ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 6, 1996 TAG: 9612060029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Something snapped in the Carolina Panthers on the night of Nov. 10, and their opponents have been paying for it ever since.
With the speed of someone flipping a light switch, the Panthers' defense has become nearly impenetrable. Now the question for Carolina is not how it happened, but how long it will last.
The Panthers (9-4) are hoping the answer is at least through Sunday, when they play San Francisco (10-3) for first place in the NFC West Division.
Carolina has defeated the 49ers once this season, and another victory would put the Panthers atop the division with two games left in the regular season. Both those games are at Ericsson Stadium, where Carolina is 6-0 this year.
``Our players know that what's in front of us is by far our biggest challenge of the season,'' coach Dom Capers said.
The Panthers head to San Francisco having given up 19 points in their past 15 quarters. The only other team in the NFL even remotely close to that is Denver, which has given up 32 points in its past three games.
Carolina's turnaround began Nov.10 after the New York Giants put together long touchdown drives on their opening two possessions.
The Panthers held the Giants to a field goal the rest of the way and rallied for a 27-17 victory. New York produced two first downs on its final seven possessions.
The following week in St.Louis, the Rams got the only touchdown the Panthers have allowed in the 15-quarter span, an 11-yard pass from Tony Banks to Lawrence Phillips in the second quarter. But the Rams were shut out the rest of the game and Carolina scored the final 10 points for a 20-10 victory.
It was on to Houston, where the Panthers limited the Oilers to a pair of field goals in a 31-6 victory. Carolina prevented Houston from cracking the 100-yard mark in total offense until late in the third quarter.
On Sunday, the Panthers produced their best effort yet. They didn't allow Tampa Bay inside the Carolina 35-yard line until the final play of the third quarter, and the Panthers went on to a 24-0 victory, the first shutout in the franchise's 29-game history.
What triggered the surge?
``A couple of guys had a few things to say. We were upset with ourselves and we knew we were capable of playing better than we were,'' defensive end Gerald Williams said. ``I won't say exactly what was said, but it was along the lines of, `Let's go.' And we all started to play better.''
Outside linebacker Lamar Lathon recalls no such tongue-lashings.
``No, not really,'' he said, shaking his head. ``Better technique and error-free football - that's the only thing I can attribute it to.''
Indeed, turnovers have been a factor in Carolina's four-game winning streak. In their first nine games, the Panthers had 17 turnovers while forcing 16. In the past four contests, Carolina has forced 13 turnovers and given away the ball four times.
``Everything has been basically the same,'' Lathon said. ``We've just cut down on errors and keyed in a little bit more.''
Whatever the reasons, the results speak for themselves. Carolina has a league-high 47 sacks and has surrendered league lows of 164 total points and 46 second-half points. The Panthers, who finished their inaugural season with the NFL's seventh-ranked defense and are in the same spot so far in 1996, are trying to become the only second-year franchise to make the playoffs.
Capers points to the off-season addition of unrestricted free agents Kevin Greene from Pittsburgh and Eric Davis from San Francisco, two moves he said have helped instill a sense of late-season toughness in the younger Panthers. Greene leads the NFC with 121/2 sacks and Davis has four interceptions in his past five games, but Capers said because both came from playoff teams, their biggest contributions may come in the locker room and on the practice field.
``The later you get into the season, the margin of error becomes smaller and smaller and smaller,'' Capers said. ``And guys like Eric Davis, guys like Kevin Greene, they've been in big games and they understand that.''
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Linebacker Kevin Greene leads the NFC with 121/2by CNBsacks for the surging Panthers, who can take over first place in the
NFC West by beating the 49ers.