Saints Game a Prelude To Debacle ?

Last minute of our last game vs. New Orleans. We call time out with six seconds left to kick the go-ahead field goal. The TV "expert analysts " question the decision because NFL policy is to let up to five seconds run off the clock on any given field goal attempt.

This means if the field goal is good the Panthers would still have to kick the ball back to New Orleans. The field goal was good and the Panthers had to kick it off with one second left.

Incredibly, our kick off man, a specialist who only kicks off, kicks the ball out of bounds for the first time this season. This allows New Orleans one last play. Drew Brees needs only 16 yards to pass Marino as the all-time record holder for passing yards gained in one season. He promptly throws one in the turf to his wide open receiver and game is over. We win and Marino's record is safe.

Clearly, our coaching staff orchestrated this scenario by purposely calling time out early. They wanted, out of niceness and polite consideration, to give Brees a shot at the record apparently confident we would win regardless.

Brees, the class act that he is, wanted no part of a record earned by another team "laying down" and thus threw the pass away.

Why does this matter? It shows the Panthers' coaching staff that's cocky, over-confident, and totally not respecting an opponent. The Panthers had two weeks to prepare for Arizona. The Panthers' players were not ready because the coaches clearly were not focused.

That last minute of the New Orleans game was a harbinger for the debacle of last Saturday night. It's not Jake, the defense (yes, even our secondary), or the running game. It was the arrogant, over-confident coaching staff, having no respect for an opponent that led to our mental collapse and thus our worst loss ever.