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Lots of football teams play the disrespect card, but let's be honest -- plenty of people were waiting for the other shoe to drop on the 15-1 .You know it. I know it.Mostly, they know it.And so , that shoe became a boot, and the only place it dropped was squarely in the rear ends of the two-time defending conference champion . The beat them on the ground (144 yards rushing). They beat them through the air ( posted a tidy 108.3 pa ser rating). They beat them up front. They beat back their comeback, and beat them in a different way .Carolina beat them, and beat them, and beat them until what was happening out there was impo sible for those who have been mi sing what's going on down here to mi s it any longer. Asked as he jogged triumphantly off the field if his team had felt overlooked, first-team All-Pro corner smiled: "Yeah. Yup. Look at the score, though.". , 16-1. hosting .That's all the validation they need."C'mon, look who picked against us. It was a lot of people," Norman said about an hour later in a cleared out locker room. "Shoot, they didn't think we were gonna make it, they didn't think we were gonna do what we did, they didn't think we'd make it even Steve Carlton Jersey this far. Gue s what? We didn't really care."And to be sure, there was nothing fluky or lucky or unsustainable about the feel of this one in Charlotte.No, this was the confronting the bada s on the NFC block -- the were 9-2 since and ranked first in total defense and fourth in total offense over that stretch -- and imposing their will.True to form, the formula for taking the bully out was hitting him between the eyes right off the bat, and that started at the ' Saturday walkthrough, when offensive coordinator Mike Shula revealed to his players the call for the first play. It'd be a simple counter that wound up meaning a whole lot more."You kinda get excited that you're gonna be able to get after it on that play," said left tackle . "That was a good thing."Was it ever., the team's bell cow back in the lineup after a month away, took the ball from Newton, patiently waited for Seattle's pursuit to create a crease, and then shot through an alley created by the big guys holding their blocks. In one fell swoop, the established their physical will, neutralized Seattle's blinding speed by catching guys overrunning the play, and started towards their week-long goal of matching the visitors' relentle sne s is playing whistle-to-whistle up front.The hadn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 14 months. Stewart got more than halfway there , which went for 57 yards, and had intrinsic value that went way beyond that."We knew they were a good run defense," said center . "We wanted to challenge them right out of the gate. And I thought it was a great call, it was blocked well, and Jonathan, he ran hard. There's no magic to it really. It's just preparing, preparing, and we did a good job of that all week. And then to start the game like that was a big deal. This game is all about momentum, it's all about momentum. Big plays create momentum."They were almost as quick to do the same on defense.After dropping (whose return was, predictably, more ballyhooed than Stewart's) for a 3-yard lo s on Seattle's first play from scrimmage, the defensive line got in 's face on second-and-13 -- and there was and his sixth sense waiting to outhustle Lynch to a floater over the middle, which the All-Pro middle linebacker ."The next series, a pick six?" tight end said with a smile. "That's kinda how you draw it up."Kuechly described it later to me as a right-place, right-time situation, while crediting the rush with forcing the errant throw. Apprised of that a se sment, and that his star teammate pa sed off the credit Norman said, "Shoot, I gue s that's just the kind of players we've got. He's a great one."It was apparent on this day, at least, that the "kinds of players" Carolina has can also really play.From there, the forced a punt, then went on their kind of drive (15 plays for 86 yards), and it was 21-0 le s than a minute into the second quarter. Le s than 10 minutes later, it was 31-0.The fought back, like you'd expect a wounded heavyweight champion would. In fact, they found their way into a scenario where if they could've reprised their , they would have had a chance to force overtime in the final minute.Instead, another of Carolina's reliable vets, , pounced on the ball to deliver the to the conference title game for the first time in the Ron Rivera era. The roster's gone through a ton of turnover as GM Dave Gettleman cleaned up the salary cap -- just seven guys that started in the Divisional Round two years ago against San Francisco remain here -- but the program's kept growing, Kolten Wong Jersey and the way the team wins, with tough, hard-nosed ball, hasn't changed much.For one reason or another, perception of this group hasn't either, and that's OK with guys here."Honestly, we've been in that situation for so long, we've kind of become numb to it," Kalil said. "I think our guys have done a great job of not paying attention to who's picking who and who the favorites are. We just play, and that's really all that matters. I think it's a good thing that you don't get caught up in that stuff. That's come from experience, and how we've been overlooked. But that doesn't matter. What matters is how we play and how we prepare. We got the guys to win."And as it turns out, they don't really need all of us to tell them that.Follow Albert Breer on Twitter . |
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发表于 2025-7-21 18:57:59