Published: Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009 / Updated: Friday, Nov. 06, 2009 09:33 AM

Panthers remain a mystery after win

CHARLOTTE -- We won't know for a week whether this current version of the Carolina Panthers is to be believed.

And the reasons for that doubt make this a tough week to go to New Orleans.

As good as the Panthers looked beating Arizona, they looked as bad or worse losing to Buffalo.

As good as they have looked for a month on defense, they still haven't done it against anyone quite like the Saints.

As good as Jake Delhomme looked in the first half, sharp when he needed to be, he will have to complete a pass in the second half if they are going to beat this next bunch.

If you think the Panthers have any shot of fixing this thing, you would love for them to be playing anyone else this weekend.

Most knew the last two-thirds of the schedule was going to be tougher than the early slate, but parts of the next two months look manageable again.

The Falcons look a little flawed at the moment, the Dolphins can score a ton in a moment but disappear the next, the Jets appear mortal again and there's still a game with the Buccaneers.

You could almost see the Panthers, even though they're 3-4, getting back in this thing. You could see them getting on something like a roll.

It's just the next one, and what a 3-5 record would mean, taking the margin of error to nothing.

New Orleans has always been a bit of a tease. They would show an offense that couldn't be beat, then it would get hurt and disappear. They always have had flash, but seldom substance.

This bunch looks different.

Drew Brees has become more than a fantasy football monster, pulling the strings in exactly the right sequence. The Saints have running backs to carry the load, and also Reggie Bush. They have receivers to burn (which stings since the Panthers have just one), and Jeremy Shockey in a role small enough that he can't torpedo them by being Jeremy Shockey.

They also have an aggressive defense, which you can't imagine betraying Brees and friends the way past versions have.

All of that makes this the worst possible time to play them, except for one thing.

Panthers coach John Fox likes to say “stats are for losers,” and he generally saves it for a reporter who just asked him a stats-based question.

But while there are a number of numbers that can mislead, the one you can generally trust is zero. Never only lets you down once.

As in, Fox has never lost to the Saints in New Orleans since his arrival in 2002.

As in, Delhomme has never lost a start in the Superdome, including his cameo as the Saints starter against Dallas in 1999.

As in, well, zero.

If you were an optimist, you could look at this one and see what's coming, the story the Panthers have so often written. They'll go on the road and save a season, spoil the Saints' perfect start, be the one to poke a hole in that balloon.

Maybe the Saints are getting a little big for their collective britches, a two-touchdown favorite the week after Bush started talking about going 16-0. Coach Sean Payton reined that one in, and they fairly handled a still-good Falcons team.

It sets up perfect, if not a little corny.

Teams don't have defining moments against Tampa Bay, not anymore. For it to mean something, the scrappy team has to defeat the powerhouse. That's the way it is in all the movies.

But then you watch those Saints play, and compare it to what we have seen in Charlotte.

And then you keep coming back to zero, but you wonder if that's not just the chances the Panthers have this weekend.

Can they? Maybe. Will they? Can you honestly say you believe that?