That said I will say, to cap off the season, that the 2011 season was more exciting than I ever would have imagined it being six months ago. We now have a franchise quarterback — I think I can say that without receiving much if any ridicule — who owns rookie and NFL records, and the future for Carolina looks rather bright.

Moving on, we still have another month of football; even though Carolina’s not in it, there are still some exciting games to be played, and after the jump, I’m going to make my picks for Wildcard weekend. (more…)

Take care of business at home in the playoffs, right?  Win and move on, right?  That didn’t happen for one of the most promising teams in the NFL.  The potential was there for the greatest season in Carolina Panthers history.  The greatest.

Instead, it goes down as the greatest playoff failure in franchise history.  I’ll rephrase.  It goes down as the greatest choke in franchise history!

Here’s where it gets bad.

As the number two seed, a win Saturday night would have meant hosting the NFC Championship Game at Bank of America Stadium.  That’s because the Philadelphia Eagles just upset the New York Giants.  Now, the Arizona freakin’ Cardinals will host the title game.

I know they beat our Panthers and earned their way to the conference title game but this just feels all wrong.

Our team was busy saying, “Go ahead, Cardinals, it’s yours.  Here’s an interception.  Oh, and here’s a fumble.  Wait!  Here’s another.”  If they don’t do that and actually show up in that game, the line is around the block for tickets to the NFC Championship Game in Charlotte on Monday.

Seriously, keep the bathroom clear.  I’m going to be sick.

They must protect this house!!!!!  That’s a good start when you consider that they haven’t lost at home all season.  It goes a whole lot deeper than that, though.  Let’s run through five things our Panthers must do to win this game.

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