Pro Bowl

Anyone who has overlooked the Carolina Panthers this year has probably been surprised to see the cats dominating the NFC South this late in the season, but this week's Pro Bowl selections have solidified Carolina's status as a leading team in the league, sending four key players to Hawaii in February for an AFC/NFC showdown at Honolulu's Aloha Stadium. While DeAngelo Williams and John Kasay are two of the Panthers' best players whose names were left off this year's Pro Bowl roster, other standout players Jordan Gross, Julius Peppers, Steve Smith and Jon Beason will all be representing Carolina as part of the NFC's 2009 Pro Bowl team.

Offensive tackle Jordan Gross was selected as a starting tackle alongside Seattle's Walter Jones as part of the NFC's Pro Bowl team, and defensive end Julius Peppers was also selected as a starter alongside the Giants' Justin Tuck on the defensive side of the game. Wide receiver Steve Smith will take his place on the Pro Bowl team as a reserve receiver behind Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, and linebacker Jon Beason will play backup inside linebacker to San Francisco's Patrick Willis. This year's Pro Bowl will be Gross and Beason's first time to make the team, and it will also be Smith and Peppers' fourth appearance on the team.

While several Panthers have solidified something in the post-season to look forward to, for now the team is focused on only one thing: the playoffs. Carolina's up-and-down season has been looking solid from the second half of the regular season, and last week's win against Denver gave the Panthers another step forward in clinching a playoff spot. The 11-3 Panthers currently sit atop the NFC South, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons are tied for second place with 9-5 records and the New Orleans Saints fall behind with a 7-7 standing.

The Carolina Panthers have been strong this year from the very beginning, shocking the football world with wins against the San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears in the team's first two games of the season - without Pro Bowler Steve Smith, who was sitting out with a two-game suspension for sucker-punching teammate Ken Lucas in training camp. The Panthers next equally shocked the nation by losing to the Vikings in their next game of the regular season, and have since been an extremely on or off team. The Panthers are currently on a three-game winning streak (against the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos) and the team's agility will be tested to the max this week in Week 16 of the regular season of the NFL, as the Panthers take on the defending Super Bowl champions the New York Giants in what could be a very telling game for the postseason. If you've missed the quadruple offensive threat of DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad this season, watch them all play together while you can and get Carolina Panthers tickets from http://www.stubhub.com/carolina-panthers-tickets before the 2008-2009 season is over!

Terrible Terry Tate Pro Bowl Spot ESPN