Carolina’s Wins Affect Smith’s Suspension

The Carolina Panthers seem like a recovering alcoholic at 90 days of recovery: strong and stable yet still susceptible to misfortune. The loss of wide receiver Steve Smith due to suspension for the past two games could have been shaky, and could have shown the Carolina team how much they need their star player, but instead the team’s wins over San Diego and Chicago took all the pressure off Smith, also proving the suspension was the right thing for head coach John Fox to do.

Panthers fans were no doubt skeptic when Fox went through with Smith’s two-game suspension he received for punching teammate Ken Lucas. Taking out such a valuable player as Smith was risky business, but it paid off for both Fox and Smith because not only did it show the players that Fox’s rules stick; it also let the team wean off their dependency on Smith. Like Fox said in a statement, “I think with the type of guys we have in our locker room, an unfortunate incident was made into a positive. I think the fact that we were able to win two games without him makes us all better. Him included.”

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