Pic via Panthers.com

Hey!  What's goin' on, guys!  It feels a heckuva lot better to be here talking to with you after a win than a loss!

Last night's game was SO much fun to play in.  The guys were excited, playing with pride, and playing with purpose.  And as a result of all that energy, we did a great job on offense, defense and special teams.

Matt Moore and his offense were able to move the ball all around the field in their effort to lock down 26 points against a GREAT Vikings defense.  On a few occasions, Matt was able to leave the pocket, buy himself some extra time, and scramble his way into opportunities where he was able to put together a few wonderful plays.  And you can't forget Steve Smith who was on the receiving end of quite a few of those wonderful efforts.  That dude is such a big time play maker!

Defensively, I was VERY impressed with the way we played.  To hold Brett Favre and Co. to only seven points is just remarkable.  Our key to winning the game came down to our ability to stop'em up on third downs.  I think they were one for ten in those situations (or some crazy ratio like that).  We simply did not allow them any opportunities to sustain many long drives.

JULIUS PEPPERS PLAYED A MONSTER GAME!  He was disrupting EVERYTHING that was going down on that field!  James Anderson also put together an incredible performance - he was such a spark plug.  Seriously... he might have been the only one who made any tackles during the entire first quarter (HA!).  Great game, man ;-)

Obviously, the turnovers we forced helped us a ton in this win.  I'm proud to say I was able to contribute a couple of them, as I recovered a fumble and brought down an interception.  But, as we all know, this win was a result of a team effort of epic proportions.  I'm beyond proud of this unit.  

You know, it's kinda bittersweet for our team - a team who, last night, put together a killer performance against a killer team like the Vikings - to not be going to playoffs this season.  I know we had the capability to play the way we played last night all season long, but, for whatever reason, we just didn't.  And, at this point, there's simply no reason for any of us to be crying over spilled milk.  Personally, I'm gonna focus solely upon the pride I have in this team for how they showcased some serious moxy and outstanding character during last night's game.  

I want all y'all have a very Merry Christmas and for Santa to be good to each and every one of you!  Hopefully, last night's win will serve as a nice little bow for you wrap around what's sure to be a wonderful week of Holiday celebrations for you and your families ;-)

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