Turn Out the Lights; the Party's Over
Posted December 11, 2005, 4:35 PM ET

Shhhhh...the Panthers are still sleeping.

Evidently, the Panthers threw one great bash after the blowout of the Falcons...and it lasted a full week. What was up with that effort on Sunday? Nice hangover, guys.

The Tampa Bay Bucs sailed into Charlotte and wore out the Panthers in a game that both teams desperately wanted to win. The Panthers wanted to take take complete control of the division and their playoff lives with a win, and the Bucs needed it to tie the Panthers atop the NFC South. It was obvious which team was motivated to play.

I assume that the Panthers players and coaches enjoyed reading the headlines, listening to the talk shows and watching the heap of praise on television after the great effort against Vick and company.

The effort and results against the Bucs, in an even more important game, was the exact opposite from the week before. Last week, the Panthers found themselves 0-5 against Vick and put together their best performance of the year. This week, the Bucs entered the game 0-5 against Jake, and turned in a beauty.

Cadillac Williams was great (111 yards) and the Panthers had no answers. Even the return of the ultra-fragile Dan Morgan didn't help. It should be noted that "Danica" was nowhere to be found for the final 25 minutes of the game...I can only imagine what the injury report will state. "Morganna" solidified his role as the most overpaid linebacker in the NFL. He loves to stay hurt. But the Panther problems were much greater than Morgan's presence, err...absence.

Even the Panther fans were staring at each other wondering where last week's intensity had evaporated. The Panthers played like it was a meaningless preseason game....they had nothing left in the tank.

John Fox was taken to the woodshed by the Bucs staff, and it left the players, coaches and fans wondering where the team goes from this bad performance.

It is hard to believe that the Panthers are 1-2 in the NFC South at home this season...still on the schedule are road trips to New Orleans (Baton Rouge) and the suddenly important season-ending road trip to the "House of Horrors", the Georgia Dome, to face that Vick-fellow again. Oh yeah, there is a little holiday home game with some team from Dallas on Christmas eve, too.

It is not impossible to think that the Panthers can close the regular season with a three-game winning streak, a 12-4 record, the NFC South title and a bye in the first week of the playoffs.

It is also feasible to watch them struggle with each of the final three games and squander a great opportunity....much like they did on Sunday against Tampa Bay.

One thing about the Panthers is a given, coming down the stretch...Dan Morgan will be listed as "questionable" for the next game.

And so is the Panthers' run to Super Bowl XL.