2002 Carolina Panthers season

The 2002 season was the Carolina Panthers' eighth in the National Football League and their first under head coach John Fox. They tried to improve upon their 1–15 record in 2001, and make it to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.

2002 Carolina Panthers season
Owner	Jerry Richardson
General manager	Marty Hurney
Head coach	John Fox
Home stadium	Ericsson Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	4th NFC South
Playoffs	Did not qualify
All-Pros	DT Kris Jenkins (1st team) P Todd Sauerbrun (1st team)
Pro Bowlers	DT Kris Jenkins P Todd Sauerbrun
← 2001 Panthers seasons 2003 →

After moving from the NFC West to the more geographically accurate NFC South, they improved by six games to finish 7–9, but were still five games behind the division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and failed to make the playoffs. Their Week 12, 41–0 loss against the Atlanta Falcons was the Panthers' last shutout for 21 years.

Offseason

Signings	Departures
DE Shane Burton (Jets)	WR Donald Hayes (Patriots)
CB Terry Cousin (Dolphins)	FB Chris Hetherington (Rams)
LB Mark Fields (Rams)	DE Jay Williams (Dolphins)

NFL draft

Main article: 2002 NFL draft

The 2002 NFL draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 15 and April 16, 2002. The Panthers selected nine players in seven rounds. Despite having the worst record in the league the previous season, the Panthers picked 2nd overall due to the Houston Texans picking first overall in their inaugural draft, as is tradition (under NFL rules) with expansion teams.

NFL draft

Main article: 2002 NFL draft

2002 Carolina Panthers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	2	Julius Peppers * †	DE	North Carolina
2	34	DeShaun Foster	RB	UCLA
3	73	Will Witherspoon	LB	Georgia
4	100	Dante Wesley	CB	Arkansas-Pine Bluff
5	137	Randy Fasani	QB	Stanford
5	145	Kyle Johnson	FB	Syracuse
6	174	Keith Heinrich	TE	Sam Houston State
7	213	Pete Campion	G	North Dakota State
7	258	Brad Franklin	CB	Louisiana-Lafayette
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

2002 Carolina Panthers staff

Front office Owner/founder – Jerry Richardson President – Mark Richardson General manager – Marty Hurney Director of player personnel – Jack Bushofsky Head coaches Head coach – John Fox Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Dan Henning Running backs – Jim Skipper Wide receivers – Richard Williamson Tight ends – Don Breaux Offensive line – Paul Boudreau Offensive assistant/quarterbacks – Mike McCoy

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jack Del Rio Defensive line – Mike Trgovac Linebackers – Sam Mills Secondary – Rod Perry Defensive assistant – Alvin Reynolds Defensive assistant – Sal Sunseri Special teams coaches Assistant head coach/special teams – Scott O'Brien Assistant special teams coordinator/assistant strength and conditioning – Darrin Simmons Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jerry Simmons

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Roster

2002 Carolina Panthers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Randy Fasani  9 Rodney Peete 16 Chris Weinke Running backs (RB) 22 Dee Brown KR 37 Nick Goings 42 Skip Hicks 45 Brad Hoover FB 33 Joe Montgomery 32 Rod Smart Wide receivers (WR) 83 Nathan Black 82 Isaac Byrd 88 Karl Hankton 87 Muhsin Muhammad 89 Steve Smith Tight ends (TE) 49 Shawn Draper 86 Kris Mangum 85 Wesley Walls 84 Jermaine Wiggins

Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Kevin Donnalley G 74 Derrick Fletcher G/T 78 Jeno James G 60 Jeff Mitchell C 63 Jamar Nesbit G 76 Tutan Reyes G/T 75 Todd Steussie T 73 Melvin Tuten G/T 66 Louis Williams C Defensive linemen (DL) 99 Brentson Buckner DT 98 Shane Burton DT 92 Mario Fatafehi DT 77 Kris Jenkins DT 97 Kemp Rasmussen DE 93 Mike Rucker DE 91 Josh Taves DE 96 Al Wallace DE

Linebackers (LB) 52 Brian Allen OLB 58 Mark Fields OLB 50 Brad Jackson OLB 52 Kory Minor OLB 53 Hannibal Navies OLB 54 Will Witherspoon MLB Defensive backs (DB) 35 Deke Cooper FS 21 Terry Cousin CB 36 Brad Franklin CB 27 Deon Grant FS 23 Reggie Howard CB 25 Emmanuel McDaniel CB 30 Mike Minter SS 39 Damien Richardson SS 29 Dante Wesley CB Special teams (ST) 11 Shayne Graham K 56 Jason Kyle LS 10 Todd Sauerbrun P

Practice squad 15 Rob Johnson WR 41 Julian Jones S 59 Terrance Simmons DE 62 Tim Stuber G 18 Bashir Yamini WR Reserve 46 Rashard Anderson CB (Susp.) 24 Michael Bates RB (IR) 40 Jarrod Cooper S (IR) 28 Terry Fair CB (IR) 20 DeShaun Foster RB (IR) 94 Sean Gilbert DT (IR) 80 Keith Heinrich TE (IR)  4 John Kasay K (IR) 55 Dan Morgan LB (IR) 90 Julius Peppers DE (Susp.) 71 Fernando Smith DE (IR) 26 Lamar Smith RB (IR)  3 Ryan Tolhurst WR (IR) 57 Lester Towns LB (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 14 reserve, 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Under the NFL’s new scheduling formula put in place for this season, the Panthers would play two games each season against their NFC South division rivals. A schedule rotation would see them play the NFC North in full in 2002 and every three seasons subsequently, and the AFC North in 2002 and every four seasons subsequently. As the Panthers had the worst record in the NFL in 2001, they would also play the Arizona Cardinals, who had the worst 2001 record amongst teams in the reconstituted NFC West, and the Dallas Cowboys, who had the worst 2001 record amongst teams in the NFC East.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 8	Baltimore Ravens	W 10–7	1–0	Ericsson Stadium	70,386
2	September 15	Detroit Lions	W 31–7	2–0	Ericsson Stadium	71,951
3	September 22	at Minnesota Vikings	W 21–14	3–0	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	63,945
4	September 29	at Green Bay Packers	L 14–17	3–1	Lambeau Field	63,329
5	October 6	Arizona Cardinals	L 13–16	3–2	Ericsson Stadium	72,286
6	October 13	at Dallas Cowboys	L 13–14	3–3	Texas Stadium	61,773
7	October 20	at Atlanta Falcons	L 0–30	3–4	Georgia Dome	68,056
8	October 27	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 9–12	3–5	Ericsson Stadium	72,892
9	Bye
10	November 10	New Orleans Saints	L 24–34	3–6	Ericsson Stadium	72,566
11	November 17	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–23	3–7	Raymond James Stadium	65,527
12	November 24	Atlanta Falcons	L 0–41	3–8	Ericsson Stadium	72,533
13	December 1	at Cleveland Browns	W 13–6	4–8	Cleveland Browns Stadium	72,718
14	December 8	Cincinnati Bengals	W 52–31	5–8	Ericsson Stadium	66,799
15	December 15	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 14–30	5–9	Heinz Field	58,586
16	December 22	Chicago Bears	W 24–14	6–9	Ericsson Stadium	72,602
17	December 29	at New Orleans Saints	W 10–6	7–9	Louisiana Superdome	66,946
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 2: Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	7	0	7
Panthers	0	10	14	7	31

at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

• Date: September 15, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, 72 °F (22 °C)
• Game attendance: 71,951
• Referee: Gerald Austin (34)
• TV announcers (FOX): Kenny Albert, Tim Green, and Paul Butler
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter CAR – John Kasay 23-yard field goal, 3:27. Panthers 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 2:09. CAR – Muhsin Muhammad 22-yard pass from Rodney Peete (John Kasay kick), 0:16. Panthers 10–0. Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards, 0:46. Third quarter DET – Mike McMahon 11-yard run (Jason Hanson kick), 8:21. Panthers 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards, 3:10. CAR – Lamar Smith 3-yard run (John Kasay kick), 6:44. Panthers 17–7. Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards, 1:37. CAR – Mike Minter 40-yard interception return (John Kasay kick), 5:49. Panthers 24–7. Fourth quarter CAR – Lamar Smith 1-yard run (John Kasay kick), 9:43. Panthers 31–7. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 5:44. Top passers DET – Mike McMahon – 9/23, 95 yards, INT CAR – Rodney Peete – 21/32, 310 yards, TD Top rushers DET – James Stewart – 12 rushes, 53 yards CAR – Lamar Smith – 20 rushes, 60 yards, 2 TD Top receivers DET – Scotty Anderson – 2 receptions, 31 yards CAR – Muhsin Muhammad – 8 receptions, 107 yards, TD

Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings

Week 3: Carolina Panthers at Minnesota Vikings

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	7	14	21
Vikings	0	7	0	7	14

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Date: September 22, 2002
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 63,945
• Referee: Bernie Kukar (86)
• TV: FOX
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter MIN – Michael Bennett 1-yard run (Gary Anderson kick), 12:58. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards, 2:02. Third quarter CAR – Steve Smith Sr. 14-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Jon Hilbert kick), 5:14. Tied 7–7. Drive: 2 plays, 28 yards, 0:47. Fourth quarter CAR – Lamar Smith 12-yard run (Jon Hilbert kick), 13:28. Panthers 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:38. CAR – Lamar Smith 24-yard run (Jon Hilbert kick), 7:54. Panthers 21–7. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 4:42. MIN – Chris Walsh 4-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Gary Anderson kick), 3:29. Panthers 21–14. Drive: 9 plays, 89 yards, 4:25. Top passers CAR – Rodney Peete – 20/30, 221 yards, TD, 2 INT MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 19/30, 191 yards, TD, 4 INT Top rushers CAR – Lamar Smith – 30 rushes, 154 yards, 2 TD MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 4 rushes, 32 yards Top receivers CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 5 receptions, 81 yards, TD MIN – Moe Williams – 4 receptions, 66 yards

Week 4: at Green Bay Packers

Week 4: Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	0	0	7	14
Packers	3	7	0	7	17

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: September 29, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Overcast, 65 °F (18 °C)
• Game attendance: 63,329
• Referee: Bill Carollo (63)
• TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall and Brian Baldinger
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter GB – Ryan Longwell 30-yard field goal, 8:52. Packers 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 5:07. CAR – Lamar Smith 3-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 0:23. Panthers 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 83 yards, 4:50. Second quarter GB – Donald Driver 31-yard pass from Bubba Franks (Ryan Longwell kick), 1:43. Packers 10–7. Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 2:04. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter CAR – Lamar Smith 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 12:55. Panthers 14–10. Drive: 5 plays, 53 yards, 2:51. GB – Donald Driver 22-yard pass from Brett Favre (Ryan Longwell kick), 4:10. Packers 17–14. Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 2:19. Top passers CAR – Rodney Peete – 10/24, 202 yards GB – Brett Favre – 18/32, 200 yards, TD, INT Top rushers CAR – Lamar Smith – 22 rushes, 66 yards, 2 TD GB – Ahman Green – 17 rushes, 73 yards Top receivers CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 5 receptions, 116 yards GB – Donald Driver – 5 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TD

Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 16: Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	0	7	14
Panthers	0	21	0	3	24

at Ericsson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

• Date: December 22, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 pm
• Game weather: Sunny, 56 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 72,602
• Referee: Terry McAulay (77)
• TV announcers (FOX): Pat Summerall, Brian Baldinger, and Dan Jiggetts
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter CHI – Dez White 76-yard pass from Chris Chandler (Paul Edinger kick), 14:13. Bears 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 80 yards, 0:47. Second quarter CAR – Dee Brown 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 12:12. Tied 7–7. Drive: 6 plays, 85 yards, 2:33. CAR – Dee Brown 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick), 8:38. Panthers 14–7. Drive: 3 plays, 11 yards, 0:51. CAR – Muhsin Muhammad 3-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Shayne Graham kick), 3:52. Panthers 21–7. Drive: 4 plays, 41 yards, 1:54. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter CHI – Dez White 5-yard pass from Henry Burris (Paul Edinger kick), 11:48. Panthers 21–14. Drive: 3 plays, 8 yards, 1:32. CAR – Shayne Graham 25-yard field goal, 5:16. Panthers 24–14. Drive: 4 plays, -1 yard, 2:08. Top passers CHI – Chris Chandler – 7/8, 113 yards, TD CAR – Rodney Peete – 18/35, 179 yards, TD Top rushers CHI – Leon Johnson – 16 rushes, 29 yards CAR – Dee Brown – 23 rushes, 55 yards, 2 TD Top receivers CHI – Dez White – 2 receptions, 81 yards, 2 TD CAR – Steve Smith Sr. – 4 receptions, 97 yards

Standings

Division

NFC South
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	346	196	W1
(6) Atlanta Falcons	9	6	1	.594	4–2	7–5	402	314	L1
New Orleans Saints	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	432	388	L3
Carolina Panthers	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	258	302	W2

Conference

NFC v t e
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV
Division leaders
1[a]	Philadelphia Eagles	East	12	4	0	.750	5–1	11–1	.469	.432
2[a][b]	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	South	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	.482	.432
3[a][b]	Green Bay Packers	North	12	4	0	.750	5–1	9–3	.451	.414
4	San Francisco 49ers	West	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	.504	.450
Wild Cards
5	New York Giants	East	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	.482	.450
6	Atlanta Falcons	South	9	6	1	.594	4–2	7–5	.494	.429
Did not qualify for the postseason
7	New Orleans Saints	South	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	.498	.566
8[c]	St. Louis Rams	West	7	9	0	.438	4–2	5–7	.508	.446
9[c]	Seattle Seahawks	West	7	9	0	.438	2–4	5–7	.506	.433
10[d]	Washington Redskins	East	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	.527	.438
11[d]	Carolina Panthers	South	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	.486	.357
12	Minnesota Vikings	North	6	10	0	.375	4–2	5–7	.498	.417
13[e]	Arizona Cardinals	West	5	11	0	.313	1–5	5–7	.500	.400
14[e]	Dallas Cowboys	East	5	11	0	.313	1–5	3–9	.500	.475
15	Chicago Bears	North	4	12	0	.250	2–4	3–9	.521	.430
16	Detroit Lions	North	3	13	0	.188	1–5	3–9	.494	.375
Tiebreakers[f]
Philadelphia finished ahead of Tampa Bay and Green Bay based on conference record (11–1 vs 9–3/9–3). Tampa Bay finished ahead of Green Bay based on head-to-head victory. St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle based on division record (4–2 to 2–4). Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on common games (2–3 to 1–4) Arizona finished ahead of Dallas based on head-to-head victory. When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.