Bears general manager Jerry Angelo was pondering the uncertain state of the NFC recently and said, “The Carolina Panthers are like us.”
Exactly. Except for the difference between the 8-2 and 3-7 records, the Panthers and Bears are quite similar. You laugh, but as strange as it sounds, a look at the Panthers and Bears illustrates how the slightest differences can turn into night and day.
The Panthers have won six games by three points or fewer. They have won three road games by field goals in overtime. The Bears, of course, have lost their last two games by two points and two road games before that by seven.
Is it because the Panthers are loaded with superstars and the Bears are stuck with mediocre talent? Name a Panther. OK, Stephen Davis, a free-agent running back who is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Bears running back Anthony Thomas is averaging 4.5 yards per carry.
Both teams are built around defense, a running game, a quarterback “manager” and a field-goal kicker. The Panthers are winning the close ones; the Bears aren’t.
More comparisons: The Bears are minus-5 in turnover ratio; the Panthers are minus-6. Neither team is giving away the ball too much, but neither is taking it away as much as it would like.
The Panthers, who finished second to Tampa Bay in defense last season, are ranked 17th this year. The Bears are 14th.
The Panthers are ranked ninth in total offensive yardage, the Bears dead last. This is their widest statistical gap, but it translates to only 2.6 more points per game, 3.2 more first downs per game, 39 more rushing yards per game and 54 more passing yards per game.
The Panthers will play the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday. The Cowboys have been shut out twice in their last four games, and the Panthers have won by more than six points only once all season. Yet the winner will take the lead for home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.
The Bears, meanwhile, wonder what might have been if they were playing horseshoes instead of football.
In the previous two seasons, the Panthers were 8-24. Now they’re 8-2. In the previous two seasons they were 1-10 in games decided by three points or fewer. This season they are 6-0.
“When you experience wins in close games, it builds your confidence,” coach John Fox said. “You feel more comfortable and confident when those situations arise again.”
Conversely, when you experience losses in close games, it erodes confidence. It also gets coaches fired. Carolina coach Dom Capers was 0-4 in three-point games in 1998, his final year. Successor George Seifert was 0-6 in three-point games in 2001 and gave way to Fox.
Red-faced: The Minnesota Vikings haven’t won since owner Red McCombs berated the players in the locker room after their first loss of the season. They started 6-0, but after a 29-17 loss to the Giants on Oct. 26, McCombs told the players they had “humiliated” themselves, the team and their fans.
It turns out the Giants’ loss was the least humiliating of the four consecutive losses that have the Vikings reeling.
McCombs still doesn’t remember saying the word humiliated, although those who were there have confirmed it.
McCombs has backed off since. He was ill and unable to attend last week’s 28-18 loss in Oakland, and even though the Vikings turned over the ball six times, McCombs said, “From what I saw on TV, we played hard. We played tough.”
Under the thumb: Brett Favre’s broken right thumb doesn’t prevent him from handing off. The Green Bay Packers are leading the league in rushing, and Packers fans are getting used to the notion that Ahman Green, not Favre, is the main man in the offense.
This transition may have started before Favre’s injury limited him. It also is true Favre always has functioned best when complementing a strong running attack. But the balance clearly has shifted to the ground.
Green is getting more help than ever from Najeh Davenport and Tony Fisher. For the season, Green is averaging 5.3 yards a carry, Davenport 6.4 and Fisher 5.7.
More Top Picks Best Heatless Curling Rods For Hair
“I’ve never seen anybody in the league have three backs all averaging above 5,” vice president of football operations Mark Hatley said.
After the Packers threw six passes in their first nine plays against Tampa Bay last week, offensive coordinator Tom Rossley called 35 runs and 22 passes.
“I like balance,” Rossley said. “We have great confidence in our run game, but it helps us to run when the quarterback’s thumb is the way it is. It hurts him to throw the ball.”
Running backs coach Sylvester Croom, a 17-year NFL coaching veteran who had Barry Sanders for two years in Detroit, said he never has been associated with a better run game than this one.
“There’s the athleticism of our offensive linemen,” Croom said. “We have three pretty good blocking tight ends. We have two good blocking fullbacks. That’s a lot. Then you have three halfbacks who can run, catch and run screens.”
Avoiding steroids: Now that the league has avoided a potential public relations nightmare by delaying suspensions for the steroid THG until next season, New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan wonders why players don’t avoid steroids altogether.
“You have just such a short time period of your life, 10 years if you’re lucky, to play this game and make a little money,” Strahan said. “Are you willing to risk the rest of your life? If you are, you’re an idiot.”
The league said Thursday that no players have tested positive for the previously undetectable drug THG since random testing began Oct. 6. About 1,000 samples have been tested. For players who tested positive in the re-examination of samples collected before Oct. 6, the league still is contemplating punishment, but possible suspensions won’t occur until next season.
Hardly fair: Houston quarterback David Carr took every snap during his rookie season when he was sacked a record 76 times. He took so many hits, his embarrassed offensive linemen paid for a massage after several games. But he never was injured to the point he missed a game.
This year, the Texans’ offensive line has been nearly flawless, and Carr has been sacked just 16 times.
Nevertheless, he has been injured twice in the last four games, including a sprained joint in his right shoulder against Buffalo. Carr will be out two to four weeks.
Vander-jaw: Indianapolis Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt, the league’s career leader in field-goal percentage at 87 percent, hasn’t missed a field goal all season, nor a chance to boast.
“I’m money,” he said. “It’s like Michael Jordan at the foul line and he closes his eyes. What are you going to say to Michael Jordan that’s really going to make him miss? What are you going to say to me that’s going to make me miss a field goal? I’m the most accurate kicker in the history of the game. You better bark up somebody else’s tree.”
Kittner out: Former Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner completed only 38.1 percent of his passes in four games for Atlanta, so the Falcons are returning to Doug Johnson.
Johnson threw 10 interceptions in relief of injured Michael Vick and was benched. Kittner made better decisions but couldn’t make the throws.
History repeats: In 1969, the last time the Kansas City Chiefs went to the Super Bowl, they were 9-1 after 10 weeks.
Their only loss was 24-19 at Cincinnati. Last week the Chiefs fell to 9-1 with a 24-10 loss at Cincinnati.
In Week 11, the Chiefs faced the Oakland Raiders in Kansas City. They lost 27-24 to the Raiders. The Raiders visit the Chiefs on Sunday.