Did the Carolina Panthers' (Cat Scratch) Fever Finally Break?

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Before the game yesterday I wrote beating the Cardinals in Arizona might be the way to break the cycle of pain that has been hurting the Carolina Panthers.

Since January the Panthers, and especially quarterback Jake Delhomme, have beleagured in a stupor.  January saw the worst game of Jake's career...and on his birthday too.

But yesterday the Panthers played their first complete game in many, many months.  They ran the ball like last year (although a couple of weeks ago they showed they remembered how). 

Jake threw the ball with accuracy. And the defense returned to the form that made them feared, especially Julius Peppers and the secondary (I told my son when Julius went down with an ouchy in the first half that the Cardinals may have just made him mad enough to come alive.  Boy was I right).  I would say the linebackers were great too but they have been the standouts of this team all year long.

The offensive play-calling actually looked somewhat original yesterday.  Thank you to whoever decided to inspire Jeff Davidson.  The Steve Smith touchdown showed a really nice twist with the stop and go.  How wonderful is it to see a happy Steve Smith in the endzone?

And since when did Dwayne Jarrett learn to catch the ball?  Welcome back, young man.  Oh and the Jonathon Stewart statistic still holds true:  when he runs the ball 14 or more times, the Panthers are undefeated.

I do not know if the disease plaguing the Panthers was contageous but I do know this...Kurt Warner threw five interceptions yesterday and lost one fumble, the exact same turnover statistics that began Jake's, and the Panthers, feverish affliction 10 months ago.  Although I wish illness on no one I hope this virus, bacteria, curse, or whatever has left the team "body" and stays in the heat of the desert.

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