My top 5 Panthers of 2008

I believe Steve Smith should be the Panthers' MVP for 2008, and my argument is mostly contained in this column.

I would guess, however, that DeAngelo Williams would win a vote among Panther fans if there was a scientific one. Less baggage. Younger. And incredible stats.

It's a good debate, so have at it. But in the meantime, here would be my top 5 candidates for Panther MVP, in order, for 2008:

1. STEVE SMITH. If you keep the debate on the field, where it should stay when deciding something like this, he's been incredibly clutch so many times this season.

2. DeANGELO WILLIAMS. A stunning breakout year for the NFL's leader with 20 TDs.

3. JULIUS PEPPERS. A career high in sacks for Peppers, who is going to get an unfathomable amount of money before too long when his contract is extended.

4. JAKE DELHOMME. Not his best year statistically, but his intangibles (he's a winner with great leadership skills) made a huge difference.

5. JON BEASON. If you think the Panthers' defense has been bad lately despite this Pro Bowl middle linebacker, believe me, you don't ever want to see it without him on the field.

Black Monday -- but not for Panthers

The day after the regular season ends is traditionally called "Black Monday" in the NFL, because that's the day head coaches usually get fired.

Anywhere from 2-5 usually get the axe on that day. I remember wondering -- along with many other folks -- whether Black Monday was going to impact the Panthers last season when John Fox had just gone 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the second season in a row.

Nope. It didn't. Jerry Richardson stayed the course, which was the correct thing to do. I advocated Fox getting another season back then, but I certainly didn't expect he and Carolina would go 12-4 this season. As much as I criticize Fox for his conservative approach, that's one heck of a job by this coaching staff, general manager Marty Hurney, the scouting department and so on.

Meanwhile, the New York Jets fired Eric Mangini, Cleveland fired Romeo Crennel and Detroit got rid of Rod (0-16) Marinelli, all in the past 24 hours. All of those teams will be looking for turnarounds like Atlanta, Baltimore and Miami had this season, each team making the playoffs with rookie head coaches.

NFL stands for "Not For Long," as the old joke goes. But Fox has been here a pretty long time now -- 7 seasons, or exactly as many seasons as Dom Capers and George Seifert put together. You've got to hand it to him for his survival instincts -- and for the team he has right now, which just may be his best yet.

Playoff tickets on sale later this week

Although the Panthers won't know their playoff opponent until next weekend, they will start selling individual tickets for the game much sooner than that. The Panthers' home playoff game will be played Sat., Jan.10th at 8:15 p.m. against either Atlanta, Arizona or Minnesota.

Panthers' ticket guru Phil Youtsey told me in the locker room Sunday that the team had discussed several dates for individual ticket sales. Traditionally, Carolina sets aside 10 percent of the stadium (or about 7,000 tickets) to be sold individually, almost all of those tickets being in the upper deck. PSL holders will get roughly the other 90 percent of the stadium.

The only thing Youtsey could say for sure was that individual tickets WON'T go on sale Monday. More likely, it will be later in the week -- maybe Thursday (that's New Year's Day, so more people would be home and could try to get them). And you better be ready with a quick computer mouse or cell phone when it happens -- I would guess those 7,000 or so tickets will sell out in less than 30 minutes.

Who will Carolina's home playoff opponent be?

My guess is the Minnesota Vikings, who beat Carolina 20-10 earlier this season in Minneapolis. The Vikings clinched the No.3 seed today. So if Minnesota wins its playoff game, that will definitely be the Panthers' foe, as the No.1 seeded N.Y. Giants get the benefit of playing the lowest-seeded team left after the first playoff weekend (either No.4 Arizona or No.5 Atlanta).

5 things I liked (and 2 I didn't) about Panthers' win

So Carolina has officially made it into the playoffs as the No.2 seed, which means they have earned their first playoff bye since the 1996 season. By the time Carolina enters the playoff fray in two weeks, on Sat., Jan.10 with an 8:15 p.m. game at Bank of America Stadium, the field of potential Super Bowl contenders will have been cut to 8.

Carolina will next play either Arizona, Atlanta or Minnesota depending on how the first round of the playoffs shake out. John Kasay's 42-yard field goal with 0:01 remaining was the difference in yet another heart-pounder for the Panthers.

Here are the 5 things I liked the most (and the 2 I liked least) about this win:

1. Steve Smith. He called that 39-yard catch just regular "chaos," and for No.89, I guess it is. But that 39-yarder on the last drive, which changed the game's momentum in a heartbeat, was a beauty.

2. DeAngelo Williams. He ran for 178 yards (although only 35 in the second half) to finish with the Panthers' first-ever 1,500-yard season. Then, in the locker room he unveiled a new website called www.NamesWeCanBelieveIn.com, which says that he and Jonathan Stewart will heretofore be known as "Double Trouble." Well, that's not that original, but DeAngelo gets some slack after this incredible 20-TD, shoulda-been-a-Pro-Bowler season

3. John Kasay. A 42-yarder to win it, after a false start penalty AND missing a 41-yarder earlier? The Panthers' ageless kicker really needed that one, and he got it.

4. Drew Brees. Normally, I list only Panther positives in this part of the blog. But it was a pleasure watching the New Orleans QB Sunday, in the same way it's a pleasure watching LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. What a player.

5. The first-round bye. This makes it easier for everybody wearing Panther blue. The Panthers will get healthier in the trenches, where they suddenly have several nagging injuries.

AND THE TWO I DISLIKED THE MOST...

1. 21 fourth-quarter points. I mean, c'mon, I know Brees is good, but that was ridiculous. The Saints scored on three straight drives in the fourth quarter as Carolina's pass defense looked non-existent (Brees finished with 386 yards).

2. Carolina getting off the gas. John Fox tried to bleed the clock for much of the second half after getting a 30-10 lead -- i.e., punting instead of letting Kasay try a 55-yard field goal indoors, which is well within his range. It almost bit him, but Smith and Kasay bailed the Panthers' coach out.

Carolina wins 33-31 in a thriller

The Carolina Panthers just clinched the No.2 NFC playoff seed, a first-round bye and a home playoff game either Jan.10 or 11 by winning a 33-31 thriller at New Orleans.

Carolina lost all of a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, as New Orleans stormed back with 21 fourth-quarter points to take a 31-30 lead.

But then Steve Smith out-jumped two Saints for a huge 39-yard completion that could have just as easily been intercepted. Jake Delhomme hit Muhsin Muhammad with another key completion and John Kasay lined up for a 42-yard field goal to win it with 0:01 remaining. It was good -- Kasay had missed from 41 yards earlier in the game and ended the game 4-for-5.

The final drive was for 57 yards and one of the most important comebacks Delhomme has ever led. Smith's catch has to be the play of the game.

Kasay had a chance to win the New York Giants game, too, at the end of regulation, but just missed from 50 yards out. Kasay then kicked the ball out of bounds and Drew Brees had one final chance from his own 40, but Brees threw an incompletion -- also falling short of Dan Marino's single-season record by only 16 yards -- and Carolina was victorious.

The Panthers won't know their home playoff opponent until after the games of Jan.3 and 4 are played.

Saints 31-30 late in fourth quarter

The New Orleans Saints have absolutely made mincemeat of Carolina's defense in the past few minutes and now have taken a 31-30 lead in a whale of a game at the Superdome.

Carolina once led 30-10 in the third quarter. Now, the Panthers have given up three straight TDs, Drew Brees has 386 yards passing and the Panthers are down, 31-30.

It's been an amazing turnaround. Now Jake Delhomme is coming out on the field with 3:06 to go, one timeout and a first-and-10 on his own 18.

30-24 Carolina: Sweaty palms all around

The Panthers just saw their lead sliced into once again by Drew Brees, who is just having a sensational game. On fourth-and-2 from the Carolina 9, Brees rolled right and found Lance Moore for the touchdown.

Now, with 5:28 to go, Carolina is clinging to a 6-point lead. In another part of the country, Atlanta and St. Louis are locked in a 24-24 battle, but Carolina can't worry about that now. The Panthers need to make some first downs. DeAngelo Williams, who had 143 rushing yards in the first half, has only had about 20 in the second so far.