Five Questions for an Enemy Blogger: Panthers

Welcome to another installment of the Five Questions series. Those who are familiar with this running bit may notice something awry in this week's edition. For newbees, and Panther fans who may not have figured it out, I'll be more direct. This week there are no aswers.

Granted, I wa a little late floating this idea by a couple of the guys at the PanterCoalition.com site, and I thought they would play along, but as of Sat. evening, there were no responses in my email account.

Not sure if they're busy in the ladies room at their local tavern watching the TopCats practicing their new routine, but I hate to see these five gems go to waste. So, I'm going to open it up to the full membership at PantherCoalition, and welcome my faithful readers to share this link on other sites, so we can get these important and probing questions answered.

Answer one or answer them all, just remember to include the Question number in your comments, so we know which one you are responding to.

I'll select some of the best responses and paste them under the questions below.

And if any Panter Fan wants to send me a set of similar Five Questions regarding the Seahawks, I'll be more than happy to provide you responses for your site/blog.

1. This is the season where wide-eyed youngsters put their faith in a fat old man to bring them gifts and joy. Is that how it feels being a Panther fan watching Vinny Testaverde line up under center?

2. The Carolina QBs have combined to throw 15 interceptions so far. Last week, Marcus Trufant got three against Arizona, and the week before Lofa Tatupu got three against Philadelphia. Since the Panther offense seems to agree that it's much better to give than to receive, how many INTs do you think they'll serve up this weekend?

3. Speaking of Lofa Tatupu, do you think the ringing in Nick Going's ears has stopped yet from the hit he absorbed in the 2005 NFC Championship game?

4. Former Seahawk Ken 'a brotha get paid' Lucas has been somewhat of a disappointment since his big free agent signing in 2004. How many passes do you think he gives up on Sunday to our backup QB/partime WR?

5. The Panthers have also give up 27 sacks in just 13 games. What do you think they need to do to stop the NFL Sack Leader, Patrick Kerney, who last Sunday, spent more time in the Cardinal backfield than Edgerrin James?

That just happened

I'm way late on this, but considering the post below mine is more or less a game preview...well...

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: NFC WEST CHAMPIONS.....AGAIN.

I don't care if the NFC West has been the kid's table of the NFL the past few seasons. At the table, we are the twelve year old and this is our goddamned turkey leg. You (and I'm looking at you Torri, Alex, and Kurt) cannot have it. You can have the white meat, for its all you can handle.

I'm sure some fan from another team will come in here and blast Seahawk fans for being arrogant. Don't care. I'm doing what I call "enjoying the ride". Those of us that were fans of the club its inception (or, for me at least, since the mid 80s) I think each one of these division titles means a bit more. Remember when Rick Mier was the answer at quarterback? Yeah, it was THAT bad. So, sorry for being "arrogant". Even after four years, we're still kind of new to this whole winning division title things.

Who knows what this playoff season will hold, but the important thing is that the Seahawks are involved. Let's do this thing.

Five Questions for an Enemy Blogger: Cardinals

Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanza, everyone can agree that this is the season for gift giving, like the victory we handed the Cardinals in Week Two.

What I've noticed over the years though, is that the gifts I buy for other people are usually the things I would want myself, thus explaining the cordless drill I gave my wife on our anniversary (as well as the 3/8th diameter scar on my left thigh).

My point is, when I read the finely crafted Five Questions that AOL Cardinals Blogger Dan Benton sent to me, I thought it was very generous of me to paraphrase them and give them right back to him, which might explain any similarities between his blog piece and the item below.

1) I don't really want to start this with a question ... just a statement. THREE in a row! Mmm, yeah. Let that sink in.

DB: Three wins over the Seahawks in a row would be pretty sweet, let me tell you. luckily for you, you won't have to hear from me again until these two teams meet in the playoffs. At which point, I can only assume you'll stop returning my e-mails.

2) Do these games make you sweat any more? They used to be difficult on an Arizona heart, but with winning the past two games against the Seahawks, and beating teams the Seahawks lost to, like the Steelers and Browns, you're probably pretty confident about Sunday, right?

DB: Some teams play with talent, others with heart. And while the injuries concern me, the Cardinals aren't giving up. There have been plenty of times this season where they could have packed it in, but instead they opted to battle back and keep themselves in this thing.

Now, with their fate in their own hands, I have 100% faith that Arizona will return to the playoffs for the first time since ... well... yeah.

3) Looking ahead to Sunday, what concerns you about Seattle? And don't say everything!

DB: Don't say everything? No problem, because my answer would have been nothing.

The Seahawks have not been impressive this year and Shaun Alexander looks like he's running on empty. Not to mention, the team has really had their hands full in the last few weeks, barely beating the Bears, Eagles and Rams; all of whom are far worse than the Cardinals.

But if I had to pick any one thing, it'd be the crowd. Then again, who doesn't get worried by an extremely large gang of stumbling drunks? The only thing worse is Eagles fans.

4) Here's one I haven't asked you before. If you could pick another player off the Seahawks and add them to the Cardinal roster, who would it be and why?

DB: It would be Shaun Alexander because the Cardinals need a quality third string running back. J.J. Arrington hasn't been what Arizona hopes for, so Shaun would settle in nicely behind Edgerrin James and Marcel Shipp.

Actually, we could take Matt Hasselbeck as well. With Matt Leinart already down with injury and Kurt Warner always on the brink of being hurt, a clipboard carrying third-stringer could be very useful.

5) Prediction time! How bad will it taste when the Seahawks beat Cardinals and wrap up their fourth consecutive NFC West title?

DB: Well, if the Seahawks do find some way to pull this out -- which I don't think they will -- I'll be OK with it. That would just give the Cardinals more motivation to go into Seattle and knock the Seahawks out of the playoffs.

That said, the Cardinals will probably win this game, end up winning the division and knock the Seahawks out of the playoffs anyway.

Yeah ... that sounds much better. As for a score? I'll say ... Cardinals 24 - Seahawks 21 in overtime.

Don't forget to check out Dan's Five Questions post on AOL Fanhouse, and to leave your feedback in the comments section on each site.

The Mystery That Is Brian Billick Blowing Kisses

Hoo-boy! What a game. Rife with sub-plots of the quest for perfection, conspiracy theory and referee incompetence, this was a Monday night game for the ages. Bloggers and news-monkeys are babbling everywhere about these topics, completely ignoring what I think is the most compelling drama of the contest.

What the hell did Rodney Harrison say to Brian Billick? What made BB suddenly mouth sultry, sexy air-kisses, not once, but three times in succession?

Hmm. There are a few possibilities.

Congenial:

RH: Hi, Brian. How are you today?

BB: [Kiss, kiss, kiss.]

Amorous:

RH: Dammit, Brian. I miss you. I miss you real bad, like a ho misses crack. Can I have you tonight?

BB: [Kiss, kiss, kiss.]

Humorous:

RH: Hey, Brian, what do you think of Rosie O'Donnell?

BB: [Kiss, kiss, kiss.]

Vile:

RH: Brian, I was wondering... How did you feel when you first saw 2girls1cup.com?

BB: [Kiss, kiss, kiss.]

Homozygous:

RH: Brian! Pretend I'm your sister!

BB: [Kiss, kiss, kiss.]

NFL-kakke:

RH: Brian, it's raining semen. What do you do?

BB: [Kiss, gulp, kiss.]

An hour ago, this was all funny in my head. Think you can do better? Let's hear it.

What I Learned From: Sitting in warm, dry living room watching the game while Philly fans languish in misery

Last week, I really figured we lose this one. The 10am kickoff, the lousy pass protection the week before, the fact that two blowouts may spell a letdown, not to mention Shaun Alexander bringing his miserable YPC back to the team -- it had my nutsack in a bunch, to say the least.

But what did I learn?

• 1/2 Morris + 1/2 Alexander = One competent running back.


• The opening drive showed some real creativity in an effort to keep Philly off balance. In the red zone, we saw a triple-tight end power formation, but a play-action pass attempt to (gasp) Tom Ashworth. After that, we saw a pass formation, but it was a run to the left by Alexander. Woooo, tricky stuff there, Mike.


• I don't know how much to hate on RG Chris Gray. He gets physically overwhelmed several times per game, and makes me yell at the TV. But then he goes and TOTALLY REDEEMS HIMSELF when fills in perfectly for a nicked C Chris Spencer. I almost wonder if they shouldn't switch positions, since Gray calls the blocking assignments anyway. Which makes me wonder -- Is Spencer retarded? Guards shouldn't need to make those calls.


• 'Pork Chop' Womack filled in well for Walter Jones, and later on, Chris Gray when Spencer went out--and his effectiveness also nearly baffled me. But then I thought about the sloppy conditions, and realized that this was a perfect game for him. Quickness was absolutely not necessary. But if this were played in a dome, this Pork would have been smoked.


• Mo Morris' TD run was cool. Not just for the last juke that sealed the points, but the blocking was great. Big Walt was the anchor, Pollard made a great seal on the end, But Leonard Weaver took a linebacker and a defensive end in one diving assault.


• Should Engram be considered for the Ring of Honor? We already have a lot of candidates on this team -- Hasselbeck, Alexander, Strong, Jones, and if he keeps it up, Tatupu. But what about Bobby? I would hate to see him overlooked. I love that guy. Without him, this season is in the toilet. Without him, a several previous seasons are in the sewer.


• Lofa Tatupu is a freak. You saw the highlight reel. Smartest defensive player I've ever seen. It's uncanny. If we took his brain and heart and planted it in, say, LaVar Arrington's body, offenses as we know it would cease to exist. At least until Roger Goodell made it illegal to be LaVar Tatupu.


• Rocky Bernard is a baller. He just doesn't get enough credit for all the havoc he wreaketh. It was good to see him get a little credit on the goal line stand.


• Speaking of goal line stands-- this defense is damn good at them. They make good reads (thanks again, Lofa) and play it right. I have a feeling this is going to come in handy in five weeks or so.

That's all I got for now. I need to take a shit. Discuss.