As a rookie with Carolina in 2005, linebacker Thomas Davis got his first taste of playoff success and disappointment. Now, the most tenured player on the team is going back to Seattle with a chance at a different outcome.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Thomas Davis is the longest-tenured Carolina Panther, a playmaking linebacker in his 10th season who is zen-like in the locker room to the youngest cubs around him. He sees in them what he saw in himself in 2005 when he was drafted by the Panthers in the first round, the 14th pick.
Confidence. Eagerness. And a special playoff opportunity in Seattle.
In his rookie season, the Panthers beat the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears in playoff road games before losing the NFC championship game at the Seattle Seahawks.
Davis calls it "a different spin, but nothing sweeter than to go back and get it right" when on Saturday, Carolina (8-8-1) plays at Seattle (12-4) in NFC divisional playoff action.
He believes the youngest players around him understand. He says all of Carolina's leadership has stressed "the urgency of the situation - it's win or go home."
But then he reflects on his rookie playoff season and says: "That first year, I did not fully understand how the NFL is. I thought if we didn't win this time, we'd just be back next year. I really didn't understand it."
Davis has spent this week massaging the minds of the youngest Panthers. He is insisting they do not make that mistake. He is in their ears like Mike Minter and Julius Peppers and Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith were in his back then, that message of appreciating and dominating the moment. He is trying to make it stick with them in way it did not stick with him.
This is what players like Terrell Suggs and Tom Brady and Reggie Wayne - all among the most tenured players for their playoff teams - do. They speak. They lead from raw and full experience. They nudge and nurture youth around them for these big playoff moments.
Davis knows his message has valid bite that should be easier for this group to absorb.
The Panthers went nine years from his rookie season to this one before winning another playoff game. When Carolina beat Arizona 27-16 on last Saturday, that drought mercilessly ended for Davis and all of the Panthers. Its effect reverberated throughout the franchise and community.
Playoff principals
Each playoff team’s longest-tenured player with their franchise:- BALTIMORE RAVENS: Terrell Suggs, LB, 12th season, age 32
Still a brute, physical force with a high motor.
- NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Tom Brady, QB, 15th season, age 37
A perfectionist at his craft, a fourth-quarter slayer.
- SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: Jon Ryan, P, 7th season, age 33
Franchise career leader in punting average (45.2) and longest punt (77 yards).
- DALLAS COWBOYS: Tony Romo, QB, age 34 and Jason Witten, TE, 32 – both 12th season
No better QB/TE combination in the NFL.
- GREEN BAY PACKERS: Aaron Rodgers, QB, 10th season, age 31
This season’s leading MVP candidate.
- INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Reggie Wayne, WR, 14th season, age 36
Still shifty, still a playmaker.
- DENVER BRONCOS: Ryan Clady, OT, 7th season, age 28
Rock solid, dependable, often dominates.
And how could any player after this 2014 turbulent Panthers regular season take anything for granted?
Carolina started 2-0. It soon lost Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy to suspension due to domestic violence charges. It slipped to 2-2. On Oct. 12 it tied 37-37 at the Cincinnati Bengals. Then the Panthers dropped six straight games.
"That's a two-month losing streak," Davis said. "Through all of that there was no divide in the locker room. We knew how the division (NFC South) was going and if we could just get healthy and get guys together we would have a chance. It was up to us to go out and take advantage of it. And we did."
They won five straight, including in the playoffs, to reach Seattle.
Rebounding is nothing new for Hardy. All of his teammates know. During his career he has had three surgeries on his right knee, one on his left knee and one on his left shoulder. He has fought through rehabs at several periods of his career and painful doubt on whether his career was over.
Davis has already endured several "win or go home" moments.
"It was all about having the motivation and toughness and good support," Davis said. "My wife (Kelly) was there for every step. The trainers did a great job of protecting me from myself, from me wanting to do too much too soon."
Davis credits head coach Ron Rivera with guiding him and the Panthers through their storms. He said that Rivera has been "the leader we needed," and is a coach "that guys love to play for."
"We definitely have been a focused bunch," Davis said. "We know what is at stake. It is win or go home. And we are not ready for it to end. We know Seattle is the defending champs. We know it is a tough place to win at. We are facing a team with a really good run game. A team led by a defense that is extra difficult to put up points on and yards on. We have to be ready to do our jobs on defense. It's a mindset. The more physical and more dominant defense will win this game."
Anything close to Carolina's record-setting night against Arizona - where the Panthers allowed an NFL playoff-low 78 total yards - will do.
"We have a great cast of high character guys in the locker room," Davis said. "That is evident in how we turned the season around. If you had bad people in there you are not going to accomplish that. I want our younger guys, especially, to understand that they can't make it bigger than what it is. You can't play your best football that way. It's a game we need. A win and we move on. Don't take this chance for granted. But don't make it bigger than that."
(photo via Getty Images)
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