Life in the Swamp
Posted January 1, 2006, 8:25 PM ET

Hey Carolina, are you ready for the Playoffs?

You better get ready, because the Panthers and Giants hook up in the Jersey swamp on Sunday afternoon. In Carolina, when you mention New Jersey and the Meadowlands, your first thought is Coach K and the Duke basketball team winning another Eastern Regional. This week is a different animal.

The Carolina Panthers' helter-skelter regular season ended up with a surprisingly easy win against the Falcons in Atlanta. The Dirty Birds mailed it in, and the Panthers obliged in stuffing them in the Georgia Dome.

Falcon fans should ask Arthur Blank for a refund for having to pay to watch that effort by their franchise. But that's Atlanta's problem...it is time to move on to the postseason.

Are the Panthers ready for another run like the one we witnessed two years ago? I have no clue.

When they play with passion and come ready to play, they are as good as anybody in the NFC...can they play consistently on the road for a solid month? The road to Super Bowl XL will take Carolina to Atlanta, New Jersey, (Seattle or Chicago)...the point is that it will be a tough route to make it to that winter wonderland known as Detroit.

The Panthers have proven that they are impossible to figure out. They follow great efforts with duds and vice-versa. A trip to the Meadowlands will not be easy, but nothing comes easy in January during the NFL Playoffs.

The Giants have been tough at home, and with Eli, Tiki and Strahan waiting in the wings, the Panthers better be ready to play. These teams haven't faced each other since 2003, and that adds a little mystery to the matchup.

There is no question that the Giants can score on anybody and Tiki Barber can beat you running and catching the football. Eli Manning has improved leaps and bounds, but you have to question how he'll respond in his first postseason game...especially facing a Panther defensive team that will force him to make plays.

The Giants' linebacking corp has done their best Dan Morgan impersonation....in fact, the Giants LB's are beat-up as often as "Doubtful Dan". It is an area that the Panthers should attack and exploit.

It all adds up to one fascinating matchup...and that's the way it should be, during the wild card weekend of the NFL Playoffs.

Let the games begin....unless of course you're the Cowboys.

How bout 'em?