Panthers scored points by suspending Smith

Friday was terrible for the Carolina Panthers. Their best player relapsed, the once angry young man becoming, by NFL standards, an angry middle-aged man. Steve Smith flipped out and punched Ken Lucas, landing at least two good shots before he finally was pulled away.

Until then, training camp had been exceptional. The new guys and the old guys merged seamlessly, and the enthusiasm of management, coaches and players withstood even the daily barrage of Spartanburg heat.

Smith’s punches could have done more than break the nose of Lucas. They could have halted the progress. They could have splintered the players. They could have prompted the rookies and free agents to question the quality of the organization they had joined.

But the Panthers deftly avoided the blows and aggressively fought back, and Saturday was almost as good for them as Friday was bad.

First, the Panthers acted decisively. Once the scorecards from Friday Morning at the Fights had been tallied, they suspended Smith for two games.

The Panthers are more likely to lose with Smith out of the lineup. But if they had not suspended him, head coach John Fox and general manager Marty Hurney could have lost much more. They could have lost the team.

As star struck as some of us are, allowing a great player to do what he wants when he wants is risky. Anybody remember a home game Carolina played against Washington in 1998? The Redskins scored on their first three possessions and Carolina’s Kevin Greene flipped out and shoved linebackers coach Kevin Steele.

After the scuffle, head coach Dom Capers, a good man who adored Greene, sent his star back onto the field. Many of Greene’s teammates were appalled. Capers lost his players that afternoon and, when the season ended, he lost his job.

Credibility is essential. By moving quickly and decisively, the Panthers retained theirs.

Despite getting punched out, Lucas enhanced his.

Like Smith, Lucas is 29. Unlike Smith, he is not a dynamic personality. Unlike Smith, he does not talk about being a leader. But, man, did he lead Saturday.

How vulnerable Lucas must have felt walking into the Panthers’ locker room before Fan Fest. Football players are supposed to break noses, not have them broken. Yet rather than hide and heal, Lucas brought his damaged nose for everybody to see. That’s solidarity. There is no next best thing to being there.

Quarterback Jake Delhomme said that every Panther shook the cornerback’s hand. Lucas, he said, was “overwhelmed.”

Carolina can’t allow the Smith fiasco to overwhelm them.

If Saturday is indicative, it won’t.