January 24, 2006
By Brett Borden
Panthers.com
Safety Mike Minter has seen it all in his nine seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He has survived the 1-15 season in 2001, the 4-12 season in 1998, and four 7-9 campaigns. He has been through a near miss season in 1999, when the 8-8 Panthers almost made it to the playoffs. He has also been to two NFC Championships, and one Super Bowl. The one thing he hasn't experienced is a Super Bowl victory, and that is the top priority at this point in his career.
Minter thinks the Panthers will shake off Sunday's disappointing 34-14 loss to Seattle in the NFC Championship and contend for the Super Bowl once again next season."No doubt about it," said Minter, the Panthers all-time leader in tackles, forced fumbles and interception returns for touchdowns. "This is a good football team. We'll add some pieces because we have to. That's part of the deal. I'm sure (management) will put the right pieces in place to make it happen.
"I think that's what they're doing is building a team that can compete for the championship year after year. We have the players and coaches in place to do that. We definitely can be that kind of football team. It's a long season. You have to have some good luck. You can't have injuries. Everything has to fall your way. There are a lot of things that go into the mix of having a good football team."
The Panthers have suffered more than their share of injuries the past two seasons. The fact that their fourth-string running back played most of the NFC Championship speaks volumes. Minter says the team almost seems to play better, though, when backed into a corner.
"I was reading an article recently that said people respond better to adversity than to people patting them on the back," said Minter. "That's what we do. We'll respond to what happened to us and try to do what we have to do to win this championship. That's what it's all about." Though he moved from free safety to strong safety this season, Minter had another productive year, posting 71 tackles, one interception, 10 passes defensed, 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.
But the only numbers Minter was interested in were Roman Numerals, as in Super Bowl XL. To lose one step short of that goal will make for a long off-season, even if it has been shortened a few weeks by playoff success.
"We'll probably dwell on it right up until the moment we start working out, when the offseason program starts in March," said Minter of the loss. "You have time to reflect back on the season now that the emotional rollercoaster that you went through all season is over. There will be some good days and some bad days."
Minter has certainly seen both in his career. He hopes the future holds many more of the former and very few of the latter.