That's not the case with the Carolina Panthers. That's why the news that owner Jerry Richardson is awaiting a heart transplant has taken some of the luster off the Panthers' run atop the NFC South Division.

The Panthers announced late Wednesday afternoon that Richardson had been placed on a national organ donor list for a heart transplant. He had a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted earlier this season, but had to return to the hospital this week for more tests.

Richardson, 72, is no ordinary owner. In fact, he's the only one who played in the league, as a receiver for Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts in the late 1950s. Richardson is counted as one of the most influential and widely trusted men among other league owners. When the league faces big decisions - like the looming labor deal - Richardson is always looked to for guidance.

He has been known to invite groups of his players to his vacation home in the offseason. But he's also not afraid to show some tough love by summoning them to his house for a man-to-man meeting to discuss off-the-field problems.

That unique relationship - extremely rare in the NFL - is the reason why so many of the players were shaken by the news of Richardson's situation.

"Many people are close to him on this team, more than you can possibly imagine," quarterback Jake Delhomme said. "He knows you as a Football player, but he knows your wife and kids. You have meaningful conversations with him that are truthful.

"He's a lot closer to his players than anybody would ever know. . . . That's why you care so much."

Delhomme said Richardson's playing background certainly had helped him with the players.

"You don't feel uncomfortable" around him, Delhomme said.

"Whenever he walks through this locker room, eyes don't look to hide. I promise you, that happens in a lot of places. . . . When he walks through the weight room in the offseason, guys walk up and shake his hand. And it's not brown-nosing. It's just him."

Richardson is affectionately known around the team as "Big Cat."

"We miss having him around here," wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad said. "We're asking everybody out there to keep your prayers up. We're waiting for him to walk back in this locker room."

Gonzalez not looking back

Might as well pencil in Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez for his 10th straight AFC Pro Bowl spot.

He easily leads all other tight ends in catches (78), yards (879) and also leads in touchdowns (seven).

Considering the Chiefs' 2-11 season, the constant changing quarterbacks, his temper tantrum when he didn't get to break the NFL tight end record for receiving yards at home, not having his midseason trade request honored - and then publicly sulking about it - Gonzalez has endured the most trying season of his 12-year career. Hard to tell from his numbers, though.

"I learned more about myself this year than any other year ever, and probably all of the years combined, the way the whole trade thing came about," he said. "I've learned what I can respond to as far as adversity. I learned how to take the high road and forgive, especially during that whole trade thing. I learned how, during the losing, to keep focus and keep working at it. You have to find different ways to motivate yourself to come to work every day. It really tests your love for the game. You really find out how much it's worth to you."

Gonzalez, 32, plans to play one more season, and hasn't yet said if he will again push for a trade in the offseason.

He's certainly not longing for the Green Bay Packers , the team that thought it had completed a trade for the tight end, only to see Chiefs President Carl Peterson raise the asking price at the last minute.

"What if I'd been traded to Green Bay? I'd be 5-8 and I'd be freezing," Gonzalez said. "Right now, I'm glad it didn't happen. It worked out for the better."

Belichick beats Mangini

Since the AFC East had the great honor of having both the AFC West and NFC West on its schedule, the New England Patriots and New York Jets each wound up having four road games on the West Coast.

How both teams handled those cross-country trips could determine the divisional race.

The Patriots haven't publicly admitted it, but they undoubtedly requested that they play those four games in groups of two successive games so they could stay on the West Coast between games to cut down on the travel and recovery time. It has been done in the past. The Miami Dolphins did it in 2004.

The league accommodated the Patriots, who played Oct. 5 at San Francisco and Oct. 12 at San Diego, and now they're in the middle of their Seattle-Oakland stretch. The Patriots are 2-1 in their West Coast games and they've stayed out west both times.

Meanwhile, all four of the Jets' West Coast games were staggered: Sept. 22 at San Diego, Oct. 19 at Oakland, Dec. 7 at San Francisco and Dec. 21 at Seattle.

So they will cross the country eight times by the end of the season, including twice in the final four weeks.

The Jets are 0-3 so far on their trips to the West Coast, including losses to both Oakland and San Francisco.

The game against the Seahawks will have huge consequences for the Jets' playoff hopes.

And not only do they have to drag themselves across the country again, but it will be for Mike Holmgren's final home game as coach of the Seahawks.

Allen's two stances

Sure, everyone saw the reaction of Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen on Sunday when Detroit Lions tackle Gosder Cherilus gave Allen a blind-side helmet to the knee.

Allen was not happy and had to be restrained by teammates.

"I thought my season was over, and I was going to take (Cherilus) with me," Allen said.

He went on to say it's an unwritten rule that players don't go after other players' knees because "the knees are a sacred thing in this league."

Uh, pot? It's kettle calling.

Allen was fined $50,000 for hitting Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in the knees - twice - in one game earlier this season. Schaub had to miss four games.

At the time, Allen said he didn't do anything wrong.

"We knew what we were getting into when we signed up to play," Allen said.

Not only is Allen one of the league's best pass rushers, but he's also one of its top hypocrites.

By the way, unlike Allen, Cherilus was not fined by the league for his hit.

Pass mush

Speaking of pass rushers, the New York Giants have fallen off a cliff in terms of getting to the quarterback.

After logging 30 sacks in the first eight games of the season, the Giants have just six in the last five. Four of those came in one game against the beat-up Washington Redskins.

"We've been one step away," Justin Tuck said this week.

Or could it be one or two players?

It seems the retirement of Michael Strahan and the season-ending injury to Osi Umenyiora have finally caught up to the Giants. The rotation of pass rushers they rode to the Lombardi Trophy last year is long gone, and they're in a stretch of 13 straight games to finish the season (the Giants' bye week was Sept. 28). They are a tired bunch, looking at that potential first-round bye like ice cream on a hot day.

"It's a give and a take," Tuck said. "It's just unfortunate for me that I'm kind of getting beat up."

Send e-mail to gbedard@journalsentinel.com

Copyright 2008, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)