Panthers in overtime would surely prevail.

Speaker 20 (02:32:00):
I never really thought we were gonna lose.

Speaker 17 (02:32:02):
I mean, and it's not because I was a predictor
of great talent or anything, but just history had shown
that season that, man, we go into overtime, that's ours
to win. Oh I guess now we're going double overtime. Man,
we'll probably win eventually. You know, it's sure enough, you know,
Jake to Steve and he's out the gate, and man,
the rest is history.

Speaker 10 (02:32:19):
The win over Saint Louis was Carolina's fourth overtime win
of the campaign. The Panthers were one win away from
their first Super Bowl. The Cardiac Cats still had a heartbeat,
they still had belief, and they had hope.

Speaker 1 (02:32:46):
Welcome back to Ericsson Stadium and many of the fans
still here savoring the moment. The Carolina Panthers beating the
Dallas Cowboys twenty nine to ten and advancing in the
NFC playoff'll beyond to Saint Louis next Saturday to take
on the Rams. Let's again come and golf pumps. He's

(02:33:07):
got time throws down Phil swim Head the forty five
to the forty. I thought, it's RIGHTNY ten five touchdown, touchdown,
Steve Smith, and we are going to the NFC Championship Game.

Speaker 18 (02:33:19):
Now it's getting real. I mean, you beat the Dallas
Cowboys pretty handily. You've beat the team that some most
I would say not was the favorite to win the
Super Bowl. You knock them out in the next round.
So You're walking out of there knowing you've got to
go on the road play a great Philadelphia team in
the NFC title game. That is going to be very difficult.

(02:33:41):
But now it's like you've won a game that nobody
thought you were going to win, so nothing seems too
big in that moment.

Speaker 10 (02:33:50):
The city of Philadelphia draws its name from two Greek words, Billyo,
meaning to love, and Adelphos meaning However, former Panthers player
turned broadcaster Eugene Robinson knew all too well that fraternal
love was elusive for outsiders.

Speaker 1 (02:34:11):
Fans. Man, the fans don't like you.

Speaker 10 (02:34:13):
Do you know where you stand what Philly fans do.
They don't like you. They love their team, and they
don't like you.

Speaker 16 (02:34:20):
Even when we would play Philadelphia and I'm as a broadcaster,
I would never fly my colors that I'm wearing.

Speaker 10 (02:34:26):
I never wore like Panther gear at all, never did
not in Philly. Panthers play by play announcer Bill Razinski
says in Philadelphia apparel, who would not reveal outside allegiance.

Speaker 1 (02:34:39):
Leading up to going to Philadelphia. The people in the
Panthers organization, a lot of staffers go into the game
and they were told not to wear any Panther shirts,
you know, sweatshirts, because you didn't know what the Philly
fans were gonna do.

Speaker 10 (02:34:51):
Longtime Panthers broadcaster Jim Zochie we went into one of
the downtown sports bars and we had eight to ten
of us, and we walk in and somebody yells from
across the crowded bar, get the heck out of here.

Speaker 18 (02:35:05):
I'll insert heck, it's loud in there. So we turn
around and kind of like smile, I'm not kidding, get
the heck out of here. And I think it was
the bartender. It was not a Patriot. We go in there,
and now we feel like we might get into a
street fight in this bar just for walking in in
Panther gigs. They think we're Panther fans visiting to go
sit in the stands and be.

Speaker 3 (02:35:24):
Part of the game.

Speaker 18 (02:35:25):
We finally muster up the energy and gumption to sit
down in the middle of this crowded bar, and one
are the tables talking next to us. Starts kind of
joking around and laughing and whatever, and then they figure
out somewhere in the conversation where the Panthers broadcast crew
and next thing after again they had lost the two
previous NFC title games.

Speaker 19 (02:35:41):
They're like, hey, you think we can beat you guys?

Speaker 18 (02:35:43):
You guys are really good, right, Like all of a sudden,
their tone changed because they knew, like, we're kind of
like insiders that and have a little bit more on
the ball than just being like they're rising.

Speaker 19 (02:35:50):
Some fans here.

Speaker 10 (02:35:51):
Panthers head coach John Fox had spent the previous five
seasons in the NFC East as the Giants defensive box
knew exactly what to expect in Philadelphia.

Speaker 14 (02:36:06):
Anytime you travel in the NFL, you got to take
a road warrior mindset. And that's there's nobody rooting for
us there. It's just who we got right here. You know,
some places are tougher to player than others, and you know,
Philly is one of those places where they're throwing stuff
at you when you walk through the tunnel, and you
know they hate you.

Speaker 10 (02:36:23):
Before the game with the Eagles, Jordan Gross and the
players saw birds of a different father.

Speaker 20 (02:36:32):
I mean, we pull in.

Speaker 17 (02:36:32):
It had been snowing recently, and so the fans were
just pelting us with snowballs like crazy, like just knocking
the heck out of our bus with snowballs and I'll
never forget this. Like an old grandma, I mean, gray
haired old lady double middle finger, just flipping us off
as we pulled into the stadium, and I just was laughing, thinking,
this is pretty dang cool that their fans care this much.

Speaker 20 (02:36:55):
What an environment.

Speaker 10 (02:36:56):
While the players took the bus to the stadium, Jim
Zoe and the broadcast crew chose to ride with the locals.

Speaker 19 (02:37:04):
We take a train to go down to the game.
From the hotel.

Speaker 18 (02:37:07):
I'm thinking in my head, I Am not going to
wear my panther gear to go into this underground subway
train station, just because I don't want the hassle, I
don't want to talk, so I wear just a generic
black coat, no hat. Nobody's wearing panther gear. There's a
guy down there selling Philadelphia Eagles gear. Everybody's going to
the game. The destination of this train is to the game.
They're all head to toe wearing Eagles gear. And he

(02:37:29):
walks by hats and beads, hats and beads, Get your
Eagles hats and beads, and he walks past us, stops,
turns around, walks back.

Speaker 19 (02:37:37):
To us, and goes I smell Cat.

Speaker 1 (02:37:42):
Before the game, I'm in the press box and one
of the Philly Riders came up to me. He said,
you have to play by play guy, right. I said yeah,
and he looked at me dead serious. He said, you
honestly think that the Panthers can win this game today?
And I looked out of him and I said, I
said yeah. I said, if you looked at our season,
you know this team somehow someway, starting with the first game,

(02:38:05):
has found away in big moments. Who win football games?
I said, definitely yes.

Speaker 10 (02:38:13):
The Panthers' journey to the NFC Championship was a roller
coaster ride. It was a season defined by four overtime wins.

Speaker 1 (02:38:22):
Good snap kick by Casey's on the way up, up up,
and God it's God and the Panthers are pulling.

Speaker 10 (02:38:32):
Out, and overtime late game comebacks.

Speaker 1 (02:38:34):
Dolone takes the snap and this is over. The Carolina
Panthers with a stunning comfort behind final minute win over
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Speaker 10 (02:38:46):
Personal hardships.

Speaker 12 (02:38:47):
It's just a few weeks earlier you announced it when
you're starting linebackers as cancer, and here, just a couple
of weeks later, you're linebackers, pitch has cancer and you're thinking,
Holy cal they're things more important than football defining moments.

Speaker 13 (02:39:01):
All you can do with adversity and obstacles and difficulties
is just to keep going along, do what you do.
It's like you just got to keep pounding.

Speaker 10 (02:39:11):
And at times improbable saviors.

Speaker 1 (02:39:14):
Jake stellone in a quarterback for Carolina, here's the owe
back to throw, looks looks fires for trolling the ends up.

Speaker 10 (02:39:21):
He got it. That's dull, but belief never blinked in
the face of adversity. Hope always floated. Defensive lineman Al Wallace.
We were a ragtag bunch of guys that did not
know we belonged to any of those games. So we
were playing with house money. We just didn't know that

(02:39:42):
we weren't supposed to hang with some of these teams
that we faced. And we fought and we scrapped, and
we believe John Fox. We believed in each other. But
in this season, Hope was more than a metaphor. Hope
was real. Panthers offensive lineman Kevin Donnelly, Hope Stout.

Speaker 13 (02:39:58):
Was a legend, a Panther legend. She was a twelve
year old girl at the time that I was able
to come across when I was at a Panther game
getting warmed up for the game and she was on
the sideline and had a chance to meet her and
meet her father and come to find out that she
had osteo sarcoma.

Speaker 10 (02:40:16):
Hope Stout was diagnosed with osteo sarcoma, a type of
bone cancer, in the summer of two thousand and three.
By November, the cancer had spread and Hope had been
confined to a wheelchair.

Speaker 13 (02:40:29):
It wasn't that that really made me bond with her
so quick. It was just her love of the Panthers,
and that's why I called her a Panther legend. She
was there for the game, she wasn't worried about her health.
That Richardson family had given them a suite to sit in,
and she was a twelve year old that was way
beyond her her age because she's talking football with me
like a thirty.

Speaker 2 (02:40:46):
Five year old fan.

Speaker 10 (02:40:47):
Riley Fields is the Panthers longtime director of Community Relations.

Speaker 25 (02:40:52):
It really wasn't until December when she called in to
the Keith Larson Show in an interview that if you
hear and it does not move you. I don't know
what moves you as an individual.

Speaker 29 (02:41:10):
All right, Keith Larson here, and we have on the
phone with us.

Speaker 30 (02:41:20):
Twelve year old girl who had a big idea this,
Hope Stout, was given the opportunity to have a wish
fulfilled by the Make a Wish people, and she said,
I want to fulfill the wishes of the other people
on your list, of the other kids on your list.
Basically an amazing story, and the Make a Wish people

(02:41:43):
have decided that they're going to go ahead and do that.
And in reading about this this morning and actually having
been aware to some extent of Hope previously, we just said, hey,
it sure seems like Charlotte ought to be able to
come up with this million bucks, as insane a thought
as it is.

Speaker 29 (02:42:00):
Yeah, maybe even by Christmas. So that's the story. And
Hope stubts on the phone, Hello, Hope, Hello, how are
you doing well.

Speaker 30 (02:42:09):
I'm doing fine. I'm doing fine. Thank you for being
with us on WBT today.

Speaker 31 (02:42:14):
Thank you for having me on.

Speaker 29 (02:42:15):
Where did this thought come from?

Speaker 31 (02:42:17):
Well, it just came from being in the hospital and
getting my treatments, and I just saw all these other
kids and they just seemed so happy in there, and
they just didn't know what was going on. They were
just running around with their little ivy polls and stuff.
And then I found out that some of them aren't

(02:42:38):
nearly as lucky as me, because I had my parents
there by me twenty four to seven, and some of
them didn't have their parents there because they lived in
another state or something. And all they're just asking is
just to meet Ronald McDonald or just go on a
cruise or something, and it just seemed so easy to do,

(02:42:59):
and it just broke my heart that some kids don't
get the chance to do all this great stuff because
I have that opportunity to go to like Kintune or something,
and some of these kids just asked for so little
and they might not even have the chance to get it.
And I just had to do something about that. I

(02:43:19):
just couldn't live with myself knowing that little kids just
asking for so little and maybe not getting the chance
to get it.

Speaker 10 (02:43:28):
Hope's wish was to grant the wishes of the other
one hundred and fifty five kids on the waiting list.
The cost of that would be close to a million dollars.

Speaker 13 (02:43:39):
Just by that one radio broadcast was able to reach
so much of Charlotte. People jumped on board from all
over the place. And one of the coolest parts about
it was kids her age, you know, doing bakathons and
walkathons and whatever they could do to raise money. And
so many of these gifts were coming in that were
just really low amounts, but some of them all totaling
up because all the people get behind. It really gave

(02:44:01):
us a jump start of trying to reach that million
dollar goal.

Speaker 10 (02:44:04):
In the playoff opener against Dallas, ABC reporter Lisa Guerrero
took Hope's story National.

Speaker 1 (02:44:12):
Check In with Lisa Garrera. Lisa, thanks very much.

Speaker 32 (02:44:15):
Al Well panthers A white guard, Kevin Donnelly was very
much looking forward to the spotlight of tonight's game, not
for himself, not for his teammates, but for a twelve
year old girl by the name of Hope Stout. He
met her earlier this season. She's in battling a rare
form of bone cancer and has become an inspiration to him.
Here's an example of her selflessness. When the Make a

(02:44:37):
Wish Foundation asked her what she would like granted, she
said she wanted the wishes granted of the other one
hundred and fifty five children battling life threatening illnesses in
this region. The cost about one million dollars. Donnelly wants
to help her raise it. So far they've raised about
four hundred thousand dollars.

Speaker 3 (02:44:54):
For information on how you can help.

Speaker 32 (02:44:56):
You can contact the Caroline of Panthers Well.

Speaker 13 (02:44:59):
Such a full surface moment, because you know, originally she
wanted to be in the spotlight and have some fame,
if you will, but she put that all aside her
wants and needs for others, and it ultimately came back
around where she got her story told nationally frantic to
the world, and it just was.

Speaker 2 (02:45:16):
It was an amazing moment.

Speaker 10 (02:45:17):
Director of Community Relations Riley Fields.

Speaker 25 (02:45:21):
The way this community embraced Hope and how she was
inspirational for our locker room and had personal connections to
our locker room was a part of that fairy dust.

Speaker 10 (02:45:35):
Well. Hope's prognosis worsened, the prospects of fulfilling her wish
grew brighter. Hope ed helped plan to gala scheduled a
few weeks after the playoff opener against Dallas.

Speaker 25 (02:45:47):
It was Hope's event. She had been planning this and
it was a Hollywood theme and a red carpet theme, but.

Speaker 10 (02:45:54):
On the day after the playoff win against the Cowboys,
Hope Stout passed away. Kevin Donnelly remembers.

Speaker 13 (02:46:04):
I had known that she was getting close, and I
kept in close contact with Stuart and Shelby Stout, her
wonderful parents, and they were keeping me updated on everything,
and had gone to midnight vigil that they were a
candlelit vigil. I should say that they had at the

(02:46:24):
house there just days before the game we were going
to play before Dallas, But I knew when I was
tired from the season. I was, you know, playoffs were coming.
It was an important game, but I just had to
be there and and so it really hit me then.
I mean I broke down in tears. But I think
in some way that moment and knowing that Hope was
in that that second floor bedroom, still battling and holding

(02:46:48):
on it gave me comfort. Then when I did hear
the news and felt like, you know, she came here.
It was a short time, but she accomplished so much.

Speaker 10 (02:46:58):
Hope's impact continue to be felt. The gala would go
on as planned two days before the NFC Championship at
the Weston Hotel in Charlotte. More than one thousand people
attended the celebration of Hope. The goal was to raise
a million dollars and grant the wish of every child

(02:47:21):
on the Make a Wish Foundation's waiting list.

Speaker 1 (02:47:24):
We're gonna sell this right now. What's her I've got
him at fifteen thousand. Kevin says he'll give another one
if you'll go fifteen thousand two. Yeah, thirty thousand dollars
here and I go ahead.

Speaker 26 (02:47:40):
We just got the updated total and as you know,
the goal was one million dollars, and in four weeks,
Make a Wish had raised one million, one hundred and
sixteen thousand dollars in Hope's safe and they're still counting.

Speaker 25 (02:47:54):
That night, the community came together and the moment when
it was revealed that the million dollar mark had been crested,
I mean, the entire ballroom was just uh, everyone was crying,
but it was it was joyful.

Speaker 15 (02:48:12):
It was sadness.

Speaker 25 (02:48:14):
There's so much emotion that was built up.

Speaker 1 (02:48:16):
But knowing that her wish.

Speaker 25 (02:48:20):
Had been fulfilled, and Kevin and the other Offensive linemen
they were at the event, they supported, you know what
what the stout family was going through and it really
created a it's a it's a special bond, and it's
it's a it will always be a special part of
this organization because the team's rocket ship ride through December,

(02:48:44):
through the playoffs into the super Bowl was really in
lockstep with the community embracing Hope, her story and trying
to help her wish come true to help others.

Speaker 10 (02:49:01):
Two days after the gala, armed with Hope, belief and
the NFL's best defense, the Panthers took aim at Philadelphia.

Speaker 1 (02:49:12):
Hello everybody, and welcome to Carolina Panther Playoff Football. It's
the third postseason game for the Panthers, and as the
case is, in the postseason, they get bigger and bigger,
and tonight the winner gets to go to Houston in
two weeks to play the New England Patriots in the
Super Bowl.

Speaker 10 (02:49:31):
The game time temperature was thirty three degrees with a
wind chill of twenty two, perfect conditions for John fox Well.

Speaker 14 (02:49:40):
I just want to short of the game and do that.
Got down to run the ball and play defense, and
you know, and it's tough nature. You know, We're gonna
bring a big boy pads and we're gonna show them
what toughness is.

Speaker 1 (02:49:52):
McNab again is back to pass because he drop sets up. Oh,
there's a sack. Back to pass McNabb and they got
him for a set other flex is coming sat to midfield.

Speaker 10 (02:50:02):
While Carolina's defense set the tone, it was Musin Mohammed
that quieted the vaunted Philly crowd along.

Speaker 1 (02:50:11):
Back to throw. Looks, looks, nobody opened. He's a downfield
for Muhammed and the ends up. He got it touchdown.
What a great catch by Masin Mohammed.

Speaker 10 (02:50:20):
After Mohammed's touchdown, he got down on one knee, raised
one finger to his face mask, and made the universal
sign for silence, a moment that would later adorn the
cover of Sports Illustrated.

Speaker 5 (02:50:35):
People ask me, man, did you know right where the
camera guy was or something where you've no? I really didn't.
I think they found me. It wasn't hard to find
out there in the middle of the field.

Speaker 16 (02:50:43):
And that you know.

Speaker 2 (02:50:44):
That cold January day.

Speaker 10 (02:50:46):
After the shush by Moose, Philly fans lost much of
the remaining mojo when star quarterback Donovan McNabb took a
major hit first.

Speaker 1 (02:50:56):
And ten Philly at the Carolina twenty three yard linemanfers
are showing flitz an here they come, go yeah, a sack.
They brought him down back of the thirty three yard line.
I think McNabb has.

Speaker 3 (02:51:05):
Hurt Donovan McNabb.

Speaker 4 (02:51:07):
It's tackled and somebody on our team falls on him
and he cracks a real and I'll be honest with you,
the air went out the building.

Speaker 10 (02:51:16):
Carolina led seven to three late in the first half
when the Eagles got close to midfield, and the.

Speaker 1 (02:51:23):
Eagles are now faced with a third down coming up
third and seven from their forty three no huddles. McNabb
here comes up, blitz my cousin floats it downfield Manning.
Then he pick it off me dead, Ricky Manning. What
a beautiful play.

Speaker 2 (02:51:37):
Come on, may yeah dump dead.

Speaker 10 (02:51:40):
Get the veteran Mike Mintor had become a mentor to
rookie Ricky Manning during the two thousand and three season.

Speaker 8 (02:51:48):
Well's big brother, right, seven years in the league, and
I've done it, and you've seen a lot, and most
rookies don't know the game. So you know what I
will just tell him, Man, just listen to what I
what I'm about to tell you, and then go make
that play, because I mean he was talented.

Speaker 7 (02:52:10):
Rookies don't have the information of the knowledge.

Speaker 10 (02:52:13):
The week prior, it was Manning's interception that set up
the game winning touchdown in Saint Louis. In Philadelphia, on
a day when the Panthers leading receiver only had three catches,
Manning equaled that total. While playing defense.

Speaker 1 (02:52:31):
They have short drop looks. It's a slam. Manning picks
that off Ricky Manning. Rick nabbed in the pocket twenty
a time down the middle of the field of goals.
It's patted in the airs, picked off by Ricky Manning.
Ricky Mannick coming back the other way, he's to the
thirty seventy yard line. Oh my goodness, Mike Minner laid
out the receivers, the vault got there and the ball

(02:52:53):
floated in the air. There was Ricky Manning with three
interceptions today. Oh my goodness.

Speaker 8 (02:53:00):
Looking at m nab and the things he liked to throw,
and we just knew that they didn't throw the ball
out and he always want to break eat and uh.

Speaker 7 (02:53:09):
And so that was that was the tail tale.

Speaker 20 (02:53:12):
Man.

Speaker 7 (02:53:12):
We've beating them up for a guy in.

Speaker 15 (02:53:14):
His rookie year to have three things in the championship game.
I mean, I don't know how many times.

Speaker 14 (02:53:18):
If any, that's ever happened. He was mature for his age,
you know.

Speaker 15 (02:53:22):
As far as how he prepared.

Speaker 10 (02:53:24):
Panthers radio analyst Eugene Robinson, he was.

Speaker 16 (02:53:28):
A really good quarter that you gotta have really good feet.
You've gotta have good feet, you better have good hands,
and Ricky had a combination of both. He could catch
the ball.

Speaker 10 (02:53:38):
The Panthers defense spared its teeth all night. They finished
with five sacks and four interceptions. Still, it was a
seven to three game until late in the third first and.

Speaker 1 (02:53:52):
Goal Carolina from Mawana Philly. Hoover emotional right pitch to
Foster trying to turn the fireside gets over. Hoover bounce
us off a tap, still keeps the legs turning and
Tis tortianda touchdown. Oh my goodness, Deshaun Foster on a
play that took a minute and a half. I was
able to get into the end zone as he kept

(02:54:12):
stretching it outside, bouncing off tacklers, and he gets a touchdown.

Speaker 10 (02:54:17):
He just kept the legs go and bounce it after
one defender after another.

Speaker 12 (02:54:21):
I mean, he.

Speaker 18 (02:54:22):
Refused to go down fourteen to three. Felt huge in
that moment, like is this really happening? Is this team
really not too many minutes away from getting to their
for Super Bowl.

Speaker 1 (02:54:31):
Just the effort Foster Hoover, the offensive line. That's why
this team was so good. That's why they made it
to the Super Bowl. And Delone takes a knee and
guess what. The improbable season for the Carolina Panthers continues. Yes, Charlotte,
there is a Super Bowl and we're in it. We're
going to Houston in two weeks to play the New

(02:54:52):
England Patriots for the championship of the National Football League.

Speaker 10 (02:54:58):
When the Panthers arrived back Charlotte in the wee hours
of the morning, a hero's welcome awaited.

Speaker 20 (02:55:05):
It blew my mind.

Speaker 17 (02:55:06):
How many fans were at the stadium when we got
home that night, Like it was absolutely crazy.

Speaker 20 (02:55:12):
How excited people were that we were going to Super Bowl.

Speaker 1 (02:55:14):
The crowd was electric. A few thousand people jammed into
the middle of town. You know, this is not a
wine and cheese crowd. These are avid fans, and when
things are going well, you have their unbridled support and attention.

Speaker 3 (02:55:28):
It was insane.

Speaker 4 (02:55:29):
I'll never forget watching grown men cry like Kevin Donnelly
and he knew that was probably his last year, but
seeing him when we're going take a knee and just
just seeing those emotions, and like Chris Mangham, that draft,
seventh round, they're drafted here still here, you know, was
in essence a backup tied end gett an opportunity to start,
and it was, you know, a cast off Ricky Prol

(02:55:51):
nobody wanted him anymore, a little sought off third round
receiver that everybody thought was a special teamer.

Speaker 3 (02:55:57):
And Steve Smith, you know, Stephen Davis. It just kind
of one of those deals, and yeah, man, it was.
It was fabulous.

Speaker 10 (02:56:04):
The Carolina Panthers were in the Super Bowl. One hundred
and fifty five children had their wishes fulfilled against Stack
Dodds Hope prevail. In their ninth season of existence, the

(02:56:25):
Carolina Panthers had reached the doorstep of football El Dorado
the Super Bowl. The game would be played in Houston, Texas,
and for rookie offensive tackle Jordan Gross, the Texas sized
magnitude of the game was palpable.

Speaker 17 (02:56:42):
Each game in the playoffs, the media attention uros, so
like you know, a regular season game.

Speaker 20 (02:56:47):
You got your local guys and maybe one national beat
rider or whatever. As it goes on.

Speaker 17 (02:56:52):
By timing you't the NFC Championship game, there's a lot
more media every day at practice and all that stuff. Well,
then when you're going the Super Bowl, I mean it's
even you know, twice through four times as much as
it is for the NFC Championship game. All week at
practice there was tons of attention and a lot of
media requests independently for all of us from you know,
local radio, radio, back home, whatever.

Speaker 20 (02:57:12):
And then you're trying to figure out the.

Speaker 17 (02:57:13):
Tickets and who's gonna come to the game and all
of those things.

Speaker 20 (02:57:16):
And it was I remember it being two weeks long.

Speaker 17 (02:57:19):
So when we were able to take off and head
to head to Houston, it kind of felt like a
relief because all right, we got all that previous work done.

Speaker 20 (02:57:26):
Now you focused on the game.

Speaker 10 (02:57:28):
The Panthers would face the AFC champion Patriots in Super
Bowl thirty eight. New England authored a fourteen and two
regular season, the best mark in the NFL. Head coach
Bill Belichick was in his third season at the Helm,
and a twenty six year old Tom Brady was in

(02:57:48):
season four, longtime Panthers broadcaster Jim Zochi, it was, you know,
earlier in their run.

Speaker 18 (02:57:55):
Obviously they'd won one, but it's like they were not,
you know, like the perennial champions at that point. So
they were good, but they were not like over the
top intimidating like they would become.

Speaker 20 (02:58:04):
At that time. You know, Tom Brady had already won
a super Bowl, nowhere.

Speaker 17 (02:58:07):
Near the aura that he has, you know now or
later in his career, So you weren't as scared of
Tom Brady, but you knew that that team and Belichick
were just quite dynamic. They'd won two years earlier, and
we knew it was going to be a tough matchup,
but we felt confident.

Speaker 20 (02:58:22):
That we could beat those guys.

Speaker 10 (02:58:23):
The fear factor with that new England team came from
its defense.

Speaker 17 (02:58:30):
Ted Washington's the biggest dude I've ever seen in my
whole life.

Speaker 20 (02:58:33):
I mean he had to weigh four h pounds. I
mean he was massive dude.

Speaker 17 (02:58:36):
And then I was going against Willia mcguinnis, you know,
long bodied guy, veteran guy, and Mike Rabel and Teddy
Bruski and Roman Pfeiffer and very very talented.

Speaker 10 (02:58:46):
Defensive end Al Wallace. Their defense was where they hung
their head. It wasn't Tom Brady, it wasn't that offense.

Speaker 21 (02:58:53):
We felt confident at that point that, I mean, we
can go in and compete with anybody, and if they
messed around and let us hang around already at Cats,
We're going to pop up in Houston.

Speaker 1 (02:59:05):
Hello everybody, and welcome to Carolina Panther playoff football. We
have reached the ultimate game.

Speaker 13 (02:59:11):
This is it.

Speaker 1 (02:59:12):
It doesn't get any bigger than this, and all the hype,
all the hooplah leads to what will take place in
front of us over the next three hours. The Carolina
Panthers are in the Super Bowl. A good friend of mine,
a coach in this league many years ago, said, NFL
stands for not for long, and trust me, the Panthers
would agree with that, because just two years ago this

(02:59:33):
team lost fifteen in a row and they were the
worst team in the NFL. But just two years later,
after John Fox was hired as head coach and instilled
his system and his belief that this team can win,
here they are in the ultimate championship game of any sport,
Super Bowl thirty eight.

Speaker 10 (02:59:54):
For all the hype and hooplah of a super Bowl.
The game, at least early on blacked helium, sluggish, slow,
no offense.

Speaker 1 (03:00:05):
Steven Davis with the football looking for a hole up
the middle.

Speaker 18 (03:00:08):
Forget it, especially from the panther's side. They could not
get anything going on the offensive side whatsoever.

Speaker 1 (03:00:13):
The home in the pocket down some heat, sat down,
he goes, the home in the pocket heeling some heat,
avoids one passer, no going down.

Speaker 2 (03:00:22):
Man.

Speaker 20 (03:00:23):
We couldn't run the ball. We couldn't pass the ball.
I just it was tough, tough, tough sled.

Speaker 17 (03:00:28):
And you know, definitely doubt would slip in because you're
just going, man, I can't get anything going here.

Speaker 1 (03:00:35):
Davis with the football trying to find a hole up
the middle and not much running room there. Took out
the steam skip on the far side, stiff arms one
tack or if it's only able to get up to
the line of scrimmage, maybe one more, depends on the spot.
There's the loan of the pocket, rolls to his right,
pumps one scrapers in trouble. Nope, he avoids the sack
and now he's gonna throw it away. And he was
outside the pocket and then hammered to the turf by

(03:00:57):
Ty Warren number ninety four. No flag, and the Panthers
again will have to punt the football and no one's
getting open.

Speaker 16 (03:01:06):
Frustrating those possessions of the first It was absolutely frustrating.
I was thinking about, dude, we gotta go ahead and
pump this ball out.

Speaker 10 (03:01:14):
If we don't do nothing else but punt, that's a
win my football.

Speaker 16 (03:01:18):
Eyves are going, oh man, just still make any mistakes, man,
and live to play another day and get.

Speaker 10 (03:01:23):
This ball out of territory.

Speaker 1 (03:01:25):
Drockway. The foster bounce us off one tackle and then
he's pushed back by the New England defense and a
gain of two yards. So that's all.

Speaker 11 (03:01:33):
It was a chess match. We weren't able to move
the football. They weren't able to move the football.

Speaker 13 (03:01:37):
We were.

Speaker 10 (03:01:38):
You know, we did a little bit, they did a
little bit.

Speaker 18 (03:01:40):
It just felt like we might get shut out right
again to the defense. Defense wasn't given up any points
here either.

Speaker 1 (03:01:45):
Snap a little old play Smith Minetaris kicked us out
of the way, and it is no god thirty six
yard field. They'll try right hashmark by minitary snap price,
but kick us got the ball rolling into the goal
down around the goal line, and the Panthers have stopped
the Patriots again.

Speaker 10 (03:02:04):
The defense is ballet I think that that was two
balanced teams.

Speaker 6 (03:02:08):
I mean, sometimes you'll see a team that you know
their defense is really good, like Baltimore when they won
their first one with Ray Lewis, like their defense was
the shutout. Offense was okay, you just don't turn it over.
And then you'll see some other offenses where they're just
lighting the board up, but maybe the defense you know
it's a shootout.

Speaker 10 (03:02:23):
I feel like you saw two teams that were well balanced.
Super Bowl thirty eight remained scoreless for almost twenty seven
minutes until the Panthers blinked.

Speaker 1 (03:02:37):
Third eleven Carolina from their twenty five, moving left to right.
No score alone in the pocket watch out. Oh he's said,
has had a fumble, loose ball at the twenty, and
they're gonna say New England's got it.

Speaker 17 (03:02:52):
It's funny when those plays happened, because in the NFC
Championship game, when the defense has something like that happened, well,
the whole stadium.

Speaker 20 (03:02:59):
Are up, and you know, there's music and all that stuff.
Won a Super Bowl.

Speaker 17 (03:03:03):
It's like a neutral crowd, right, So it wasn't as
giant as a reaction from the bands as it would
have been if it.

Speaker 20 (03:03:10):
Was a home run, away game anything like that. But
just oh crap, that's not good.

Speaker 17 (03:03:14):
Fortunately, our defense had been playing so well all year
that I didn't think that it was just all for
not you know, the game.

Speaker 20 (03:03:20):
Was over, but definitely knew that we would.

Speaker 17 (03:03:22):
We had been the first ones to kind of flinch
and give them a favorable situation.

Speaker 16 (03:03:28):
Those are the plays that turn games around. Those are
the plays that when you go to the sideline, okay,
oh right, there's always have to be a galvanizing moment.
That play was a galvanizing moment for the Patriots because
now they're like this, okay, all right, now we're ready.
They about they're about to feel this thing of us
that we're ready, and that changes thinks enough deficiently on

(03:03:48):
the sideline. Look at this sideline and look at our sideline.
It's gonna be totally two different things. Our defensive to talk.
All right, let's get ready going, let's look, we gotta
go up there, let's get over go we all go
do that right, and that sidelight light, okay, we got him, baby,
that's what we've been waiting for is about to break.

Speaker 10 (03:04:04):
Here's the Dyke's about to break.

Speaker 1 (03:04:05):
And that's first sting goal to England. Moving right the
left of the Carolina five yard line, Smit the lone
running back because Tom Brady barks out his call play
action fake throws over the middle, wide open touchdown stee
On Branch right in the middle of the end zone
of the Patriots Orr the Lord Curst.

Speaker 10 (03:04:25):
While New England took the early seven to nothing lead,
there was no panic for Jake the Loan and the Panthers.

Speaker 3 (03:04:33):
Dan Henning was so prophetic leading up to that game.

Speaker 4 (03:04:36):
I mean, he basically played out to us in meeting
exactly how the game was gonna play out. Men, I'm
just telling you the first quarter, it's gonna be tough sledding.
They were so big and so good on defense. He said,
it's gonna be like trying to run into a brick wall.
We're just gonna have to stick with it, just keep
it close, stick with it. Second quarter and Dan's words,

(03:04:56):
he goes, those big fat boys are gonna get tired.
He said, we're gonna start to get something and we'll
get some points.

Speaker 1 (03:05:02):
Two receivers to the right, split backs behind the lone.
He's under center. Jeff Fitcher kicks the snap, then the pocket.
He goes downfield. He throws it up for Steve Smith
and he's got it touched down Carolina. Steve Smith, Darron
Cool down the far side line. Perfect prove by checking

(03:05:23):
the loan and the Fanthers are on the board.

Speaker 10 (03:05:26):
Steve Smith's game time touchdown came less than two minutes
after New England opened the scoring. Both offenses had woken
up second and.

Speaker 1 (03:05:36):
Ten Patriots in their thirty fourth Brady will again work
shot gun here comes He'll puts up the middle. Brady rolls, stops, fires,
kick down. Piel got a man there, caught at the
twenty head down with a fifteen yard line. It's Kean Branch.
Brady play action, throws over the middle, touchdown.

Speaker 10 (03:05:54):
The Pats led fourteen to seven with less than twenty
seconds to go when the first half, but the Panthers
had one more roar before halftime.

Speaker 1 (03:06:05):
First half and it's a Ronni playoff the middle. Foster
pick hall Ernie's Davis from the thirty five to the
thirty one call time out. They do coll left Tash
bark fifty yard field. I'll try snap lest Casey's kick
us up. It is go on John Casey at the
end of the half and the Panthers are what then four.

Speaker 10 (03:06:24):
The two teams combined for twenty four points in the
last three minutes and five seconds of the first half.
Carolina trailed fourteen to ten at the break. As the
players cleared the field, Jessica Simpson kickstarted the halftime festivities,

(03:06:51):
but Simpson had little to do with the next day's
halftime headline.

Speaker 1 (03:06:58):
Janet super Bowl Halftime Reform. It's made news around the world.

Speaker 24 (03:07:01):
The FCC received more than five hundred thousand complaints about
that broadcast.

Speaker 1 (03:07:07):
CBS was fined five hundred and fifty thousand.

Speaker 16 (03:07:10):
Dollars, and then the NFL was asked to refund the
ten million dollars that they had been given to the
halftime show sponsor.

Speaker 17 (03:07:17):
That is the landmark that I used though to tell
people what super Bowl I was in.

Speaker 20 (03:07:22):
They'd say, yeah, what superow were you in?

Speaker 17 (03:07:24):
I was like, ah, the one with Janet Jackson, you know,
Oh yeah, okay, yep, that's right, I know.

Speaker 1 (03:07:30):
The one first rapt ashes was it planned? Janet?

Speaker 13 (03:07:34):
No?

Speaker 1 (03:07:35):
Well, what people don't understand is he was to take
and the piece off that he did a letter piece right,
but more came.

Speaker 10 (03:07:43):
Off than what was the fussed with the phrase wardrobe
malfunction In the pop culture waiting the room, Jordan Gross
witnessed another disturbance right before the third quarter kickoff.

Speaker 9 (03:07:57):
The guy game on there and dressed like an official
and then ripped his clothes off down to it like
a little speedo and had an advertisement for Goldenpalace dot com,
which is like an online betting gang, one of the
first one.

Speaker 20 (03:08:08):
So there was a little bit of everything. Man, it
was a wild time.

Speaker 10 (03:08:13):
The third quarter mirrored the first. Neither team scored, but
with less than a minute to go in the quarter,
the Patriots looked poised to extend their lead.

Speaker 1 (03:08:25):
All right, Patriots back at the line. It's the Carolina
forty two second down, twelve yards to go for a
New England first down at the final minute of the
third quarter of Super Bowl thirty eight. Play action fake
Brady throws right down the middle of the field, caught
at the twenty. That's the tight end of the ten,
caught at the eight yard line, first and goal.

Speaker 10 (03:08:42):
New England safety Mike Minter made the tackle on that play,
but paid an enormous price.

Speaker 8 (03:08:50):
When I heating at about the five yard line, my
foot slipped in a grass slippery turf field that Houston
had and it broke at that time.

Speaker 7 (03:09:00):
And I remember coming to the sideline US and then.

Speaker 8 (03:09:03):
I broke my foot and everything like what broke your foot?
And they were about taking my shoe offs, and now
I don't take it off, just tape it up. I'm
gonna finish this game.

Speaker 10 (03:09:11):
I'm not coming back to see mentor would play the
rest of the series and the rest of the game.

Speaker 8 (03:09:18):
When the plays were going on, I didn't fill the
broken foot when the play was over. That's what I felt, like,
some excruciating train that went through your body after every
freaking snap man. So it's a mind over mounted. So
when people say that your mind can go to places,
your body will follow.

Speaker 10 (03:09:41):
When the fourth quarter started, the Patriots led fourteen to
ten and had the ball on the Panthers two yard
line first and golf.

Speaker 1 (03:09:50):
From the tube. Rady was gonna hand off Smith right
side too one touchdown. New England pad to watch Smith
and they bother him in the corner of the end
zone and that was it's real easy.

Speaker 10 (03:10:01):
Antoine Smith's touchdown gave the Pats a twenty one to
ten lead. But Mike Rutger and the cardiac Katz had
lived this movie before.

Speaker 6 (03:10:12):
I'm telling you the honest truth. There was no panic.
There was no panic until the clock hits double zero.
We had been through all these situations already, and so
we felt very comfortable, feelt totally confident that you put
us out there and we can get the job done.

Speaker 10 (03:10:26):
There was still almost an entire quarter to play. Carolina's
offense had now worn down New England's defense, and the
fourth quarter is where the Panthers excelled. Quarterback Jake Delone.
We kind of loosened up.

Speaker 4 (03:10:41):
We started doing two minute throwing the ball all over
the place, and I think confidence. We were a confident
football team. And once that started, you know, from Moose
to Ricky the Steve, you know, it was the same
cast of characters like this is no big deal, this.

Speaker 3 (03:10:56):
Is what we this is who we are, this is
what we do.

Speaker 10 (03:10:59):
Head coach John Fox.

Speaker 14 (03:11:01):
Well, we just opened it up. I mean, Dan Anning
did a great job. He went no huddle.

Speaker 15 (03:11:05):
I mean, so we that opened the game up.

Speaker 14 (03:11:08):
But that was a great move by our coaching staff,
and you know, it definitely changed the game.

Speaker 17 (03:11:14):
It was like, Okay, here we go, We're gonna win
this thing because I could feel it building.

Speaker 20 (03:11:18):
I could had earlier in the season and multiple times.

Speaker 1 (03:11:21):
Here's the long back to throw with time crushed out
of the pocket to the left, still looking to throw.
Now he's it upfield for Smith, who's got it and
stayed in bounds at the forty five yard line. I
don't know how he caught that ball. The long Will
work under center this time, second and ten from his
own forty five in the pocket Downfielder goes up for Smith.

(03:11:42):
He's got it at the New England thirty five yard line.
Tackle at the thirty two, and it's another first down
along again, Will work out of the shotgun. Second and
ten Carolina in the thirty three. He's got the ball.
Drop player Jean Foster running left at the thirty breaks
the tackle, creaks another one at the twenty sideline ten
by guys on the zone. Touchdown Panthers caught an incredible

(03:12:04):
run by the Shawn Fosters proke fatacular the line turned
it outside lapt thirty three yards.

Speaker 3 (03:12:13):
He's absolutely electric, quick thirty one.

Speaker 4 (03:12:15):
Trap was to play just to see him kind of
bounce and he takes off and I'm like, man, he's
gonna score, and all of a sudden he dies. And
I think that's one of the coolest posas I've ever
seen on the run when he just dies and he
hangs the ball out in the air with that with
that arm.

Speaker 10 (03:12:28):
This dude just got a thirty three yard run. A testout. Dude.

Speaker 3 (03:12:32):
He just let everybody know that.

Speaker 10 (03:12:34):
I know, yeah, everybody's talking about Stephen Davis. He's a guy.
But guess who I am. Down twenty one sixteen, the
Panthers decided to try for a two points conversion.

Speaker 1 (03:12:47):
Panthers break the huddle, Flome under center. It's twenty one sixteen,
and here's the long back the troll Bny of time
throws over the middle also and Muhammed was open in
the back of the end zone, right over the p
and Patriots and then they missed it.

Speaker 19 (03:13:07):
Heaver pu how about that throw is late though, as
Muhammed was open.

Speaker 14 (03:13:10):
We had two point plays there. We just we just
missed them. And like anything, you know, it's a great
call until it's not.

Speaker 18 (03:13:17):
It's only good when it works. And so the risk
reward is when it doesn't work out. Now you're chasing
those points.

Speaker 19 (03:13:22):
I think you know, they felt like it's the super Bowl,
let's go for it.

Speaker 3 (03:13:25):
Gosh, Chasing points are difficult.

Speaker 4 (03:13:27):
Sometimes it's so easy to say, now you kind of wish, uh,
you just take the points, take the points and see
what happens in the end.

Speaker 3 (03:13:34):
But you know, I guess at that point the chart,
you're playing the book. Whatever the chart said.

Speaker 10 (03:13:39):
The Patriots still led by five and had another chance
to go up two scores.

Speaker 1 (03:13:45):
So now it is third in gold to England from
the nine yard line. Falk Is the running back, Brown
and motion far side, left Brady in the pocket to throw.
Heaves it up to chan zone, intercept it. Reggie Howard
come a field of the five. There's a ten yard line.

(03:14:06):
They finally got frusher on Brady and he forced it,
and there was Reggie Howard to.

Speaker 4 (03:14:11):
Pick it off, shocking Tom through a red zone interception.
It was a bad play by him, with you we
don't see and undrafted out of Memphis, Reggie Howard farmer
practice squad teammate of mine with the Saints.

Speaker 3 (03:14:22):
So Reggie gets the pick and here we are we
get another chance.

Speaker 16 (03:14:26):
They should go ahead and score, and they don't. They
don't score, and then we get the ball. This is
where the game changes.

Speaker 6 (03:14:33):
There's just something special about an interception because, like you
are actually taking the ball away. That's fun to get
the sack, right, But when you're taking the ball away,
there's very few feelings like that because we know that
win this big game and that we're giving an offensive
chance to put points on the board.

Speaker 10 (03:14:50):
Big interception, that was huge. That was huge. Four plays later,
the Panthers stared at a third and ten from their
own fifteen yard line.

Speaker 1 (03:15:02):
So a huge play here for the Carolina offense. And
that's this type of play in the fourth quarter with
their team down. Jake golom has been making all year long.
Foster is coming as the runic bat Mohammed and crawler
out wide near side left, Steve Smith wide right. Here's
the third and tenth gall play. Action belong back to throw.

(03:15:23):
Nobody opened now sets out on in downfield for Muhammad.
He's got it at the thirty. He's in the twenty.
It's the contain Tucker douts down touchdown Carolina holding goodness
in eighty five yards well, so easy it is Mussin.

Speaker 10 (03:15:45):
Mohammad's eighty five yard touchdown catch is still the longest
touchdown reception in Super Bowl history. It gave the Panthers
their first lead of the game. Carolina was seven minutes
and six seconds from a Super Bowl win.

Speaker 18 (03:16:04):
You're feeling really confident at this point. The way you're
putting points upon the boards. You're feeling like New England's
lost it. I mean, the Panthers have figured it out.
Whatever it is they were doing in the first half,
it's gone. The Panthers are exploding them in the passing game.
Carolina is back in this and not only back in it.
They're gonna win this bang thing.

Speaker 16 (03:16:21):
I'm thinking we're gonna win. We're gonna win a Super Bowl.
We were too good offensively and defensively. Were playing in
these tough games all year low it's going to swing
out with because guess what, we've been in the trenches
and we've been there.

Speaker 20 (03:16:35):
I thought we would win. I really did. Our defense
was very, very good. Offensively, you know, we kind of
felt like we were starting to get our groove. We
had good special teams.

Speaker 17 (03:16:44):
I was feeling pretty comfortable with where we were at
and as the season had gone on and so many
overtime wins.

Speaker 20 (03:16:51):
I just didn't think that there was any way we
were gonna let this one get away from us.

Speaker 2 (03:16:55):
I mean, we're cardiac cast. We're gonna win this game.

Speaker 10 (03:17:00):
With the Panthers ahead twenty two to twenty one, John
Fox once again tried a two point conversion.

Speaker 1 (03:17:08):
Goings in the backfield, goes in motion. Right, here's the
long back to throw short drop looks quotes it up
for Dyson missed them.

Speaker 10 (03:17:15):
When New England got the ball back, they turned to
Tom Brady.

Speaker 1 (03:17:20):
Second and seventh Patriots in the Carolina forty seven. Brady
has the snap from the shot gun, rolls to the
near side, right, he'll throot out fail that it's caught
breaking a tackle and then out of bounds. David Gibbons
and New England has the ball of the Carolina twenty
three yard line.

Speaker 19 (03:17:36):
Can talk about Jake Delumb being clutched. Tom Brady invented that.

Speaker 18 (03:17:39):
I mean, it's just like, if he's known for anything,
it's being a clutch performer, not only being one of
the greatest of all times, but also part of that
being winning games in the clutch.

Speaker 3 (03:17:49):
Fourth quarter, overtime.

Speaker 10 (03:17:51):
Situations like that.

Speaker 18 (03:17:52):
He built that reputation in seasons and in games like
that one against the Panthers.

Speaker 1 (03:17:57):
Third doat Brady out of the shotgun, rolling near side,
A right steps up and throws us caught in the
five yard line and stumbling out of bounds at the three.
Here they come all just outside the one second in goal.
Brady play action back to throw with the metal touchdown.

Speaker 10 (03:18:14):
Patriots New England tacked down a two point conversion to
take a twenty nine to twenty two lead with less
than three minutes to go for the Cardiac Cats. This
was a familiar feeling. Quarterback Jake Delone.

Speaker 4 (03:18:35):
We were very comfortable in the two minute situation. We
knew we were going down to score. I mean that
was I know I keep saying that, but that's what
the mentality of that team was. Yeah, we're going down,
We're going to score.

Speaker 1 (03:18:47):
No Huddle shotgun, second and one running play, Foster looking
for a hole. He's got it to the thirty five
to the thirty six in the first down, the home
out of the shotgun, No Huddle got to throw. Dal
Fielder goes He's got Muhammed open at the Patriot forty
five head on the bounds along the near sideline first
and tenth Carolina Delomb under center Fosters is running back

(03:19:08):
play action along the pass rip time downfield. He's got
crawl at the twenty. Tricky crawled to the fifteen to
the fourteen yard line.

Speaker 10 (03:19:18):
Down by seven, the Panthers had to the ball at
the Patriots twelve yard line.

Speaker 3 (03:19:24):
Seventy two.

Speaker 4 (03:19:25):
Reno is the exact same play that we scored to
be Jacksonville on first game of the season.

Speaker 10 (03:19:30):
The win against the Jaguars in Week one put the
Panthers on a five month cardiac quest. That was the
game in which Jake Delome came off the bench and
conjured the first of many comebacks fires.

Speaker 1 (03:19:47):
For prowling the ASA Hey.

Speaker 10 (03:19:48):
Got it touch dam Now. With the Panthers down seven
in the waning moments of the Super Bowl, Delome dialed
up Ricky prol once more.

Speaker 1 (03:20:00):
Stanthers go without a huddle shotgun formation.

Speaker 4 (03:20:03):
That was the beauty of what we did to minute
offense is that we could run all the same plays
over and over again, but you just wherever you ended
up on the previous play, you just stayed in that position.
So in essence, everybody had to know all four positions.
And that's what was so good about our guys.

Speaker 1 (03:20:19):
The loan is Ruddy, He's got the ball and back
the throw.

Speaker 4 (03:20:22):
You could tell they were come in with all out pressure,
and I felt very comfortable making that throw to Ricky.
Ricky wasn't going to cut it short. He was going
to do the Ricky prol two step, as he used
to like to call it.

Speaker 1 (03:20:32):
Looks floating in the end zone. Wide open touchdown, Carolina,
Rickey Prole, unbelievable, Yes, and he was wide open. Kyle Snapp,
here's the place who Casey's kicked. He's got it. We're
all tied. We're tired in the thirty eight Super Bowl,
twenty nine a piece for the minute eight to go

(03:20:53):
in the fourth quarter. And the Panthers have never given
up all season long. They've never given up. And here
they're down twenty one to ten in the fourth quarter
and suddenly we're all tied again.

Speaker 10 (03:21:07):
Carolina had been involved in seven games decided by three
points or less. The Panthers had won the mall. Many
of those wins came on the leg of John Casey.

Speaker 8 (03:21:20):
Without John Casey, were not even talking about the two
thousand and three Carolina Pimps.

Speaker 1 (03:21:26):
And Casey will kick off right the left. Here's the boot.
Oh no, it was out of bound. Oh my goodness,
John Casey can't believe what he just did. The ball
was illegally kicked off on the bounds. There will be
placed at the forty yard line out Shingle's.

Speaker 20 (03:21:46):
Ball first down out, like putting her t shot in
the woods.

Speaker 1 (03:21:50):
On the eighteenth tea box.

Speaker 10 (03:21:51):
Panthers team historian David.

Speaker 12 (03:21:54):
Row John got an unfairshake. Everybody wants to talk about
the kickoff one out of bounds. We could see here
that I can call up ten plays from the game
that if they had gone.

Speaker 3 (03:22:03):
A different way, it doesn't come down to that kick.
You just heard a gas from the crowd. But honestly,
my mind.

Speaker 4 (03:22:10):
Went to, Okay, our defense is gonna stop him.

Speaker 3 (03:22:13):
And when they go to kick a field goal.

Speaker 10 (03:22:14):
We're going to block it.

Speaker 3 (03:22:16):
I mean, that's really and truly.

Speaker 4 (03:22:18):
I don't know if that's just being so naive, but
that's kind of what the thought process was following his team.

Speaker 20 (03:22:23):
They still had to score.

Speaker 17 (03:22:24):
It's not like you kick a ball out of bounds
and the other team automatically gets points. You know, there's
a whole follow up series that has to happen. So
now no panic there, just Tom Brady. You know, we
now know how great he is in those situations. He
just went down the field and kicked our butt.

Speaker 10 (03:22:42):
The Patriots started to drive at their own forty yard
line with all three timeouts. Two plays later, New England
crossed midfield, but then the Panthers got a break.

Speaker 1 (03:22:55):
Two timeouts left four New England Brady back to throw
floats it down fields. Flag on the play man, who's
it gonna be on? Yes, and that's the call offensive
pass interference. Good call and Jerry called at first.

Speaker 10 (03:23:14):
The penalty backed up the Patriots to their own forty
three with less than a minute to go.

Speaker 1 (03:23:19):
Rady'll work out of the shotgun. This time, here comes
the blitz. Brady's gonna go near sideline to Brown at
the forty five to the fifty. Come on, you got
to push him back, and they do, but he gets
to the forty seven yard line. Is he beat Ricky
Manning that time? Branch out to the right, two receivers left.
Bradi will work shot gun from his own forty three
first and twenty and Brady's gonna roll to the fire

(03:23:40):
side look fire down field. That's caught great catching traffic
at the Carolina forty five. There were a few situations
on that drive where the Panthers could have gotten off
the field. You know, maybe if they brought more pressure
they would have affected Brady.

Speaker 7 (03:23:54):
Well, I mean, I don't know, right, it's a situation andying.

Speaker 8 (03:24:01):
You know, do you go out to Brady and then
give an opportunity for this guy to have a one
on one situation with somebody you know, or do you
go to your you know what people will call Tampa two.
It's a defense that you know, we made it to
the super Bowl.

Speaker 21 (03:24:16):
You trust Mike Turgervak, You trust the guys to make
the calls. They had gotten us there all year. So
we don't second guess whether or not we should have
been pressuring Tom Brady. We had a responsibility to try
to get to Tom Brady. And although we got to
him and we hit him and you knock him on
the ground, we knew he didn't like that. But of course,
if you're playing zone late in the game, the guy's
who he is for a reason. That's seventeen of those

(03:24:37):
things for a reason, and you found a way to
pick us apart and find some some saft spots in
the zone.

Speaker 1 (03:24:42):
Brady out of the shotgut, he's got the ball. Pressure
throws their sideline, caught, make a catch up to twenty four.
Kean Branch again and now Angler with eight seconds left,
the call of time out.

Speaker 20 (03:24:57):
I'm not no angle.

Speaker 1 (03:24:58):
That's their third final time.

Speaker 10 (03:25:01):
Dion Branch's reception gave the New England to the ball
at the Carolina twenty three yard line. Mike Mintor, playing
with a broken foot, nearly broke up the pass.

Speaker 8 (03:25:14):
Yeah, with a healthy foot, I'm breaking on that ball
quicker and definitely either picking that ball off that it
felt like it was floating to me.

Speaker 7 (03:25:26):
And or knocking it down.

Speaker 5 (03:25:30):
So yeah, I do.

Speaker 7 (03:25:31):
I think I think about it every day, man, To
be honest.

Speaker 8 (03:25:34):
With you, it's a it's a thing where I'm saying, Man,
I think if I got a healthy foot, man, I
might be in the history books a different.

Speaker 15 (03:25:43):
Way, dude.

Speaker 16 (03:25:45):
Mike never told me it was playing with a broken foot.
You shouldn't even be in the picture with a broken foot,
he read to play perfectly.

Speaker 10 (03:25:56):
The Patriots were set up with a now nine second
is left and the game tied. Adam vinit Terry had
a forty one yard field gold truck, but he had
already missed one kick and the Panthers had blocked another.

Speaker 1 (03:26:14):
Oh can we block another one? Snap? Husband, kick us
out of the way by Vinitary dead solid perfect four
seconds left and New England has the late thirty two
to twenty nine. He hit it.

Speaker 4 (03:26:33):
I'm telling you you're gonna think I'm insane. I looked
at Steve and I went to him.

Speaker 3 (03:26:38):
I was like, Hey, this is it. You're running it back.
There's no question, like, this is our We're winning. Some
of them were like, we're winning. Yeah, Steve's gonna run
it back.

Speaker 1 (03:26:48):
Then Terry ready to kick off from his thirty from
left to right. Flock doesn't start till the balls cuts
hid end over end. Rod Smart's coming out. Here's the
last play. Ten Smart to the sideline, twenty frock at

(03:27:08):
the twenty and it's over Heather. New England Patriots have
won the Super Bowl. What a valiant effort by the
Carolina Panthers. They did everything but win this game. Trailing
twenty one to ten in the fourth quarter, they actually

(03:27:29):
had the lead twenty to twenty one, but it was
just too much for them to stop Tom Brady in
company on their final drive.

Speaker 23 (03:27:43):
With absolutely what a valiant effort by this tah Bucks
looking I tell you what the office I thought, you responded,
defense got a little bit lex but they did a
great job of bussa back and fighting all through this game.

Speaker 1 (03:27:57):
It was a tremendous season. Leave me back in July.
Who was thinking that the Panthers would get to the
super Bowl? But they got here with a blue collar team,
guys who left their egos at the door and were
the epitome of what a team is in this league.
No superstars, fifty three guys who hung together all season long,

(03:28:19):
and they lose by three in the biggest game.

Speaker 20 (03:28:22):
Of the year.

Speaker 17 (03:28:23):
NFL Films has a pretty good shot of me kind
of walking off the field looking dejected as the confetti's
flying behind me, you know, from them and just I
mean it's not the most eloquent, but.

Speaker 1 (03:28:36):
Just this sucks.

Speaker 20 (03:28:37):
You know, we just lost the Super Bowl. You know,
like that's not how this was supposed to go.

Speaker 17 (03:28:44):
And also, you know, shortly thereafter there's some relief as
you kind of come down from all of that, You're like, wow,
that was a lot.

Speaker 20 (03:28:52):
That was a lot of season that was a lot
of game. That was a lot of emotion.

Speaker 14 (03:28:56):
Well, I remember walking out of the with my oldest son,
Nat and he was crying and I said, Sonny, what's wrong?
He goes, I wanted this one for Sam.

Speaker 8 (03:29:07):
Every single time NFL game come home, or if I
see the Patriots, or if I see Tom Brady or
if I see Belichick. You know, and you gotta imagine
me now coaching, I'm always getting asked about the game.
So I'm thinking about the game pretty much almost every day.

Speaker 22 (03:29:29):
To me, we were going to be back in the
Super Bowl next year, in the year after that and
the year after that. So you know, from that standpoint,
it was lost on me. But you know, Dara was great.

Speaker 20 (03:29:39):
I really thought that we'd get a chance to be
back there. We just had a good young team and
we never got it done.

Speaker 10 (03:29:49):
In Roger Khn's classic The Boys of Summer, the story
of the nineteen fifties Brooklyn Dodgers, there's a memorable line
in the beginning, you may glory in a team triumphant,
but you fall in love with the team in defeat.
The Cardiac Cats ultimately came up one heart beat short.

(03:30:12):
There would be no name engraved on the Lombardi Trophy. Instead,
the Panthers etched their names in the hearts of a
city and its fans, big.

Speaker 14 (03:30:23):
Moment, Charlotte and Carolina Panthers. A lot of people in
Charlotte the Panthers were their second favorite team. Well, I
think after that, I think, you know, people in Charlotte
Panthers started becoming their first favorite team.

Speaker 11 (03:30:35):
It was the Cardiac Cats. It was a nail binder,
white knuckling. You could not leave the room because so
many different things can happen.

Speaker 17 (03:30:45):
It's amazing how well we'll remember the Cardiac Cats, the
personality of that team.

Speaker 20 (03:30:50):
Something I'm forever grateful to be a part of.

Speaker 10 (03:30:52):
The legacy is Keith Pounding.

Speaker 21 (03:30:54):
It was coined before that playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 10 (03:30:58):
We played that way all year before for Sam Mills
gave us that.

Speaker 21 (03:31:02):
But it is about a team that was built and
put together on a bunch of second third, last chance guys.

Speaker 6 (03:31:09):
We were the first to be able to bring that
type of joy to the Carolinas. And still it gives
me goosebumps when people come up and you know, they
were like, hey, I was ten years old and you
know blah blah blah.

Speaker 10 (03:31:22):
You know, to me, that's what the sport's about.

Speaker 6 (03:31:24):
For me to tell my stories and for them to
also tell me their stories, because I want to know
what they were doing, How did they see that, how'd
they see that play, how'd they see that win?

Speaker 10 (03:31:34):
And I think that that's the joy that I get
now in the phase of my life.

Speaker 5 (03:31:39):
The standard, the standard in every way, the standard in
terms of chemistry, the standard in terms of fun, the
standard in terms of what it means to win, what
it means to battle, never lose, keep pounding.

Speaker 10 (03:31:51):
In the phase of adversity and improbable odds. The Cardiac
cats taught us to keep believing, to keep push, to
keep trying, and of course to keep.

Speaker 1 (03:32:07):
Heep fires for throwing the ends up. Hey God, touchdown,
big hole down the sideline. He's gone, and the Panthers
are gonna pull another one out of their head. Eyes
towards the ends on touchdown fires over the middle? Is
that intercepting? Yes, it is up, it is gone. Panthers
have won in it over times head the forty five

(03:32:30):
to the forty and thought it's right the honey ten
bye touch down. Yes, Charlotte, there is a super Bowl
and we're in it. Cardiac

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