The Panthers and their mistake-free philosophy can't be underestimated, but neither can the cold reality of Lambeau Field

Sporting News, The, Jan 13, 1997 by Paul Attner

About two-thirds through this as the Panthers were building what has become an eight-game winning streak, cornerback Eric Davis joined other veterans in sensing a need for a change in the team's attitude. They were convinced the Panthers were capable of climbing higher than anyone outside the organization believed. Now, they had to preach this message of increased expectations to their younger teammates.

"We had to convince them that what they were accomplishing wasn't going to be enough," says Davis, thinking back to those days of change. "We told them our expectations had to get a lot bigger, that we could get into the playoffs. Maybe the message surprised them, but ifs pretty obvious they wound up believing what we were telling them."

Unquestionably. The Panthers, a mixture of veteran poise and youthful exuberance, play with the force and conviction of a team with years more experience - and just like a squadful of believers. So what if they've wrecked what would have been a much more dramatic meeting in the NFC championship (the Packers vs. the Cowboys)? That's the pairing all of Green Bay wanted, including the record crowd that jammed into Lambeau Field last Saturday to see the Packers overwhelm the 49ers, and, if they were honest, most of the players. Dallas, after all, has been the one hurdle during the Mike Holmgren era that Green Bay has not overcome. So it seemed to everyone in Packerland that back-to-back triumphs over San Francisco and the Cowboys on Lambeau's treacherous turf would be the perfect path to the Super Bowl.

Now the Packers will have to cope with a very different animal in these Panthers, a well-conceived, well-coached outfit that has mastered a simple formula for winning. Commit few mistakes, control field position with a strong kicking game and alter the tempo with a fierce, attacking defense. "They know what they want to do, and they know how to go about doing it," Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston says. "Don't underestimate this team. They are solid and good, and they don't beat themselves."

And the Panthers also can lick the Cowboys, something they proved with their 26-17 victory Sunday in Ericsson Stadium, knocking the defending Super Bowl champions out of the playoffs. Granted, the Panthers, job became easier when star wide receiver Michael Irvin was eliminated from the game in the early minutes with a broken collarbone. But a victory over this opponent with its heart of a winner, still is something the Panthers already hold over the Packers. Remember, would anyone have imagined that the Cowboys would be eliminated in the postseason by a second-year expansion franchise?

"This is a new era, and we are the new kid on the block; we are kicking butt and taking names and people better start taking us seriously," says linebacker Lamar Lathon, whose tackle sent Irvin to the sideline.

Still, beating the Cowboys at Ericsson, where Carolina hasn't lost this season, doesn't compare with trying to beat Green Bay in Lambeau, where the Packers are convinced they are invincible. There is absolutely, positively no reason to think a second-year club, no matter how lofty its expectations, can cope with the sloppy conditions, the likely frigid weather and, most important, the multifaceted Packers, who proved against San Francisco they can win a huge game even when Brett Favre throws for a paltry 79 yards. Yet ...

"I will never, ever stand here and tell you anything else except I thought we could get to the Super Bowl when I signed," says Davis, who became a Panther in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent leaving the 49ers. Davis had a Cheshire cat grin as he talked, and his tongue is more than likely stuck firmly in his MA But Davis realized long ago that calling the Panthers an expansion team is grossly misleading. Their mixture of winning veterans and talented draft choices, mingled with crafty signings of players off the streets, has resulted in a squad that can't be judged by normal standards. Because, along with the jaguars, this kind of club has not previously been produced in such a manner by the NFL.

"I know we have a lot of ability," Davis says. "We have a lot of guys who are hungry to win. We have the right mix of young guys who listen and aging guys who are willing to teach the young guys to eventually take their spots. Not every veteran will accept that they eventually will lose their job, but we have guys who are willing to do that and that shows something about what makes us work."

In contrast to the jaguars, who stayed away from veteran free agents, the Panthers deliberately sought out experienced leaders, particularly on defense, to form the team's nucleus. And unlike the Jags, who are flashy and explosive on offense, the Panthers go about winning by being exciting on defense. Their offense is designed primarily to not waste away what the defense has accomplished.

Yet going into the championship, it is that offense that holds the key to the Panthers, chances of winning. In the last month, quarterback Kerry Collins, the club's No. l draft choice in 1995, has matured rapidly. His coaches have grown increasingly confident in him, so much so that their game plan against Dallas was far more daring than Collins would have directed at the start of the season.