Season-in-review team reports — NFC
West
As published in print Feb. 6, 2002
2001 record: 1-15 |
| Overview |
| After pulling off a major upset on the road against Minnesota the opening
week, Carolina saw its season go straight downhill when play resumed following the tragic
events of Sept. 11. The Panthers were often competitive; nine of their losses were in
games decided by eight points or fewer. They also blew five fourth-quarter leads. The
downhill trend snowballed after Week Two, with the offense finishing 30th and the defense
finishing last. By season’s end, George Seifert had lost control of the team, and it
came as no surprise when he was fired the day after the season ended. |
| Turning point |
| The Week Five loss to the Saints in Carolina. The Panthers lost 27-25 on
Ricky Williams’ one-yard sweep with time running out after outplaying the Saints most
of the day. From that point on, the team’s confidence level grew steadily worse. A
case could also be made for Sept. 11 as a turning point. The Panthers were supposed to
play the Patriots that week — before Tom Brady became entrenched as the starter. That
might have been a very winnable game that could have put Carolina at 2-0. But, when the
game was postponed, the momentum gained from their opening-week upset was lost. |
| Offensive MVP |
| No player distinguished himself in the Panthers’ offense. The most
dominant offensive performance came from the offensive line, which was dramatically
improved. After allowing a league-high 69 sacks the year before, this year’s unit
gave up 31 under the direction of Paul Boudreau (in his first season), despite losing ORG
Kevin Donnalley six games into the season with a knee injury. Free-agent pickups OLT Todd
Steussie, C Jeff Mitchell and Donnalley really solidified a shaky line and provided strong
presences in the locker room. |
| Defensive MVPs |
| A tie between CB Doug Evans, who ran off a streak of six games with
interceptions, and DE Mike Rucker, who became a pass-rushing presence with nine sacks,
twice as many as anybody else. |
| Biggest surprise |
| Third-round pick Steve Smith was the only player in the league to return
three kicks for TDs, and he made the Pro Bowl. Nobody figured that he would be a threat to
go all the way every time he touched the ball, including on offense. He quickly became the
Panthers’ most exciting player. He had problems with fumbles early but solved them as
the season wore on. |
| Biggest disappointment |
| WR Muhsin Muhammad had just 50 catches for 585 yards and one TD after
leading the NFC in catches the previous two seasons with an average of 99 catches per
year. Muhammad didn’t even lead the team in catches or receiving yards (Donald Hayes
passed him by in both categories). He did have nagging injury problems, but he was still
very disappointing. |
| Rookie recap |
| First-round pick Dan Morgan suffered through an injury-plagued rookie
season. He was playing better at season’s end, displaying good speed and a great work
ethic, but he didn’t show great playmaking ability. DT Kris Jenkins was unable to
hold on to a starting job after hitting a rookie wall. Smith was electric. Chris Weinke
was the starting quarterback, and there were more pluses than minuses in his performance,
despite some pretty ugly numbers (62.0 passer rating and 11-19 TD-interception ratio). He
did throw for nearly 3,000 yards, however, and he showed great poise, maturity and
surprising running ability, scoring six of the team’s nine rushing TDs. S Jarrod
Cooper quickly became one of the league’s most feared gunners on special teams, but
he has a temper that got the best of him at times. |
| Free-agent/trade review |
| The previously discussed OL acquisitions were extremely valuable. P Todd
Sauerbrun had an unbelievable season. DT Brentson Buckner was the team’s second-best
defensive lineman with 4½ sacks. RB Richard Huntley could see more time after his
168-yard rushing performance in the season finale vs. the Patriots. |
| Team leaders |
Rushing — Richard Huntley, 665 yards on 166 carries, 4.0 avg., 2
TDs.
Passing — Chris Weinke, 293-540 attempts for 2,931 yards, 11 TDs, 19 interceptions,
62.0 rating.
Receiving — Donald Hayes, 52 receptions for 597 yards, 11.5 avg., 2 TDs.
Scoring — John Kasay, 91 points on 22 PATs and 23 FGs.
Kickoff returns — Steve Smith, 56 for 1431 yards, 25.6 avg., 2 TDs.
Punt returns — Steve Smith, 34 for 364 yards, 10.7 avg., 1 TD.
Punting — Todd Sauerbrun, 93 for 47.5 avg., 38.9 net, 17 TB, 35 inside 20, 1 blk.,
73L.
Interceptions — Doug Evans, 8 for 126 yards, 15.8 avg., 1 TD.
Sacks — Michael Rucker, 9½. |
| Results |
Pointspread Shown Refers to Carolina.
| Date |
Opponent |
Spread |
Score |
| Sept. 9 |
At Minnesota |
(+10.5) |
24-13 |
| Sept. 23 |
At Atlanta |
(+3.5) |
16-24 |
| Sept. 30 |
Green Bay |
(+4) |
7-28 |
| Oct. 7 |
At San Francisco |
(+7) |
14-24 |
| Oct. 14 |
New Orleans |
(+6) |
25-27 |
| Oct. 21 |
At Washington |
(-3) |
14-17* |
| Oct. 28 |
New York Jets |
(+2.5) |
12-13 |
| Nov. 4 |
At Miami |
(+8.5) |
6-23 |
| Nov. 11 |
At St. Louis |
(+20) |
14-48 |
| Nov. 18 |
San Francisco |
(+7) |
22-25* |
| Nov. 25 |
Atlanta |
(+3) |
7-10 |
| Dec. 2 |
At New Orleans |
(+10.5) |
23-27 |
| Dec. 9 |
At Buffalo |
(+3.5) |
24-25 |
| Dec. 16 |
BYE |
|
|
| Dec. 23 |
St. Louis |
(+12) |
32-38 |
| Dec. 30 |
Arizona |
(-1.5) |
7-30 |
| Jan. 6 |
New England |
(+6.5) |
6-38 |
* Overtime |
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