Panthers at Seahawks - Talking points
NFC Championship Game
Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks
Qwest Field
Sunday, 22 January
1830 EST on Fox / 2330 GMT on Sky Sports Xtra
Two unfashionable teams from this year's unfashionable conference line up to fight for a place in the 50th NFL fashion show in Detroit. This game is likely to be just as close as the one that precedes it, if lacking a little of the glamour.
"Do You Know His Name?" Sports Illustrated asked last month with a photo of running back Shaun Alexander, the first time Seattle have featured on the front cover of America's most famous magazine. You should do by now as Alexander was the NFL's leading rusher this season and was voted league MVP, but that has been the theme all year as the Seahawks broke out of the anonymity of the Pacific North West to take aim for their first ever Super Bowl place. Their last Championship Game appearance was back in 1984, when they were in the AFC and lost to Oakland. If one player has made more of a role in the Hawks going undefeated at home for the second time in three seasons it has been the 12th man, the fans who have been raucous throughout the year and thoroughly deserve the extra games after an 11-year wait.
Alexander may not have known his own name last Saturday, as he suffered concussion early in the victory over Washington, but he has been passed fit to play and will again be a massive factor, although the passing game, with Matt Hasselbeck at the helm, has stepped up since key receivers returned from injury. And Alexander's name might adorn the back of another jersey next year as his contract expires and he is eligible for free agency. Minnesota are just one of the teams rumoured to be chasing the 28-year-old, who probably has one good contract left in him.
The Panthers, who didn't know until the last week of the regular season they they would have a game the following week, are bidding for an NFL record fifth successive playoff win on an opponent's home turf, dating back to their Super Bowl season two years ago. Last year they missed out because of injuries, and this year the same crisis has just crept up on them as running back DeShawn Foster broke his leg in last weekend's victory in Chicago. Carolina's first-choice back Stephen Davis injured his knee mid-season, so Nick Goings gets the nod this week.
With Steve Smith the most productive receiver in the league and a bunch of hard-hitting, trash talking defenders, quarterback Jake Delhomme gets lost in the mix, but his ability to step up in key games is a massive factor in the Panthers' post-season success. In five years in the NFL, including one with New Orleans in 1999 before he spent two years in Europe, Delhomme has a QB rating of 88.1 from 54 regular-season games, with 213.8 yards per game. and 24 touchdowns. In six playoff games he has a rating of 108.4, an average production of 241 yards and 10 TDs.
NFLBriefing.com
Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks
Qwest Field
Sunday, 22 January
1830 EST on Fox / 2330 GMT on Sky Sports Xtra
Two unfashionable teams from this year's unfashionable conference line up to fight for a place in the 50th NFL fashion show in Detroit. This game is likely to be just as close as the one that precedes it, if lacking a little of the glamour.
"Do You Know His Name?" Sports Illustrated asked last month with a photo of running back Shaun Alexander, the first time Seattle have featured on the front cover of America's most famous magazine. You should do by now as Alexander was the NFL's leading rusher this season and was voted league MVP, but that has been the theme all year as the Seahawks broke out of the anonymity of the Pacific North West to take aim for their first ever Super Bowl place. Their last Championship Game appearance was back in 1984, when they were in the AFC and lost to Oakland. If one player has made more of a role in the Hawks going undefeated at home for the second time in three seasons it has been the 12th man, the fans who have been raucous throughout the year and thoroughly deserve the extra games after an 11-year wait.
Alexander may not have known his own name last Saturday, as he suffered concussion early in the victory over Washington, but he has been passed fit to play and will again be a massive factor, although the passing game, with Matt Hasselbeck at the helm, has stepped up since key receivers returned from injury. And Alexander's name might adorn the back of another jersey next year as his contract expires and he is eligible for free agency. Minnesota are just one of the teams rumoured to be chasing the 28-year-old, who probably has one good contract left in him.
The Panthers, who didn't know until the last week of the regular season they they would have a game the following week, are bidding for an NFL record fifth successive playoff win on an opponent's home turf, dating back to their Super Bowl season two years ago. Last year they missed out because of injuries, and this year the same crisis has just crept up on them as running back DeShawn Foster broke his leg in last weekend's victory in Chicago. Carolina's first-choice back Stephen Davis injured his knee mid-season, so Nick Goings gets the nod this week.
With Steve Smith the most productive receiver in the league and a bunch of hard-hitting, trash talking defenders, quarterback Jake Delhomme gets lost in the mix, but his ability to step up in key games is a massive factor in the Panthers' post-season success. In five years in the NFL, including one with New Orleans in 1999 before he spent two years in Europe, Delhomme has a QB rating of 88.1 from 54 regular-season games, with 213.8 yards per game. and 24 touchdowns. In six playoff games he has a rating of 108.4, an average production of 241 yards and 10 TDs.
NFLBriefing.com
posted by MG at
10:10 PM
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