Panthers stick together

Team rallies around Delhomme, won't let one bad game shake its confidence

CHARLOTTE -- Jake Delhomme didn't walk out of Bank of America Stadium alone Sunday.

Steve Smith walked with him.

Smith, the Carolina Panthers' Pro Bowl wide receiver, defended his quarterback and the team's season amid widespread criticism of the stunning 33-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Saturday night's home playoff game.

"I feel about Jake the same way I felt about Jake after the 2003 season," Smith said, recalling the year Delhomme led the Panthers to the Super Bowl. "My opinion and my respect in my friend have not changed."

As for the Panthers, Smith said the loss doesn't deter from what they accomplished in the regular season -- a 12-4 record, the NFC South championship and a first-round playoff bye.

"I personally think people are going to write this off and are going to say, 'Ah, it was a waste,' " Smith said. "It's not the case.

"The loss didn't take away from who we were and what we did. People can write and say it did. Fans can have their opinion. But I would not trade in or forfeit any of the experiences we had in that locker room, and the joy we had on the field together, for one more week.

"There's only going to be one team in the end who's going to be happy, and we weren't that team."

Other players and coach John Fox voiced strong support for Delhomme the morning after he threw a career-high five interceptions and fumbled once in arguably the worst performance of his NFL career.

"It doesn't shake my confidence in him," fullback Brad Hoover said.

Fox said of Delhomme: "He had a bad game. He didn't have a bad season. He's not a bad quarterback. It happens."

Delhomme said he was startled by his performance.

"With the work I put in, I never anticipated in a million years that I'd go out and play like I did last night," he said. "You ask yourself, 'Was it worth all the film last week, all the studying?'

"You have those days, but you hope they're very few and far between."

Delhomme said he received an encouraging text-message from a Hall of Fame quarterback, whom he didn't identify.

"He's been through it," Delhomme said. "He said it's all part of it. The sun comes up and you have to move on."

But one-and-done wasn't what the Panthers had expected from their playoff experience.

"It's a harsh reality," linebacker Jon Beason said. "It's amazing how one second you're on top of the world, the next second you're packing your stuff.

"It's a learning experience. There are some things we can do differently next time. We're a young team and we'll be back."

The wrenching truth is that Carolina could have become the host for the NFC championship game by beating the Cardinals. Instead, Arizona gets that distinction and will face the Philadelphia Eagles, who upset the New York Giants 23-11 on Sunday.

Beason, an all-pro this season in his second pro season, said he would watch the remainder of the playoffs on television but that he wouldn't join other players from around the league who'll go to Tampa, Fla., for Super Bowl XLIII as spectators.

"I won't attend a Super Bowl, ever, until I play in it," Beason said. "And if I don't ever play in a Super Bowl, I will never attend one."